NotSoPowerBook
Thursday of last week I sat down to use my PowerBook on my cheap IKEA desk, (next to my slightly less-cheap Best Buy desk, containing my PC.) As I reached towards the laptop, a large bolt of lightning arced from my fingers to the touchpad. Smoke rose and flames erupted... *ahem* okay, not exactly. I got a mild shock from my computer. This was not the first time this had happened.
Those of you familiar with the latest generation of PowerBooks know that their cases are made almost entirely out of METAL. Metal is known as a good conductor of electricity, a flexible but strong material; used in wires, automobiles, skyscrapers, etc. Laptop computer cases... not so much.
Bottom line, after resurrecting the computer from sleep mode (involving the dreaded forced-power-off,) I went to click some things, and lo-and-behold, the button was not working. Oh, it was mechanically moving up and down, but nothing was happening on the screen. In fact, if I held it over menu items, they would work -- so it was stuck DOWN. After about two hours of resetting this, and rebuilding that, still no dice. I quickly re-learned that trying to use an Apple without a mouse button is something like trying to ride a bicycle without a front tire...
So I brought it into the Apple Store "Genius" at the Mall of America... I decided that my threshold for pain was about $200. (Note: I had not opted for the 2-year AppleCare warranty...) I figure the machine is worth probably around $1100 or so at this point. I'll pass on telling the whimsical conversation with the genius, mainly because I don't remember half of it. Final price tag: $325 if they send it away to Apple, $270 if they fix it there.
Now, once the parts came in - they actually fixed it in just over an hour... I was at the mall for another event with friends, I actually got a voicemail while in the bars on the top floor, saying it was done. When I got down there, with a mild buzz, I inspected the laptop, and made the Genius reseat the F2 key, as it was skewed, but it worked.
While I was waiting, both dropping it off and picking it up, there were at least 2-3 different people bringing their iPod in with problems. One guy had a battery that lasted only an hour, another could only use it for about a day at a time before having to reformat the unit and reload all of his songs. Of course, all of these were also out of warranty, and the best the genius could do was offer a replacement for $250. Note that brand new iPods are about $300. Hmmmm... coincidence?
Obviously, all electronics are going to have issues, and music players as popular as iPods are going to expose them in higher numbers. But, given my experience with the PowerBook, it makes me wonder how much priority Apple gives to design over quality. In other words, are they skimping on quality components, construction, and QA testing to give us shiny things that look good? It wouldn't be the first company...
Those of you familiar with the latest generation of PowerBooks know that their cases are made almost entirely out of METAL. Metal is known as a good conductor of electricity, a flexible but strong material; used in wires, automobiles, skyscrapers, etc. Laptop computer cases... not so much.
Bottom line, after resurrecting the computer from sleep mode (involving the dreaded forced-power-off,) I went to click some things, and lo-and-behold, the button was not working. Oh, it was mechanically moving up and down, but nothing was happening on the screen. In fact, if I held it over menu items, they would work -- so it was stuck DOWN. After about two hours of resetting this, and rebuilding that, still no dice. I quickly re-learned that trying to use an Apple without a mouse button is something like trying to ride a bicycle without a front tire...
So I brought it into the Apple Store "Genius" at the Mall of America... I decided that my threshold for pain was about $200. (Note: I had not opted for the 2-year AppleCare warranty...) I figure the machine is worth probably around $1100 or so at this point. I'll pass on telling the whimsical conversation with the genius, mainly because I don't remember half of it. Final price tag: $325 if they send it away to Apple, $270 if they fix it there.
Now, once the parts came in - they actually fixed it in just over an hour... I was at the mall for another event with friends, I actually got a voicemail while in the bars on the top floor, saying it was done. When I got down there, with a mild buzz, I inspected the laptop, and made the Genius reseat the F2 key, as it was skewed, but it worked.
While I was waiting, both dropping it off and picking it up, there were at least 2-3 different people bringing their iPod in with problems. One guy had a battery that lasted only an hour, another could only use it for about a day at a time before having to reformat the unit and reload all of his songs. Of course, all of these were also out of warranty, and the best the genius could do was offer a replacement for $250. Note that brand new iPods are about $300. Hmmmm... coincidence?
Obviously, all electronics are going to have issues, and music players as popular as iPods are going to expose them in higher numbers. But, given my experience with the PowerBook, it makes me wonder how much priority Apple gives to design over quality. In other words, are they skimping on quality components, construction, and QA testing to give us shiny things that look good? It wouldn't be the first company...
posted by Matt at 10:47 AM
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