Apple Tops Customer Satisfaction Index, Again

Brian Caulfield, 08.19.09, 01:30 PM EDT
Steve Jobs and company have dominated the rankings since 2003.

BURLINGAME, CALIF. -- Remember 1998? Bill Clinton was impeached. Steve Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan ruled the box office. And Steve Jobs was wreaking havoc at Apple - terminating projects such as Cyberdog and the Newton - and introducing a new all-in-one computer, the iMac.
It worked - 1998 was the last year Apple posted a less than average score on the American Customer Satisfaction Index for Personal Computers. Apple took the No. 1 spot on the list in 2003, and it has dominated ever since.
Apple's score of 84 on the latest survey, released this week, was down one point from the year before. However, it is a full nine points above the average score of 75. In other words, after a dip from 2007, Apple has recovered nicely. And while Dell and Hewlett-Packard both showed modest improvement, Apple remains at the top of the list.

A Mac Virus?

Not so fast. Malware posing as antivirus software is spreading fast with tens of millions of computers (not Macs) infected each month, according to a report released from PandaLabs.

PandaLabs found 1,000 samples of fake antivirus software in the first quarter of 2008. In a year, that number had grown to 111,000. And in the second quarter of 2009, it reached 374,000, Luis Corrons, technical director of PandaLabs said in a recent interview.

The rogue antivirus software issues false warnings of infections in order to get people to pay for software they don't need. The programs also typically download a Trojan or other malware.

About 3 percent of the people who see the fake warnings fall for it, forking over $50 for an annual license or $80 for a lifetime license, according to Corrons.

If you own a Mac no worries. Clicking on the email will do no harm to your computer.

iPhone For You!

Family Memories on your Mac, and More

The era of VHS tapes is winding down, and after three decades there is a lot of video content to transfer for modern playback devices. What's more, any video stored on magnetic tape (such as VHS, Video8 and Hi8) has a limited life span and deteriorates over time. Elgato Video Capture provides an easy way to bring those precious memories into iTunes, to edit them in iMovie, and to share on the Web. Elgato Video Capture, now in stock at Capitol Macintosh.

Battery Calibration

Almost every day we're asked how to extend or prolong the life of your laptop batter. You should calibrate your iBook, PowerBook, MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro computer's lithium ion battery for best performance.

The battery has an internal microprocessor that provides an estimate of the amount of energy in the battery as it charges and discharges. The battery needs to be recalibrated from time to time to keep the onscreen battery time and percent display accurate. With all iBooks and PowerBook G4 computers, except the aluminum PowerBook G4 (15-inch Double-Layer SD), you should perform this procedure when you first use your computer and then every few months thereafter.

You can read the entire article by logging in to Apple's Knowledge Base then enter "HT1490" in the search field. (if you don't have an Apple ID, you will need to create one)

Apple leads, Dell lags in customer satisfaction

by Jim Dalrymple, Macworld.com

Market research firm Forrester on Friday released a report measuring customers' overall satisfaction with computer manufacturers. Apple not only topped the list, it blew away the competition.

Apple's overall customer satisfaction rating was at 80 percent, 14 points above the closest competitor, Gateway, who came in at 66 percent. HP and Compaq were pretty close with a 64 percent and 63 percent customer satisfaction rating, respectively.

Dell brought up the rear with a satisfaction rating of 58 percent.

The ratings were based on three categories: Useful, Easy to Use, and Enjoyable. Apple dominated in each category, scoring 82 percent (Useful), 86 percent (Easy to Use), and 72 percent (Enjoyable).

Each of the other companies mentioned in the survey received at least one score in the 50 percent range. Dell holds the distinction as the only company to get a mark below 50 percent, scoring a 47 percent in the Enjoyable category.

Forrester compiled the data from more than 4,500 consumer surveys.

iPhone Fun

If you have an iPhone and a library of music that you'd love to hear on your phone, this is for you.
”•Open GarageBand and iTunes
”•In GarageBand, open a new project and delete the default track (it usually opens with a Piano track; get rid of it by selecting “Track” from the Menu Bar and click “Delete Track” )
”•Find the song you want to use in iTunes and drag it into GarageBand
”•In GarageBand, click on the Cycle Region button (it looks like a version of a “recycle” image)
”•Click the Measures button (the musical note to the right of the Cycle Region button), and select Time
”•Edit the song's length (keep it under 40 seconds) to what you want to loop as a ringtone
”•When finished, select “Share” from the Menu Bar and select “Send Ringtone to iTunes” )
”•In iTunes, you will see your new ringtone in the Ringtones section in the left hand column

If you're a Windows user (why) click this link.
Have fun!

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