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b3ns0n · Jul 6, 2006, 05:27 AM

Okay, so they released the education iMacs yesterday. Due to my UCAS discount, we can get one of these babies for £480 (compared to the normal education store price of £640 and the non-education 17" price of £880).

She's not really into computers, mainly because we have one computer in our house and I'm always on it. It's a PC. I'm going to Uni soon and she'd be totally incapable of maintaining a PC, and keeping it clean and free of spyware/viruses were she to use it regularly - she just wants a computer to use for email, uploading photos, perhaps writing a blog (if it could be made sufficiently simple to tempt her) or downloading the odd obscure song that she'd forgotten exists/couldn't buy anywhere else. I'd also like her to have something with which to video chat with me when I'm at uni (I'm getting a blackbook

)

She has no need to write DVDs, I'd be upgrading the memory to 2gb anyway, and she won't play any games. To me it seems that the iMac would be the perfect system for her. What do you guys think?

cms · Jul 6, 2006, 05:42 AM

Sounds like a no-brainer to me. The only thing I might suggest is that you don't bump up the RAM so much. 2 GB seems like an overkill, when this machine will perform very nicely indeed on 1 GB for the things you say your Mum will be using it for. You'll save money if you buy the extra RAM from Crucial, btw. I am sure your Mum will be very happy indeed with her new kit. Who wouldn't be?!

Will C · Jul 6, 2006, 07:08 AM

£480....if only I could get one for that price......

Sounds an excellent deal - if your Mum is happy to learn Mac go for it.

b3ns0n · Jul 7, 2006, 03:29 AM

Well apparently I had overlooked the fact that Apple are ****ing idiots.

They've increased the price in the UCAS store to match that of the regular education store, from 480 to 640. If they can't get their prices right, why post them at all? Retards.

I had a feeling this would happen too, but I couldn't convince her to take the plunge yesterday.

I sent Apple an extremely angry email.

cms · Jul 7, 2006, 06:20 AM

What a pity -- and yes, Apple (UK) seriously needs to get its act together. I have many issues with them, too numerous to go into here. But suffice to say that Apple UK's tech support (ha-- what a sad joke!), after-sales service and other vital business functions are seriously compromised by a sloppy. jobsworth, couldn't-care-less attitiude that sometimes takes my breath away. More people should complain. The way things are, Apple is in serious danger of losing good will among existing customers, and will also find the increasing catalogue of bad experiences leaking into the marketplace and deterring would-be new customers from taking the plunge.

Sorry -- bit of topic but just taking advantage of a rare opportunity to rant!

Sorry you missed the boat on the cheap kit. But even at £640 it's a lot of computer for not a huge amount of cash.

harrisjamieh · Jul 7, 2006, 06:49 AM

Originally Posted by cms

What a pity -- and yes, Apple (UK) seriously needs to get its act together. I have many issues with them, too numerous to go into here. But suffice to say that Apple UK's tech support (ha-- what a sad joke!), after-sales service and other vital business functions are seriously compromised by a sloppy. jobsworth, couldn't-care-less attitiude that sometimes takes my breath away. More people should complain. The way things are, Apple is in serious danger of losing good will among existing customers, and will also find the increasing catalogue of bad experiences leaking into the marketplace and deterring would-be new customers from taking the plunge.

But Apple's tech support & after sales service is no worse than any other companies selling similar products at similar prices.

As much as I get frustrated with the non-English tech support people, who are so falsely saying 'how are you today sir' etc, I do not have any complaints with the rest of after sales service (minus tech support) - When I got my iMac CD, I decided after 2 weeks that it was not right - 1 week after the replacement policy - they honored it, and I got a new one.

Same with the MacBook - I had it 2 weeks, 1 week longer than the replacement policy, and they still sent me a brand new one (both machines were also put to the front of the order queue - this was when wait times were looong).

cms · Jul 7, 2006, 06:56 AM

You are one of the lucky ones. I take your point about the quality of service, support, etc., being no worse than that provided by any other suppllier offering similar products at similar prices. But the real issue is that this is a serious retrograde step for Apple. They used to be so good, and that (as well as their very nice products) was one of the main factors that marked them out from the competition. Now they are just like anyone else. Mediocre, and distinctly average. What a shame.

iRussel · Jul 7, 2006, 08:27 AM

I agree about the ram. 1GB should be plenty. Also if she isnt into gaming you don't need the better video setup.

stefanicotine · Jul 7, 2006, 09:31 AM

Originally Posted by iRussel

I agree about the ram. 1GB should be plenty. Also if she isnt into gaming you don't need the better video setup.

The education iMacs have integrated graphics

imitchellg5 · Jul 7, 2006, 10:04 AM

I believe this is what iRussel was refering to.