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There have been quite a few, actually, especially during the '90s. Low End Mac has a nice list: http://lowendmac.com/2007/the-10-worst-macs-ever/ http://lowendm

by amyjess 10y ago

There have been quite a few, actually, especially during the '90s. Low End Mac has a nice list: http://lowendmac.com/2007/the-10-worst-macs-ever/ http://lowendmac.com/2007/the-10-worst-macs-ever/ The first item on the list contains this gem: > Anyhow, Apple put a 32-bit CPU on a 16-bit bus and created a monstrosity that worked okay as long as you didn’t use the modem or a network connection. And the PowerBook 5300 was on the honorable mentions list. I remember that machine: it was notorious for the batteries catching on fire. And I've got personal experience with one of the machines on the honorable mention list, the Performa 630: the IDE hard drive was the bane of my existence back then, and the use of the execrable 68LC040 meant I was locked out of using certain software. Oh, and here's another, much longer, list, from the same website: http://lowendmac.com/2014/road-apples-second-class-macs/ http://lowendmac.com/2014/road-apples-second-class-macs/

mikeash 10y ago
Yeah, there were some pretty bad ones in 90s. If they were not as contentious, it's only because people's expectations for Apple were far lower back then. Consider, for example, the original Power Mac G4 release. There were three levels available: 400MHz, 450MHz, and 500MHz. Turns out Apple had overreached with the 500MHz speed, so they had to roll it back to 350/400/450. Quite an embarrassment at a time when Apple was struggling to convince people that their PowerPC chips outperformed Intel and were therefore worth a bunch of extra money. The new MacBook Pro is a pretty decent machine. It has some typical first-generation hardware problems, and the design certainly doesn't make everybody happy, but it's not bad. And Apple has released outright bad machines in the past.
- ardaozkal 10y ago
  Yes, but those were times where computer design was still being experimented on a lot. Apple has much more knowledge and resources now, Their products having issues like these, in 2016, is pretty unacceptable.
  - mikeash 10y ago
    That's what I'm getting at when I say that expectations used to be much lower.

by amyjess 10y ago

mikeash 10y ago

Yeah, there were some pretty bad ones in 90s. If they were not as contentious, it's only because people's expectations for Apple were far lower back then. Consider, for example, the original Power Mac G4 release. There were three levels available: 400MHz, 450MHz, and 500MHz. Turns out Apple had overreached with the 500MHz speed, so they had to roll it back to 350/400/450. Quite an embarrassment at a time when Apple was struggling to convince people that their PowerPC chips outperformed Intel and were therefore worth a bunch of extra money. The new MacBook Pro is a pretty decent machine. It has some typical first-generation hardware problems, and the design certainly doesn't make everybody happy, but it's not bad. And Apple has released outright bad machines in the past.

ardaozkal 10y ago
Yes, but those were times where computer design was still being experimented on a lot. Apple has much more knowledge and resources now, Their products having issues like these, in 2016, is pretty unacceptable.
- mikeash 10y ago
  That's what I'm getting at when I say that expectations used to be much lower.