I won't bore you with a number of issues with tech support from both Apple Stores and the telephone support during a recent Xserv purchase for my company.
Now I have an iPod issue. I've had the iPod for eight months & the LCD screen suddenly stopped working. I brought it into my local Mac reseller & they thought they could put a new LCD screen in. Turns out they didn't have a 4th generation screen. So they charged me $25 to waste my time.
So they tell me to go online & register to send it in to Mac for repair. The online site leads me through about 15 pages before it tells me "can't verify serial number". I try again. No luck.
The site gives me a number to call for tech support. I ended up speaking to a woman who could speak very little english, but I beared with it. She told me my warranty was expired, that it was a six-month warranty (which is bullshit) and tried to sell me a two-year Apple Care plan. I said no, the warranty is one year and I didn't want Apple Care.
So then she tells me, yes, it's a one-year plan for online support, not for phone support. I didn't see anything about that in the warranty, and I told her the only reason I was calling was because the website didn't work. So she told me she could have it sent in for repair, but it would cost $30 for shipping & handling. I said that was fine. She again went into sales pitch about Apple Care which I said I had no interest in.
She then put me on hold for 10 more minutes (after originally being on hold twice that long) to "check" something. She then started to process the claim & told me a box would be sent to my house in 48 hours & I gave her my address. She then said she was having an issue with the serial number in the computer & that she would have to get back to me and hung up. She never took my phone number.
I then called back to try to speak with someone slightly more competent, waited another 15 minutes & some jackass picks up the phone doing the "pinched-nose-nasal-voice" thing---"Hello, this is Robert, can I start with your first name". I answered him and even spelled it out. His answer--"Hello, this is Robert, can I start with your first name". I repeated it, thinking he might not have heard me. Again he says -"Hello, this is Robert, can I start with your first name". So this time I just hung up on the fucking smart-ass.
So now the wait to see if I ever get the package. Sorry for the rant, but I don't know what the hell is going on with that company & I'm about ready to make "switch" back to PC.
― jay blanchard (jay blanchard), Friday, 4 March 2005 22:01 (seventeen years ago) link
WHAT DID HE EVER DO TO YOU??????????
― IRATE MAMA (Dan Perry), Friday, 4 March 2005 22:05 (seventeen years ago) link
― The Argunaut (sexyDancer), Friday, 4 March 2005 22:06 (seventeen years ago) link
― The Argunaut (sexyDancer), Friday, 4 March 2005 22:07 (seventeen years ago) link
― Aaron A., Friday, 4 March 2005 22:07 (seventeen years ago) link
― Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), Friday, 4 March 2005 22:09 (seventeen years ago) link
― cutty (mcutt), Friday, 4 March 2005 22:11 (seventeen years ago) link
― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 4 March 2005 22:11 (seventeen years ago) link
All too true.
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 4 March 2005 22:11 (seventeen years ago) link
― The Argunaut (sexyDancer), Friday, 4 March 2005 22:12 (seventeen years ago) link
― cutty (mcutt), Friday, 4 March 2005 22:13 (seventeen years ago) link
― Ed (dali), Friday, 4 March 2005 22:15 (seventeen years ago) link
― jbr (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 4 March 2005 22:31 (seventeen years ago) link
― The Argunaut (sexyDancer), Friday, 4 March 2005 22:35 (seventeen years ago) link
― Fish fingers all in a line (kenan), Friday, 4 March 2005 22:40 (seventeen years ago) link
― adam.r.l. (nordicskilla), Friday, 4 March 2005 22:41 (seventeen years ago) link
Apple replaced my new iBook's motherboard while I was in Japan. That's hundreds of dollars worth, at no charge to me. Of course, it shouldn't have failed within six months in the first place...
― Momus (Momus), Friday, 4 March 2005 22:41 (seventeen years ago) link
― Miss Misery (thatgirl), Friday, 4 March 2005 22:42 (seventeen years ago) link
― ffirehorse (firehorse), Friday, 4 March 2005 22:42 (seventeen years ago) link
― adam.r.l. (nordicskilla), Friday, 4 March 2005 22:42 (seventeen years ago) link
That's why they charge you double upfront!
― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Friday, 4 March 2005 22:43 (seventeen years ago) link
― Ed (dali), Friday, 4 March 2005 22:43 (seventeen years ago) link
― The Argunaut (sexyDancer), Friday, 4 March 2005 22:44 (seventeen years ago) link
Because I don't believe in a company making you pay for a warantee that should be offered for free upfront. I was under the impression that a one-year warantee meant that if something goes wrong in the first year, they actually fix the thing, not put you on the phone with several douchebags who are trying to sell you additional warantees.
Shit, when the first warantee doesn't seem to work, why would I want to buy another one?
― jay blanchard (jay blanchard), Friday, 4 March 2005 23:53 (seventeen years ago) link
But it does sound like you have a problem with your serial number, Jay.
― Casuistry (Chris P), Saturday, 5 March 2005 00:00 (seventeen years ago) link
― cutty (mcutt), Saturday, 5 March 2005 00:06 (seventeen years ago) link
― jbr (Jody Beth Rosen), Saturday, 5 March 2005 00:16 (seventeen years ago) link
tho when i was waiting there, i did see todd oldham.
― hstencil (hstencil), Saturday, 5 March 2005 00:20 (seventeen years ago) link
― biznotic, Saturday, 5 March 2005 02:10 (seventeen years ago) link
― RJG (RJG), Saturday, 5 March 2005 02:36 (seventeen years ago) link
― Ed (dali), Saturday, 5 March 2005 06:51 (seventeen years ago) link
― TOMBOT, Saturday, 5 March 2005 20:08 (seventeen years ago) link
― amandasc, Saturday, 5 March 2005 20:38 (seventeen years ago) link
― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Saturday, 5 March 2005 22:12 (seventeen years ago) link
― Ed (dali), Saturday, 5 March 2005 22:21 (seventeen years ago) link
― Orbit (Orbit), Sunday, 6 March 2005 21:02 (seventeen years ago) link
My tech experience with Apple has been sensational. A friend called me today to tell me that his mini iPod was replaced in less than five business days, and he also got the new generation mini in place of his old one that had died. No charge.
I've dealt with Dell and Gateway and their CSRs are no better than Apple's. HPs can blow me, they've sucked.
― don weiner, Sunday, 6 March 2005 23:22 (seventeen years ago) link
the desktop I have at work running XP has been up and alive for 2 years with barely any reboots. It does everything I want it to do, does it quickly, and I can navigate painlessly without ever touching the mouse if I feel like it.
I was raised on Apple and my first job was DTP on a Mac, followed by audio editing on a Mac, more DTP, and so on. OS 7+ had more than its share of problems and stupid quirks but the hardware was rock solid and at least its behavior was predictable.
Since getting my latest-edition powerbook I've put it through little more than I ever tried to do with my old OS
― TOMBOT, Monday, 14 March 2005 17:18 (seventeen years ago) link
...OS
― TOMBOT, Monday, 14 March 2005 17:21 (seventeen years ago) link
My old Quadra used to have a TV Tuner in it and be able to do image captures from live cable broadcasts, then I could import them into my cheap, incredibly easy to use paint program and do whatever with them. I believe it cost approximately half of what my laptop did! My laptop lets me chat and surf the internet. And rip CDs.
― TOMBOT, Monday, 14 March 2005 17:25 (seventeen years ago) link
― TOMBOT, Monday, 14 March 2005 17:49 (seventeen years ago) link
Well today it decided it wasn't going to wake up again, ever, as I'm being greeted with a totally white screen.
What's funny is that like doing searches on my own to try to figure out wtf this computer is doing right now (I mean not even the sad face x-eye Mac or the question mark Mac! NOTHING AT ALL! WHITE SCREEN! I know how to handle the other things!), everyone who is reporting similar issues to me is like bitching about how they have all this important blah blah blah they were doing with the Mac prior hand. Is it that no one who has this failure who is only using their Mac for chat, porn, and MP3s can be bothered to get in on the discussions, or is it because they don't die if that's all you use it for? Because yeah, it seems like my sleep problem increases tenfold whenever I've been using my iBook more for writing or photo work. If all I've done on the damn thing is use iChat for two weeks, no problems whatsoever with starting it up, back when it, uh, started up.
What does this imply??? Is there like some inherent instability in the majority of the "native" programs that come bundled with OSX or is this just really fucked up coincidence?
Also it seems that this particular issue with the iBook G3 was so bad they threw the whole "your warranty is expired, give us $500" shenanigans out the window, and searching on this same issue with "Powerbook" has not given me the same results--ARE IBOOKS PIECES OF SHIT? wtf?
― Allyzay, Monday, 14 March 2005 17:59 (seventeen years ago) link
*with the exception of my ancient PowerMac that I had when I was 14-15-16, which only died because my sister is a dick.
I am pretty close to deciding to become the female Punisher, except murdering computer firms, instead of bad guys.
― Allyzay, Monday, 14 March 2005 18:02 (seventeen years ago) link
And then kind of ran away????
That was pretty funny.
― Allyzay, Monday, 14 March 2005 18:10 (seventeen years ago) link
― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Monday, 14 March 2005 18:24 (seventeen years ago) link
― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Monday, 14 March 2005 18:41 (seventeen years ago) link
― nathalie barefoot in the head (stevie nixed), Monday, 14 March 2005 18:46 (seventeen years ago) link
― TOMBOT, Monday, 14 March 2005 18:47 (seventeen years ago) link
― sunburned and snowblind (kenan), Monday, 14 March 2005 18:49 (seventeen years ago) link
― RJG (RJG), Monday, 14 March 2005 18:50 (seventeen years ago) link
@michael https://www.macrumors.com/2020/05/12/macbook-air-pro-2013-2014-vintage-products/
the complete list is at https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201624
― 龜, Monday, 17 January 2022 13:23 (four months ago) link
Ah, thanks!
Not really clear if Mid-2014 MBP 15" was added to that list before or after that March 2020 post (which includes the 13"), but all rather academic now. It's certainly in the "vintage" category. Of course, the Apple stores were closed for months when I first started thinking I should do something about this but I may have been out of luck even immediately pre-Covid.
Still, it would've been really easy to actually respond to my web appointment info with an email or text.
― Michael Jones, Monday, 17 January 2022 13:40 (four months ago) link
Mind you... "Apple discontinues all hardware service for obsolete products, with the sole exception of Mac notebooks that are eligible for an additional battery-only repair period." "Apple says vintage Macs remain eligible for hardware service at Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers, but only if repair parts are available, or if required by law."
Batteries exist, and were in store at another branch. This may fall into the side-category of Couldn't Be Arsed.
― Michael Jones, Monday, 17 January 2022 13:45 (four months ago) link
re: battery replacement - yeah, mike, we saw that at the time and i checked and got a rather snotty response telling me to go away. still does.
(someone else in my team did have a number that matched but the company that supplies all the office macs (and also does disability assessments...) said they had no plan in place to replace them and, afaik, that's still the case >2 years later despite at least one desk fire)
― koogs, Monday, 17 January 2022 14:02 (four months ago) link
The serial number you entered is not eligible under this program because either:It's not in the affected serial number range.Our records show that your device has already been serviced as part of this Program.
― Presenting the Fabulous Redettes Featuring James (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 17 January 2022 15:22 (four months ago) link
one or the other, who can say
― Tracer Hand, Monday, 17 January 2022 16:01 (four months ago) link
https://www.macrumors.com/2022/01/23/apple-questionable-design-decisions/
This had me lollin
― calstars, Sunday, 23 January 2022 15:03 (three months ago) link
Started hearing a loud popping every time I hit a control key.
― Tapioca Tumbril (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 2 February 2022 17:01 (three months ago) link
https://i.imgur.com/CtcT88t.png
― calstars, Monday, 28 February 2022 01:41 (two months ago) link
https://i.imgur.com/fJOXvYF.png
― calstars, Monday, 28 February 2022 03:32 (two months ago) link
Go fuck yourself
just turn it off
― beard papa, Monday, 28 February 2022 18:37 (two months ago) link
“Former Apple design chief Jony Ive, who still partners with Apple on products, has revealed his 12 must-have design tools for making, marking, measuring, and carrying with him every day. Torque wrench — Snap-On adjustable torque wrench, £455Tonearm — Linn titanium Ekos SE tonearm, $5,645, basilaudio.comHex Keys — Wiha colour-coded hex L-Key set, from $3.69Paper folder — Paper folder, hwebber.co.ukMeasuring Tape — Hermès leather In The Pocket measuring tape, $530Loupe — Vintage brass folding magnifier by Leitz Wetzlar, from Ive’s personal collectionFountain pen — Vintage pen by Montegrappa, from Ive's personal collectionEraser — Graf Von Faber-Castell platinum-plated eraser, £100, jacksonsart.comPencil case — Vintage leather pouch by Visvim, from Ive's personal collectionProtractor — Mitutoyo 6in universal bevel protractor, £264Depth gauge — Starrett 440Z-3RL depth micrometer, $355Weather station — Wempe Navigator II ship’s clock and weather station, $1,960Ive doesn't offer any explanation for what makes the list or what specific products they helped him design, but in a separate piece in which Ive and fellow LoveFrom designer Marc Newson talk about the equipment in their Cotswolds workshop, he opines:‘There's a beauty and a joy in the machines and tools. They are no longer solely a means to an end. I think there's an inherent elegance in an effective tool that normally results in a curious beauty.’”
― calstars, Tuesday, 10 May 2022 23:09 (one week ago) link
carrying with him every day. carrying with him every day. carrying with him every day. carrying with him every day. carrying with him every day.
... why does he carry a tonearm without a turntable
― papal hotwife (milo z), Tuesday, 10 May 2022 23:12 (one week ago) link
The comments are pretty good too. “This is the guy who designs rectangles for a living.”https://www.macrumors.com/2022/05/09/jony-ive-essential-tools-designing/https://images.macrumors.com/t/4iJjJnuI2LD2lOPHH6pqvIbgqJ8=/1600x0/article-new/2021/11/jony-ive-ipad-pro.jpeghttps://images.macrumors.com/t/4iJjJnuI2LD2lOPHH6pqvIbgqJ8=/1600x0/article-new/2021/11/jony-ive-ipad-pro.jpeghttps://images.macrumors.com/t/4iJjJnuI2LD2lOPHH6pqvIbgqJ8=/1600x0/article-new/2021/11/jony-ive-ipad-pro.jpeg
― calstars, Tuesday, 10 May 2022 23:30 (one week ago) link
anyone else's airpods shit the bed in the past day? mine decided they wouldn't connect to anything for longer than a fraction of a second as of yesterday evening (connection was getting flakey for a day before that). This indicates there is a firmware problem, which Apple already denied.
https://www.reddit.com/r/airpods/comments/un9c9p/airpods_pro_keeps_disconnecting_from_iphone_after/?%24deep_link=true&correlation_id=e33e5cd8-5a51-4948-9537-0de8281a748a&post_fullname=t3_un9c9p&post_index=1&ref=email_digest&ref_campaign=email_digest&ref_source=email&utm_content=post_body&%243p=e_as&_branch_match_id=1044604750058356520&utm_medium=Email%20Amazon%20SES&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA22Q60rEMBCFnyb%2Ba%2Bs2rdsKiwjiawwxmbbD5kYuVN%2FeqeviHyGBw3cyZ2aylRLzc9clNIZKq2JsLflrJ%2BOL6AcZLwgqP7AMiVbyykJN9rIdVUK%2Biv6dz77v7W%2B9Do5B4qsoxWAyK2YOfTlk9bOe458LMQW4IsYMhrIO3qMu5FdYUnBAcQue%2By8Fj0Qhudlg%2BDUcIwr5VlJF0T%2FpkBJaVSh4IMMcpcRRm6kZ1XhqhnmYmnmU5%2BbR4NRPJ3UeJsV1MeQCS7XWK4dHnIT7gDePvMFPNk4MEi5HslNkedYVc7lB0MpFRav%2F382hJo13j2EtDnjRwj%2FC9KfNRzBf39j6pEyIAQAA
― akm, Thursday, 12 May 2022 13:35 (six days ago) link
Just plug them in. Arf.
― Chewshabadoo, Thursday, 12 May 2022 13:46 (six days ago) link
sorry if I'm misreading an attempt at a snappy response, but that doesn't make any sense.
― akm, Thursday, 12 May 2022 13:58 (six days ago) link
I don’t have an answer for you arf but I sympathize , I don’t think the tech is quite there yet for seemless operation 100 pct of the time for the air pods. Hurts even more when you consider the cost.
― calstars, Thursday, 12 May 2022 14:12 (six days ago) link
Sorry I’m from the old school that thinks wireless for something like this is a bit of a silly idea. Boomer out.
― Chewshabadoo, Thursday, 12 May 2022 15:41 (six days ago) link
yes earbuds that you plug in work fine. this isn't a point about ones with a cord. airpods do not have a cord. thanks for playing.
― akm, Thursday, 12 May 2022 16:06 (six days ago) link
Ngl, agree with Chewshabadoo— this sort of tech is inherently unreliable and the Pods seem to take a shit after several months of even gentle use, from what friends have told me. Not trying to be snide, just don’t really get why you need AirPods. Is a cord really such an encumbrance?
― we need outrage! we need dicks!! (the table is the table), Thursday, 12 May 2022 16:13 (six days ago) link
I've had my airpods for a few years and they work great. There was one spell where they were having trouble connecting and I thought maybe they were dead but I put them in the charger and reset everything and now they're fine again.
― dan selzer, Thursday, 12 May 2022 16:20 (six days ago) link
tips i give new parents that are not obvious but turn out to be incredibly valuable:
get a grabber for picking things up/recovering things from under furniture
get massive s-biners for hanging stuff off the stroller like a pack mule (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nite-Ize-S-Biner-SBP8-Charm-01BG/dp/B0056NNVXO/)
get wireless earbuds because you're going to be stuck in place under a baby a lot, audiobooks and podcasts will keep you sane, and wired headphones will make keeping the baby calm impossible.
― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Thursday, 12 May 2022 17:00 (six days ago) link
personally though i just get cheap "earfun" brand buds for lke $30. don't listen to music on them so don't care about sound quality.
i bought a $50 pair a couple years ago and they are honestly one of the most unexpectedly life-improving things I've ever purchased because untangling headphones is something that would be assigned to me in hell
― joygoat, Thursday, 12 May 2022 17:42 (six days ago) link
same. was skeptical but cannot imagine going back.
― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Thursday, 12 May 2022 17:43 (six days ago) link
My “damn, they actually are worth it” transition was from other Bluetooth (inc. some true wireless JBL ones) headphones. Pairing and swapping between different devices (Apple ones at least) is just so much smoother, as is charging. Wired headphones are great too depending on the context, sure.
― Alba, Thursday, 12 May 2022 17:52 (six days ago) link
Who cheapo wireless earbuds do people recommend?
― Don't Renege On (Our Dub) (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 12 May 2022 17:55 (six days ago) link
Which? #AtLeastOneTypoPerPostGuaranteed
my wife has these and is fine with them but she's easily impressed (she is my wife) https://smile.amazon.com/EarFun-Bluetooth-Waterproof-Earphones-Headphones/dp/B07R5MKX3K?th=1
i stepped up to these because the mic on those cheaper ones is terrible and i take a call on them once every couple of months. but never use the noise cancelling feature https://smile.amazon.com/Cancelling-EarFun-Bluetooth-Transparent-Waterproof/dp/B08LYXGB89/.
― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Thursday, 12 May 2022 17:57 (six days ago) link
the cheap ones are one of the wirecutter "under $50" recommendations
― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Thursday, 12 May 2022 17:58 (six days ago) link
untangling headphones?
― Yul Brynner film festival on Channel 48... (sic), Thursday, 12 May 2022 18:00 (six days ago) link
<blockquote>Pairing and swapping between different devices (Apple ones at least) is just so much smoother</blockquote>
right. definitely don't get the ones i recommend if you plan to connect them to more than just your phone.
― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Thursday, 12 May 2022 18:10 (six days ago) link
lol <blockquote>
― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Thursday, 12 May 2022 18:43 (six days ago) link
i bought the fancy wirecutter recommendations (jabra 75t) and they work but kinda suck, like they sound bad and i had to superglue the tips on b/c they kept getting lodged in my ear and i would have to fish em out with tweezers, thanks wirecutter
gonna try the cheap ones, noise cancelling is fucking stupid
― adam, Thursday, 12 May 2022 18:53 (six days ago) link
On my walks I often see lonely single ear buds laying on the ground... such a waste
― Andy the Grasshopper, Thursday, 12 May 2022 19:07 (six days ago) link
I've never owned Apple's version, but wireless headphones/earbuds has been a game changer for me - I'll never willingly go back to wired.
― beard papa, Thursday, 12 May 2022 19:17 (six days ago) link
guess it’s just mw and Chewshabadoo backing the Ludd Gang then
― we need outrage! we need dicks!! (the table is the table), Thursday, 12 May 2022 19:19 (six days ago) link
I don't use earbuds at all. They're much more damaging to your hearing than cans.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Thursday, 12 May 2022 19:28 (six days ago) link
xp My AirPods have better sound quality than my sub-$30 Bluetooth earbuds, but they fall off every time I put them on, so I only use the cheap ones
― Brad C., Thursday, 12 May 2022 19:34 (six days ago) link
i bought the fancy wirecutter recommendations (jabra 75t) and they work but kinda suck
― Alba, Thursday, 12 May 2022 19:43 (six days ago) link
yeah there are multiple reasons why I prefer the wireless ones which were mostly stated above. Anyway, seems to be confirmed in that reddit thread above that apple fucked something up completely which is affecting some but not all airpods on the market and to fix it you either have to upgrade to a beta version of iOS (which will only fix your ability to connect to your phone, so no help if you need to connect to your laptop) or wait for them to fix it. Quite annoying.
― akm, Thursday, 12 May 2022 20:24 (six days ago) link
Dropouts when using AirPlay to stream from Music to an Airport Express. (Dropouts kinda understates it, it'll just stop streaming.) Switching back to the Music app always fixes it, so I'm guessing that "keep miniplayer on top" would work. Trying renice -20 first though. I shouldn't have to do any of this though!
― brisk money (lukas), Sunday, 15 May 2022 19:58 (three days ago) link
Trying renice -20 first though.
failure
keep miniplayer on top working so far but ugh
― brisk money (lukas), Sunday, 15 May 2022 20:12 (three days ago) link
fun fact about Jabra earbuds is they don’t support “computers”, ie if something doesn’t work and you’re not connected to an android or iOS phone then they you’re out of luck.
― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Sunday, 15 May 2022 20:15 (three days ago) link
for babies and any other situation where earbuds help sanity but you can't afford to not hear stuff around you... the Sony Linkbuds got me to take the plunge on wireless. They have a hole in the middle. Been very good. Would only recommend trying if you can get them somewhere that would accept a return though. Very subjective fit (and thus, sound too).
― maf you one two (maffew12), Sunday, 15 May 2022 20:49 (three days ago) link
(the airpod shape doesn't stay in for me either)
― maf you one two (maffew12), Sunday, 15 May 2022 20:51 (three days ago) link
God, yes, airplay dropouts, the bane of my existence for a while. You can avoid it with a wired connection. Eventually I gave up, put my entire library on an older Mac Mini, and control it using iTunes remote. No issues since then.
― assert (matttkkkk), Sunday, 15 May 2022 23:00 (three days ago) link