Apple Restricts Hard Drive Replacements on New iMacs

Why are you so angry? You hate Apple because of their labor practices, fine...you think other manufacturers are better? I doubt it. I'd bet that they just don't get as much press. Most manufacturers use Foxconn parts, just like apple.

As far as Sony and IBM (Sorry...it's Lenovo) machines being better quality than a Macbook Pro unibody.... That's ridiculous. Anyone who's taken all three apart would know better. Sure, it's my opinion, but it's one based on lots of experience. I'm not someone who's impressed by smooth edges and a shiny logo on the back. I am impressed by the engineering that went into it and how it's assembled.

As far as upgrading the iMac....my only point is that it's stupid. If you want to buy an imac to upgrade it...that's also stupid. It's a closed system and it's designed as a "this is what you get" sort of system. I'm not saying that I want to stop anyone from upgrading it...but I don't see why you'd buy THAT machine for that purpose. Want to upgrade it, as it is? Ram and hard drive...that's all you can do. With such limited options, to me, that says that you buy the machine and you use it until you want a new one....upgrading it to get more life out of the system just isn't an option. Finally, the system isn't DESIGNED for people that want to upgrade. Do you understand that point? I'll say it again... It's not a system for people that are going to want to upgrade every few months or years. There are people that that kind of computer is PERFECT for.



That's all I'm going to say in this thread. I think mac bashing is pretty dumb...as is the mac loving. Everything I've said is based on rational thought, not some knee-jerk reaction and need to argue.



Great post! I Know its seems I'm one of the the main guys that comes to Macs defense but its only because of the close minded knee-jerk reaction you speak of. It pisses me off. People who hate on Apple do so for one of a few reason: 1. Its a closed system 2. They can't afford one 3. They don't like someone who uses a Mac. Maybe a combo of the three. But to try to argue against the quality of their system and security of their OS is beyond stupid.


I completely agree that trying to compare the quality of a Sony or Lenovo to a MBP is ridiculous. "my Honda must be better than your BMW because I can modify the engine more and put a nice big spoiler on it" :rolleyes:


Edit: "You dont control the world, and Apple shouldnt be trying."


Looks like Richard Stallman found his way on to Technibble...lol
 
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Why are you so angry? You hate Apple because of their labor practices, fine...you think other manufacturers are better? I doubt it. I'd bet that they just don't get as much press. Most manufacturers use Foxconn parts, just like apple.

As far as Sony and IBM (Sorry...it's Lenovo) machines being better quality than a Macbook Pro unibody.... That's ridiculous. Anyone who's taken all three apart would know better. Sure, it's my opinion, but it's one based on lots of experience. I'm not someone who's impressed by smooth edges and a shiny logo on the back. I am impressed by the engineering that went into it and how it's assembled.

As far as upgrading the iMac....my only point is that it's stupid. If you want to buy an imac to upgrade it...that's also stupid. It's a closed system and it's designed as a "this is what you get" sort of system. I'm not saying that I want to stop anyone from upgrading it...but I don't see why you'd buy THAT machine for that purpose. Want to upgrade it, as it is? Ram and hard drive...that's all you can do. With such limited options, to me, that says that you buy the machine and you use it until you want a new one....upgrading it to get more life out of the system just isn't an option. Finally, the system isn't DESIGNED for people that want to upgrade. Do you understand that point? I'll say it again... It's not a system for people that are going to want to upgrade every few months or years. There are people that that kind of computer is PERFECT for.



That's all I'm going to say in this thread. I think mac bashing is pretty dumb...as is the mac loving. Everything I've said is based on rational thought, not some knee-jerk reaction and need to argue.


im not angry one bit. Just tired of people like you who act like we are "apple haters" when we have a legitimate argument. Yeah..apples the same becuase they get more coverage arguement. Or the fact that their employees are children, commit suicide, etc.. I dont see that with other companies.


I didnt say it was a bad product.
Ive worked on these machines as well, never said it was bad product, only a bad company.

I wasn't talking about lenovo, I was talking about IBM. Im not a huge fan of Lenovo after they bought out that part of IBM.

upgrading it may be stupid to you, but not to someone else. You cant call a customer stupid or what they are doing is stupid because you are not them. We are bashing Apple for what they are doing, not the product. Why are you guys bringing up the "quality of Apple" when we never even spoke about that. Most things are not designed to be "upgraded", that doesn't mean the company needs to purposely restrict it.

btw, calling something stupid is not rational thought. Its arrogance.


BACK ON TOPIC
this thread is about them preventing an end user from doing their own repairs, or having a shop like us do the repairs. I had nothing to do with the "quality" or how good the machines are. We could argue all day about which machine is better, and it all comes down to opinion.

My opinion, as with others on this board, is this is crap, and they should be doing it, and the people buying these products do not realize what they are getting into.


Believe me I'm not thrilled about this and it really hurts us that we can't throw any third party drive in these things when they are out of warranty. This just goes to show I'm not being a typical fanboy.

However, you know you are comparing an iMac which is an all in one desktop compared to a bunch of towers. This is pretty much comparing Apples to oranges. Basically in a tower it doesn't take a rocket scientist to keep drives cool. All kinds of space for airflow. Have you ever even taken apart an iMac? It's has about the same quality of ventilation than a laptop. Worse yet, the drive and all other components are sandwiched behind a huge display that is throwing off all kinds of heat. Now if you want to compare Apples to Apples so to speak, lets look at any of the Power Mac G3, G4, or G5 towers, along with the Mac Pro compared to just about any other desktop on the market. I barely ever see these things in the shop (I'll be honest and say with the exception was the liquid cooled G5 tower, big mistake on Apples part). Basically the occasional HD or power supply needs to be replaced every so often due to the fact these things fail. Other than that, they just keep on running. Also, Genius, why is Apple only doing this on the iMacs and not on every unit if they are so controlling. The Mac Pro comes with one drive bay full and 3 empty drive bays for throwing in any type of SATA 3.5" drive you want to throw in there. So lets make this simple to understand. Just like the point that 14049752 was trying to explain, if you want to swap your drive then don't buy a closed system.

What? No its not, Sony, Lenovo, HP, they all make all in ones...We dont see these in the shop because most apple owners believe you have to go to an apple place to get it repaired.

Also, Genius, Apple will eventually put it on all the machines. Lets resort to "name calling" because you thing you are arguing a point, that none of us care about.



------------
Again, Apple shouldn't be restricting this. Its a facepalm. Its like a car manu saying don't replace the battery unless its ours, or your car wont start.
 
1. Recognizing stupidity isn't always arrogance.

2. Quality is the heart of the issue. The hard drive is proprietary so that they can have less failures. (I don't give a crap if you disagree with HOW they did it).

3. You said yourself that you hate Apple. And I said that's fine.
 
Knightsman said:
I didnt say it was a bad product.
Ive worked on these machines as well, never said it was bad product, only a bad company.

Why is Apple a bad company? Because they wont open up their OS so you can stick it into some cobbled together home brew system? Or is it because they all ware black shirts? Thats it isn't it! Its because the all have black shirts on, must be a cult. :p


Knightsman said:
upgrading it may be stupid to you, but not to someone else. You cant call a customer stupid or what they are doing is stupid because you are not them. We are bashing Apple for what they are doing, not the product. Why are you guys bringing up the "quality of Apple" when we never even spoke about that. Most things are not designed to be "upgraded", that doesn't mean the company needs to purposely restrict it.


If you think you may want to upgrade the HDD in the future or maybe the video card then don't buy an iMac. Its really that simple, no one is forcing anyone to buy anything. Last time I checked Apple was right up there with some of the top companies in the world. They must be doing something right. Also, why do you assume Mac users are stupid and don't know what they are getting themselves into? Most of the Mac users I know came from the Windows world. The got fed up with the constant maintenance and malware infections. Thats why the made the switch to Mac. I think most Mac users just want to get their work done and create things and not be worried with such things. They are for the most part far from the bumbling idiots you make them out to be.
 
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What? No its not, Sony, Lenovo, HP, they all make all in ones...We dont see these in the shop because most apple owners believe you have to go to an apple place to get it repaired.

The we I was referring to was our shop, not yours. We ARE an Apple shop and have been in business for over 20 years.

Also, Genius, Apple will eventually put it on all the machines. Lets resort to "name calling" because you thing you are arguing a point, that none of us care about.

You can predict what Apple will do, when people inside Apple don't even know most of the time? As long as these sensors have been used, I suspect they would have been popping up in other equipment by now. I wasn't calling you a name per say as much as I am amazed by your complete ignorance.
 
I dabble in Linux. So no, I don't use it often. The last time I installed Linux It was Mint on a netbook and it took me about 45 mins and a terminal hack to get the wireless to function. This was maybe 2 months ago. When set up properly it works fine but we are far from the day the typical end user can set up a Linux box with no problems.

By those same standards we're pretty far from the day the typical end user can setup a Windows box with no problems.

Just bought 2 systems from a college that I'm going to resell, no OS on them and no drivers disk of course.

Install Win7 home premium, no video drivers (beyond basic vga), no network drivers, no sound, and some other driver. The kicker? No network drivers, you can't say "Well go to _____ website and get them", uhm how? How are they supposed to get the drivers on the computer? It's their only computer not a shop setup where they can trial and error their way through it or install a handy dandy USB network dongle they have laying around for just such an occasion.

You don't hear of these sorts of situations often because most OEM's and motherboard manufacturers include windows drivers on a disk, they don't do the same for linux. Then we get into a chicken or the egg argument. With Windows having the same support as Linux, Windows becomes nearly impossible for the end user as well.

"To get that kind of support Linux needs to become more popular."

"To get more popular, linux needs that kind of support."
 
Knightsman said:
My opinion, as with others on this board, is this is crap, and they should be doing it, and the people buying these products do not realize what they are getting into.


Let me tell you about the Apple users I know personally.

1. Coleen-Mine and my wife's good friend. BA in psychology. Masters in education.

2. Tanya-A good customer of mine. She is a plastic surgeon. Makes in the mid 6 figures.

3. Gareth-Met online a few years ago, became friends. Web designer and graphics.

4. Kim-My wife. Just got her EDS and is 20 hours away from her Doctorate.

5. Eric-Another friend I met online. Final cut pro. Does commercials.

6. Brandon-Final cut, has been involved in some movies we have all seen.


All of these Mac users have two things in common. 1. They all came from the PC/Windows world and switched to Mac. 2. They are all highly educated professionals.


Far from the people you would have us believe are Mac users.






Knightsman said:
Lastly, I HATE Apple...
want to know why???
Google: APPLE LABOR, issues, abuse, suicides, etc.


Really? Why don't you look at some of Google's business practices while you are at it. I'll bet you still use Google. How about the Sony/rootkit issue a few years ago and their loss of millions of users personal data recently? Still buying Sony products? Don't even get me started on Microsoft.
 
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this thread is about them preventing an end user from doing their own repairs, or having a shop like us do the repairs. I had nothing to do with the "quality" or how good the machines are. We could argue all day about which machine is better, and it all comes down to opinion.

My opinion, as with others on this board, is this is crap, and they should be doing it, and the people buying these products do not realize what they are getting into.

"On the other hand, on an all-in-one you're pretty much stuck with the screen, and the parts. You can expand a regular desktop to increase its life span, but an all-in-one PC has serious upgrade limitations. Lenovo's IdeaCentre A600 gets big points because users can upgrade its hard disk, optical drive, memory, and fans; in contrast, the HP TouchSmart PCs and the Sony VAIO VGC-LV180J let you upgrade only the memory and hard drive. (A small consolation in the VAIO's case is that an ExpressCard reader allows for laptop-style add-ons.) Apple's iMacs allow you to upgrade the RAM easily, but anything else involves a 21-screw ordeal. The compact Shuttle X50 also permits memory upgrades; that's noteworthy because every other all-in-one with a screen 19 inches or less--including the Dell--is a completely closed system."

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/168576/allinone_pcs_with_a_touch_of_style.html
 
By those same standards we're pretty far from the day the typical end user can setup a Windows box with no problems.

Just bought 2 systems from a college that I'm going to resell, no OS on them and no drivers disk of course.

Install Win7 home premium, no video drivers (beyond basic vga), no network drivers, no sound, and some other driver. The kicker? No network drivers, you can't say "Well go to _____ website and get them", uhm how? How are they supposed to get the drivers on the computer? It's their only computer not a shop setup where they can trial and error their way through it or install a handy dandy USB network dongle they have laying around for just such an occasion.

You don't hear of these sorts of situations often because most OEM's and motherboard manufacturers include windows drivers on a disk, they don't do the same for linux. Then we get into a chicken or the egg argument. With Windows having the same support as Linux, Windows becomes nearly impossible for the end user as well.

"To get that kind of support Linux needs to become more popular."

"To get more popular, linux needs that kind of support."



I disagree. The last 4 systems I have built when installing Windows 7 it automatically installed the correct drivers all I had to do was tweak a few things.


Um...download them on a working system , put them on a flash drive and install them to the new systems? Thats what I might do.

The the thing is if I install Windows on a machine unless its very old chances are pretty good there are drivers for it out there somewhere. On a Linux box you just might be out of luck. Also when installing drivers on a Windows systems most of the time I double click a "setup.exe" file or point to the driver. I don't have to compile something in terminal and google for an hour.
 
The we I was referring to was our shop, not yours. We ARE an Apple shop and have been in business for over 20 years.
yeah...i picked up on that, but I think you missed my point.
You can predict what Apple will do, when people inside Apple don't even know most of the time? As long as these sensors have been used, I suspect they would have been popping up in other equipment by now. I wasn't calling you a name per say as much as I am amazed by your complete ignorance.

No, you were stating that I an idiot because I believe they are going to do this more often, and because you disagree, you believe I'm ignorant. Even if the sensor isn't used elsewhere, the practice of making it proprietary and not easily upgraded fixed, will be pushed, and is being pushed by them.

Let me tell you about the Apple users I know personally.

1. Coleen-Mine and my wife's good friend. BA in psychology. Masters in education.

2. Tanya-A good customer of mine. She is a plastic surgeon. Makes in the mid 6 figures.

3. Gareth-Met online a few years ago, became friends. Web designer and graphics.

4. Kim-My wife. Just got her EDS and is 20 hours away from her Doctorate.

5. Eric-Another friend I met online. Final cut pro. Does commercials.

6. Brandon-Final cut, has been involved in some movies we have all seen.


All of these Mac users have two things in common. 1. They all came from the PC/Windows world and switched to Mac. 2. They are all highly educated professionals.

Far from the people you would have us believe are Mac users.
....
Um no..How would you even gather that?? How does saying they don't know what they are getting into...turn into "people are uneducated slaves??" No, im saying general people, smart, dumb, genuis, whatever, dont realize what they are buying, and the company they are supporting.

Id bet money, on the fact that at least 65% of the users do not realize they cant just replace their hard drive. Whether they care to or not, they should still have the option to replace it or upgrade it on their own. Thats the argument here.

Really? Why don't you look at some of Google's business practices while you are at it. I'll bet you still use Google. How about the Sony/rootkit issue a few years ago and their loss of millions of users personal data recently? Still buying Sony products? Don't even get me started on Microsoft.

ok..Did these people commit suicide by the way apple treats them as employees now?? Pretty sure Google got named one of the top companies to work for. Sonys rootkit issue was a privacy concern, shame on them, but different world altogether on why I highly dislike Apples business practices.



off to my next call.
 
"On the other hand, on an all-in-one you're pretty much stuck with the screen, and the parts. You can expand a regular desktop to increase its life span, but an all-in-one PC has serious upgrade limitations. Lenovo's IdeaCentre A600 gets big points because users can upgrade its hard disk, optical drive, memory, and fans; in contrast, the HP TouchSmart PCs and the Sony VAIO VGC-LV180J let you upgrade only the memory and hard drive. (A small consolation in the VAIO's case is that an ExpressCard reader allows for laptop-style add-ons.) Apple's iMacs allow you to upgrade the RAM easily, but anything else involves a 21-screw ordeal. The compact Shuttle X50 also permits memory upgrades; that's noteworthy because every other all-in-one with a screen 19 inches or less--including the Dell--is a completely closed system."

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/168576/allinone_pcs_with_a_touch_of_style.html


I agree, my point in comparing the models, is the overheating issue. If other companies can get past it, why cant apple? Surely they have the resources to do this. I have worked on a lot of all-in-ones, and typically the hard drive is located next to a vent, near the top.

Reasonable thinking, they have the resources to not have to use this sensor, but still choose to use it, because they feel they could keep a revenue stream from break/fix.

I worked on a dell last week, not that model, but still an all-in-on, but swapped the HD because it failed, was pretty easy.
 
Knightsman said:
Id bet money, on the fact that at least 65% of the users do not realize they cant just replace their hard drive. Whether they care to or not, they should still have the option to replace it or upgrade it on their own. Thats the argument here.

I'd bet money 100% of them never want to replace any part of their computer themselves. If they need it replaced at some point they can simply take it to the Apple store. Why should they have to have that option? Why can't apple run their company the way they want? When I install Windows on a customers machine I lock down certain aspects they have no business messing with. If they don't like it there are plenty of other shops they can take their business to.
 
I'd bet money 100% of them never want to replace any part of their computer themselves. If they need it replaced at some point they can simply take it to the Apple store. Why should they have to have that option? Why can't apple run their company the way they want? When I install Windows on a customers machine I lock down certain aspects they have no business messing with. If they don't like it there are plenty of other shops they can take their business to.


I don't agree with the 100%. By that are you saying guys like us shouldn't own macs? Before I starting building my own computers, I swapped everything I could to play, and learn. Why cant a 10 year old with a limited budget be able to buy a hard drive from tiger direct, and swap it himself?

Apple can run the company they way the want, but it needs to be ethical, and I don't feel like, if there are plenty of options for a hard drive, to restrict only to their custom hd.

I wont buy a car if they tell me I have to buy a battery, oil, gas from only them. Its the same thing in my opinion. I agree with having to buy from them a motherboard, just like an engine. But the external stuff, that can be swapped, like an intake, or battery, the end user should have the option. But even an engine can be replaced by a reputable place without the end user being restricted.
 
Um...download them on a working system , put them on a flash drive and install them to the new systems? Thats what I might do.

I find keeping a USB-Ethernet adapter on hand makes it easy for me. I slipstream in the drivers for the particular adapter on all my discs so I don't have to bother with a CD, plugin the adapter, download the drivers on the live system and install them, good to go.

But I'm not an end user. We're talking about it being difficult to find drivers for end users.

I can do the same thing with Linux with about the same level of difficulty. I'm a bit more experienced when it comes to Linux and understand typing...

./configure
make
make install

...to be the same difficulty as double clicking "setup.exe" and hitting next like a puppy humping a football (rapidly and without regard for what I'm hitting next for).
 
I don't agree with the 100%. By that are you saying guys like us shouldn't own macs? Before I starting building my own computers, I swapped everything I could to play, and learn. Why cant a 10 year old with a limited budget be able to buy a hard drive from tiger direct, and swap it himself?

Apple can run the company they way the want, but it needs to be ethical, and I don't feel like, if there are plenty of options for a hard drive, to restrict only to their custom hd.


I wont buy a car if they tell me I have to buy a battery, oil, gas from only them. Its the same thing in my opinion. I agree with having to buy from them a motherboard, just like an engine. But the external stuff, that can be swapped, like an intake, or battery, the end user should have the option. But even an engine can be replaced by a reputable place without the end user being restricted.


I can assure you none of these people want to ever see, much less touch the internals of their computer. I know them personally. All they care about is will it run the programs they need to run and not get infected while doing it.

Again, its their company to run as they wish. If people don't like it they will tell them so with their $$$. The only people I hear swaking about it are the anti-Mac people.

Its not really the same, but I'll play along and just say if all you care about is the car getting you from point A to point B I don't think it would mean as much to you.


Ccomp5950 said:
I can do the same thing with Linux with about the same level of difficulty. I'm a bit more experienced when it comes to Linux and understand typing...

I disagree. I had to first find out why the existing drivers did not work...google, next I had to hunt down drivers on forums...google , Then I had to figure out how to remove the old drivers, (not a simple process)...more google.., Then install the new drivers I had to make. To put it bluntly it was very much a pain in the ass and not even close to double clicking an exe.
 
I agree, my point in comparing the models, is the overheating issue. If other companies can get past it, why cant apple? Surely they have the resources to do this. I have worked on a lot of all-in-ones, and typically the hard drive is located next to a vent, near the top.

Every iMac since the G5 has had the HD right on top and next to a vent, so what's your point? The overheating issue is something that I have came up with in my experience of replacing literally hundreds of drives in these things over the years. This has nothing to do with any known issue that Apple acknowledges. Another thing I have noticed is many of these drives are being replaced under Applecare, within 3 years, that Apple is footing the bill for. How much profit is there in selling a machine with Applecare if it's highly likely Apple will be paying to replace the drive?

Reasonable thinking, they have the resources to not have to use this sensor, but still choose to use it, because they feel they could keep a revenue stream from break/fix.

Yeah, they are just using sensors to piss you off.:rolleyes: There is a fan that is dedicated to cooling the drive. The drive fan speed is controlled by the logic board using input from the sensor. Same with the optical drive and CPU. Each have their own dedicated fan with sensors that the logic board uses to control fan speed.
 
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words.gif

Really?

I never knew Windows would magically have the .exe on your desktop ready to click without any searching, amazing!
 

Since more people are experts at windows than linux I find that to be a true statement. But it doesn't matter because we're talking about end users and end users finding drivers on a system that has no network driver and no driver disk is going to be virtually impossible no matter what.

When talking about end users you change the discussion to be about technicians and miss the point (See post #29).

You are missing the point of what I wrote above, you write out the steps you (admittedly, not an expert with Linux), took to get those drivers for linux but when talking about the windows experience (which you are more of an expert in) your steps are

1.) click .exe (assumed to be already on desktop (magically? (THREE LEVELS OF PARANTHETIC YUMMINESS)))
2.) ??? (probably clicking next like a puppy humping a football)
3.) Profit! (Or atleast breaking even)

Essentially, I disregard you in most of these conversations now because you say something, but when someone challenges you, you change the scope of the conversation so it no longer matters, where you go from there depends on how emotionally invested in the topic you are. This is pretty much the standard fair for zealots of any operating system.
 
Since more people are experts at windows than linux I find that to be a true statement. But it doesn't matter because we're talking about end users and end users finding drivers on a system that has no network driver and no driver disk is going to be virtually impossible no matter what.

When talking about end users you change the discussion to be about technicians and miss the point (See post #29).

You are missing the point of what I wrote above, you write out the steps you (admittedly, not an expert with Linux), took to get those drivers for linux but when talking about the windows experience (which you are more of an expert in) your steps are

1.) click .exe (assumed to be already on desktop (magically? (THREE LEVELS OF PARANTHETIC YUMMINESS)))
2.) ??? (probably clicking next like a puppy humping a football)
3.) Profit! (Or atleast breaking even)

Essentially, I disregard you in most of these conversations now because you say something, but when someone challenges you, you change the scope of the conversation so it no longer matters, where you go from there depends on how emotionally invested in the topic you are. This is pretty much the standard fair for zealots of any operating system.


Let me break it down so even you can understand. End user has a Dell desktop system with no sound driver running Windows. He does a search for Dell drivers and is directed to the Dell drivers and downloads page. Enters the model number and bang MAGIC the driver is downloaded and with a double click installed. Same user tries this on a fresh install of Linux. Good luck searching forums. You know I'm right but keep arguing. I think this means you have more of an interest in trying to make me look bad than proving anything.

By the way your attitude is one thing that turns users off from Linux. You are doing the Linux community no favors with the condescending remarks.


You can disregard what ever you like, wont hurt my feelings a bit. You made a statements about the ease of installing Linux drivers and I disagree. If you don't like what I post no one is making you read them. You want to talk about going off topic? How about did this go from a Mac hard drive discussion to a personal attack on me?

As for me being a zealot, I like Windows 7 and OS X just fine. I'm a realist when it comes to end users and I don't live in a closed little world where I'm the smartest one on the planet. :rolleyes:

All you sarcasm means nothing. You can't disprove anything I said and this is simply a cop out, nothing more nothing less.



1.) click .exe (assumed to be already on desktop (magically? (THREE LEVELS OF PARANTHETIC YUMMINESS)))
2.) ??? (probably clicking next like a puppy humping a football)
3.) Profit! (Or atleast breaking even)

1. Not magic, its called the internet ( might wanna look into it )
2. Nope twice is plenty.
3. Yep, profit.

I'm a bit more experienced when it comes to Linux and understand typing

Yes but do you understand how to discuss the topic without sounding like an arrogant prick?
 
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