Worms in the Apple.
Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm a Mac guy. I obviously like their products -- between office and home I have a Mac Mini, a G5 Tower, an iBook, an Xserve, a MacBook, an iPod Nano, and I'm drooling in anticipation of the release of the iPhone. I've been to MacWorld twice, hold multiple Apple certifications, and I occassionally teach Apple courses for a small consultant firm in Las Vegas.
So, I like Apple. But today, I like them a little less than I liked them yesterday.
My boss has an iMac G5 on her desk, about 2.5 years old. The machine is now on its third logic board (also known as a motherboard, the "brains" of the machine). Over the weekend, the machine failed in the exact same way it has failed two previous times. Completely dead as a doornail, refuses to boot. Pressing the power button does absolutely nothing. For the third time in less than 30 months, the logic board needs to be replaced.
The first time it happened, the machine was still under its one-year warranty, and the replacement was free. The second time it happened (last January) was less than five months later and the machine was just barely out of warranty -- two weeks out of warranty, to be exact. After stating my case to an Apple technician on the phone, they agreed to make an "exception" and replace the part for free.
At the time, we attempted to purchase an extended warranty on this computer, believing this problem to be chronic and likely to return. Unfortunately, Apple will not sell an extended warranty on a computer that is out of its original warranty period, and they would not make an "exception" for that policy.
So, now that it has happened for a third time, 14 months later, there are no more "exceptions" to be had. I just got off the phone with a helpful and sympathetic technican, as well as his much-less-helpful and useless supervisor. Both of them basically said that we were shit out of luck, though the first guy said it a nicer way.
Look, I understand, maybe better than anyone, that computers break. It's what they do, and it keeps me employed. But three failures of the same part in less than 30 months? An average of one logic board failure every 9 months? Doesn't that seem excessive, perhaps an indication of a design flaw in this particular product??
Apple's default one-year warranty has always been a little on the chintzy side, although a lot of other PC makers are following suit and shortening their own warranties. But, here's the worse part -- replacement components, such as this logic board, are warrantied only for 90 days.
So, if we were to shell out the approximately $400-500 for a replacement board, we're only guaranteed this computer will work for another three months!! After that, all bets are off.
I just can't do it, can't recommend to my boss that we spend that kind of money on an unreliable computer. It's better to put that money towards a new computer, and the extended warranty. But I'm disappointed with Apple, and I said this to both Jeff and Ben on the phone, that they don't stand behind their replacement parts for longer than 90 days. That's just absurd.
Apple's weakest point has always been its warranty and service policies, and that doesn't seem to be changing anytime soon.
So, I like Apple. But today, I like them a little less than I liked them yesterday.
My boss has an iMac G5 on her desk, about 2.5 years old. The machine is now on its third logic board (also known as a motherboard, the "brains" of the machine). Over the weekend, the machine failed in the exact same way it has failed two previous times. Completely dead as a doornail, refuses to boot. Pressing the power button does absolutely nothing. For the third time in less than 30 months, the logic board needs to be replaced.
The first time it happened, the machine was still under its one-year warranty, and the replacement was free. The second time it happened (last January) was less than five months later and the machine was just barely out of warranty -- two weeks out of warranty, to be exact. After stating my case to an Apple technician on the phone, they agreed to make an "exception" and replace the part for free.
At the time, we attempted to purchase an extended warranty on this computer, believing this problem to be chronic and likely to return. Unfortunately, Apple will not sell an extended warranty on a computer that is out of its original warranty period, and they would not make an "exception" for that policy.
So, now that it has happened for a third time, 14 months later, there are no more "exceptions" to be had. I just got off the phone with a helpful and sympathetic technican, as well as his much-less-helpful and useless supervisor. Both of them basically said that we were shit out of luck, though the first guy said it a nicer way.
Look, I understand, maybe better than anyone, that computers break. It's what they do, and it keeps me employed. But three failures of the same part in less than 30 months? An average of one logic board failure every 9 months? Doesn't that seem excessive, perhaps an indication of a design flaw in this particular product??
Apple's default one-year warranty has always been a little on the chintzy side, although a lot of other PC makers are following suit and shortening their own warranties. But, here's the worse part -- replacement components, such as this logic board, are warrantied only for 90 days.
So, if we were to shell out the approximately $400-500 for a replacement board, we're only guaranteed this computer will work for another three months!! After that, all bets are off.
I just can't do it, can't recommend to my boss that we spend that kind of money on an unreliable computer. It's better to put that money towards a new computer, and the extended warranty. But I'm disappointed with Apple, and I said this to both Jeff and Ben on the phone, that they don't stand behind their replacement parts for longer than 90 days. That's just absurd.
Apple's weakest point has always been its warranty and service policies, and that doesn't seem to be changing anytime soon.
Labels: geekiness
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