I bought my Mac Pro on Amazon and there are no configuration options when you buy here. It makes sense, it seems they are doing an economy of scales thing, and that’s why you can get it for $200 less than from Apple. Since this Mac will be in my bedroom which doesn’t have a router, I decided to install a wireless adapter instead of running a 30′ cable. I wanted something internal, since I didn’t want a USB dongle sticking out the back. After researching this Mac Pro and realizing how “easy” it is to upgrade this machine (as per the product description above), I figured adding a wireless “card” should be easy. I found an Apple Airport Extreme wireless “card” online and purchased it. After all, they demonstrate how easy it is to upgrade the Mac — I figured adding a wireless “card” would be easy for a technically oriented person like me (software engineer). When I got the wireless “card” and opened it, to my shock, it’s not a card. It’s a small PC board chip that needs to be installed on the motherboard with screws. Wires from the motherboard must be connected to the small PC board in order connect the antenna. This all has to be done within a cramped space and the screws are microscopic. The kit came with no instructions and indicated it should be installed by an Apple technician. Living in the SF Bay Area, there are about 4 Apple stores between my home and work. So I called one the day before and got a 10 minute lecture on how they just fix Macs and they can’t add on a wireless card because it should have been done at the factory. Seriously! Then I called another Apple store, and they said they could do it — bring it in and we’ll have it ready in an hour. I brought it in, and they looked at the wireless “card”, asked for an invoice, asked where I bought it, etc. It is a brand new, factory sealed, official Apple part, but they explained because I did not buy it at the Apple store, they will not install it. Awful customer experience. I was so angry, I was going to pack up my Mac Pro and send it back to Amazon, and do what I originally intended — get a powerful Intel machine and install Ubuntu Studio and use that for multitrack recording.

After I cooled down, I realized that Apple Inc. and Steve Jobs would probably be appalled to find this is the way they treat professional customers and stockholders (I own about $10k in Apple stocks by way of index funds). I bought a Mac Pro and Apple made a lot of money off the sale. Apple made money off the wireless “card” I bought. I seriously doubt that the Apple store has an official policy that if you don’t buy the part at the store, they will not install it (if this is the case, they need to let customers KNOW THIS when they buy a Mac). I was more than willing to pay to have this wireless adapter installed. What if you want to cannibalize a wireless adapter from one Mac you already own to a new Mac? They can’t do that? What if you bought a Mac from Amazon and it breaks? Apparently, their policy is that they only fix things bought at the Apple store.

Apple is on probation with me. This is strike 1. If I have 2 more bad experiences with this Mac, I’m going to pack it up, ship it back to Amazon and buy an Intel machine with Ubuntu Studio installed. I will also divest my investment in Apple stock. Linux has a community of HELPFUL and FRIENDLY people who solve problems for free — true geniuses, not retail employees with inflated egos. If this is the ordeal one has to go through to NOT have a wireless card installed, Apple has to seriously re-think the way they do customer service.

I must warn anyone considering buying this product that you cannot expect to get much support or help from the Apple store. Don’t expect them to fix your computer or do anything with it unless you bought it at the Apple store. They’re just another company trying to make a lot of money and they don’t “think different”. They just think in terms of short-term profits. In the long run, Linux/Google OS will prevail.

If I had to do it over again, I would still buy this from Amazon. I saved $550 in costs and gift certificates earned. It was delivered to my door. If I bought it at the Apple store, I’d have to move it to my door and pay $550 more. Beyond savings, shopping online is convenient.

Amazon needs to work out some agreement with Apple so that Apple products that are bought online will be supported by the brick and mortar Apple stores. The Apple stores should be able to authenticate any valid Apple part and install it. Again — what if I wanted to take a part from an existing Mac and put it in another Mac. They can’t do that? The Apple geniuses?

Finally, do not be fooled by how “easy” it is to upgrade a Mac Pro by your self. It is only easy to add drives and memory. Their wireless “card” kit is not a PCI card. It is a difficult to install product (like Operation, the board game) and if you mess up, you will void the warranty. Just get a USB wireless adapter, and stay away from the Apple stores unless you want elevated blood pressure. They will not support Apple products if you don’t buy them at the Apple store! Don’t expect any sort of tech support, maintenance or any help from the Apple store — they’re far too busy showing busty Burlingame trophy wives sipping lattes how to transfer their contact list from their phone to their Mac or to “the cloud” (wow, it says “genius” on their shirt, but it should say “pretentious”).
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UPDATE 10/02/2009 – I set up the Mac last night, and I find it to be very fast and impressive in terms of user experience. I think the Apple store is a bad experience. I will not go to their store. If I keep my Mac and need it fixed in the future, I will go to an authorized service provider other than the Apple store. Living in the SF bay area, I have other options. It really is a sad thing that they refuse to support Macs that are not bought from the sacred temple of the Apple store. This is the Cathedral that open source people talk about, and Apple is much worse than Microsoft in this respect, but they are both bad.

When you buy a Mac, you are paying for more than a computer. You are paying for advertising, and subsidizing the Apple store, which is a learning center for Mac users who are having problems. When I went there, there were more Mac geniuses than customers (you pay for that in the price of a Mac), but none of the geniuses could help me, because I didn’t buy my Apple products at the sacred temple. There were twice as many employees on the floor than customers, and I had about 4 people involved in my issue – 4 people to say they can’t help me. They had a scrum about whether or not to install an Apple Airport Extreme wireless “card” in an Apple computer. Funny, because I thought it was an Apple store. But it is a sacred temple of the über-knobs. I’m all for employing a lot of people in a recovering economy, but this is why a Mac costs 60% more than it should. Some of the extra costs go to the innovative design and higher quality components, but it’s all made in China, just like Dell or HP. You can even get Mac clones that run OS X from Quo computers that are less than half the price of the comparable Mac. In other words – Macs are not a good value. You pay for advertising and employment for snobby college students in Apple stores. Great, you go to Stanford, but you can’t fix my Mac for a really lame reason. . . I think I met the future Lloyd Lee (from Entourage) in the Apple store. . .

I like the Mac, but I’m interested in experiencing adding a usb wifi adapter. On my Linux machines, wifi is a breeze with madwifi. On my Windows machine, the native Windows wireless app works poorly, but the drivers and app from dlink work fine (so installing wifi on a Windows machine is actually more difficult than on Linux). We’ll see how Apple stacks up. That will be my next update – how easy is it to install a usb wireless adapter on a Mac. . .
Rating: 1 / 5

This machine is great. It is fast, extremely quite, and good looking at the same time. What a relief to use a real computer running Mac OS rather than my Dell running Vista Ultimate OS sluggish crap.
Rating: 5 / 5

Apple products are amazing. I bought my memory and drives separately and it probably took longer to open the computer than it did to install them. Too easy. As for the speed and performance of this machine: 10 stars out of 5. It’s faster as can be, and can handle every multiple thing I’m doing in the film scoring/orchestral world with ease. This is a stunning machine. I have the last of the G5 towers, and it’s also amazing. But this computer and the improved RAM is mind-blowing. Bravo Apple, you have remained my only choice for 20 years and you’ll continue for another 50! Only drawback, I’m having to learn out to use everything again in my reconfigured studio, as both towers are now connected via ethernet cable! But the speed and power can’t be beat!
Rating: 5 / 5