Does anyone have a Mac?

TiTheRev

The Genius Bar is a new one to me, and looks very handy but the nearest of those is nearly 2hours away (Southampton or Bluewater). Having a 1year old son makes this kind of journey a bit less spur of the moment and a little more regimented in its conception, lol! Thanks for the advice, it is as ever greatly appreciated

Leopard

Have a family day out and combine some other things to do and see.

After all, it's summer :cool: ! (Supposedly .)

The Genius Bars are great. And free. 'Phone to check when the one you're targetting tends to be less busy.

Cloudane

I know the feeling there, I have a 2 hour drive to the nearest Apple store too. It was a pain when I decided to get my iMac screen seen to. (The aluminium iMac screens are rubbish once you look past the 'wow factor' - horrible colour consistency from one part of the panel to the other - but this one was worse than rubbish).

If it's out of warranty, I'd have thought there'd be a Mac repair specialist nearby in the Yellow Pages. This would probably SaveMoney... make no mistake, Apple do rip you off for certain things (out-of-warranty repair, and customisations such as extra RAM). When I was there getting my screen replaced (free), there was a guy with a faulty Powerbook and even the Apple Genius actually advised him to take it to a repair shop instead of facing their own charges!

What you should be able to do though, is get the free Genius Bar report on what needs doing, decline it and DIY or take it to a cheaper repair shop.

To be fair on the Airport Express thing, I don't think that anyone reporting back that theirs is fine should be an issue. I for one trust the personal experience of someone on here more than a biased Google search - if you look for problems or complaints for anything, they're very easy to find It can also simply mean that something is popular - people far more often speak up if there's a problem than if they're happy, as sad as that may be.

I would suggest that anyone looking to buy a relatively expensive item such as that, ought to use as many sources as possible (factual rather than anecdotal where possible) and make a decision for themselves.

linge289

My macbook is in for repair at the moment =[ took it to the genius bar to get the case repaired as it had split.....a quick search on the internet showed it was a common problem, and a lot of people said they had got it repaired at the genius bar there and then, so i booked an appointment at the exeter apple store....to cut a long story short they've taken it away for 4-7 days....and now im stuck with my windows vista laptop....its not nice....

anyone else had this problem with the casing? apart from that its been the best computer i have ever had! having used vista for a year and used mac for 5/6 months i can safely say that it really does trounce vista....vista isnt terrible, it just doesnt deserve the hype, theres very little 'wow' if im completely honest, wheras im still finding features that surprise me in mac os x all the time and i would reccomend it to anyone.

Leopard

Cloudane wrote: »

I know the feeling there, I have a 2 hour drive to the nearest Apple store too. It was a pain when I decided to get my iMac screen seen to. (The aluminium iMac screens are rubbish once you look past the 'wow factor' - horrible colour consistency from one part of the panel to the other - but this one was worse than rubbish).

If it's out of warranty, I'd have thought there'd be a Mac repair specialist nearby in the Yellow Pages. This would probably SaveMoney... make no mistake, Apple do rip you off for certain things (out-of-warranty repair, and customisations such as extra RAM). When I was there getting my screen replaced (free), there was a guy with a faulty Powerbook and even the Apple Genius actually advised him to take it to a repair shop instead of facing their own charges!

What you should be able to do though, is get the free Genius Bar report on what needs doing, decline it and DIY or take it to a cheaper repair shop.

To be fair on the Airport Express thing, I don't think that anyone reporting back that theirs is fine should be an issue. I for one trust the personal experience of someone on here more than a biased Google search - if you look for problems or complaints for anything, they're very easy to find It can also simply mean that something is popular - people far more often speak up if there's a problem than if they're happy, as sad as that may be.

I would suggest that anyone looking to buy a relatively expensive item such as that, ought to use as many sources as possible (factual rather than anecdotal where possible) and make a decision for themselves.

That's true.

I only threw in my Google comments to show quickly the tip of the iceberg on this issue.

Before I bought my own Apple Express (in 2005) I did a lot of research into the reliability problem. Then bought a new one from an Apple dealer, paying full price, rather than risk buying one of these from any other source, after what I'd discovered.

From the outset, I've kept it plugged into a switched socket by a long power lead rather than plugged directly into a wall socket using the plug-head adaptor.

In point of fact, I bought it one of these Griffin Airbase stands, which I very highly recommend. (From personal experience. )

From what I've read, the important thing is to keep the radio electronics inside an Airport Express as far away as possible from mains electricity wall sockets. I only power the remote socket it's plugged into when I actually want to use it.

For convenience, I've actually got its power lead plugged into a Byron remote-controlled socket. But that uses (a lot) less power than the Airport Express would if I left it switched permanently on, like Markymoo does.

The research that I carried out myself led me to take these precautions and I believe, personally, that they explain why my Airport Express has (so far...) survived for three years.

I hope Markymoo's will, too.



Linge,

THIS is for you.

Hope it cheers you up a bit while you wait for your sanity machine to be returned.

M4RKM

Leopard wrote: »

From what I've read, the important thing is to keep the radio electronics inside an Airport Express as far away as possible from mains electricity wall sockets. I only power the remote socket it's plugged into when I actually want to use it.

For convenience, I've actually got its power lead plugged into a Byron remote-controlled socket. But that uses (a lot) less power than the Airport Express would if I left it switched permanently on, like Markymoo does.

The research that I carried out myself led me to take these precautions and I believe, personally, that they explain why my Airport Express has (so far...) survived for three years.

I hope Markymoo's will, too.

that could explain why mine has lasted, as it is plugged into an extension lead/surge protector that sits behind the tv, and everything i have hooked up there...

now, i'll apologise, i should have phrased my statement in the first place, that it was only my product that i've had no issues..

on another note, with macbook cases cracking, my mum has one, which has a little crack it in, to the right side of the trackpad.. just where the two types of plastic meet... i wonder if it is worth taking it to apple and getting it sorted..

and finally, as for genius bar appointments, do book before you travel, and you do have a slot.. i've hung around a store before, waiting to be seen, as i booked when i arrived there... however good the iphone actually is, you can't book a genius appointment thru the safari browser... !!!!

Hope we're not going to get into arguments any more, and i'm sure we can all help people with problems..

my thoughts are why isn't this, as a sticky, as it seems to be the thread for all things mac now?

M

Leopard

Markymoo,

Your apology is most graciously tendered and is accepted without reservation.

I'l apologise for being a little snappy myself but I'd just been wiping the floor with some pompous PC zealots in another forum and was not best pleased to return to this Mac sanctuary and find somebody "totally, totally" disagreeing with something that I had researched assiduously. :mad:

And then be told to stop brandishing my "handbag". :mad: :mad:

Anyway, I hope we are all now pointing in the same direction again and that your own Airport Express outlives Bill Gates.

Do, incidentally, check out the Griffin Airbase stand for it and consider the merits (and electricity saving) of using a remote-contolled switch to power down your Airport Express when it's not in use, to preserve its life.

I think the reason that that this particular thread has become a Mac sanctuary is its innocuous name. PC and Linux users assume it must be about those boring Mac thingies that infuriatingly don't need to be tinkered with all the time just too get them to write an email, and so they don't bother to come in here and pollute it. They hate computers that work all by themselves.

Mac users, on the other hand, are attracted by its name and explore it.

So, here we all are. :grouphug:

Now, then: we have to get the Rev :A back up and running. :cool:

TiTheRev

Leopard wrote: »

So, here we all are. :grouphug:

Now, then: we have to get the Rev :A back up and running. :cool:

Amen Brother

Leopard

Rev,

I gave your problem some thought overnight and considered what I would do in the position that you have explained thus far.

To be honest, I think your best move, now, given the all your circumstances, would be to purchase a small, portable, external hard drive that supports Firewire.

Ideally,one of THESE - despite its rather vulgar garishness :cool:. (At least you'd never have trouble finding it, I imagine.)

I say this because you use Macs. All modern Macs are equipped with at least one Firewire 400 port and the higher-end ones have Firewire 800, too.

I say LaCie because LaCie understands Macs and Firewire better than most (all?) other accessory manufacturers.



Firewire is better and more versatile than USB2 for most things.

Crucially, in your situation, you can boot a Mac off a Firewire drive. (Only Intel Macs, so far as I am aware, can also boot off a USB2 drive.)

So, this would enable you to troubleshoot your Mac.



The point about investing in an external Firewire drive, at this stage, is that you will be able to use it with any future Mac. So, it is perhaps wiser to do this than to spend more money on your present Mac which will be wasted if the Mac subsequently proves to have a fault that is beyond economic repair. (And you do need to face the unpalatable fact that your Mac and the OS that it is able to run will, before too long, be declared obsolete and unsupported by Apple because it is not Intel based.)



You can buy these drives, with a 4% discount through Quidco, from DABS and you may even get free shipping on it from DABS, as well - they frequently offer that and are doing so, currently, on purchases of over £99.

The 250 GB version (5,400 rpm) currently costs £116. The 320 GB version costs £133.

There's also a 160 GB version but DABS doesn't seem to stock that. Microwarehouse does, but they charge £85 plus shipping for it.

So, I would go for the 250 GB one: it's probably the best compromise, price-wise.



Alternatively, if you are prepared to forego the future option of Firewire 800 and settle for just Firewire 400 (which is all your present Mac and also the current MacBook has, anyway) you could go for THIS, more elegant, La Cie model.

(Note, however, that the "Rugged" drives have a 3 year warranty, whereas the "Hecht" drives have only a 2 year warranty.)

DABS also stocks the "Hecht" drives: in 160 GB for £73, in 250 GB for £94 and in 320 GB for £120. Again with 4% Quidco discount. Bear in mind that you lose the (currently) free shipping if your total purchase is less than £99, though. Which makes the 320 GB version of this one a better buy.

You could instead, of course, buy a desktop Firewire hard drive but I'm suggesting a portable because you already have a USB2 desktop hard drive, so a Firewire portable would give you a useful additional facility. There's also the fact that a Firewire portable will run off the power in the Firewire bus, needing only a single lead, whereas a desktop drive will need an independent power supply.

I have a Firewire (400) LaCie portable hard drive of the previous generation to the "Rugged". I use it all the time, it's played host to a number of ever-greater-capacity 2.5" drives over the years and I find it invaluable for trouble-shooting and hard drive maintenance of my Macs.

It's also great for backing up photographs and the like when I go abroad. I always sling it into my bag with a Firewire lead.

It also enables you to, effectively, take your own Mac with you in your pocket, everywhere you go. All you need to find is another Mac, plug it in by Firewire and boot off it. Aren't Macs great?


Give this some careful thought, bearing the future (and a declining £) in mind. Consider also that, with most other tax increase options closing rapidly for this Government, a hike in VAT may be in the offing soon...

M4RKM

Leopard wrote: »

I'l apologise for being a little snappy myself but I'd just been wiping the floor with some pompous PC zealots in another forum

2 things.. i've just been in a thread about a website and microsoft publisher, and someone said they disagreed with me that publisher makes bad looking websites... i was speechless..

and, this remote controlled power plug thing...... you got a link.. might be worth investing in, as i really only use my airtunes once a month at the most.. honestly.. i bought it.. rarely used it... hmm.. probably why it has lasted!!!


M