Lightning + MacBook= Trouble

A few weeks ago, I was out with some friends when a powerful thunderstorm rolled through downtown Austin.  I remembered that my MacBook Pro was on in it's BookArc cradle, but I wasn't concerned about a surge because the power cord was plugged into a surge protector.

This was a huge mistake.

I had completely forgotten that the MacBook was plugged into an ethernet cable which was plugged into a U-Verse router.  When I came home, the gf informed me that there had been several lightning strikes around the building and that the office room had lost power.  I checked on the MacBook.  It seemed ok.   And it was ok, until the next afternoon.

Over the next day, the MacBook began to have trouble accepting a charge.  The immediate effect was that I could no longer use the large monitor (it can only run off a MacBook which is plugged in).  Very quickly, however, the MacBook stopped charging if the lid was open.

I took the MacBook in to the Apple Store, wherein the problem was quickly diagnosed.  The ethernet port was fried, and it had damaged the charging port in the process.   The solution: a new logic board.  The Apple Store offered to send the MacBook to their repair depot (where the logic board would be replaced for a flat fee), but they didn't offer to back-up data.  Instead, they recommended a Time Machine backup.

Backing up to Time Machine took a while with an ailing computer.  During this time, I decided to contact a third party Apple support solution.  I called Compuzone on West 5th.  For a slightly higher price than the Apple Store, they offered to send my MacBook to the same Apple repair depot (with the same flat fee) as well as back-up my data on their server.  Not only did they offer this, but they also gave me an estimate for a faster repair time.

I dropped the MacBook off last Wednesday, and it was in Compuzone this morning.  It appears to be working just like it did before the lightning storm.  Furthermore, Compuzone is much less crowded than the Apple Store.  Overall, it was about as decent of an experience as you can have with computer repair.

Moral of the story: be careful with your MacBook in the event of a storm with intense lightning, and don't forget to run your ethernet cable through a surge protector.  Also, keep an old computer around for a spare.  I would have been in a lot of trouble without my MacBook had I not kept my old Dell Latitude up to date and connected at my office.

If you are interested in stopping by Compuzone, they have a store located conveniently at 5th and Lamar (in the Homeaway building).  

Software: What Fusion Wants

Back in March, I decided to buy a 2011 model 15" MacBook Pro to use for business.  Prism Risk Management provides insurance related and general consulting services, as well as provide management and operational services for the Texas Schools Property & Casualty Cooperative and Oklahoma Schools Property & Casualty Cooperative risk pool programs.  We run the computer systems for the pooled programs, and most of our systems are Microsoft based.

A few months ago, I had VMware Fusion 4 installed on my Mac.  I wanted to be able run the Windows versions of Word, Excel, and Outlook on my Mac.  Most of my research indicated that Office 2010 programs work better with Sharepoint collaboration tools than their Office 2011 for Mac counterparts.  Also, I wanted to be able to use OneNote and Access (neither of which are available for OS X).   Mac OS X offers a lot of advantages, MacBooks are great pieces of hardware, and there were several Mac only programs I wanted to use along with Windows programs, thus a virtual machine system which allowed for the the operation of Windows along with Mac OS X seemed like a best-of-both-worlds solution.  VMware Fusion 4 came highly recommended as the best virtual machine for the concurrent operation of Windows 7 and Mac OS X.

The requirements for Fusion said that 4GB of RAM would be sufficient to run Windows on a virtual environment in OS X.  Unfortunately, when I tried to run Windows in Fusion my MacBook would become  slow and unresponsive to the point of being unusable.  Furthermore, running Windows based applications in Fusion's "Unity" view mode was impossible.

If you aren't familiar with VMware Fusion, Unity is the view mode in which Windows based applications are run in individual windows which look as though they are running natively in the Mac OS X environment.  I.e., you open a program like Access and it looks as though its running in Mac OS X.  It can be launched out of the dock, and it can be minimized to the dock as well.  This is a great feature if you want to multitask with Windows and OS X based applications at the same time on the same screen.  Not being able to use Unity was an impediment to my planned business use for the MacBook.

I consulted with my IT guru, who suggested that 4GB of RAM was not enough for running both Windows 7-64 bit and Mac OS X Lion.  At his suggestion, I ordered two 4GB RAM modules from Other World Computing.  The price for doubling my RAM to 8GB: $50.

Apparently, the lack of RAM was the problem.  With 8GB of RAM, Windows 7 boots up quickly within VMware Fusion 4.  Once Fusion is running, Windows programs open in Unity (from icons on the dock) about as quickly as Mac programs open in OS X.  The system is quite cool, as now I can multitask with the full array of programs I use at Prism Risk Management all on one computer.

Software: Switching from PC to Mac

MacBook Pro 15"

A few months ago, I wrote a post about the details of software licenses for a couple of applications I wanted to use on both a Mac and a PC.  I had just purchased an Apple MacBook Pro (with 15" screen) for use at Prism Risk Management and for use on some other projects.

My original intention was to replace the Dell system with an Apple system, and thus I decided to transfer some of my files and applications over to the MacBook.  One particular issue I had was with Adobe, which will let a user have two licenses for Acrobat Pro; however, both licenses have to be used on the same operating system platform.  Ergo, I could not split my Adobe Acrobat X Pro between my Dell Latitude and my MacBook Pro (I won't get into details about VM Fusion, which is worth another post entirely).

From what I've experienced, you wouldn't need Acrobat Standard on a MacBook.  Mac OS X appears to handle a lot of basic PDF reading and publishing.  This is moot, though, since Adobe only makes Acrobat Pro for Mac OS.   I wanted some of the more advanced Acrobat features on the MacBook though, including Acrobat's OCR functions.   Thus, I decided to see if I could switch my package of two Acrobat X Pro licenses over to the Mac version (then, if necessary, put the cheaper Standard version on a Windows platform).

This is possible, if you are willing to be persistent with Adobe.  I didn't realize this up front, as I was initially told that my request wouldn't be very complicated.  In reality,  it took me several phone calls over two weeks to accomplish the license switch.  Furthermore, even though I had bought three editions of Acrobat online (first a full version, then two upgrades), Adobe decided to ship a CD to me which contained the Mac upgrade version of Acrobat X Pro.  Because I there was no prior version of Acrobat on my MacBook, I had to call Adobe back for an override code.  In my situation, Adobe seemed to approach Acrobat for Mac and Acrobat for PC almost like different products, as opposed to variations of the same product.  I'm assuming this, and that said approach accounts for why switching from PC to Mac version was a lengthier process than I had anticipated.

In hindsight, it probably would have been more efficient just to pay the $450 for a full version of Adobe Acrobat X Pro for Mac OS.  Moreover, Windows 7 Ultimate does not include all of the PDF conversion functions of Mac OS (MS Office, though, will save/publish documents into PDF form).   Thus, if you continue to use Windows and Mac computers (a subject for another post) then you will eventually need to get another version of Acrobat for the Windows computer.

Software: Aperture 3, A Good Deal From The Mac App Store

At the Home Office

Now that I'm back in business with my new MacBook Pro, I've been reinstalling and adding software to the system.  One Mac specific app I've been wanting to try is Aperture 3.  

Since I've started biking, I haven't been as active with photography.  Thus, it will probably be after SXSW and my quickie trip to Florida (I have some night photography planned) before I do much photo importing and editing to the MacBook.  At that point I'll be able to comment on using Aperture (which, from what I have read, is a photo management and light editing system similar to Picasa or Adobe's Lightroom).

In the mean time, I decided to toss up this post to mention that while the full version of Aperture is $199 at a retail establishment, it is only $79 as a download from the Mac App Store.   Not a bad deal, thus I went ahead and downloaded it. 

This is by far the most compelling deal I've seen at the Mac App Store.

Another Bite at Apple

2011 MacBook Pro

Apple's "Magic Mouse"

My extreme displeasure with Apple's online store was followed by a further deepening of annoyance this morning.  Apparently, despite telling me that a new MacBook would be shipped to me upon my deliverance of the defective MacBook to FedEx, I was informed this morning that not only had my replacement MacBook not shipped... but it had yet to be configured and assembled.   This was the situation described by the online store, despite the fact that the store reps assured me during the set-up of the return that I'd have a replacement MacBook in time for SXSW Interactive and a business trip scheduled for the weekend.  [note: the Dell Lattitude E5400 pictured with the new MacBook cannot travel, as it's power inverter for the screen is blown and thus the display doesn't function; this part broke right after the 1 year warranty had expired]

I expressed my irritation to the folks at the online Apple store.  They decided to refund the purchase so that I could go and buy a new MacBook at the Barton Creek retail store (and, we'll see how easy getting the refund turns out to be).  This actually turns out to be a bonus for me, considering that Apple introduced it's 2011 line of MacBooks just two days after I received my defective unit (it had the i5 processor and a 320GB hard drive) Thus detached from my connection to the online store, I drove over to the Apple retail store in Barton Creek mall.  Unfortunately, the retail store does not stock a 15" MacBook Pro with the glossy, high res screen.  However, the new model of MacBook comes with an Intel i7 quad core processor standard, along with a 500GB hard drive and a fairly cool graphics chip.  I ended up paying less for the new MacBook than I had for the defective one.   While I kind of miss the high res screen, the screen on the new unit is still very nice.

I've had the new MacBook for an afternoon and I can already tell that it's a better machine than the one it replaced.   It is charging without any problems.  The WiFi is working well.  Also, the Apple "Magic Mouse" is working well and I'm taking as a sign that the Bluetooth is functioning better on this machine than the defective one.  On the defective MacBook, it was so slow that it was basically unusable (and this was unfortunately, as I couldn't find another mouse which connected directly into a laptop via Bluetooth, without the need for some kind of USB receiver).   It turns out that a functioning Magic Mouse is actually kind of cool, thus I'm glad its working with the new system.   

So, at a minimum I can say that a new 2011 MacBook Pro is better than a defective 2010 model.  It remains to be seen whether I take to Mac OS or default back to Windows 7 (which, having been a Windows user for about 16 years, I find fairly easy to operate). 

Sometimes, There Is a Bad Apple...

MacBook Pro, Ready to be Shipped Back to Apple.

I've been a little surprised by my recent experience with Apple.  In an episode I would have expected following the purchase of a Dell product (I've had some ridiculous things go wrong with my last two Dell laptops), the 15" MacBook Pro I purchased in mid-February has already been shipped back to Apple owing to a hardware problem (with the power system, although I suspect that there is something wrong with its WiFi hardware as well).

I discovered the problem with the power system first because the charging cable LED would only light up if the charging plug was attached in a certain direction, and second because shortly thereafter I noticed "not charging" message fairly often after plugging the computer into the power cable.  As for the WiFi, it worked at home and in my office.  Last Friday, it worked at The Tavern.  However, I took the MacBook to Epoch on Monday night and it wouldn't connect (despite the fact that about 10 other patrons in my general area appeared to be happily using the internet on Apple products).  A return trip to The Tavern also produced some frustrating results.   This is certainly not what I was expecting from a computer with a hefty price tag and from a line of products which generally gets rave reviews from friends.

I took my MacBook over to the Barton Creek Apple Store yesterday.  The guys at the Genius Bar were quite helpful, and I didn't have to wait long for an appointment.  They were pretty eager to swap the defective laptop on the spot... until they realized that I had purchased it online.  That is when things got annoying, as I had to leave the accessible and eager to help folks at the retail store in order to call Apple directly to sort things out over the phone.   I had to work through Apple's automated system, and then go up through three levels of live humans on the phone line before the problem could be resolved (and no, the transfer of information about my computer's issue did not travel instantly from the Barton Creek store to Apple's central system).  I was transferred to a fourth person to facilitate the product return.  At this time, I asked if I could go ahead and pay to upgrade a couple of things (which I thought was a reasonable request, considering that this whole return thing was a hassle for me, interruption for my business, and a new computer was going to be shipped anyway).  The answer was: no, the only way to change configuration was to return my replacement MacBook once I received it and then to reorder.  My response: no thanks, I'll have Pivot Networks drop in a new hard drive and more RAM.

So, the take-away I'm hoping to impart here is: if possible, buy an Apple computer from the Apple Store.  Dealing with the folks at Barton Creek was easy and pleasant.  Moreover, had I purchased my computer from a retail store, I would already have a replacement.  And, since I was required to remove all of my data and applications myself and drop off the bum MacBook at FedEx before Apple would send me a new one, it's a good thing that I have other functioning computers on hand to house my files and to use while the replacement is in transit. 

I'm not upset with Apple per se for sending me a bum computer.  Shit happens, and even the best companies build some lemons.  What is important in these situations is how they remedy the problem.  Thus, I am a little annoyed with Apple because of the process of getting a replacement from the online store. Some companies, like REI will handle at retail locations product returns and replacements from online purchases.  In turn, I'm quite comforatble buying something expensive from REI because I know that dealing with potential problems will be easy.   You would think that Apple would use its retail presence to its advantage over vendors like Dell in terms of product return and replacement, but apparently not.   Furthermore, it seems kind of petty to force me to ship a defective computer back to Apple before they will send me a new unit.  The defective computer was still usable, and it would have been nice to have had it over the weekend in order to work on some video editing (my office Dell doesn't have video editing software).  I could have then done a file transfer upon receipt of the new unit and promptly shipped the defective until back.   You would think that someone willing to drop $1899 on a computer (whose home and business addresses you know, and whose American Express account information you possess) could be trusted to ship back a laptop in a timely manner... esp. when it was technically your fault for selling a defective good.

Don't get my wrong... I generally like Apple and Apple products.  It's just that my recent experience with the product return reminded me more of the John Hodgman PC character than the purported cool Mac character from the PC v Mac ad campaign.