Presentation 2

Describe how to locate the AppleCare name for a Product: Currently Apple has 6 product lines. The iMac, Mac Mini, Mac Pro, MacBook, MacBook Pro and the XServe. Although it is not as big of an issue with current products, previous product lines (The iMac, Mac Mini, eMac, Power Mac G5, iBook G4, PowerBook G4, and XServe) had many different models that were under the same product line. So although the product you are working on may look similar to one product, it may be completely different in terms of hardware and how you go about repairing them. Therefore, if you do not know the correct name of an Apple product, you may not do a good job of repairing it and waste valuable time. To get around this issue, AppleCare (Apple’s division for technical support), gives each new model a distinctive name. This distinctive name is called the AppleCare name (of the product) and it will appear on all service materials for that particular release. In order to find the AppleCare name (It will not be directly written on the Apple Product) you will first need to find the serial number. There are two distinctive ways of locating the serial number of a product. If you could not boot into the system, you would try to look on the system for the Serial Number. For example, the Serial Number for a MacBook is located underneath the battery. The Serial Number for a Mac Pro is located directly below the video card. If you could still not find the serial number, you could always view the Knowledge Base Article 303372 which will describe to you the location of the serial number. You could also, if the system was bootable, open System Profiler  and then click on Hardware. Now with the serial number, you have two options to determine the AppleCare name. If you have access to GSX, on the home page, you could enter the serial number and perform a coverage check. On the next page it will give you the AppleCare name. Now if you do not have access to GSX, you could always head to the Apple Support page, and on the right, enter the serial number of the product. From this, you could also get the AppleCare name of the product. These areas are called coverage check access points for obvious reasons. State the Key Features and benefits of a specified Macintosh System iMac G3 The First iMac G3 (revealed on 10/17/98) was a revolutionary system. It had introduced a new “all-in-one” design for Mac systems in a way that it was attractive and extremely useful.

One way that the iMac G3 was attractive was that the hardware was all enclosed in a beautiful colored shell. While earlier iMac G3 systems were just one color, later iMac G3 systems started to feature unique color designs and patterns. One way that the iMac G3 design was useful was that it featured a handle that was built into the case. This became very useful for technicians who needed to carry the iMac G3. All iMac G3 machines featured a CRT screen. The First iMac G3 had featured a 233 MHz processor, a tray loading drive, two USB ports (no firewire), and only weighed about 40 lbs. The next set of iMac G3’s (released 1/5/99) had increased the processor speed, the minimum HD, and the speed of the CD Drive. On the outside, these iMac G3’s came in a broader spectrum of color. Now you could have a Strawberry, Blueberry, Grape, Lime or Tangerine colored iMac G3. The next set of iMac G3’s introduced something radical. Instead of featuring a Tray Loading CD Drive, the iMac G3’s now came with a Slot Loading CD Drive. For the next three releases of the iMac G3, Apple had just updated and upgraded the hardware. They added things such as Airport, the “Odyssey” audio system, bigger Hard Drives, and PCI slots. However, aesthetically the iMac G3 had featured designs they called “Blue Dalmatian” and “Flower Power”. Apple’s last iMac G3, released 7/1/01, had bumped the processor speed to a max of 700MHz and added ATI Rage graphic cards. At this point in Apple’s life, their market share had been declining. So Steve Jobs decided to design a new Apple System from the ground up. The benefits of this system was that it packed a punch for its small size, was an all-inone system that users could easily place anywhere, and it was overall much more appealing than their previous products. Although they might not satisfy the professional movie editor, the iMac G3 was Apple’s solution to the consumer’s desktop requirements. iMac G4 The iMac G4, released in January of 2002, had gotten rid of the CRT screens and replaced them with beautiful and elegant LCD displays. Overall the iMac G4 had a unique form factor that, unfortunately, made it difficult for the processor to be cooled and made it difficult for parts

replacement. The LCD Screen in all iMac G4 systems were very unique. They were attached to the body of the computer, a round, white dome, with two pivoting connectors. This means that the screen could be adjusted in any way. The First iMac G4 system (best standard configuration) featured a 17 inch widescreen-LCD, 800 MHz G4 processor, 80GB Hard Drive, a Tray Loading SuperDrive, and NVIDIA GeForce graphics. Other configurations included the NVIDIA graphics and a 15 (4:3 Resolution) inch LCD display. The next iMac G4 system, released 2/4/03, had bumped up the available processor speed to 1 GHz! It also provided internal Bluetooth (optional on some systems). The next iMac G4 system, released 9/8/03, had provided USB 2.0 support. It also had featured the first 20 inch widescreen LCD display on a iMac G4 system. The Benefits of an iMac G4 system was that it had utilized the LCD display to save a lot of space, had the LCD display mounted on pivoting points so that the consumers could easily adjust the display to their specific viewing level and overall looked much more appealing than other systems on the market. In the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) an iMac G4 is on display due to its beauty. iMac G5 The iMac G5 once again was a breakthrough in the computing and design fields. Released on 8/31/04, it featured a brand new form factor that had, much like the iMac G3, the screen and hardware in one casing. The obvious difference between a G3 and a G5 iMac is that the iMac G5 featured an LCD display. The iMac G5 had also removed the tray loading drive and introduced the slot loading drives once again, just to save space. The first iMac G5 had featured either 1.6 or 1.8 GHz processors, NVIDIA GeForce graphics, (maximum) 20 inch Widescreen Display, and a (maximum standard) 160 GB HD. The next iMac G5, released on 5/3/05, had important hardware upgrades. The first important one was the introduction of the Ambient Light Sensor. The Ambient Light Sensor would allow for the automatic control of brightness, something other computers could not do. The second update was the introduction of a 2.0 GHz G5 processor. This, at the time, was the fastest processor in an iMac G5. The final iMac G5, released on 10/12/05, had once again upgraded the hardware in a unique ways. For the first time

in any computer, the iMac G5 featured built in iSight! It had also boosted the processor speed to 2.1 GHz and featured ATI Radeon Graphics cards. Finally, Apple introduced Front Row, an application that utilized an IR Remote and IR Receiver so that the consumer could view their multimedia content in a brand new and unique way. At the time, the iMac G5 was the best computer that a consumer could buy. It was a beautiful, but powerful machine that cost next to nothing considering the hardware that was built into it. The later model had also featured Front Row, a revolutionary and awesome program. Overall the iMac G5 was a huge breakthrough in personal computing. Intel-Based iMacs Apple had started the revolutionary transition to intel chipsets with the iMac. The intel-based iMacs stuck with the same form factor as the iMac G5 with iSight, but gave them a huge hardware upgrade. Instead of featuring solo processors, iMacs now had intel core duo processors. The first intel-based iMac was introduced on 1/10/06. It featured (maximum) a 2 GHz intel core duo processor and contained much of the same hardware as the iMac G5. The next release of the intel-based iMac, introduced on 9/6/06, had supplied the iMac with intel core 2 duo processors and bumped the maximum processor up to 2.16 GHz. They had also increased the screen size to a maximum of 24 inches. Overall, the Intel-Based iMacs were just iMac G5s with intel processors. The benefits of owning an intel-based iMac was that you were able to have better processing speeds and were able to run windows, as well as tiger, on the same machine. eMac The first eMac was released on April 29, 2002 as the replacement of the iMac G3. These eMacs cost much less than the iMac G4, but mixed the elegance of the iMac G3 and the iMac G4 together. The eMac featured a full white casing, 17 inch CRT display, a G4 Processor, slot loading optical drive, and contained NVIDIA GeForce graphics. As the years passed, the eMac was slowly upgraded. On May 6th, 2003, the graphics card was upgraded to ATI Radeon Graphics and the eMac now could support a superdrive. The Processor was also upgraded to 1 GHz. On April 13th, 2004, USB 2.0 support was added. On May 6th, 2005, Apple upgraded the eMac to its best, including a 1.25 or 1.42

processor. Overall, the eMac was a good machine. It was a low cost alternative to the iMac G4, was extremely sleek, and still packed a punch when it came to hardware. Power Mac G5 The Power Mac G5 was Apple’s professional desktop computer. It did not include any built in display what-soever. The first Power Mac G5 was introduced on June 23rd, 2003. The Power Mac G5 was an elegant machine made out of aluminum. While the PowerMac G4 was updated four times since its original, the casing had stayed the same. A sleek case with a grill of holes. The latest Power Mac G5 had featured only one superdrive, a quad 2.5Ghz G5 processor and NVIDIA GeForce or Quadro Graphics. The benefits of having a Power Mac G5 were that you could perform large computer jobs quickly and efficiently. For professional Movie and Photo editors, this was a crucial thing. The Power Mac G5 casing also allowed the (quad in some cases) processors to cool down quickly and efficiently, which was a major problem when designing the Power Mac G5. Over all, the Power Mac G5 was the computer to buy if you were looking for a computer that could calculate large amounts of data quickly. MacPro The Power Mac G5 was criticized by many because, while all the other product lines were receiving intel chips, the Power Mac was left behind with the G5 processors. The Mac Pro was Apple’s response. The Mac Pro was a massive powerhouse. It featured the same elegant casing of the Power Mac G5, but housed (the maximum) Two 3.0 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors, 16 GB of Ram, ATI Radeon or 4x NVIDIA GeForce graphics, three terabytes of data, and two SuperDrives! The benefits of owning a MacPro was that you could perform any type of job without having performance issues and you could store as much as you needed to (internally). Basically, owning a MacPro would increase productivity ten fold! Mac Mini The Mac Mini was, in a sense, a continuation of the eMac. It was a low cost machine, but a powerful machine! What was unique about the Mac Mini was that it was the first low cost machine that allowed a consumer to use their existing monitor, mouse and keyboard. This was a major concern for most of the consumers. When they had thought of

buying an Apple Computer, they had thought of getting a display as well. The Mac Mini utilized Apple’s slot loading drive to keep the size compact. The Mac Mini is an extremely small computer. The dimensions are: 6.5in X 6.5in X 2in. The Mac Mini also only weighs 2.6 lbs! Most other desktop computers weigh four times as much! Although the Mac Mini may be tiny, it is not easily upgradeable. The First Mac Mini, released on 1/11/05, contained 1.25 or 1.42 GHz PowerPC G4 processors. However, Apple immediately updated the hardware as soon as they released their Front Row Application. Apple realized that because of its small form factor, the Mac Mini would make a perfect multimedia center. Apple also upgraded the processors to 1.5 or 1.66 GHz Intel Core Solo and Core Duo processors respectively. They released this version of the Mac Mini on 2/28/06. Apple released another version of the Mac Mini on September 6th, 2006 bumping up the processors to 1.66 or 1.83 Intel Core Duo processors. The benefits of owning a Mac Mini is that you get another sleek Apple product that is also small. However, for most people, the Fact that you can use your own Monitor, Keyboard, and Mouse is the winning point for the Mac Mini. iBooks The first iBook was revealed on July 21st, 1999 as a consumer portable that could put up with hard use. It was originally conceived as a suitable system for K – 12 education systems since it could put up with the hard use. The very first iBook featured a G3 processor and a “clam shell” design. This clam shell design was very unique. Without using a latch the iBook easily opened and closed tight, much like a clam closes it shell. Going along with it’s colored products, Apple displayed the iBook G3’s in either Blue or Orange. The iBook G3 was then upgraded to include FireWire and different colors. Apple had ditched the colored Laptops and went with white machines on May 1st, 2001. These laptops contained a 500 MHz G3 processor and contained ATI Rage graphics cards. Most importantly, these laptops contained two USB ports. Older iBooks only contained one. Apple kept upgrading their iBook G3 models until 4/22/2003. At that point the iBook G3 packed 800 or 900 MHz processors, ATI Mobility Radeon graphics, and a 12 or 14 inch TFT XGA screen. On October 22nd, 2003, Apple released their first iBook G4. It maintained pretty much the same design as the white

iBook G3 systems, but featured a full white design. (Some white iBook G3 systems had a clear keyboard or were slightly gray.) On the inside, it packed a (maximum) 1GHz G4 processor, ATI Mobility Radeon graphics, and a combo drive. Apple updated their iBook G4 three times. They released their Final iBook G4 on July 26th, 2005. It packed a (maximum) 1.42 GHz G4 processor, 512 MB Ram (Standard), combo or superdrive, had a (maximum) 14 inch TFT XGA screen, and built in wireless and Bluetooth. This machine, talking from experience, was a great machine! MacBook In order to transition all of their products over to intel chips, Apple released their MacBooks. The MacBook was the intel version of the iBook. The first MacBook was released on May 16th, 2006. Not only did it bring around intel chips, but it brought around a completely new design and hardware. Probably the most noticeable change was that the MacBook was available in white or black. The first MacBook packed Intel Core Duo Chips of speeds either 1.83 or 2.0 GHz. They featured a new keyboard that was built into the case, built in iSight, a 13-inch widescreen glossy TFT display, Intel GMA 950 graphics, and built in Airport Extreme. The MacBook had also brought along a new Charger Adaptor. It was called the MagSafe adaptor. It would magnetically connect to the charging port so that if anyone were to trip over the cable, the laptop wouldn’t move. The MacBook, unlike the (white) iBook G4’s and up, no longer had a latch but instead closed using magnets. The MacBook was also incredibly light weight, coming in at only 5.2 pounds. Finally, the MacBook included everyone’s favorite Application, Front Row. As you can see, the MacBook was redesigned from the ground up. Apple released a second version of the MacBook that packed Intel Core 2 Duo processors of speeds 1.83 and 2.0 GHz on November 8th, 2006. They had also upgraded the wireless card to work with 802.11n networks and upgraded the hardware that came standard. The Benefits from a MacBook are endless. You now have iSight Built in, you can run windows on a low cost Apple Machine, you have a brighter and better displays, you can view content using Front Row, and you can have a modern black Apple laptop (just to name a few). PowerBooks While the iBooks were just fine for the average consumer, they did not fit the needs of the professionals who needed

a portable machine. This is where Apple stepped in with their PowerBooks. The first PowerBook was announced on May 10th, 1999. It packed a 233 MHz G3 processor in a sleek Black Machine Since then, Apple had drastically updated and upgraded their PowerBooks. Their first step in doing so was giving the PowerBooks a Titanium case and a G4 processor. The Titanium PowerBooks received a maximum 1 GHz processor, which was released on 11/6/2002. The PowerBooks were sleek, silver machines that were extremely thin. What was unique about the early PowerBooks is that they had the connections on the back of the computer. This was rarely ever seen in an Apple portable. Later PowerBooks, however, returned to using the sides for input. Also, from here on out, all of the PowerBook G4 systems used slot loading optical drives. On January 7th, 2003, Apple revealed their 12 inch and 17inch aluminum PowerBook G4 systems. Using aluminum made their systems much lighter. Eventually, Apple made a 12 inch, 15 inch and 17 inch aluminum PowerBook G4 systems. Apple’s final PowerBook G4 was released on October 19th, 2005. It was only available in 15 inch or 17 inch TFT Screens. These PowerBooks contained 1.67 GHz G4 Processors, 512 MB of RAM (Standard), ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 graphics, 80 or 120 GB Hard Drives (Standard), built in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth and an Ambient Light Sensor. In conclusion, the benefit of owning a PowerBook G4 was that you were getting a sleek, (in most cases) silver machine that was powerful enough to run all your major applications while you were away from your Power Mac. MacBook Pro Apple’s MacBook Pros were the first laptop systems to receive intel chips. They were revealed on January 10th, 2006. They looked identically similar to the PowerBooks, except they had the iSight right in the middle. They were available with 15 inch widescreen TFT screens, either 1.83 or 2.0 GHz Intel Core Duo chips, built in iSight, ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics, 80 GB or 100 GB Hard Drives, a SuperDrive, AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth, Front Row (Including the Apple Remote), an Ambient Light Sensor, scrolling trackpad, and the revolutionary MagSafe power adaptor. Once again, Apple took a PowerPC product and redesigned it from the ground up. Apple later introduced a 17 inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Pros with glossy screens with Intel Core 2 Duo chips that

could reach speeds of up to 2.16 GHz. Overall, Apple’s MacBook Pros were sleek and had a unique latching system that avoided the build in iSight. The Benefits of owning a MacBook Pro is that you could have a massive, but easily portable, powerhouse that was capable of running windows and anything else you decided to throw at it. Xserve On May 14th, 2002, Apple released a product that shook the Server industry. Apple released their own servers, which they called Xserve. They were Server Machines that compiled with rack mounting standards. Over a span of four years, Apple has made 8 different Xserve machines! Xserve machines have a flat, silver appearance, and vary greatly depending on the year it was produced. Some Xserve machines have four bays to load Hard Drives, others there is only one bay with internal Hard Drives. Regardless, Apple had made their way with their Servers. They started off with 1GHz (Solo or Dual) PowerPC G4 processors with 60 GB HD space and 256 or 512 MB of RAM standard. Recent Xserve Machines use Two 2.0 Ghz, 2.66 GHz, or 3 GHz Dual-Dore Intel Zeon 5100 processors with up to 32 GB of RAM. This Xserve machine can store up to 2.25 Terabytes of data also! As you can see, Apple has come a long way. Though there are many benefits to owning an Xserve, the main one is that you get one of the world’s safest OS with superior Hardware to rely on. Xserve RAID Xserve systems with RAID were announced along side the second Xserve on Feburary 10th, 2003. Xserve RAID systems are massive machines with up to14 drive bays! The Xserve RAID systems are also like the Xserves in the sense that the front is flat and silver. You can easily distinguish between Xserve and Xserve RAID because the Xserve RAID is much taller. The First Xserve raid had storage options up to, and including, 2.52 TeraBytes! The latest Xserve RAID, revealed on January 23rd, 2007, has storage options of up to, and including, 10.5 TeraBytes of storage. The benefits of owning an Xserve RAID is that you receive great Apple Hardware and Software with great reliability. Plus, with 10.5 TeraBytes of storage, you will more than likely never run out of space.