I'm really beginning to hate Apple and their Mac App Store

I've been an Apple Macintosh user since 1993.  I'd been using various Atari computers and played with a IBM L40SX laptop computer for about two years when the PS/2 mouse port died.  At that point, the US$6000 laptop computer that I bought for roughly $1500 was too expensive to repair and the contract required a solution.  They gave me $1000 and asked me to give them the computer.  I agreed.  Windows 3.1 had been a royal pain and DOS, more of a pain.

I eagerly went to OfficeMax and bought a Mac Performa something or other.  In any case, it's been a long time and several machines.

Before the PowerPC years, they were stuck because Motorola couldn't deliver a more powerful processor than the 68040.  The System 7 operating system because Mac OS 8 after they couldn't figure out what they were doing and scrapped the real Mac OS 8.  Mac OS 8.5 was a substantial difference, as were 9.0, 9.1, and 9.2.  Unfortunately, the MultiFinder architecture for cooperative multi-tasking was ancient.  Steve Jobs' return with NeXTStep made a difference.  Thanks go to Ellen Hancock.

It has been a horribly bumpy road and as Mac OS X hit 10.3.4, it became good enough to forget dual-booting into Mac OS 9.2.2 forever.  Unfortunately, 10.4.10 was probably the last full quality release.  Sadly, Windows of the time wasn't good and Linux was only usable by people who enjoyed frustration.

As of Mac OS X 10.7, Apple started to bring the frustration and Windows 7 started to bring ease-of-use.  The whole Mac App Store and downloading the operating system was messed up and still is.  It's amazing how I can download system software smoothly but the applications from the Mac App Store are usually problematic in downloads.  Apple doesn't test for real life, apparently.  When I had contacted the Mac App Store support, it was a problem with two or three applications, with other applications working fine in the downloads between the problematic ones.  I was told that whatever problems I was having was my problem, not theirs.

My latest mid-2012 MacBook Pro is working on 10.9.5, even though it started on 10.7.  It wasn't easy to get there.  I was going to drop off my machine at the Apple Store to be updated to 10.10.5 but I waited a bit too long and they removed the option.

Unfortunately, all this mess with the Mac App Store has left me in a mess that I found today.  I can't open my spreadsheet files that the current version of Numbers has been updating.  Somehow, the files were somehow upgraded to a newer version than what I have, in a failed download from the Mac App Store just after I updated to 10.9.5.

I was trying to update my spreadsheet with serial numbers.  Now, I only have a .pdf version of it.  As well, my Pages files complained but they worked.

Now, I have a machine I don't trust much.  I'm wondering if anything else has gone wrong.  Thankfully (and hopefully), I'm limited to Apple's applications and their ridiculous application store.

Given that I recently picked up a Windows 10 machine, I'm thinking that Apple could lose my business.  I'm betting that Corel wants my money for office software, as well as, creative software.  Phase One already has Windows versions and besides, the newest version for Mac doesn't run on anything but the latest 10.11.x operating system.  I think my Apple Care plan has been finished, so I don't have any easy way to upgrade the operating system.

I'm not saying that the US$750 machine could replace my US$2300 machine for speed but functionality probably isn't a problem.

I never thought that I would say that any version of Windows was smoother than Mac OS X but it's pretty much the truth.  Windows 7 proved that Microsoft could make Windows get out of the way when you just wanted to work.  It wasn't foolproof but it was much better than all of the previous versions.

Windows 10 seems to greatly improve on that.  The Windows App Store works brilliantly well.  Being able to use touch-enabled displays is interesting and it works but it doesn't seem great yet.  Folding the laptop computer into different shapes works well enough, but it doesn't automatically switch enough automagically.  They'll probably get there.  They want the desktop back.  I might be willing after all these years.

Update 2015.12.30: I was trying to download Evernote several times--at least, 6, from the Purchases pages, since it wouldn't work from the Update page and I noticed a problem with Numbers--from last year after my computer was updated to 10.9.5.  It never completed while inside of the Apple Store on their network.

Having been at the car dealership for service today, I used their network, which isn't any faster than my mobile hotspot to update everything but it worked.  I know that I shouldn't trust open networks, but it worked, rather than my safe mobile hotspot.  I can access my spreadsheets again.  Apple needs to test in real-life situations, not just the best, easiest situations.

There are several versions of the iWork applications since then, and they show up in Incompatible Updates, along with the latest version (4.0.0) of Twitter.  How is it that they could be incompatible when they shouldn't be tied so closely to the operating system?  I'm remembering how Microsoft Office was using hidden APIs to make it faster than the competition and yet, the DoJ under George W Bush ignored this kind of thing and wanted to watch their accounting practices instead.

Apple seems to be just as back-handed some days.  Why should Safari updates require a restart when Chrome and Firefox updates don't.

In any case, the road is smoother but it will become bumpy again, I'm sure.

Update 2016.01.27: Since upgrading to 10.11.3, the Mac App Store seems somewhat better.  I'll wait to see how it handles non-Apple applications before saying that it's running smoothly, but I have hopes.

At the Apple Store, connected by their Ethernet, I couldn't make a Mac App purchase

I regularly criticize the people behind the Mac App Store.  I call them all sorts of names because simple things don't work and if you ask for help, the support people know almost nothing and handle almost nothing.  For a company whose service is supposedly a high point in the industry, the company should be fixing this weak point.

e.g., I had a situation where the Twitter and Typist applications could not be downloaded.  Other applications could be downloaded within the same time frame, but (only) those two downloads would not happen for anything.  System software updates were fine.  I was told that my connection was the problem.

So, yesterday, I was at the Kenwood Towne Center mall, at the Apple Store to buy AppleCare for my almost 1 year old refurbished MacBook Pro.  While I was there, I talked about buying Final Cut Pro, and the associate went to some lengths to get me an Ethernet cable and a direct connection to their intranet, so that I could buy and download it.

I had not updated my debit card's information.  The Mac App Store looped and looped and looped, as I furiously attempted to update the information again and again.  I finally disconnected, put things away, and left the store.  I never saw that associate again, so I couldn't thank him once more.  Once I was home hours later, I was able to fix the information.

Seeing MacRumors earlier, there appears to be a widespread issue: http://www.macrumors.com/2013/12/05/some-users-unable-to-log-in-to-app-store-due-to-fatal-error/

Apple is such a mix of great design, haphazard testing, and a don't-care attitude.  That they're ahead of the rest of the industry suggests that we should all feel sad that things are that pathetic.  I noticed that a lot of my co-workers in various software development assignments weren't disciplined, and the code they wrote was sloppy in the extreme.  You would think that Apple, Google, and Microsoft would have the best design, coding, and testing procedures in the business, but none of them do.  A smaller company like Adobe should be better, but they're even worse.  At least, when John Warnock was there, they seemed to care about more than money.

In any case, Apple missed a sale, although I doubt they're crying about that.

2012 Refurbished MacBook Pro, One Year Later

It's difficult to believe that it's been a year since I ordered this MacBook Pro.  After three years of daily use, my 2009 MacBook was showing its age and lack of capacity.  Today, I bought an AppleCare extended warranty, just in case.

My main photo raw development software, Phase One Capture One 7, was pushing the system.  6 GB of RAM just didn't seem to be enough, and it would grind away at the hard drive swapping processes' information, leaving me with a few Megabytes of free working memory.  The 750 GB 7200 rpm hard drive was still too slow to really do a great job when I handed it a basketball game with 1000 photos.  The transfer of images over USB 2.0 didn't help.

I'd been watching the refurbished machines for a while.  I choose refurbished machines from Apple because they've been through a bit of trouble and repaired and checked again.  The prior two machines (late 2004 1.33 GHz PowerBook G4 and 2009 2.13 GHz MacBook worked quite well as my main machine, and they still work well), so buying another refurbished machine was the best way to go.  I didn't mind the savings, either.

I really wanted the 15.4 inch display but with the 1680x1050 resolution and anti-glare display.  I missed buying the PowerBook with the 1440x960 display to save a bit, and with photo resolution becoming larger all the time, I could use a denser monitor.  However, finding the higher resolution and anti-glare property at the same time was difficult, and the extra cash made me think twice.  Still, it has the nVidia GeForce GT 650M, which is used by OpenCL to aid in computational math, a feature than Capture One Pro 7 uses.

As my photo processing was taking 3-4 times as long, I decided on a 2.6 GHz i7 MacBook Pro with the typical 1440x900 resolution and the glossy display.  Inexplicably, the company chooses to use a 5400 rpm drive, and 750 GB or not, it's not fast enough for work or games, really.

The day after I ordered it, I placed an order with OtherWorld Computing for two 8 GB RAM sticks.  They were "only" about US$100.  Contrast this to 1993 when I bought a 72 pin SIMM with 32 MB of RAM (for the Quadra/LC/Performa 475/476) for $1040, or 3 rebuilt 16 KB Atari RAM cards (for the Atari 800) for $108 in 1983.  16 GB was the most the model would support and I wasn't going to be held back by the hard drive speed.

Apple managed to push me from Snow Leopard on the MacBook to Mountain Lion on the new MacBook Pro.  It was very, very broken, and it was a pain in the ass because I had to download it all over again to put it on another drive, a 750 GB 7200 rpm drive that I'd been using in the MacBook.  Thankfully, I was able to use the connection of a repair shop that was convenient, as I was familiarizing them with Apple technology.

When I'd got the thing running correctly, I noticed that my batch processing of photos was driving the machine to over 100 degrees C, with all four processor cores running, along with the extra 4 virtual cores.  It's still close to that but under 100 degrees C these days.

After a month or two, I changed to a 480 GB SSD, which fixed a lot of the speed problems.  Not only was photo processing much quicker, but games were loading reasonably well, and even Valve's games weren't stuck with "LOADING" long enough for me to get a drink.

Seeing the recent, new Retina-only models made me think that I'd bought the correct machine for me.  I still need an optical drive.  The nVidia 650M is strong enough for me, at the moment.  Being forced into OS X Mavericks/10.9 doesn't seem like a good idea, enhanced battery life or not.  Thin may be in, but Apple's machines become hot too easily.  This one is indicating 40 degrees C and it's actually chilly to the touch.

I'm hoping to get 3-4 years out of it before I need to buy another machine.  By then, photo resolution may have increased again, depending on the ability to miniaturize, and I'll need a stronger machine.  I might even be on 10.9.x by then, because I know that they won't have fixed 10.8.x further.  Maybe, they'll have the Mac App Store fixed by then.

I wonder if we'll even have typical laptop computers by then, or whether they'll mostly be hybrid tablets with keyboards at that point.  In any case, I'll be sticking to a slightly older, 100% guaranteed to be refurbished machine, and I'll be happy with it because it will work well.  Hopefully, this one will still be happy by then.

If you're wondering, I'm still using the 2004/2005 PowerBook G4 and the 2009 MacBook.  They work just fine but they're not exceptionally powerful for photo processing.

Update 2015.08.15: It's getting close to three years that I've had this computer.  It's still what I use daily.  It's been through a lot, including having flipped into the air and it landed upside down on the floor.  It's more several months since then, and it's fine.

In November 2014, I had the closest Apple Store update it to OS X 10.9.5 and it has been reasonable.  I need to have it updated to 10.10.5 now that it is available.

Making videos with it, it seems to struggle a bit.  I looked for a computer running Windows, but they were running about the same amount of money for similar resolutions and power.

I gave away the 2009 MacBook to someone who had helped me set up my apartment but it wasn't extremely powerful with those nVidia graphics.

I keep looking at the recent MacBook Pro models and I have to go with a Retina model to get something current.  They're not easy to customize after the sale.  It's better since they've been out a while, and OWC has had time to figure out some options.  It still seems a guessing game as to what Apple will do next.  The latest 15.x inch MacBook Pro models haven't had a good CPU upgrade for a while.  Since the Back-to-School sale is in progress, updates should be out soon.

Mac App Store and iTunes' support = PITA

It's funny how everything is my fault, so on numerous occasions, I'll say to people "Oh, that was my fault." and they'll reply something like "...but it was on the other side of the world, so you couldn't have anything to do with it."

When dealing with Apple, I've come to see them no different as a cable TV provider or mobile phone carrier.  They never take the blame.

I've been trying to update the Typist/タイピスト and Twitter applications on latest computer, with a lot of trouble.  It changes to download in the Mac App Store application and immediately changes to Installed, without downloading anything.  I can understand that Typist is a problem because the Mac App Store didn't deal with an English name change.  I ended up deleting that application and it was then able to be updated/replaced/installed.

I was told that the problem was my internet connection.

Mind, I went to my older machine with several applications to update, some updated just fine in-between Typist and Twitter, but the latter two won't be updated.  They're stubborn.  However, it's my internet connection that's at fault...or so they say.

It reminds me of Sprint telling me that the phone is at fault when I've had 4 of their phones doing the exact same thing in this location.  That's another story, but they've recently fixed their data problems apparently when they did a voice upgrade.  They claim that there was never a problem.

Besides the two applications, I downloaded a movie via iTunes and a free code with a Blu-Ray combo pack.  I had to go to a phone/computer repair shop where they have a great connection.  Unfortunately, iTunes downloaded everything but couldn't finish integrating the pieces, so I had two 3.5 GB download.m4v files and another file with the movie title.ite

Of course, Apple's response was to delete that and re-download, using the check for unfinished downloads.  It was finished, so it doesn't show up.

Clearly, Apple tests only the best-case scenarios.  They likely have a really great internet connection for all their employees and the employees probably have great connections at home.  They don't go away from the SF Bay Area and test on mobile hotspots or dialup connections.

Now that they have many, many customers (unlike, say 1995), they don't care whether you're a customer or not and it shows in their customer service.

I got a final answer from customer service, who want me to contact AppleCare.  Unless AppleCare has changed to resolve issues not related to warranty service, I don't understand this move:

I had the matter escalated once again, and unfortunately, I was advised have you contact our AppleCare Technical Support team. We cannot find other information that can assist you with the issues you are encountering:

USA: 1-800-275-2273

Contacting Apple for support and service
http://support.apple.com/kb/HE57

Please understand that we can only provide basic troubleshooting steps since we are not completely trained for technical issues.

If our AppleCare Technical Support team is unable to correct the issue, I also recommend asking them to connect you to our Account Security team for verification. They will be able to contact our Tier 2 advisors and possibly run tests on your account.

Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. I'll be more than happy to assist you with whatever you need. Thank you for the chance to improve your iTunes experience. Have a great day, Curt.

Sincerely,

 I got a survey request today.  I was honest that it was a terrible experience.  I questioned why these groups weren't integrated and would pass me indirectly.  I also mentioned that they need to do some real world testing, since they apparently don't do that.  Does everyone have a high speed internet connection?  When Apple took Mac OS X 10.7/Lion away from physical media, they knew that their user base was upset.  Steve Jobs answered an e-mail by telling the person that they could go to the physical Apple store to download it.  Unfortunately, that could be a 300 mile (probably more) trip for some people.  Real world, what's that?  I'm sure there are plenty of people who would love to have my craptacular connection, as it's much better than what they have.  It's no wonder people abuse their employer's connection.

Update 2014.03.03: I'm using an LTE connection now, at roughly 10-12 Mbps down, and the Mac App Store software does the same thing.  It's as though they don't actually test the connection, they just assume something, anything and try something, anything else and it doesn't work.  Then, they push you to the Purchases page to try again, even when you're on the Purchases page.

I even had an incident a couple of months ago where I couldn't buy something in a physical Apple Store, with an Ethernet cable connected to their internal network.