[Politech] Politech offline -- thank you, Apple Computer

From: Declan McCullagh (declan@private)
Date: Fri Aug 27 2004 - 10:07:18 PDT


Dear Politech subscribers,

If you've been wondering why the list has been basically silent since
the weekend of August 7, there's a good reason: Apple Computer.

I switched from a 17" Sony Vaio to a Powerbook 15" G4 laptop in
February, and love it. Even though an OS X machine is tricky to use
with CNET's Windows environment, the struggle has been worth it. (I've
had a Mac off and on since a 512K "Fat Mac" in 1985 or so, and a NeXT
in the early 1990s, but have been buying PCs for the last 7 years.)

Then my Powerbook died three weeks ago. I dropped it off at the Apple
store in Clarendon, Va. on August 8. Apple has had it since then -- 19 days
and counting -- with no end in sight.

Today's not-very-helpful report is that the Powerbook needs a new
logic board, which is "on a ship somewhere," according to Apple. They
have no idea when it'll arrive. Given that the Pacific Ocean is a
large place that takes some time to cross, I'm hardly hopeful.

Having a computer out of service for three weeks is unacceptable. Sony
typically provided me with 5-7 day turnaround time. (And yes, I did
buy AppleCare, though the Powerbook would still be under warranty
without it.)

Making the lack of a laptop especially acute is that I've been on the
road constantly: in Aspen for the last 8 days and leaving Monday for
over a week in Palo Alto and San Francisco and then South Africa (I'm
happy to meet up with Politech folks during either trip).

If Apple wants to be taken seriously in the business world, then it
has to get serious about technical support. I'm sure I'm not the only
one who's having these problems.

-Declan
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