I found out last month that Apple has a reuse/recycle program. You can send your old computer in, and if it's working and one they accept for the reuse part of the program, they'll give you an Apple Store gift card for it.

If it's not one they accept for the reuse program, they'll still recycle it for you.

So, I signed up for it, and got an initial quote for $297 for my old iMac. (I had it fixed after it crashed last month). They sent me a box, I packed up the computer and sent it back. Took them a few days once they got my computer, but they did an audit on it and offered me an adjusted quote for $237. (they docked me for the lack of a keyboard and mouse, that I told them when I signed up I didn't have, and they docked me for an issue with the screen)

I accepted the quote, and they emailed me the store credit to use in the Apple Store.

I ordered the computer last night. I got the most basic of the new iMac's. It's already better than the iMac that I sold back to Apple. The only thing I added to it was the warranty. I should get it later this week.

When I ordered it, I had problems entering the gift card into the website's order screen, so I ended up calling the Apple Store and talked to a real person. It was weird. I think the rep that I talked to must have been working from home. I could hear a dog barking in the background. So, either she was working from home, or it was Take Your Dog To Work Day. I asked about the dog barking, and she ignored the question. It was weird.

Can't wait to get the computer later this week. The MS is being a pain in the ahem, and I'm having some serious issues with spasticity and walking. Hopefully I'll be able to get the computer into my room and onto my desk ok. It only weighs 12 pounds compared to the 25 pounds the old one weighed. I think it's going to fit my desk better than the old one did.

Now I have something fun to look forward to while I feel like complete crap from the MS. Hopefully it'll distract me from feeling sick all the time. I literally feel physically sick. (I went to the doctor today. No infections, so I can't throw antibiotics at the problem. Maybe I can throw some steroids at it? Calling the neuro tomorrow)

I wish I didn't feel so bad right now. I can barely stay awake during the day. I get insomnia at night. My body hurts. I can't drive my new car Hopefully the new computer will help cheer me up.

Yippee for Erin! Hope you love your new Mac

Good job, Erin! Great information!

I got my first iMac last November when the newest model came out. I really like it, though pages and numbers aren't as good as MS Office.

I got a 10% education discount since I'm a student. I ordered the smaller screen but got the fusion drive, extra memory and the i7 processor because I want it to last me a really long time. It's my first Mac and I still have a lot to learn about it.

It shipped this morning, so I'm stalking UPS's tracking page to see where it's at.

I need to clean my desk off. Since I sent the old computer off, my desk has become a dumping ground for empty bottles of pop, at least four pairs of headphones. All of my crochet hooks. Enough yarn to make a small afghan, and a bunch of other debris. (why are there dirty socks on my desk? Ewww!)

I've been feeling so bad lately that my entire room is full of baskets of clean laundry that I have yet to put away. Really hoping that the new computer will give me something to do. I called my neuro today to tell him that the walking issues are getting bad enough that it's interfering with my daily life. Of course, the neuro is out of the office, as usual, when I need him.

My new iMac FINALLY arrived this morning. (it spent the weekend at the UPS warehouse...darnit that UPS doesn't deliver on weekends!)

It's purty!

It's smaller than my old one. The old one was a 24in screen, and was almost too big for my desk. The new one is 21.5in and has more memory and apparently a faster processor than the old one had. Same size hard drive tho. I was actually able to lift it from the box onto my desk with just a teeny bit of help from my dad. Weighs 12 pounds compared to the old one being 25 pounds. My biggest problem with the computer so far was when I had to get onto the floor to plug in my USB hub and then had to figure out how to stand back up with weak legs and knees. That was entertaining. Good thing there are no witnesses to that.


It's just the most basic of the iMac's that Apple was selling. I didn't add anything to the order of the computer except for a warranty.

The screen is kind of blue looking to me on every page that I look at that has a white background. No idea if that's some energy saving screen thing or if it's got a different type of light source in it than what the old one had (LED backlights or something else?). Or, it could have something to do with my left eye hurting a lot the past week. (tell that optic neuritis troll to stay far away from me and my optic nerve!) I have to figure out how to get the text on the browser's sidebar to look bigger. It's small print at the moment.

So far I'm not having any problems adding stuff to the computer, even with the lack of an optical (cd/dvd) drive. I have an external drive if I need one.

Stay away, evil troll!

Maybe you can adjust the brightness of the screen to ease the bluish tint?

I downloaded a program I'd had on the old computer. It's called F.lux. It's a program that adjusts the brightness settings gradually as the day goes on. It's supposed to help people avoid getting insomnia from staring at too bright of a computer screen.

I think it actually works. I'm not feeling like the computer is trying to burn my optic nerves. I started using it the last time I had optic neuritis (early 2012).

It really helped reduce the blue look to the screen yesterday. I didn't have to screw up any of the pre-set settings the computer came with. I can turn F.lux off whenever I want to (usually when watching a movie, so the picture and color looks better)

Before I installed F.lux to the computer, my left eye was really starting to bug me. It was one of the things that was telling me that I'd better get to the eye doctor soon. (see my post on the main page of the forum about that. Not happy about having ON again) Tonight I think it's helping with the eye pain I had earlier today after the eye doctor had to flash bright lights and poke around at me.

Erin,

Have you used Garage Band on the iMac? I want to write lyrics for my son's band and I'm wondering if it takes words and puts music to them for people who do not know how to write music.

I think I played with Garage Band once or twice on my old computer, but didn't really know what I was doing with it, so I don't think I ever used the program that much.

Think I tried to make a ringtone for a cellphone with it once. It didn't end up well.