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Apple Archive

Macs Last and Last, but What About Apple Monitors?

- 2004.01.23

The other day I switched on my beige G3 in order to type up an English essay. I logged in and left it at the desktop while I went to get something. While I was coming back, I decided I'd type the essay on my PowerBook - that way I could edit it in the morning before classes started and print it out at school.

Perhaps that was the right decision. After I finished my essay, I went to turn off my beige G3. The screen was black, so I assumed it had gone to sleep. Moving the mouse did nothing, and neither did typing on the keyboard.

I figured that it must have somehow frozen, and I pushed control-command-power in order to restart the machine. I heard the chime; the light on the monitor went orange. After a few seconds, the light turned green again, but there was no picture. Meanwhile I could hear the hard drive spinning.

It didn't take me too long to figure out that the monitor was dead and the machine was working fine. The biggest problem: I had notated a piano piece I had written for my Music Theory class on that machine, and it was due in two days. Two days to get a new monitor, or borrow one from another machine. Unfortunately, since this machine still has the old-style Mac monitor connector, I can't use any of the PC monitors we have without an adapter, the last of which I gave away.

I ended up borrowing a monitor that is also on it's way out (after flickering a few times). At least I was able to print out that piano piece.

What is it with monitors, though? It seems like almost every monitor I've ever owned has died within a few years. The G3's monitor was six years old, but I've used monitors older than that, and they generally have worked fine. My grandmother's monitor is from 1992. It works perfectly. Then again, the one I had connected to my PC died last year, and that was roughly the same age as the Apple one that died this past week. Oh, and you can't forget my mom's iMac, which had it's monitor portion fail in 2001.

Do I sense a decrease in manufacturing quality when it comes to monitors? I honestly am not sure who made Apple monitors in 1998, but they certainly weren't as well made as some of the previous models, most notably the 14" Apple Colour Display in 1993-94, as well as the original 13" RGB Display that was available when the Mac II shipped in 1987.

Then again, my 1996 Apple MultiScan 15 monitor died somewhere in 2002. It was purchased used, along with my Performa 6115 at the beginning of 1999. At least I managed about four years out of it (I got more out of the monitor than the computer).

It's still a bit disturbing when you have a better chance of getting a working twelve-year-old monitor than a working six-year-old one. This makes me wonder about the quality of current Apple monitors. I used to own a 17" Apple Studio Display (the last with a CRT, which featured a clear back and sides). It was an amazing monitor - the picture was sharp and clear, and the monitor itself looked awesome. It worked great for the two years I had it, but how much longer would it have lasted? It might last another three. Or it might last ten.

How about the LCD monitors Apple is currently selling? With an LCD either the backlight or the cable would probably die before the flat panel does, which is generally what has happened with PowerBook screens.

LCD flat panels are also a bit more fragile than CRTs. Unless packed carefully, anything just a little bit too heavy leaning against or sitting on top of the LCD could cause it to crack. Of course, putting something like a bowling ball on top of a CRT monitor would destroy it, too.

Last year I ended up getting yet another CRT-type monitor for my PC: a CTX 19" display, which, at $150, I thought was a good deal.

And at least it has a decent warranty.

Recent Apple Archive articles

iPods, notebooks, and other modern electronics more readily replaced than repaired, 12.07. Whether it's an intermittent failure or a broken display cable, more often than not it's cheaper to replace a broken electronics device than repair it.
Options for replacing your older iPod, 11.19. Whether you've run out of space on your old iPod or want features it doesn't have, here are your options in new and used iPods.
Could the $200 'green' PC with gOS Linux become a threat to Apple?, 11.14. The low cost, low power Everex desktop comes with a customized version of Ubuntu Linux, has a Mac-like Dock, and sells for $400 less than the Mac mini.
Leopard different, a bit buggy, but worth the upgrade, 11.02. Leopard on a Power Mac G4 and a MacBook Pro: It runs well on both computers, but each has some odd bugs, and some of the changes are a step backwards.
More in the Apple Archive index.

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Mac of the Day: 17" iMac G4/800 MHz, July 2002 - The iMac 'grows up' with a 17" 1440 x 900 display.
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November 8 in LEM history: 99: OS 9: I think I like it - 01: The simplified Mac life - Soured on Windows - Flea market Mac - 02: Little room for improvement in new 'Books - Combo drive upgrade for iceBooks - 04: Re-Porter - 05: Fix the old iMac or buy a Mac mini? - Apple's Copland project - 06: MacBook Core 2 - MacBook value equation - Cheap is as cheap does - 07: Problems with Classic mode in Tiger - The G4 Power Mac that won't run Leopard
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