Throw Away the First Pancake – Is iMac G5 Ready for Prime Time?

In my private computer tutoring business I work with more Macs in one month than most readers will experience in a lifetime. Every new iMac G5 I’ve encountered during professional and personal travels has had a serious problem, including: hard drive in need of replacement, excessive fan noise, inability to perform online Software Updates, erratic Energy Saver Sleep mode, Bluetooth crashes, and constant buzzing sounds. Apple’s online discussions are full of these and other disorders.

I was happy to be able to give Barbara a G5 17″ iMac, and to spend many hours configuring it to her satisfaction. I was unhappy when problems occurred, but I worked through them over many more hours until the iMac was humming along. Problem is, the humming was more like a constant groaning noise.

Barbara endured my frustrations during days of troubleshooting, but she needed a working computer. Eventually we lost confidence in this particular iMac’s ability to satisfy our requirements. I was advised by a personal contact who had a similar series of problems to return the iMac to Amazon.com. The Amazon refund process for defective computers is straightforward, and UPS picked up the repackaged, software-restored iMac last night.

All my computers and cars are mature products, not in their first year of release. The iMac G5, from my experience, needs more product cycles until it is ready for Barbara and me to repurchase.

I’m self-employed, paid at an hourly rate. When I work I earn money, and when I don’t, I don’t. The time I devoted to fixing this iMac, plus configuring and installing, would have earned me most of its cost, including the extra 1 GB of TransIntl.com memory I acquired to enhance performance.

Put yourself in my situation, then decide if you want to criticize me for requesting a full refund, and not a repair or replacement. I have no negative comments on Amazon.com. Regarding Apple, tech support is consistently helpful and product quality is generally good, but is the iMac G5 in this initial version ready for prime time?

[Nemo]