Apple could be facing a large public relations fiasco with their educational computer, the eMac, at a time they can least afford it. According to a MacFixIt report published Thursday there is a problem affecting large numbers of eMac displays. From the article:

The "raster shift" problem causes the bottom third or half of the screen to go black, with the rest of image shifting upward and out of the top boundary of the display. Serious static also accompanies the problem, rendering the viewable part of the screen virtually useless.

Complaints about this have also been echoed in discussion forums such as our own and Appleis.

According to MacFixIt, the problem seems to be widespread with retailers reporting anywhere from 15 to 60 percent failure rates on new units. Some have even stopped selling the model in the interests of customer relations and service costs. The article quotes one retailer specifically:

"After replacing 30 percent of the PAV boards in units I have sold and having to travel 50 miles to repair another (weire AASP+ Certified), I have made the decision to no longer sell or recommend eMacs to customers.

"On the inside, in my opinion, the design and workmanship are obviously poor on the PAV - which is a ione piecei unit with the power supply, video board and monitor all in one. Heavy, bulky, awkward, and generally a pain to replace."

This problem could compound Appleis troubles in the educational sector. As reported earlier by TMO, Apple is already behind Dell by 14% in educational computer sales. A major flaw in its main educational model could hurt sales even more.

Apple could not be reached for comment on this before press time.