Power Blues

You’ve heard about it. You’ve read stories about it. You’ve known about it. But it still hurts when it happens to you.

As much as there is joy in early adoption, there can be, and often is, frustration, time-wasting — and, sometimes, a very real loss of functionality and productivity. When it happens with software, at least, there often is an alternative, another product or another way of doing things that works reasonably well until the main issue (a bug, a flaw, a required update) is fixed.

It’s A Physical Thing

When it happens with hardware, however, it’s a different story. And, in the past few weeks, it’s been my story. I made the “mistake” of buying a PowerBook G4 as soon as they came out. I made a conscious decision to be an “early adopter.”

This had worked well for me in the past. I got a PowerMac 7100AV soon after that model’s release, and the only thing that ever failed significantly was the hard drive, which had to be replaced after approximately five years. I also got a first-generation G4/AGP desktop model back in 1999, and I have had no reasons to regret this decision so far, after a year and a half of constant use — except for some minor audio issues maybe, which are likely to fixed now that Apple has moved to digital audio.

Overall, therefore, my experience as an “early adopter” of Apple hardware was positive. That’s one of the reasons why I chose to buy the PowerBook G4 when it came out.

The other reason was that, by all accounts, this “new” model, in spite of its new case, its new processor, its new slot-loading DVD drive, and its new screen, was still, in many respects, based on the architecture of the previous, mature generation of PowerBook G3 computers.

And, indeed, for the most part, the feeling I have had while using this PowerBook G4 was that I had a fairly mature piece of technology in my hands.

The Joys of Wireless Netw… Uh-Oh

But then, I started experimenting with AirPort. I had some previous experience with it, because a year or so ago a friend of mine bought a PowerBook G3 with an AirPort Base Station and came to me for help in configuring this new technology. So we tested things in my house, and it worked very well, as far as I could tell.

I set up my own AirPort Base Station in the office, at one end of the house. This is where both the G4 and the PowerBook G4 are used most of the time, so it makes sense. I also use a LaserJet 5 MP with an AsantéTalk box connected to an Ethernet hub, so the AirPort Base Station has to be connected to the Ethernet hub as well if I want to be able to print from the PowerBook G4 through the AirPort connection.

At first, I thought things were fairly good. I still got a reasonably good signal when using the PowerBook G4 in the living room, in the central part of the house. But when I moved the laptop to the other end of the house, I would systematically lose the connection. That was quite disappointing, as that section of the house includes a room which we often use.

When this first happened, I immediately thought, “This didn’t happen with the PowerBook G3, did it?” My recollection of these earlier tests with my friend’s laptop and Base Station was not very good, but I couldn’t remember actually losing the connection while inside the house. After all, we are talking about a range of significantly less than 100 feet here, and there aren’t that many walls or physical obstacles to put the blame on.

I thought I would ask my friend if I could borrow his laptop again for a day just to test things with a different computer. By that time, I had already read a number of conflicting reports about AirPort range with the PowerBook G4, so I had become somewhat suspicious.

Wild and Loose

I never got around to testing things with my friend’s laptop. Soon after that, we somewhat rearranged our living room furniture for other reasons, and when I tried using the PowerBook G4 again, I realized that the AirPort range had become even worse! Now, I was losing the connection even while sitting in the living room, a mere 30 feet or so from the office with the Base Station.

This was clearly not acceptable, and I was going to phone Apple on the next business day.

However, because I was trying to find a better position for the laptop in order to re-establish the connection, I was also moving the PowerBook G4 more often while running. And those of you who’ve been following reader reports about the PowerBook G4 have already guessed what happened…

Yes, while moving the PowerBook G4 in order to find a better connection (to find any connection at all!), I also experienced the dreaded “loose battery” syndrome — my laptop would abruptly shut down without warning when moved in a certain way. And, upon restarting, my date and time settings would be lost and would have to be reset (as if I had used the RESET button). This happened once, twice, three times. It was obviously more than enough.

I phoned Apple Canada on the very next business day. The Apple rep, while not particularly friendly or respectful of my stated level of Mac expertise, did not question the AirPort problem, and, after putting me on hold for five minutes (thank God for phone headsets!), came back to say, “It’s not a problem with your AirPort, it’s a problem with your laptop. You are going to have to send it back to us. I’ll get a box sent out to you today. You should get it tomorrow. Blah blah blah.”

Well, at least Apple seemed to be aware that this was an issue with the PowerBook G4 and was offering to do something about it right away. I did have a concern about the fact that I had more than one issue with the laptop — namely, the loose battery issue as well. My feeling is that the Apple support system is just not well-designed for cases where there are more than one problem. I haven’t seen their database software with my own eyes, but the feeling I got while on the phone with this person was that, somehow, the AirPort issue was the one under which my case would be filed, and there was a possibility that the loose battery problem might be neglected in the process.

The Next-Day-Delivery Delusion

I therefore resolved to take all the necessary precautions, and then some. But first, there was the issue of actually getting the box from Apple to send the laptop back to them. Now, there are many reasons why I love living in Canada. But the mail/courier delivery system certainly isn’t one of them. When I order something from Other World Computing, an otherwise perfectly reliable retailer in my experience, with the “By FedEx Before 10:00 AM Next Business Day” option (there are not really any other options when you order from Canada), I get my order about a week later. Sometimes, letters sent from France arrive sooner here on the Atlantic coast than letters sent on the same day from another Canadian province. So I had my doubts about receiving the box from Apple on the next day.

When I raised the issue with the rep, he simply dismissed them. I somewhat understand it when American companies don’t seem to understand the problems we have up north with mail/courier delivery — but it seems to me that someone working for Apple Canada should be aware that, when you send something from Ontario to rural Nova Scotia, there’s just no way that it will get there on the next business day. Yet, he continued to claim that I would receive the box on the next day.

I figured if I got it within two business days, I should consider myself lucky. But then a whole week passed. And still no box. Granted, this wasn’t a “life or death” situation. The PowerBook was still perfectly usable. I just couldn’t use AirPort from farther than 30 feet and I had to be careful when moving the laptop while it was running. But still. A whole week is a long time for an empty box to get here, even by Canadian standards.

A Whiff of Denial

I phoned Apple again, and got to talk to a much friendlier rep, who investigated the matter and came back to me saying something about an address problem and asking me to confirm my address (which was correct from what I stated, but he didn’t mention if anything was indeed wrong with it). He promised another box would leave right away.

Several days passed again with no sign of a box from Apple. I phoned again. Yet another rep, who, again, investigated the matter, and again, alleged that there was some sort of problem with the address and, again, promised that “the” box was leaving right on that very day and said I should phone if I hadn’t received it within two days.

The box arrived on the next day through one of our national courier services. But it was dated from two days before my last call to Apple. Unless the last rep performed some kind of magic, the box was clearly sent by someone else prior to that call but several days after my previous call. What’s worse, it was sent to a “Steven IGOT.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t think there’s any Indo-European language in which “Steven” sounds anything like “Pierre” when pronounced over the phone — and spelled out to them several times to boot.

Also, I don’t think I have the worst possible kind of mailing address. I’ve ordered stuff from all kinds of different places in Canada, the States, Europe and even beyond, and it has always reached me, if not promptly, at least surely. And the courier service used by Apple Canada is a service that delivers stuff to my address (at the local university) every single day of the week.

So I just have to reach the conclusion that there is something seriously wrong with Apple Canada. And the unwillingness of the various reps I talked to to acknowledge this is disturbing.

Already-Waited-For

I sent my PowerBook with all the necessary info along with a detailed print-out of the issues I wanted resolved on the very next day. I was promised a “5 business day turn-around.” I figured that I’d be reasonably “lucky” if I got my (fixed) laptop back within two weeks. However, just as a precaution, I phoned after a week to inquire about the status of my PowerBook.

I was told that the repair was “on hold.” The reason? It needs a new logic board, and “demand is very high” for the PowerBook G4, so Apple Canada is having a hard time getting one. Estimated time of arrival? Cannot give me one. This “on hold” status could last forever as far as I am concerned. A friend of mine, who ordered a PowerMac G4/733 with SuperDrive in February only received it two weeks ago. And that too was a product for which demand was allegedly “high” and supply allegedly scarce too.

As far as I am concerned, I already did my share of waiting when I waited for three weeks between the time I initially ordered my PowerBook G4 and the time I received it, back when demand was already “high” and supply was already scarce. I fail to see why I should, once again, face a way of possibly several weeks because of “high demand” and short supply. I don’t want a new computer for which demand is high. I just want my existing, already-waited-for laptop repaired in a timely, professional fashion.

I don’t like this at all. Not just because my PowerBook didn’t get back to me within 5 business days as promised, but also because of the picture that this whole process paints of Apple Canada as a whole: unreliable dispatch service, unfulfilled promises, reps who don’t want to acknowledge very real problems, serious lack of product supply from the US, no Estimated Date of Arrival, etc. All this smacks of severe lack of professionalism.

I had heard about it. I had read about it. I had known about it. And now I feel for all those who’ve had to actually go through this type of experience. Simply put, it sucks. And my Mac is supposed to be a machine that doesn’t suck. Coming from a company that doesn’t suck. The bumps of early adoption are one thing. Unreliable service from unaccountable people is quite another.

I just hope that, as I used to think, I am only part of a very small minority. Time will tell, I guess.

[Editor's Note: Pierre will let us know of any updates on this and we'll tell you.]

Email Pierre Igot

Pierre's "Apple Peel" page at Applelust.com