Close Encounters of the Mac Kind
Chris R
If you’ve ever spent time in an Apple store, the thing that grabs you is the sleekness of it. No CompUSA here, it is ultra modern with people wearing black shirts with white Apples on them. Sleek geeks if you will. I purchased a 20 inch iMac with great fanfare, quite excited about it. Upon using it, what was glaring to me was how the fonts looked. Somewhat shadowy, as if an adjustment needed to be made, very different from my other iMac. You can adjust this, to a point, in the system preferences, under Appearance and Displays. I’ve become quite familiar with them.
Michael came over to check it out and agreed that things did not look as sharp as perhaps they should. We called Mac support and after being guided thru the above named preferences (for the umpteenth time) it was decided that perhaps something may be wrong with the display. “Go to a store and look at another one” Michael wisely suggested. But as I had looked at one in the store, albeit before I seriously decided to buy one, I thought they looked better and decided to take mine back.
I entered the Apple store at the Chestnut Hill Mall and was ushered to the “Genius Bar”. Angry people returning computers and quite a few ipods inhabited the bar. Everyone had a story. No one could just say what was wrong with their computer, they had to say what they were doing when it crashed. Daniel, the “bartender” as it were, was very patient with all of them. To pass the time, I looked at the pictures of geniuses over the bar. There were 4, Jane Goodall with a monkey, Martin Luther King, John and Yoko, and the far left picture was of a man whom I did not recognize. I kept looking at the Goodall picture, and the monkey was looking up her shirt. I wondered which of them was supposed to be the genius.
When it was my turn Daniel said “how can I help you”.
“Who is the genius on the left?” I ask.
“Heisenberg”.
Silence.
“He was a physicist. That’s a young picture of him” (sweet Daniel thought that somehow that was the reason I didn’t recognize him).
“I thought it was Steve Jobs”.
Daniel laughs. “That would be very presumptuous”.
And we’re off and running. I explain to Daniel what my font issues are. He opens system preferences and does everything I had done previously. He did say you can’t use OS 9 fonts on the flat screen panels, they don’t look sharp. So he picked an OS X font, which still looked off to me. I ask Daniel to hook me up to the internet, so I could show him my email panel as this is where it was the most glaring. Daniel doesn’t think it looks off. So what do I decide to do, exactly what Michael had told me to do in the first place. I proceeded to have Daniel show me every single flat screen panel in the store. Lo and behold every one of them looked exactly as mine did. I ask Daniel if others return their computers for the same reason. “No, there’s nothing like a flat screen”. Great, I think to myself, my computers not damaged, I am.
I go back to the bar and look at my computer some more. Of course, by this time, the “bar” was full of other people, which was fine as I needed time. I begin to feel protective of my machine. I decide I need help with my decision. At 10 of 8 I call my friend Joe, who happens to be a psychologist. I figured I had this 10 minute window at the end of the hour to get him. But I had to call information for his number. I mention to information that he is a psychologist so she wouldn’t look for a residence, and I immediately realize that those at the bar think I’m calling my shrink for guidance regarding my decision. Alas, he doesn’t answer.
I then call Michael who, thank God, is available. We discuss the fonts. Michael tells me to give it time and think about it.
As I sat there obsessing about the fonts while admiring how beautiful the screen is, every sales person in the place came up to me and said “let me try one thing” and proceeded to go to the system preferences. I was too timid to say that had been done before as I thought perhaps a miracle would happen. One of the odder sales people even came over and swiveled my screen and said “this screen is so beautiful” and kissed it. He kissed my screen. “Don’t touch my screen” I say. And he did it again. “Beautiful” he repeats. My nerves. I say again “don’t touch my screen” and he proceeds to tell me that he washes all the screens in the store and tries to sell me screen cleaner.
Then I got my miracle. Or at least my realization. A customer at the bar next to me told me that he has two screens, a CRT and an LCD. He explains the scientific differences between the two (channelling Heisenberg perhaps?) and said it’s just a matter of preference. “You’ll get used to it”. He then tells me his story of why his computer was in there. I listened patiently and nodded sympathetically as that is what one does. At the bar.
I needed someone to tell me I’d get used to it. For some reason, I couldn’t come to this conclusion myself. But as soon as he said it, coupled with his affection for his own little lap top which though currently crippled he clearly loved, I was convinced that this baby was coming back home.
I call my husband, explained that all the machines were the same and mine wasn’t broken. “Why are you still there, just return it and come home. Don’t settle”. That not being what I wanted to hear I call Michael back and tell him my decision. “I’m taking it home”. He agrees that having it over the weekend and giving it more time is the wise choice, and admits his bemusement about my predicament. I’m just grateful he’s awake and validating.
When, two hours after I left the house, I come trudging in with same computer in hand, spouse looks at me. “No complaining about the screen” he said.
“Not to worry. I’m settled”.
Personally, I think flat-panel screens are all a little bit “off” compared to CRTs. It has nothing to do with Macs. A few months ago, I went shopping for a flat panel for my daughter, because I was tired of carrying a big heavy CRT up and down 3 or 4 flights of dorm stairs every 3-6 months. I checked every panel screen in every computer store within 15 miles of home, looking mainly at the low end models (price less than $400). The fonts didn’t look as nice as I was used to on good CRTs. I think that’s because in the cheaper panels, the maximum number of pixels is 1024, and since the contrast in panels (300:1 to 350:1) is higher,
even in cheap panels, than with electron-beam produced images, “aliasing” is more significant. But that’s just my guess.
I finally got a 15-inch screen for my daughter, who is estatic with it (though I think it’s not as good as her old 17-in monitor–which I now use at home).
I may get a chance to compare fonts in a high-end panel screen soon. Our project manager at Goddard has just told everybody in our group that he’s buying us 19-inch panels with 600:1 contrast. I expect the color will be much better than with my current 20-inch 1998 Sun monitor, but I may have to “get used to” the fonts.
Comment by rakkity — January 9, 2004 @ 10:34 am
I love the utilitarian reasoning, rakkity. ThatÃs why I buy new power tools even though my old ones still work. New fangled metals and plastics that have created such light weight tools must have been engineered by aging baby boomers.
My sister, Joan, has had every component in her Dell replaced – twice. Seems a bit much to me, even for a PC user, but it was all on warranty. Had she been allowed to send it back, she would have, but that grace period elapsed before the bugs attacked. This, shortly after she sent back a new G-4 because she was dissatisfied with the boot-up time.
So, what happened when Adam from AppleÃs tech support, on speaker phone while Chris and I stared at blurry fonts, gave Chris the name of a local repair shop? Joan channeled through me, ìSend it back. If you bought a refrigerator with a scratch, you wouldnÃt have it repaired.î For the record, and this is readily available public knowledge, I have never sent anything back. If what I buy is only half as good as what I expected, I live with it. If itÃs broken, I throw it out and buy a new one. My genes prevent me from returning store bought items, just as they stop me from returning books that I borrow
The research Chris and I did, before her trip to the Chestnut Hill Store, indicated that it was a native problem with the flat panel, made worse by the way OS X renders fonts. When I left ChrisÃs house, and we had talked about cramming in a visit to CompUSA before her kids were to arrive home, I had no idea that later that night she would end up at an Apple Store, computer in hand.
When Chris called me from the Apple Store, I had two voices fighting for attention. JoanÃs ìTake it back, it sucks!î and mine, ìTake it home and live with it.î At the same time, I tried to listen to Chris, to get an idea of what she wanted to do. But her questions always ended in silence. I was able to overrule Joan and offered, ìGive it time. î But when I hung up, I thought, ìTake it back.î
Comment by Michael — January 9, 2004 @ 3:15 pm
Michael, I’m so glad you didn’t tell me to take it back. That was what Mark said and not what I wanted to hear. And I’m glad I didn’t take it back. You can train yourself to like imperfect things when there are enough really nice things about it. And rakkity, you would make a great customer at the bar! You sound just like the man who convinced me to buy it. Lots of talk about aliasing and antialiasing…things I don’t understand. And it sounds like you did your share of obsessing when buying your daughter a new monitor. I hope you like the new one they get at work. So as to not be ignorant, I’ve checked up on this Heisenberg person. Turns out he is the father of the principle of Uncertainty. I think I am the mother.
Comment by chris — January 9, 2004 @ 7:00 pm
But, dear MOUP, who knows you better than your husband?
Comment by Michael — January 9, 2004 @ 8:16 pm
What I donÃt like about Apple stores is…well…it’s that they feel so precious. Each item a safe distance from its neighbor, laid out on its own bed of red velvet and surrounded by the polished hardwood du jour. Brookstone on steroids? Add to that picture the uppity Chestnut Hill Mall, and the so-called Genius Bar and ….Oh lordy.
While I was searching for flat panel font answers I stumbled on this site: http://daringfireball.net, specifically this page: http://daringfireball.net/2003/11/panther_text_rendering . ItÃs an informative, literate, Mac Blog site.
Comment by Michael — January 10, 2004 @ 8:23 am
What I like about Apple stores is…well…it’s that they feel so precious. Each item a graceful distance from its neighbor, laid out in its own respectful space and surrounded by the polished hardwood and gleaming white. Brookstone can only dream. Add to that picture the remote Rockingham Mall, and the helpful (though crassly-named) Genius Bar and …. Oh lordy — quite the “different” day trip.
http://daringfireball.net/2003/11/panther_text_rendering is indeed an informative, literate, Mac Blog site — thanks!!!
Comment by Adam — January 10, 2004 @ 10:09 am
MOUP? What does that mean? Mark knows me well to be sure, but mostly he wanted me home and didn’t want to deal with my obsessing. Alas, I know him well too.
Adam, I love your retort about the apple store. They are a bit “precious” but when you are only 5% of the population, might as well make a splash.
Comment by chris — January 10, 2004 @ 5:18 pm
Ok, yes, as I read the journey, I kept saying “return that lemon”.
Also thought about my new expensive monitor which I finally kept – only because I had already returned it’s less expensive predecessor.
Months later, after Dell replaced (and even upgraded) my video card – the fonts on my monitor became sharp & perfect.
Yes, my computer was/is crap.
But Dell stood behind it. Always responsive. Always wonderful. Unlike Apple – who couldn’t distance themselves fast enough from the problem. I bought my G4 when Apple had that rash of G4 problems. Somewhat similar to their current problems with Ipod batteries & laptops. Now if Dell bought Apple maybe we’d have the perfect company.
Comment by joan — January 12, 2004 @ 8:05 pm
Gee, I thought I was teling this story far from prying eyes,
Comment by brother — January 12, 2004 @ 8:44 pm