Month: August 2006

OK, as you can imagine, after bringing my MacBook home and shortly thereafter it tanked on me, I was… shall we say… a bit perturbed.

I was also not thinking to level-headedly either. Since it was too late to take it back to the Apple store, later that evening, I performed the “normal” diagnostics, including resetting the PRAM, which seems to have resolved the problem.

I’ve also since installed the latest MacBook firmware update, which supposedly only modifies fan behavior,but so far the machine is running fine.

Technorati Tags: Apple, Applecare, Blog, Computer, Mac, MacBook, OSX

I got my Macbook back today.

A quick check this morning revealed that Applecare had Fedexed my Macbook back to the Apple store. It was already in Phoenix last night, and I could reasonably expect it to arrive today.

As I left work, Fedex showed it had been delivered several hours earlier, and, since the Apple Store is on my way home, I swung in to see if I could pick it up.

It hadn’t be unpacked yet, but they were kind enough to check with the testers downstairs (apparently there’s a basement) and one of them uncrated my machine and brought it up for me.

We powered it up and checked it out. I seemed to be working normally.

There are, to my knowledge, 6 commonly mentioned problems with Macbooks

1. Mooing
2. Random Shutdowns
3. Random Wireless loss of signal
4. Stains forming on the case
5. Screens showing white with colored bars

Mine has been doing the Moo thing since I got it, but, it’s so quiet it really doesn’t bother me. Apple just released a firmware patch that addresses that issue, and my hope was that it would be already installed on my newly refurbished Macbook. It wasn’t, but when we powered it up at the Apple store, it was ready to download and install it. I choose to postpone that till I got home on electrical power.

Of course, mine was experiencing the random shutdowns and wireless losses, which is why it was in the shop. So that makes 3 problems that should have been addressed.

The staining had not been an issue at all with mine, but I discovered that Applecare had replaced the offending plastic parts anyway. Can’t complain there, that’s 4 problems addressed.

Finally, the color streaks… I’d never seen any sign of it. Until I got it home today and rebooted, and now it doesn’t work.

Looks like it is back to the Apple Store tomorrow. This doesn’t leave a good impression.

Technorati Tags: Apple, Applecare, Blog, Computer, Mac, MacBook, OSX

I remember the good old days when “monsoon” season meant rain every day, not once a month. Now, monsoon just means high heat and high humidity.

We do still get some nice cloud build up at sunset, though.

Technorati Tags: Blog

You know, normally, I really, really just don’t care what the neighbors do with their landscaping.

I know that a lot of them get all goofy when someone’s lawn is 1 inch longer than regulation, or there’s a plastic grocery bag blown into the hedges, but I just generally don’t care.

Live and let live, I say.

But this is over the line. Last Sunday this car caught fire about 3 houses down the street from me. It’s been a week and the burnt out hulk is still there. I’m getting rapidly tired of the neighborhood looking like a set piece for a Mad Max movie.

Besides, they haven’t even bothered to sweep up the debris in the road surrounding the wreck.

Technorati Tags: Blog, Commentary, Rant

My baby is on its way home!

(Took long enough, didn’t it? Hope that means I have a new revision motherboard now.)

Technorati Tags: Apple, Blog, Computer, Mac, MacBook, OSX

camerongray.net => This train is delayed until Windows reboots

Oh heck, it’s just fun to pick on Windows some days!

In this case, the train scheduling system for a UK train is no longer operating because of low Windows virtual memory. See the article, and more importantly, the picture for more details.

Picking on Windows is just a relief for my frustration as they’re still waiting on the part to fix my Macbook. (arg)

Sure, I like to complain about the squat toilets in Taiwan, but at least the expectation is that you use toilet paper. (But don’t flush it, heavens no!)

This photo of a squatter in Bali really makes you think: How do you use that scoop to clean yourself? Do you fill it with water, bend over and attempt to power splash yourself with it?

I’ll stick with my electronic Japanese-style toilet seats, thank you.

On a seperate note, this photo is from Alidarbac’s Flickr Page. I don’t know the guy, but he’s (usually) located in Taiwan, and he takes a lot of really nice photos. His is one of the very few Flickr photostreams that I subscribe to.

Technorati Tags: Blog, Toilet, Travel

Just when I think the Japanese cannot surprise me any more, they go and do something like:

They make an aerobics video that teaches you how to be properly mugged, in English. (And for dads, there’s the gratuitous breast zooms during the exercise sequences – although sometimes they miss and zoom on the shoulder.)

Technorati Tags: Blog, Japan, Japanese, Video, YouTube

So sad, so sad.

My Macbook was dropped off at the Apple store on the 7th, apparently arrived at the repair center on the 9th… and there it sits, awaiting a new logic board.

What sort of repair center is that? They should have major parts at the repair center, that’s just common sense. I’ve negotiated enough computer maintenance contracts to know that you always have a specified “parts depth” – that is, you’ve got certain inventory levels, and they you have reliable access with timely guarantees for the other components, based on criticality and frequency of repair need.

2 days for any part being delivered to a “repair center” is too long.

Gripe, gripe, gripe… I want my Macbook back. Using the iBook just isn’t the same.

Of course… the iBook works…

Technorati Tags: Apple, Applecare, Blog, Computer, Mac, MacBook, OSX, Technology