Gitzo Loc: Indiana

This may (or may not ) belong in The Attic, but inasmuch as it's the only place I ever post, I'm putting it here anyway!

I'm wondering........are there very many Mac users on UHH?

I have been having a dreadful time for quite some time when I'm using my computer, (a mid to late 2011 27 inch iMac ); I used to be about half way computer "savvy", but in the last few years I kinda got away from reading computer magazines and haven't been paying any attention much to what's happening in computer hardware; in the past year or so, I was noticing that my damn mouse was having less and less "control" over where the little arrow on the screen was going, and it was having less and less "effect" on the sliders when I was trying to scroll up and down.

I had been using Chrome as my browser most of the time, even though I also had Fire Fox loaded, but FF and Chrome both were having big problems with "plug-ins".

I figured that most of the problems that I was having were software related rather than hardware related; then, about a month ago, when I tried to log on, my screen came up with 5 or 6 equally spaced, vertical, 1/2 in. wide green bands, and that was as far as it would go; couldn't even get the display up and running.

Inasmuch as about the only place around Terre Haute that will work on Macs is the Best Buy Store, I took the Mac to the Apple Store in Indianapolis, (which is about a 175 mile round trip, up and back. )

At the genius bar in the Apple Store it took about 5 minutes to determine that my graphics card was "toast", and it costs $521 to have a new one put in; because I got more that 8 years out of my first iMac, (a 20 inch machine ), I decided to get the thing fixed; They said it would be ready in about a week. (mainly because Christmas was during that week )

That was trip #1 to Indianapolis.

When they called a week later, I made trip #2, brought the Mac back home, it started up instantly, and the display was the sharpest I had ever seen it! Now I'm happppy! Ha! my "happiness" lasted about 5 minutes! Now the damned arrow/pointer wouldn't move! Like it's glued in place!

This time the "genius" was a young lady; ( a very "nice" one at that, and VERY "tech savvy" to boot! ) It took her less than 5 minutes to find that now, even though the graphics card was working beautifully, now the damned logic board was between "working "kinda", then working "great" for a few minutes, then "not working AT ALL"; she then tells me.....a new logic board installed is $750! I'm quickly adding all this up in my head......now I'll have almost $1300 in a almost 5 yr old computer when I can buy a new one (that a lot more advanced, latest bells & whistles, etc ) for just another 5 or 6 "Franklins"; that decision took 6 seconds, but I'm thinking, the time to "get something" is before you agree to pay for it! So.....I started "negotiating";
Me; "you will transfer all data from THIS 27 in to the new one, right? They; "absolutely'! Me; "and all the data that was "supposed" to get transferred int this one from my old 20 in....., you'll do it as well, right? They; "for you, Gitzo, we'll not only do that, we'll even back it all up and also transfer it to the 2 TB external HD you mentioned having, but you'll have to make trip #3 to bring the 20 inch and the HD back to us.

When I did that, I took the the other old machine in along with the HD, took the "old" 27inch in home with me (which still has the brand new graphics card in it. ) That was trip #4

I forgot to mentioned, they gave me credit for the $521 I spent on repair when I paid for the new 27 inch machine.

Trip #5 back to the fruit store;

I had them set the thing up so I could ask "a few questions" about it.

Computers have changed a LOT in the last 5 years! I already knew this; what I didn't know though was, even though I have always despised cordless mice and cordless keyboards, the new iMac has both; when I told the guy this, he tells me......"you're gonna LOVE these though! Boy, was he ever right! Mainly because now, both items have high quality rechargeable li-ion batteries built in, and run for weeks before you need to recharge them, which takes an hour!

Now......about the "Magic Mouse"; (that's what they actually call the thing ) When I mentioned that I prefer a 2-button mouse with a scroll wheel, the guy shows me how the "Magic Mouse" works; the new mouse is only half as high as the old cordless mouse; but unlike the old one, on this one, the whole top side of it is like a "touch screen"; touch the right, left corner and you "left click"! Right front corner is a "right click"! a slight "forward" touch on it scrolls down, and a backward "touch"/rub scrolls UP! You can't appreciate how convenient, fast, and "satisfying" this is until you've used this thing!

Note: I DON'T work for Apple Computer! And I am definitely NOT attempting to "sell" anyone ANYTHING! What I'm only pointing out is, until you use a current iMac, you will have no idea of how satisfying it is to use one of these things!

So...do I now feel about "having to buy a new computer after not quite 5 years? Here's how.......I'm totally "tickled pink" that my "old" iMac had those problem! I'm more "satisfied" in the first week with this new machine running "El Capitan" than I was in the first 2 years with my first 27 inch iMac running "Lion". I hope everyone who is sick & tired of their old PC running Windows 10 (and getting "hacked" every other month) will treat themselves to trying out a new iMac.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Computers are just tools. There is no appreciable difference in working on a Mac and a state of the art Windows 10 machine. Maybe there was in the Windows 95 days, but not now. I know you're psyched with your new system, but believe me, the are just tools. IMHO

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

Interesting and informative story. As to the "Magic Mouse", I use one in lieu of my MacBook Pro trackpad when I'm home. I even have a soft leather case for travel. I tried the predecessor to the Magic Mouse and the Magic Track Pad, but have gone back to the Magic Mouse. Precise placement, no slippage (I call it skittering), ergonomic design and long battery life are great. My only complaint? When the computer says my mouse battery is low, it's dead! I wish I had a bit more warning, like thirty seconds to a minute! 8-)

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

IM on my third Mac, the first a Mac - Mini, #2 a and G5 Power Mac and now 2012 21.5 iMac, O/S 10.7.5, 2.5GHz Intel Core 5 ,16Gb 1333-DDR3 With a 2015, 27" Thunderbolt Monitor
and a Magic Mouse Which I think is the best mouse I have ever used, battery life is great and I can usually get about 4 more hrs of use after I get the low battery warning.


The Mac-Mini was a test run to see if I could easily operate a Mac, no problems really. The G5 upgrade was because the Mini was very slow with P/S7, only one minor problem with the G5, It would not accept my boot password, cost to repair $50, Upgrade to the iMac (because I could not afford the Mac-Pro I wanted } was because the G5 would not run Adobe CS6. Only problem at this writing is some damned fool put a sd card in the CD slot
:? Not pointing fingers His first initial is FranK

Capture48 Loc: Arizona

The magic mouse has been around for a few years at least. I just replaced mine with the new version. The first one I had burned through batteries like crazy. This one is rechargeable with a lightning connector, so we'll see how long it lasts.

Not to put a damper on your new MAC parade, but I doubt your logic board was the issue with the mouse. A wired mouse you can still buy for $30 and would have been a lot cheaper than a new computer, and would have allowed you to diagnose and see if any other problem arose. You could have ordered one from Amazon Prime and had it the next day. Might have saved you a few 175 mile trips. But I would say after 5 years it's probably time for a new computer anyway.

juicesqueezer Loc: Okeechobee, Florida

Hey Gitzo; after over 30 years with PC's, I bought a MacBook Pro right after Christmas. It sits along side my PC machine and both are great! Laptops have come a long ways and the track pad on this laptop is unbelievable. Very happy with the new purchase. Like you, I wanted a stand alone keyboard and mouse, but frankly, the track pad is working great for me. At 71, the Apple techs at the Nashville store gave me a high five for trying something new. I too am a happy camper!

SteveR Loc: Michigan

I've got two problems with the track pad. My son said MacPro was the best machine, so I bought the MacPro but loaded Windows 10 on it. My problem is that as the cursor crosses various items or pages, it pulls them up without me having to "click" on them. The second problem is that the cursor will move willy nilly to some other place in the paragraph rather than the end of where I have been typing.

juicesqueezer Loc: Okeechobee, Florida

I said I like the track pad, but I was talking about the laptop pad itself, not the stand alone one. Having used a laptop several years ago, the pad on the laptop now, works even better. Not sure if I would like a stand alone or the magic mouse. Read some reviews on it this morning and Cnet didn't give it the best.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

I switched to Mac after over 40 years in a Windows based systems. I am more than pleased. My first Apple product was in 2015 with a Macbook Pro. Next month I plan to get a 27" IMac.

SteveR Loc: Michigan

Did you load Windows 10 into your MacPro, Stan? Are you having any of the problems that I'm having? (see my post above)

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

I never use a mouse. Touch pad plus my computer has a touch screen. between the 2 I have never had a problemwith the pointer. Except the fact that I have no idea how the damn thing works, I think that there is a little man /woman inside whose main goal is to piss me off. I scream at him/her all the time.(the screaming doesn't work but it makes me feel as if I am in control)

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

I have been using an iMac since OS X Leopard.
I am currently using a late 2013 27 inch iMac with OS X El Capitan and use a Magic Mouse and Wireless Keyboard.
I am very happy with it.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Windows 10 is not in my Mac

Gitzo Loc: Indiana

Hey Juice.......trust me......this magic mouse is the slickest thing I've seen since power steering! I was constantly having a problem trying to find the sliders on the right edge of my windows..... with this thing, you don't even need them any more...all you have to do is left click any place on what you want to scroll up or down on and it make no difference where the cursor is, all you have to do is barely rub your finger tip back & forth on the top of the mouse and everything just goes back and forth like "magic"!

The keyboard comes with a 36 inch USB 3 cable (which I leave plugged into the computer; whenever I log off, I just plug the small end into the port on the magic mouse and it only takes an hour for it to get a full charge. Also, I forget where it is, but some place it tells you what percentage of charge the mouse has left; after a couple days of "all day" playing with the thing, when I plugged it in it still had 89% charge left; I'm guessing that you would only have to charge the thing maybe once a week or so.

So far, I haven't even taken the new wireless keyboard out of it's box; I had to spend $50 for a new keyboard a couple of years ago because I spilled my "ever present" coffee on the one that came with my first 27 inch iMac; when I bought this one I got it with a cable because I couldn't stand having to put new batteries in the other one that came with the iMac when I first bought it; the new one that came with this new iMac is just like this one, except it's only about 2/3 as long; it doesn't have the number pad on the right end and the four "up/down", "right/left" keys are all "jammed" together in the bottom right corner; I need to give keyboard a good cleaning because some of the keys are getting a little "grungy" and the new one looks so clean and new I'll probably juts leave it in the box and have it as a "back-up" in case I have another coffee accident.

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

Glitzy, it appears that you are using the Magic Mouse 2. The original Magic Mouse used AA batteries. I have to change batteries about every six months. As my batteries cost me twenty cents each, I will probably upgrade to the MM2 if and when my old mouse expires.