Apple Crumble

(listen to apple deny everything)

Jan. 21, 2006

I am still getting emails on this issue. I thought it was over. It's not, it may be that Apple is still using the old badly designed board in their warranty replacements. This was not such a big deal, 3 years ago when the program started, but now some peoples systems are failing with just a few weeks or months left before the warranty expires and they worry that Apple is replacing a faulty board with yet another faulty board! How many of these things did they make anyway? Read one more attempt to bring Steve back to his senses...

November 01, 2005

It's Dead Steve

I spoke too soon, my iBook is dead, the logic board failed this afternoon. I have seen this before, and I have been expecting it, but still when it comes it is a bit of a shock. I won't be taking it in for a repair. Time to sell it on eBay for whatever I can get for it. Someone make me an offer.

October 30, 2005

Happy Halloween! Well, it's been too long since I've commented on the latest Apple news, but now this scratch thing with the Nano has really got me interested again. I am truly surprised, it's supposed to be Microsoft that ships product for beta testing, not Apple - but here they are doing it again - shipping product that is clearly not ready. Easily scratched screens are nothing new, PDA's, cell phones, digicams et al have suffered from this since day one, hence the market in screen protectors. Why not make a scratch resistant screen? Cost; Apple, like everyone else, needs to keep costs down and scratch resistant plastic is more expensive than the recycled soda bottle plastic  they seem to be using on the Nano now.

What is puzzling is their response the Nano class action suit and the surrounding bad publicity. Just like they did with the iBook they deny and stonewall. Why not admit it, do a recall... you know just fix it so the schmuck who bought a scratchy Nano can get a new, non-scratchy Nano, just like they eventually did with the iBook? At least the price point on flash memory is to the point where it can compete with hard drives, putting your entire life on an hd the size of quarter which is spinning at thousands of rpm just millimetres above the platter - and then going jogging with it never seemed to me to be a good solution. Apple did do small mea culpa on September 26, but characterized it as a "minor" problem.

As a human being and small business owner, I find this odd and counter-productive. If you have an unhappy customer, you try to make them a happy customer! Maybe Apple figures all these people who are buying iPods and Nanos aren't really interested in gigabytes or great sound but they just want to make a fashion statement. And they may be right, as John Dvorak points out in a recent column, there were lots of great Mp3, and even video players out there before the iPod and the Nano. So what makes that iPod different? It's cool! At least several million people think so.  It's not so cool though if it is not shiny though, so they better fix this scratch thing!

As for my iBook? Well, I gave up on using it as a real computer, so I keep it on my kitchen table, where it is on all pretty much all the time. I use it to surf the web (I use Firefox of course) and to check the news and weather, it's also good to find a recipe for oyster chowder too! Of course it's dirty now and is not so shiny, so I guess it's not cool, but it still works! I am grateful though.  With Apple every day is a gift!

May 31 2004

A few days ago my power transformer failed to function. It gets warm, but no power comes out. I did some research and have discovered that this problem may be quite common. As they did with the iBook Apple is stalling, prevaricating, denying, stonewalling and dissembling - after all they have lots of experience in those areas!

If you are affected by this problem you may want to visit Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLB at their web site to sign up for yet another round of really annoyed and feeling ripped off (again) iBook users vs Steve Jobs. 

So after a mere 4 months of life, my iBook is dead again. If anyone is interested in buying it, make me an offer. I will never ever give Apple another cent. 

What a truly pathetic and reprehensible organization. Junk junk junk, and expensive junk at that. 

May 17 2004

Doing the Right Thing

My iBook is still working (almost 4 months), and compared to my 3 plus year old PC it is agonizingly slooooow.

Over at 1 Infinity Loop Apple is having some problems with their iPods, but overall people seem happy with Apple; sales are up, as is their profile. Did they do the right thing on the iBook? The debate continues but most people seem happy with the 3 year extended warranty. I still get some correspondence  from people who have experienced multiple logic board failures, under the extended world-wide warranty of course, but still feel "robbed" due to losing data (I know they should have backed up, but let he who is without sin cast the first one here, it sure won't be me) and more importantly for some - their time. They have a point, after all if the merchandise was not shoddy, they would not have lost their time and their data. But what is Apple to do? Pay them for their lost time at their usual rate? Hmmm Some have suggested an upgrade, but as much as that might be fair, given the current lack of any real heat on the issue, we won't be getting any happy news soon. 

Feb. 5, 2004

It's back...

Just got back from my local Apple re-seller with a repaired iBook. It was in the shop for 16 days! They wound up replacing the logic board, the bottom case, and my hd. The hd is a mystery because it worked right up until the end. Since the hd was new I had to reinstall the OS and applications myself, the shop offered, but I declined. I just wanted to get home. Fortunately I was backed up. 

Am I happy? Well, since I am just back to where I started, with a "repaired" iBook, and have  lost business, lost much time, etc., no, I am not. But I do have a pretty cool (when it works) little laptop - so infinite possibilities beckon.

New World Record Set for Logic Board Failures?

In other news I have an email from someone who tells me that an apple rep referred to a redesigned logic board which started shipping on January 28th. If anyone has any information on this, I would love to hear about it. He also tells us that he has had his logic board replaced with what must be a world record - six times!

January 30, 2004

They did the right thing...
Apple has announced a three year extended warranty on most models of iBooks®. Is this perfect, is everyone happy? No. For those who purchased Applecare, there are no gains, as Apple would have fixed their machines anyway, and they still have to suffer serious downtime.

And for reasons that are unclear, the warranty upgrade does not apply to all iBook models, this is not a good time for Apple to quibble over model numbers when all eyes are upon them, no pun intended.

There has been no announcement around whether or not Apple would continue replacing defective logic boards with yet more defective logic boards. There are many accounts in chat rooms and reports to Eyestir of logic boards requiring replacement up to 5 times, so your warranty may have been extended but your troubles are not over.

I do appreciate Apples efforts in this area, and it was the right thing - there is more to do; but to be fair - Apple may be on the path to greatness again. They seem to be trying!  So dig your Steve Jobs poster out of the recycle bin, but don't put it back up just yet. Let's see how it goes.

Major credit for this victory must go to Michael at www.blackcider.com for his enormous efforts in the war on terrible! From me and all the many iRate customers that have called and emailed me, we thank you.

Bill Owen
Ottawa, ON