Anyone who has been on the receiving end of an Apple ad campaign in the past 10 years knows that they tend to play fast and loose with the truth in their ad copy. Their towers are the fastest, their laptop is the thinnest, their phone is the most advanced. With so many unchecked exaggerations, Apple sometimes comes across as the consumer electronics version of Donald Trump, augmented by killer industrial and UI designers. Now a law firm in California has filed a class-action suit against the company for misrepresenting its new 20-inch iMac models as being capable of producing millions of colors, when in fact they use a substandard el-cheapo screen that is nowhere near as capable as what’s in the 24-inch models.
From the law firm’s press release:
Apple told consumers that both the 20-inch and 24-inch iMacs displayed “millions of colors at all resolutions.” Indeed, the new 24-inch iMacs display 16,777,216 colors on 8-bit, in-plane switching (IPS) screens, as did the previous generation of 20-inch iMacs. But the new 20-inch iMac monitors do not even come close, displaying 98% fewer colors (262,144).
While Apple describes the display of both the 24-inch and 20-inch iMacs as though they were interchangeable, the monitors in each are of radically different technology. The 20-inch iMacs feature 6-bit twisted nematic film (TN) LCD screens, the least expensive of its type.
The 20-inch iMac’s TN screens have a narrower viewing angle, less color depth, less color accuracy and are more susceptible to washout across the screen.
Apple’s Web site tells consumers that “No matter what you like to do on your computer — watch movies, edit photos, play games, even just view a screen saver — it’s going to look stunning on an iMac.”
In fact, the inferior technology of the 20-inch iMac is particularly ill-suited to editing photographs because of the display’s limited color potential and the distorting effect of the color simulation processes.
“Apple sued over ‘inferior’ iMac screens” [InfoWorld]
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Guys. Relax. It’s a fucking computer.
Mac is fantastic for graphic and web design. PCs are phenomenal for enthusiasts and gamers.
The only quirk about Macs is that the most vocal minority of their users all approach the ‘Mac Vs. PC Debate’ with a hugely elitist attitude.
Then again, there are many among the PC users who talk trash to anyone and everyone on the basis of something as simple as typing ability or the ability to click faster. Same shit, different packaging.
I don’t understand it: I show my wife an mp3 player with built-in voice recorder, greater a/v format support, more memory, fm receiver and costs $60 less than the comparable ipod but she STILL insists on buying the ipod. Yeah the generic was uglier but FUCK. If she ever bought a PC like this home I’d take away her credit card.
Just checked [www.apple.com]
and lo and behold:
Display
Built-in 20-inch (viewable) or 24-inch (viewable) glossy widescreen TFT active-matrix liquid crystal display
Resolution
20-inch: 1680 by 1050 pixels
24-inch: 1920 by 1200 pixels
Millions of colors at all resolutions
bastards.
[quote] *
I don’t understand it: I show my wife an mp3 player with built-in voice recorder, greater a/v format support, more memory, fm receiver and costs $60 less than the comparable ipod but she STILL insists on buying the ipod. Yeah the generic was uglier but FUCK. If she ever bought a PC like this home I’d take away her credit card.
[/quote]
@mariospants:
[family.findlaw.com]
@Trai_Dep: “Neither does Dell, Gateway, Lenovo… Have to break the news to you: they don’t fab their own chips either. Your expectations for what a computer mfr does is out of date by, oh, thirty years. But stay happy with your ugly, virus-ridden, quasi-functional computer out of the box! “
You know what I will enjoy, a fully functional computer out of the box and the 500-1000+ dollars I saved by not buying a shiny PC with a mac OS on it.
Let me just state this again since you didn’t understand what I said, a mac is a nothing more the a dell/gateway/lenovo with a mac OS on it the guts of the mechine are no different then a PC. You are paying a huge mark up for NOTHING but a operating and a look.
Looks like you are using that elitist attitude to the fullest! Good for you.
@ehrgeiz: You sound a lot like a (cough) small-statured (cough) man loudly proclaiming that a guy with a pinkie-sized appendage can satisfy a woman just as much as someone who’s normally-endowed.
Work on that (or work on both), won’t you?
PS: hate to be “elitist”, but “mechine” is spelled, machine, btw.
Hey folks, nice discussion. For the record, I am neither a PC or Mac fanboy and I use both platforms at home and at work. I have used or purchased every iteration of Apple Computers since the first Apple PC and they’ve all had their pluses and minuses. I have also supported and repaired Apples and Macs since they’ve been around and, contrary to popular myth, Macs are just as likely to suffer various problems as their sisters, the PCs. It is true that there are not as many viruses written that effect Macs, but there are some good ones out there. The differences between the two platforms today are decreasing, as several posters here have alluded to. The bottom line is that if you have a specific application in mind that you are using such as Photoshop, Quark or Illustrator and you know how to use it on the Mac, you should get a Mac. The major drawbacks of the Mac platform are a paucity of third party software (though things are getting better), the cost vs. overall performance(always higher pound for pound), the cost of add ons and peripherals, (just do search for a beefy video card for the Mac and then search for its PC sister) and the cost of repair should your problem occur out of warranty. Fortunately for myself, I am able to do almost all repairs with no assistance although this is hampered by the difficulty of obtaining Mac replacement parts at a reasonable price. The Apple store in front of my office (5th and 59th) is a complete nightmare with a two-day waiting list for assistance! Macs are great, I love them and use them for many things, but they are not this superior creation that exists in Apple’s slick marketing fantasies. I look forward to the day when it is as easy to obtain parts for a Mac as it is for a PC and I can build my own just like I do all my PCs. For the record, none of my PCs or my Macs have any viruses, nor any stability problems which are not directly related to my own use or my own tinkering. Be well folks, and play nice!
Daniel
I write my anti-Mac posts on an iBook. I guess I’m just a contrarian.
I was going to buy an iMac 20″ later this year, but now am seriously considering going the Hackintosh route via Lifehacker, just so I can source my own parts and control what hardware goes into my computer.
Apple is like Esperanto–logically a better interface, just not the one 95% of the world uses. The technically superior product isn’t always what wins in the market.
20 inch Imac on my desk at work. Millions of colors. Windows XP runs rock solid on it with Parallels. Linux too.
I don’t need any stinking beige box. My Mac does it all.