Surprisingly quick turnaround

Wow, I was impressed. Apple called today telling me that my MacBook Pro was ready to be picked up. I’ll be getting it tomorrow.

THIS. IS. VISTAAAAAAHHHHHH!

Checkitout.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=5CQGREwsxwM

MacBook Pro, you will be missed…

My MacBook Pro is now visiting the Apple Store for a few days. So don’t expect me to be too active.

As if on cue… (AppleCare redux)

Wham. I get a call from the Apple Store Walnut Creek. Left on my voicemail:

“Hello, this is -, Apple Store Walnut Creek, I’m just calling to let you know that we have received your MacBook Pro’s replacement screen today, so just bring it in and we’ll install it for you. Thanks, have a nice day. Bye.” (Name removed for sake of privacy.

Wow, must have read my previous blogpost or something. Anyway, I’m going in to see the genius tomorrow to get this poor thing fixed up.

Applecare

As some may know, my MacBook pro was the victim of being nailed over the screen with a rogue cell-phone. Something must be said for the durability of the MBP’s screens, but still, the phone left a pretty nice dent on the middle of the screen, which irks me a lot.

So I went to Apple’s website, scheduled a Genius bar appointment. I went in to see the Genius with my girlfriend, and pointed him–instead of the gash in the screen–to the cluster of dead pixels toward the lower-right corner of the screen. He still saw the damage nonetheless, though.

“We’ll call up headquarters and order the screen.” He said, after cleaning the screen vigorously and applying different backgrounds to try and test the problem.

“Am I going to be charged for this?” I asked.

“Nope. Your AppleCare Plan covers the repairs.” he replied. “We’ll call you within 7 days.”

There was a lot more said, but I left it out since it wasn’t necessary.

7 days pass. No call from AppleCare nor the Apple Store. Upon the 9th day, I call in to the Apple Store myself. They say that the screen is still being ordered. Great.

Another week passes. I call in again. This time, the guy, upon finding out I don’t have a case ID (The Genius never gave me one), he transfers me to AppleCare, you know…the main line for tech support. There, I talk to another person that tells me my case ID for the repair, so I can check it via the internet rather than bugging them. They still say that my MacBook Pro’s screen is still being ordered. No headway made in a week? GREAT!

So another few days pass. I decide to look on Apple’s website for my MacBook Pro’s status. This time, though, it only tells me that the status is not available. Well, shit. What’s taking so damned long?

More insight on iPod vs. Zune

With the debate constantly growing, who is better? The Zune, or the iPod?

I will admit, should Microsoft release another Zune, it has the potential to do some serious damage to Apple’s iPod. The things the Zune missed the boat on include stability (Something my own 4th generation iPod is great at. Not so much with the 5th generation iPod, which crashes a bit, but still quite stable in comparison with the Zune.), and the interface. I do like the ability to change your background on the Zune, but the interface just isn’t up to par. It fakes you out with a scroll-wheel looking interface, but to find out that it doesn’t even do that.

The stability is something that needs work. I tried a fifth generation iPod alongside a Zune on store display. The Zune felt slow, had an interface that left something to be desired. It played music, but it didn’t feel as satisfying as that of the iPod. With the iPod, you can see and feel the quality of it.

Also, I’ve actually held a Zune in my hands. It is a 30 GB device, Yet it’s as large as an 80 GB/60 GB iPod video! And it also feels hollow, and the build quality doesn’t feel as good as that of the iPod. Something must be said for the back of the Zune, however, as it doesn’t attract fingerprints.

Also, Wi-Fi is nothing special. Sure, it’s nice addition, but it’d be only useful if DRM were removed. 3 plays is not enough, and what if the music you are sharing is something you created yourself? (Leaving out music from questionable sources for the sake of argument) What if it isn’t available on the Zune marketplace? Shafted.

On the topic of DRM–The Zune is as locked in as could be. If you buy from the Zune marketplace, you are locked down to ONE MACHINE. Not 5, as Apple gives you. I haven’t yet researched what happens when you reformat a machine, but if the Zune doesn’t recognize it as the machine you used, the results would be catastrophic. iTunes gives you a 5-machine leeway, at least. And going even deeper, you have to install a separate piece of software to even sync the Zune. What, we can’t use WMP 11? Now we have two media players (Three if iTunes or WinAmp is your preferred poison), WMP 11 and Zune. Way-to-go Microsoft.

Microsoft also deserves some negative points for giving in to Universal like Neville Chamberlain gave in to Hitler during World War II. Microsoft was desperate and agreed to allow Universal tax the Zune. Now that this happened, the door opens for Universal to impose their draconian taxes on other MP3 players, such as Apple’s iPod or something from Archos or Creative.

To wrap up this essay, my final thought is this. Until Microsoft can get their crap together, improve the interface (They nailed the mark with Vista’s Media Center, so it isn’t out of reach), and make it compatible with iTunes or release a well-designed program for the Mac side, then they don’t stand a chance against the iPod. There is plenty of potential for the Zune, but it just misses the boat completely. But let’s not forget that this is a first generation product. If a 2nd gen Zune comes out, it may have the potential to topple the iPod.

Defense Mode!

Seeing the huge iPod amnesty bin megathread on Flickr, I came across this comment:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fimoculous/503637222/#comment72157600267264978

I hate it when this happens. My response:

“Andrew? Hello, dude, check the iPod nano. Battery life is phenomenal. 24 Hours? That’s more than enough. Backlight intensity has also improved in the 5th Generation iPod and the 2nd generation iPod nano. I did not buy my iPod because it was what everyone else was getting. I bought a Creative Zen Nano and it was the worst experience I’d ever had in an MP3 player. The interface was shit, and I couldn’t stand it. So I borrowed a friend’s 4G iPod, and I actually enjoyed the interface.

As far as Apple’s claim on products “just working”…well, couldn’t be closer to the truth. My MacBook Pro ran fine right out of the box, all I had to do was input my registration and everything was up and running. It instantly recognized my wireless network and set things up automatically. From box to productivity in less than 5 minutes. Bet you can’t do that with a PC. And you factor a product’s quality over it’s “cool factor”? Obviously not, as you wouldn’t have dismissed Apple so easily if those were the factors you were looking at, as Apple computers are built to last 5 years or more. You’d have to switch out a PC in that time to keep up with the times.

On to the next point, yes, my iPod does freeze occasionally–once a year maybe when I do too much on it at once. Zunes have been freezing left and right from what I’m seeing, therefore, the argument that iPods freeze more than their competitors = False. Nano’s scratching? I owned a 1st generation white Nano, and it never got one scratch because I wasn’t stupid enough to put it in the same pocket as my keys. My MacBook Pro works just fine, thank you very much, and it’s a well-designed piece of equipment which has given me no problems, and it works well as more than just a photo booth.

And I have thought about it, and I do have a life. I choose Macs because it seems most Windows users are partisan hacks who attack Macs because it helps them sleep at night because their always being blindsided by viruses, am I correct?”

I’ll be the first to admit, I don’t like playing sides. But when someone is unfairly attacked for being a user of a certain product, I just get sick of it. I’m especially sick of Windows users writing off Macs as pieces of crap. I bought one, so what? I like it, it’s a solid, well built computer.