ut over 2 years since I made the leap to a Mac (Mac-Mini) after getting tired of having to diagnose and re-diagnose mostly software conflicts in my previously owned PC's. All I wanted to do is really get some work done on my computer and have it work when I needed it to do so in an application. Many will say that any and all issues can be addressed with the PC if directed to the right place but who exactly knows what that means after all I'm no newbie at this. I have been involved
in electronics since 1975 and personal computers since they first starting appearing as toys on the market, yes toys not taken seriously. So looking at the specifications of the Mac-Mini and its ability to use MS Windows OS as well to make the transition easier, I made the leap at a relatively low cost (almost, less then $1k and thats without a monitor). I was surprised to see that this ignored computer by most was really quite good and very functional and a whole new world opened up for me in computer use. Mind you I had tried previous versions of the Apple computers in the past but none seemed to satisfy my need or hunger as a enthusiast in electronics to own, let alone the pricing of this very poorly market supported device (little software and or games). Many will recall and even today just how few software title there are for the Mac as compared to the PC's but quantity doesn't always transform to usability or stability. The PC compatible Microsoft OS based realm was (and still is) unstable at the very least but it is getting better. Most enterprises still use PC's and there preferred OS from Microsoft so they will not disappear anytime soon but they suffered in the last few years this and other flaws.
I made sure that my newly purchased memory matched the specifications required (bus speed, type) and I also rechecked it through the 3rd parties online seller utility plus descriptions (supplier has a good reputation of supplying memory for all types of computers including many Mac's). The new OS recognized it, identified it and passed it in its pre-boot test process and OS. The only place where I saw that memory was not being recognized was in the "Activity Monitor" application built-into the OSX. It reported a total of 3GB for use, missing 1gb. The other day I called into Apple's support system to ask a very logical question about memory usage or recognition on my Mac Mini I upgraded to improve the performance. I saw no logical reason to believe it would not be recognized properly but that did not happen. What I got from Apple's support system at the other end was a scripted tech response locked down to illogical conclusions and useless chatter even though it was politely done. I explained that I went from 2GB of ram to 4GB and that the old and the new OSX recognized it as being there and functional (pre-boot testing). The representative still insisted that my Mac Mini model would not function or recognize anything higher then 2 gb but he was wrong. The 1GB, a major loss and what poor reflection on the claims of 64 bit performance advantages as described online at Apple's web site.
My newly installed memory is working somewhat properly with the exception of what I explained but I saw no real reason to believe the new memory was either bad, incompatible with the computer or the wrong type for it. The Apple representative refused to acknowledge the OS & devices acceptance of the hardware upgrade discounting it to be a fallacy or lie on my part. The last advise I got from Apple representative was to buy a newer Mac Mini or an Apple computer that would accept more memory, of course through Apple only with a pricy tag (bad economy, don't have money to waste besides my Mac is still good or maybe they just want to stop supporting it like my old IPhone 2G, phasing them out). I decided that I'm not going to spend any more money in another Apple product (for now) and it really puts into question whether or not I should even invest in the future in any Apple product if this is the approach they will take. It almost appears like an orphaned group of products being abandoned by Apple's hierarchy. Customer service is lacking a bit right now or support depends way too much on reading a scripted screen for support answers but I'm hopeful it will change and more experienced logical thinking staff are hired soon to answer the phones of serious customers with an IQ higher then a chimpanzee, we can only hope.
