Technology

LCD Burn in and Why I am Not Happy With Apple Right Now

by

I own a 24″ iMac since March. For me going to a desktop as my main computer was a big deal since for years I had a laptop as my main computer. In recent history that has been either an Apple Powerbook or Macbook. When I calculated the cost of a new 24″ or larger LCD and a new computer I made sense to just get an a desktop. With my current job I was using the company issued laptop anyway so I needed portability less. The new 24″ iMac was a logical choice. It wasn’t as expensive as going with a dedicated computer and a large monitor. It also packed enough power that I would be happy for the time being.

Before the summer started I started to notice issues with the display on my iMac. At first i thought it was me. Then over time it looked like there were horizontal lines on the display. I thought something was wrong with the display but didn’t want to deal with calling in for support and then being without my computer for a while so I did what any good procrastinator does I put the issue off a bit. By the middle of the summer the issue started to bother me more and more. Partly because I was noticing it, and partially because for the amount I paid for this computer it should be working normally. But my annoyance aside I noticed something else with the display. It wasn’t that I was just seeing lines on the screen. At some times I was seeing burn in of items that are no longer on the screen. If you don’t know what burn in is, it is when you leave something on the screen long enough that even when you move it there is still a remnants or ghost of the object on the screen. It was an issue way back when with old CRT monitors, and is a problem with Plasma TV’s today. Up until this computer I have never seen it with an LCD. I am someone who has managed hundreds of desktop installs (with flat panels of all types and sizes) for companies, and I have owned at least a half a dozen or more flat panels personally over the past 9 years so I hope I know what I am talking about.

Surprised by what I found I put a note down to call Apple and see what I can do to get this fixed. The computer is after all just 6 months old as of this writing. After some more procrastination I finally called Apple last weekend. After two or three troubleshooting attempts by the support guy on the phone it was determined that he can’t do anything for me and I should take the computer to an Apple Store so they can look at it. I wasn’t too happy about that since this thing is not something I can throw in my bag, but I scheduled an appointment with the Apple Store in Soho and took it in on Saturday.

After a few minutes of seeing what I was talking about the tech went away for a few minutes and came back to tell me that the issue is in fact burn in, but the warrantee does not cover that since it is preventable. I was a bit surprised by that so we discussed the issue for a bit and he offered to bring his supervisor out to discuss. For one I will give them points for that. Usually getting a manager or supervisor is a painful task. The lead came out (I have their names but I am leaving them redacted for now since this is an ongoing issue) and we talked about the issue. They both claimed that burn in does happen on LCD’s but is rarer than with Plasma. I told them that is great but I have used flat panels like the way I use my iMac for years and never had this problem. Now with my iMac I can have a window up on screen and only after a few hours does it burn in. I have left my LCD tv on pause for hours before without any issues. It is an LCD! I explained my previous work and personal experience with LCD’s and how I am very surprised by this. They insisted the issue was preventable with power management and screen savers. Now I use a screen saver (maybe i could turn the settings from 30 minutes to 5, but come on) and whenever I don’t use the computer I have the top left corner as an action to put the display to sleep so I don’t know how I can do more.

After hearing what they had to say I questioned them that basically my normal day to day use of this computer will cause burn in, since when I am working from home I will use it from 8-10 hours a day and during that time I have IM windows and a twitter feed up on screen all the time, yet according to their assessment that is enough time to burn in the display (and my usage has shown that to be true) and they claimed that to be the case, and their recommendation was for me to minimize windows I am not actively using. Now I thought that was a total cop out answer. Come on. I have personally done the same exact things on many other LCD displays with NO issues. Heck when I go into the office at work I the exact same thing with no issues. Why is it that this is such a major issue but only affecting my 24″ iMac. I have another iMac I use for a media center and I don’t have the same issue with that one. I am still baffled by their stance on this.

The two gentleman I spoke to offered to escalated the issue to their engineering team. I asked them if that was possible and they took my information and are in the processes of doing just that. I will give both people I dealt with credit. They were helpful, and friendly the entire time I spoke with them. After I articulated my issues with what they were saying they offered to escalate and so far are doing so. I just can’t believe that Apples stance is basically I am using the computer wrong.

I am writing this on Monday evening. As of yet I have not heard back from Apple on the escalation. I will follow up tomorrow. Since my visit to the Apple store Saturday I went online and did some research about LCD burn in. Apparently it is not totally uncommon but still seems like a rare thing. I tried something that Apple themselves suggested to counter act the issue and it worked a little but the problem is still there. I also worked from home today and noticed that for a while I could see a bit of burn in from a window I had open for maybe 3 hours that day. No one can tell me that 3 hours of something being on the screen is acceptable for burn in to happen. It just blows my mind that is what I am being told! I await an update from Apple, and will update this post or create a new one when I do!

, , ,

Mac OS 10.6

by

Today I received my copy of Mac OS 10.6 (I refuse to call any Mac OS by their animal names). Last night I backed up my Media Center iMac using Carbon Copy Cloner so i could have a full copy of my old configuration in the even the install causes problems. I like to wipe my computer before installing any OS. Previously I was never happy with the left over bits of the old OS when upgrading any Windows OS. I know I have read that the Mac OS upgrade is seamless but I am still not 100% convinced. I have used the migration wizard to move my apps and configurations from one mac to another when upgrading but that was between like OS’s (10.4 to 10.4). I do selectively copy the configuration files and “Application Support” files in the Library, but generally I start from scratch. That unfortunately requires a bit of effort.

Since I read that several programs that I rely on are not fully compatible with 10.6 I decided to try out the new OS on my media center machine before trying my main computer. The last time a new Apple OS came out I backed up my macbook using CCC and just booted back to the old OS when I needed applications that wouldn’t work with 10.5. This was a pain, but the price I paid for upgrading the day the software came out. This time around I think more of the programs I use are supported but there are a few key ones that are keeping me from taking the plunge on my main computer.

The install on my media center went well. I have what I believe to be all of the apps I use on it setup. The only glaring exception is the screen saver I like Fliqlo does not seem to work. Other than that everything else seems OK. I wanted to try the iMac I use for a media center first since it doesn’t have anywhere near as many applications on it than my main machine. So far that was a good decision. I am in the process of copying back a few remaining media files but I think the new OS install was a success.

, , , ,
by

Let the updateathon begin. Mac OS 10.5 to 10.6. I refuse to refer to them by Apple’s silly names!

Apple Are You Kidding Me?

by

I have been a huge fan of Apple and the iPhone. I have always had my criticisms of the company. I have also said that I love my iPhone but would love to find another phone to replace it due to the restrictions Apple puts on the iPhone. This latest stunt by Apple may just get me to drop the iPhone and get something (anything) else. GV Mobile is an app I have used since it came out. It is an app that works with Google Voice. Before GV Mobile I used Grand Dialer that did similar things with the old Grand Central before Google turned it into Google Voice. Why then did Apple just decide to pull all apps that work with Google Voice? I paid for this app, now basically it is killed off? Yeah it will still work for a while but if anything in the OS breaks the app it wont work. This is crazy. How is this not big brother that Apple (or AT&T through Apple) just come in and turn off an app? And why, because it mimic’s iPhone features? So what, I choose to use those mimicked features. Thoughts are it is more likely that AT&T doesn’t want to lose revenue by free SMS via these apps. So can someone explain to me how App Stores are better for the consumer if the handset maker and the provider say what can and cannot be put on my phone? I prefer the day when i can find an app, download it and run it on my smart phone. Worked for years with Palm, Blackberry, and Windows Mobile. Now everyone has their own app stores. How is this progress for the consumer?

I was tempted to pre-order an Android powered My Touch with T-Mobile today. The only thing that stopped me was the fact that the My Touch doesn’t offer Wifi Calling (no android phone does yet). Apple / AT&T get your act together or you will lose a good customer, and I bet I am not the only one.

On a related note I was kind of pissed about what I consider similar crazy tactics by Amazon regarding the Kindle. At least Amazon apologized about what they did, and it doesn’t look like they will do it again. Apple you should learn something from Amazon!

UPDATE 7-31-2009: Finally the FCC is doing something. Questioning Apple, AT&T & Google about what is going on.

My New Kindle 2

by

Tuesday I got my Amazon Kindle 2. Due to some glitch with Amazon my order that was supposed to arrive Monday didn't show up till Tuesday. They were at least cool about it and gave me a refund for the over night shipping I paid for, and still shipped it over night when they could. That is good customer service. So far I like the new Kindle. The fact that it is thinner is nice. I also like how it feels when holding it. I did notice that text seems a bit lighter on the new Kindle Vs the old one. Apparently that is an issue others have stated when reviewing it. So far it isn't an issue for me.

I was able to move all of my books over to the new device seamlessly. I am not a fan of DRM or the way Amazon locks me into their system but I will give them credit for good customer service and customer experience. So far!

iPhone 3GS First Thoughts

by

I got my iPhone 3GS on Friday. I was eager to get it when they announced it, but when it arrived I didn’t even want to rush home to take a look. I usually can’t wait to play with new electronic gizmo’s. Either I now have luke warm feeligns about it or I am getting older. I hope I just have low expectations of the new device. In any event I have had the device for a few days and I have early impressions since I can be opinionated about my gadgets.

One major reason to upgrade for me was the doubled capacity that I get with the 32gig unit. I would have gotten a 64gig one if they offered it. I wanted 32gigs last year when I bought my 3G. Ironically since I purged many videos from my 3G before upgrading I don’t even need the entire 16gigs I had. I know that in a few weeks I will use up the new space I have but right now it is weird seeing all that free space in the bar graph when I sync the phone.

I haven’t done that much to notice the speed improvements. Every once in a while I think it might be a bit zippier, but nothing major just yet. The camera is a great improvement, but still didn’t do so hot for me in low light when I was out on Friday. Video was nice, and I used it a few times with Zachary on Sunday but to be honest I am not going to praise that since a phone of iPhone’s class should have had that function already.

I have to say I am not a fan of the cut and paste function. I know I want it when I need it, and it is another one of those things that should have been around for some time, but I have problems with Apple’s actual implementation of cut and past. I have selected text to cut and paste while scrolling through items i was reading. It is actually very annoying. The amount of times that has happened vs actually using the cut and paste function is making that feature more of a detriment to me than a bonus.

The compass function was neat, but i haven’t really had a chance to use it. One downside I did notice was when I brought up google maps when I got out of the Lincoln tunnel on Sunday the Google Map app started spinning around and I had a semi-transparent warning box telling me that the compass couldn’t work and i needed to get away from interference. This wasn’t good since i couldn’t see where i was (approximately) on the map, where the old version on the 3G would at least just give me a blue circle that showed my margin of error. With the map spinning around and the warning box I couldn’t really estimate my location. Hopefully this was a fluke but I am not so sure I saw the last of that message especially in Manhattan.

So far you might conclude I don’t like the new phone. That is not true. It is a great piece of equipment. In my opinion it has unfortunately it has yet to live up to the cost I paid for it. What will improve my opinion is seeing all the new software that utilizes the push technology in the 3.0 software. I know I could have gotten that with my old 3G, but this new functionality on top of the new hardware was the reason for me to upgrade. For now I have to wait since it seems the hardware is a bit ahead of the software written to utilize it. Once a true push IM client comes out, and other nifty new apps such as the Zip Car app and the Tom Tom GPS app then the new phone will start paying for itself. I am also waiting for a push version of Facebook, and a twitter client (Tweetie I hope since I like it and paid for a copy). It is still a great media device that I take with me everywhere. That hasn’t changed, but for an incremental upgrade it has a bit to go before it becomes worth the upgrade.

For now the new iPhone 3GS is just like my iPhone 3G. I love it, it is probably the best phone I ever had, but I would love to get rid of it if I could. What I mean by that is it is a fantastic device but Apple is still too restrictive on the OS, and I would love for someone to come out with something that truly rivals it (Android, and S60 are nice but not there yet by far and I have tried both). Till then I await updated software for my 3GS!

iPhone 3GS Conundrum Update

by

I am pleasantly surprised to get an email today that my iPhone 3GS has shipped. ETA for me to get it is tomorrow, just like Apple originally said. I say pleasantly surprised because in the past (not apple per say but in general) when an automated system says something and you are told something else the automated system is generally correct.

I typically work from home on Friday’s but tomorrow I am off to NJ with some business folks who have never met most of my team. I hope to be home in the late afternoon to finish off the day.

Hopefully tomorrow nights photos will be from the new 3 megapixel camera!

iPhone 3GS Conundrum

by

When the iPhone 3GS was announced I was very interested. It solved many but not all of the issues I have with my 3G. When I found out I could pre-order one and have it delivered to me on the day it comes out I went and ordered one from Apple. I was slightly aggravated after my order went in to read that they estimated my order would ship on the 19th (the day it comes out) and not arrive on that date as the original statement said. This was about an hour after they announced the phone so I wasn’t too worried about it being sold out, but I was a bit miffed by the delay.

About a day or two later I received an email from apple telling me they are sorry for the mix up but I would in fact receive the new phone on the 19th like they originally said. The odd thing is that my order status page still says ships on the 19th. What is also concerning is that on my status page it says “custom configuration”. That makes no sense since it is a phone. It comes in one option. When I click on details it says the custom configuration is “With AT&T Rate Plan-Upgrade”. Not sure what upgrade it means. The plan on the order is the exact plan I currently have. Now I could simply ignore all these facts and wait for the phone Friday since I have a nice reassuring email from Apple, but I wont because I have dealt with enough computer systems like this. When something smells fishy it tends to be fishy. Other anecdotal evidence that I wont be happy on Friday is reading that others who are supposed to receive their order on Friday already have received tracking information.

Now waiting the weekend isn’t the end of the world, and I don’t need the phone first thing Friday. On the other hand I want it Friday and I only ordered it online because I was told that is when I would get it. If I knew I would have to wait I wouldn’t have ordered it online. I would have gone to the 5th Ave Apple Store and wait like I did last year. If they are shipping units to people I assumed the purchase process this year would be allot easier. Unfortunately the conundrum is that I can’t cancel my existing order and goto the store to buy it on Friday. I now have to wait and see what apple system is right? Will the phone arrive on Friday or simply ship out on Friday?

On the plus side it is only a phone and either way life will go on. It would be cool to have a new toy (productivity tool) to play with this weekend. Let the waiting commence.

Puttering Around The House

by

I got up early and couldn't go back to sleep. Thankfully I felt better than I did yesterday. I cleaned up my apartment. I also decided I didn't like my Desk Reorg and removed the extra Apple Display. I moved my Media Center iMac back to where it was last week and took my Dell monitor and plugged it into my bigger iMac. I am still using a dual display setup but I took apart my Laptop station setup. I just didn't use it.

The Apple Display I have is starting to show its age so I don't feel right selling it on eBay. As Kai likes to point out anything I sell generally is in top notch condition. I take pride in my reputation (and the added resale value good condition brings) so I won't sell it. I think it is still good enough to give to my parents. They have a 19" LCD I bought for my dad's birthday a few years ago. Maybe they will like the upgrade.