Consumption: New Computer III

I want to share my immense frustration about problems with the CD burning function on my iMac.

From the first time that I unsuccessfully tried to do so, I have been utterly unable to burn a CD from iTunes. I get the same failure message ("attempt to burn disc failed"), iTunes has to be closed because it is "not responding properly", and a blank CD has useless, unplayable and unremovable AIFF files on it.

Upon researching the message boards in the iTunes help section, I realized that many other people have had similar CD burning problems and that such problems have been occurring for some time now. This indicates to me that burning CDs from iTunes has been a consistent problem of which Apple has either actual or constructive knowledge.

In addition to calling customer service (who instructed me to re-run the install discs that came with the computer), I have tried all of the trouble shooting tips discussed in the help section dealing with CD burning problems, all to no avail.

The primary reasons I got an iMac were to avoid internet-related problems found on PCs and for the user-friendly multi-media features that Apple focuses on in its marketing and advertising campaigns. While the internet is working great, I am thoroughly disappointed in iTunes’ failure to properly burn a CD. It is apparent that there is some flaw in iTunes such that, for many people, it is incapable of burning a CD. More egregiously, I am disturbed that Apple appears to have knowledge of this problem yet has allowed it to continue while still selling computers on which this problem persists.

While I have not yet taken the machine into the store, I have a feeling that this problem will persist and, moreover, am so annoyed that something I just bought will likely have to be sent in to the shop (which, I similarly fear, will result in further futility). Regardless as to whether it's a software or hardware problem, the right kind of blank CD is being used (the ones I have tried worked fine on my old laptop PC) or if the issue is ever solved, the harm has been done. For a product which prides itself on being easy to use right out of the box, its failure to burn even one CD is, as political leaders sometimes like to say, "disappointing."