Ruminating Slav

17.5-month mama & son

17.5-month mama & son second close-up, originally uploaded by *Karo*.

Wherein I give you, reader, a few more reasons to sneer in my general direction

My MacBook Pro arrived back home today with its logic board replaced. They also replaced the topcase assembly, which is pretty funny considering the topcase assembly was replaced less than a month ago, last time I sent the MBP in. Now, me, if I were a tech at the repair facility and I was working on a machine that had been sent again for a problem that remained unfixed, I might actually read the notes from the previous repair. But hey, that's just me. Perhaps Apple has a huge overstock of MBP topcase assemblies and they're replacing them on every unit that comes through the repair center. Maybe.

So now the wait begins. The first time I shut the lid on this bad boy and it doesn't go to sleep, I'm going to be on the horn to executive relations faster than you can say, "Help me, Steve Jobs; you're my only hope."



By way of congratulating Apple on getting my laptop back to me, I wandered on over to my local Apple store this afternoon and bought the new Apple TV. Why, you ask? Because I am a sucker. Duh. On the bright side, if you've been itching for a widescreen, HD slideshow of my son (and you know you have), come on over!

The new season begins...today!
Originally uploaded by macslost.

Have we discussed the Buffy comics yet, interwebs? Run, do not walk, to your local nerd emporium comic book store and pick up the first issue, cause that shit is goooood. Although I have to say, I don't know how comic book fans (BK!) do it, cause one issue is like ¼ of a TV episode and then you have to wait a whole month to see what happens next. What's that all about? I for one would be willing to pay to have them speed that shit up. Then again, I'm also the person who bought the variant cover of the first issue and will be buying the slightly different, second-printing cover as well (much to BK's chagrin). So maybe I'm not really the person to ask. (Along these same lines -- only not -- I also think that professional sports games should end early if the margin between the scores is an preset, impossible to overcome amount. Yes, I have lots of opinions. Just ask me.)

Clare and Baxter
Originally uploaded by *Karo*.

Since I'm in an dork-tasticly oversharing kind of mood, I should also note that I not only bought my first-ever comic book this month, I also attended my first-ever comic book convention, where I met Clare Kramer, a.k.a. Glorificus. Here she is with Baxter. As you can see, he just taking a breather between screams, which is merely a fitting reaction to close proximity to a hellgod, and not at all the onset of the terrible twos seven months early. RIGHT???

Fed up

fed up
Originally uploaded by *Karo*.

For the first time in my life, I wish I were a big-time fancy blogger. Because then my MBP post would have been dugg or some shit, and Steve Jobs' minions would be falling over themselves to help a Slav out so I'd stop giving Apple bad e-press. However, I wield no authori-tay whatsoever over the interwebs; I could voice my laptop woes all the live-long day and call Steve Jobs a big, pink monkey's butt and it would make no difference.

As you may have guessed, I am still disgruntled. My laptop is still at the repair center, still listed as on hold, needing more information. Yesterday I talked to a Tier 2 rep who assured me that I should see some progress within 24 hours, but it appears as though she was wrong, wrong, wrong. I'm pretty much out of ideas at this point as to what I can do to get a fully-functioning laptop in my hands.

Update: A few hours ago, in response to my emails and calls, I received a phone call from one Melissa of Apple's executive relations. She assured me that even though the status of my laptop was listed as on hold, constant diagnostic tests were being run on it to try to replicate the problem, which the techs had yet to do. I just hope they realize they need to leave it on for 24 hours or so for the problem to rear its ugly head again after a restart. Anyway, that's neither here nor there, because Melissa assured me that if the laptop was returned to me again unfixed they would "take the next step" which I assume is Applespeak for "replace your gimpy-ass laptop." Now we just have to see how long it takes for me to actually get the laptop back.

After six months, it was time for the Angry Letter

From: Karo
Date: March 21, 2007 5:00:42 PM CDT
To: steve@apple.com
Subject: Extreme dissatisfaction with my MacBook Pro and AppleCare service

To Whom it May Concern:

Please review the following tale of woe regarding a service issue I have with my MacBook Pro with AppleCare (serial Wxxxxxxxxxx). The issue at hand: My MacBook Pro does not go into sleep mode automatically when the lid is closed.

This seemingly innocuous and small problem has yet to be fixed after six months of phone calls to AppleCare and after sending my laptop away for repair. Twice. I have reset a small army's worth of PRAM and PMU. The issue is always "fixed." But it always comes back. I am tired of waking up to a drained battery in the morning, tired of making call after call to AppleCare, and after today's stunning incompetence on the part of Apple's phone support, I am simply fed up.

***

My current service (Dxxxxxxxx) was requested on Wednesday, March 14. My DHL box arrived Friday the 16th, and the laptop was dropped of at the local DHL facility Monday the 19th. Service was requested when it became clear that issue above had not been fixed last time computer had been sent in (dispatch number Dxxxxxxxx) in late February.

I checked the repair status online on the morning of Tuesday the 20th. It said the issue was being diagnosed. At approximately noon the message changed to "on hold -- need information." I assumed if the information was needed from me, I would be contacted. I was not, so the evening of the 20th I called and was told that the information was not needed from me, but from a specialist.

Wednesday the 21st the message remained the same. Around noon I called again. I provided the woman with whom I spoke the serial number, dispatch number, and case number. She entered every number incorrectly. After eventually accessing my file, she told me there was nothing more she could tell me.

I then did research on Apple's web site and found that the "on hold -- need information" message means that additional information is needed from the customer. I call back again. This time I am transferred directly to someone in the dispatch department (why did this not happen the first two times I called?). I am told that the problem is that the technicians can not replicate the problem, which reads as, "computer does not sleep."

(When I requested service on the 14th I repeated over and over again that that is not the issue. The agent on the phone would read back to me, "computer does not sleep" and I would correct her. Multiple times. Yet the issue was still transcribed incorrectly.)

I once again clarify the issue. I repeat, as I have countless times, that I have reset my PRAM and PMU and that the problem goes away, but only temporarily. It always comes back, usually after about 24 hours (although it was two weeks after it was returned to me when I sent it in for service last month). I provided the agent with the thread number in Apple discussions (http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=636696&tstart=30) which has over 250 replies, all people who have the same problem. I provide the agent with a case and dispatch number of another MacBook Pro that had the same problem -- 74439066 (repair ID D10869804).

Please note that I was never notified via email that additional information was needed from me. In fact, my Apple ID was never linked to this service. If I had not checked the repair status online myself, repeatedly, who knows how long the laptop would have sat there at the service center, waiting for additional information.

It is now three and a half hours later, when I check the status online, the message remains "on hold -- need information."

***

To sum up, here are the problems my MacBook Pro has had since I was apparently foolish enough to order a new product it the day it was announced:

* Power adapter has been replaced. Twice.
* Battery bulged, warped the case, and was replaced.
* A two inch "smear" was visible on the screen against dark backgrounds.
* Corrosion of the topcase resulted in black spotting along the left wristrest.
* Aforementioned warping resulted in separation of topcase from side panel.
* DVD player refused to play all but brand-new, untouched disks. Any smudge or scratch rendered the disk unplayable.
* Lid of laptop would close on its own if positioned at an angle of less than about 40 degrees.

In Apple's defense, all issues were quickly taken care of. All except this one niggling issue that has plagued me for months, ever since the release of 10.4.8 update six months ago. I realize this problem is not a large one; however, a $2000 laptop should work as advertised. A $350 extended warranty should fix any issues promptly. Every time I send the laptop away I am left without the machine I work from home on. Every phone call that I make to AppleCare is time that I cannot get back.

I am not unreasonable; I understand computers will have problems. But so many in the span of just over a year? All I want is my MacBook Pro to work as it should. Please ensure that when it or its replacement arrives back from the service center the machine will go to sleep when the lid is closed and that the problem does not come back.

I have have owned three Apple laptops and one desktop since 1994, and I have worked on Macs in the office since 2000. What a shame it would be if Apple lost me as a customer and an enormous word-of-mouth proponent of its hardware over an issue as trivial as this one.

Sincerely,
Karo

The hair, the ant, and the wardrobe

Baxter and I went downtown this afternoon to have lunch with BK. Because it was such a beautiful day, we wanted to go somewhere that had outdoor seating, so we ended up at Landry's. Here is a picture of our waiter:



Ha ha! Just kidding, interwebs. Our waiter was not Grover. But he may as well have been Grover. At least then we wouldn't have had to listen to the put-upon sighs and the slamming down of the trays. Instead we would have just had to suffer through the two-inch, complete-with-follicle hair in the shrimp and the rancid steak that even BK would not eat. And that means it was bad. BK comes from a long line of sturdy Mississippi stock who believe in serving the same food night after night until it is all gone. People who reserve salad that has been soaking in ladlefuls of dressing for days. People who serve that Thanksgiving ham until it is slimy. (Not that I'm speaking from personal experience, of course.)

Also today, while on a playdate at a local park, Baxter started crying in the middle of the soccer field. I leisurely wandered over to discover he was sitting on an anthill. Good work, mom.

ant bites, originally uploaded by *Karo*.

Hotty Toddy, gosh almighty

Hotty Toddy, gosh almighty, originally uploaded by *Karo*.

Welcome to North Dallas, interwebs.

Update: A friend points out that I missed out on posting to this inspired site. Never fear, here in Dallas I'm sure the next opportunity is just around the corner.