How Apple makes more profit on their systems...

[Alex Hewitt]

Shawn O'Shea wrote:
>
>
>
>     >
>     How about just "wrong information"? If you click on Tech Specs it
>     tells
>     you you need an adapter to connect to VGA. Scroll down the page
>     and you
>     see "Confiure to order" (which is definitely the Mac Mini) and
>     "Accessories". In the "Accessories" list with a clickable link is
>     "Apple
>     Mini-DVI to VGA Adapter" and when you click on this link you get
>     "tadah", the wrong adapter. So you ordered this system online and when
>     you receive it you will wait a while longer when you discover that you
>     can't hook it up to your VGA monitor.
>
> Ok, I did that. I got this product page:
> http://store.apple.com/us/product/M9320G/A
> "Apple Mini DVI to VGA Adapter"
>
> What is wrong with that? I will also note that the current model Mac 
> Mini has *two* video out ports as noted on the tech specs page 
> "Mini-DVI port" and "Mini DisplayPort output". I can confirm this 
> having purchased, installed and physically handled one.

Believe it or not, that's an adapter that will fit an iMac but not the 
new Mac Mini. I have 3 different Macs in my office. A Macbook (Intel), 
an iMac (G5) and several Mac Minis. All 3 systems use different display 
port adapters. It's kind of mind boggling actually. The adapter you 
really need to connect a new Mac Mini to a VGA monitor is this one:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB572Z/A

Cost's $10 more (no idea why) but correctly matches the connector on the 
back of the new Mac Mini and definitely works with most VGA monitors.


>
>  
>
>     This whole discussion is interesting because the participants are all
>     highly skilled technical people. We see things through the eyes of
>     engineers who well know that the devil is in the details. My
>     friends who
>     I accompanied to the Apple store are "civilians". There's no way they
>     would have gotten this right and that was my original
>     observation/complaint.
>
> I agree. Tje nuances of VGA vs DVI vs DisplayPort vs Mini-DVI vs 
> Mini-DisplayPort (and other such technorati-speak) are indeed outside 
> the purvue of the lay-computer person. I'm sorry you received subpar 
> support from an Apple Store employee, because that what it sounds like 
> you got.

It was really my fault that he didn't get to do more. I knew exactly 
what was needed and kept him from wrapping his arms around the pretty 
$900 24" Apple Cinema display. He made a valiant attempt to sell the 
extended warranty but my friends weren't interested. They may regret 
their decision but Minis are usually very reliable.

Generally I've found the Apple employees at the Salem store to be quite 
competent. I helped my brother-in-law purchase a nice 24" iMac about a 
year ago and the employee suggested we drive up one exit (exit 2 off of 
93) and purchase a 4 GB memory upgrade for about one third the price of 
the Apple option. Took less then 5 minutes to
upgrade the system.

-Alex

>
> -Shawn
>

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