Computing with Bifocals - 16 Days Without My Mac!?!
by
- January 27th, 2006
As I am writing this I have been without my computer for 16 days. That is s.i.x.t.e.e.n. days. One six. Days. Without my computer.
I am writing this in longhand. You remember longhand. We learned it in elementary school. I think it was about third grade. We used paper and pencil and practiced curving our letters properly. Longhand doesn't have a spell check.
This all started out so innocently. For quite some time the FireWire port on my computer has not worked. That means, among other things, that my iSight camera won't work on my computer. I live in Texas and my son lives in California so I like to use the camera when I communicate with him. I can tell how he is doing if I can see him.
Fixing the FireWire port means replacing the motherboard which is expensive. My children gave me that repair as a Christmas gift. The computer went off, the work was done, and I had it back in a jiffy. I was a happy camper.
It only lasted 4 days. It died. It went back. The new motherboard was faulty. They are waiting for a replacement part. I am waiting for my computer. There is no estimated time for its return.
I once wrote a column about the entire broadband Internet service in my city going off-line for almost a week. That column was titled " My E-mail is Down? The Apocalypse Has Begun" At this point I should insert a link to that previous column [Editor's Note: We've got your back, Nancy] but of course I can't do that because I DON'T HAVE my computer! Putting things in perspective, not having e-mail wasn't as bad as I thought.
And did I mention the fact that longhand doesn't include spell check? I thought so. It took me 20 minutes to find a dictionary so I could look up the spelling of apocalypse. On a good day spelling is not at the top of the list of my personal accomplishments. Even if it were, apocalypse has not been a frequently used word around my house since previously mentioned son was a teenager and mistakenly assumed his room only had to been cleaned once a year.
A word to the wise here. When my computer died it did not flash me a message that said "excuse me, I am going to crash and burn. You have an hour to back up your data."
Eventually my beloved Mac will find its way back home. Meanwhile I have used the ubiquitous longhand, a friend's computer, the computers available at a local restaurant that makes Macs available to the public at no charge, and the computers available at our local public libraries.
And here is another word to the wise. If you choose to use one of the free computers available at your local public library to view porn with your sweetie, it is not a good idea to discuss what you are viewing in a normal speaking voice. It's way more information than I wanted.
Copies of Nancy's book Tips, Hints, and Solutions for Seasoned Beginners Using Apple Macintosh Computers With OS X are available in PDF download versions for US$9.57 and in print version for $18.15 plus $4.00 shipping. To view sample pages and get ordering information visit the September 14, 2004 column.
| Check out Nancy's complete index of all her columns for the most complete list of tips anywhere. The list is categorized and is a great reference when you are looking for help!
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Nancy has a Master's degree in Human Services Administration and prior to her retirement she worked for almost 30 years in field of mental health and mental retardation. She has been a Mac user for 11 years, and has recently developed an avocation of teaching basic computer skills in both group and one-to-one settings.
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Observer Comments
She has my sympathy. My PowerBook is out of action, thankfully it had given me some warning of its impending doom, so I did make a full backup. I'm now using an old Dell PC. I do miss right (ctrl) clicking to make sure words are spelt correctly.
I've made the PC look as much like a Mac as I could using Flyakite It's more a comfort thing, not having to look at a white arrow. Mind, using ctrl instead of command is something I don't want to get used to.
I can't really complain, I still have access to my brother's iMac (with my backup attached) and the PC isn't so bad. I'd previously gone through the pain of networking it. (properties after properties after properties) So just surfing etc. it's fine. At least I don't need to go out in the cold.
Sat Jan 28, 2006 3:40 pm Subject: You should demand a replacement
Sat Jan 28, 2006 10:13 pm Subject: Third party repair, i’ll wager
Quotegopher wrote:
Apple has a certain replacement policy. I think more than 16 days is really too long. If you are backed up, call them up and just ask for a replacement computer. If you aren't backed up, have them extract the hard drive and copy the information onto a new computer.
She probably had to take it to a third party (e.g. Authorized Dealer) for repair.
Wonder what kind of Mac Nancy had? If it had been a laptop or desktop (other than iMac or eMac), a FireWire card would have done the trick. Might have been cheaper to have just bought a new Mac mini than an iMac logic board.
Sun Jan 29, 2006 12:18 pm Subject:
"She probably had to take it to a third party (e.g. Authorized Dealer) for repair.
Wonder what kind of Mac Nancy had? If it had been a laptop or desktop (other than iMac or eMac), a FireWire card would have done the trick. Might have been cheaper to have just bought a new Mac mini than an iMac logic board."
You are correct. My Mac rests with a third party Authorized Dealer rather than Apple itself. I still don't have it back. With the help of a friend I tried an insertable PC FireWire card before it ever went off for service the first time, but that did not solve the problem. My iSight camera still would not work although it worked fine on another machine. My computer is a PowerBook G4. I think it is called a Titanium. It has 1 GM of memory. To replace it with a Mac mini and a new monitor, and that much memory would, I think, have been the more expensive option.
I appreciate the thoughtful tips though.
Mon Jan 30, 2006 10:24 am Subject: In a working environment . . .
. . .Its WORSE! My Mac was down for a total of 6 months! I had to work on a 'LightStand" iMac and that only had 128 megs of RAM! Its was torture!
Turns out the G5 had a dead processor causing it to kernel panic and then a faulty motherboard too boot. Now it works like a dream. Its like being re-born almost. Knowing that it was fixed and fixed well was a relief!
I don't know why this is an "article" instead of a blog. There's no story here... just a complaint.
I worked for an Apple Service provider for over 5 years. Sometimes Apple just doesn't have stock of a part. Its not common, but it happens. When it does happen, it can take a couple of weeks.
The other side of this story is how FAST Apple usually is at repairing their laptops. While I worked as an ASP, and now in an enterprise environment, the norm is: I call one day, get a box to ship it out the next, send it in that day and get it back 2 days later. We're talking 4 days from broken to up-and-running in most of my situations. The only times it has taken longer is A) parts aren't available or B) Apple is unable to reproduce the problem to troubleshoot properly.
Oh, and replacements don't happen unless you have had at least 3 component failures. And even then it is like pulling teeth unless you happen to get the right person on the phone.
Mon Jan 30, 2006 5:28 pm Subject:
Quotebrett_x wrote:
I don't know why this is an "article" instead of a blog. There's no story here... just a complaint.
Thank you for registering, but if you're going to make comments, be nice. It's irrelevant whether it's a blog or an article. The quotes you put around article make your comment loaded and agressive.
Comments are currently closed. Please email the author instead.
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