Snacking with Adel

(First published 0n 8/06/2009 12:27 AM; http://abs-cbnnews.com)

A large part of this column is about user/consumer experiences and your stories about how things go down in your adventures in free enterprise. I hope to get first-person accounts as to how your after-sales experiences turned out, if you tried to return something or have it fixed or replaced (in most instances, merchants will no soon return your money after they get it then they would part with their first born.)

I figured, where best to start than a story of my own?

FULL DISCLOSURE. I am an Apple nut, a Mac evangelist and long-time fan and apologist for the company, not because I own stock, but because I am a part of that rarest of consumer breeds, the Thoroughly Satisfied Customer. I began my Applehood with the Apple II in the early 80s, and worked my way up the ladder to a Macbook Air today. My fandom extends even to my extracurricular activities, being a longtime moderator of the Philippine Macintosh Users Group, and have been a member of the Board of Directors and chairman of the organization for two years straight. Yes, I drank the Kool-Aid. Wherever I go I tend to be known as the Mac Guy, the Walking Wiki and Mac Hardware and Software Troubleshooter Extraordinare. Everyone in the office comes to me for advice in the office. Everyone. Even ABS-CBN CEO and Chairman Gabby Lopez asks me stuff. I kid you not.

BACKGROUND. I currently own a year-and-a-half old Macbook Air; that’s the impossibly thin, incredibly lightweight laptop that never fails to turn heads at Starbucks. It’s not cheap, it cost me an entire term’s teaching fees and more to pay for the darned thing, and despite it being underpowered compared to the latest models, I love it to death. Which of course means I take care of it.

THE SYSTEM. Before I go on with my adventure of going toe-to-toe with Apple Inc. Here’s how laptop warranties work with them. All portable units have a one-year international warranty, which is a good thing, because parts and services are notoriously expensive for Apple. One of the advantages of being a Mac user is something you can avail of called AppleCare, which is an extended comprehensive two-year warranty, as long as you purchase the insurance plan and activate it within the first year. So when something goes wrong, just bring the Mac to the Service Center.

MY PROBLEM. No big deal really. It was just a loose, wibbly-wobbly hinge. When you open up the lid the LCD screen lifts up a little off-kilter. Must’ve come loose somehow. Otherwise, everything worked fine. I was just afraid it might worsen, so I brought it in.

REPAIR 1.Yes, the warranty covers it, and yes, it can be fixed, said the repair center. No sweat. Took a week, which wasn’t too bad because I requested for, and got, a service unit so I wouldn’t have too much separation anxiety and could continue to work—I’m as dependent on the Air as much as I am with air in my lungs. (Props to PowerMac Center for acceding to my request for a temporary unit.)

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Have you ever tried to count how many remote controls rule your life?

Mine crowd the table like so much driftwood, jostling each other for position. Sometimes I think I’m going to drown in them. The pic above, while slightly intimidating, is even missing a couple. Must be under the bed or under the rack. Or maybe the dogs ate them. (When he was a puppy, Bobby once chewed the AV Receiver’s remote close to death; only 40% of the buttons work now. I still haven’t forgiven him for that—all the settings are on the remote. My bass is permanently overcranked, to the chagrin of my wife.)

Hey, come to think about it, I’m missing four more, actually, if you add all the damned wireless game controllers. Ack. That’s an even dozen. And each of our Macs at home have their own remotes too. That brings it to what, 15? That’s downright ridiculous.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve grabbed one of them and pressed a button only to have something else turn on rather than the one I was meaning to. They all look alike. Four of them have the red-green-yellow-blue AV row which makes them all look like each other. By far, the worst offender is the PS3 remote. Since it runs on Bluetooth, just inadvertently brushing against any of the gazillion buttons on it, whichever way it’s pointing, turns on the PS3 as long as it’s within range. Even Bobby can turn on the PS3.

I have a big, clunky old Pioneer Universal Learning Remote, but I can’t find the manual and can’t remember how to add devices to it. Nothing on the net about it either. Which effectively turns it into a big, clunky old paperweight. Oh, my kingdom for a Logitech Harmony 1100!

Hey look. Some guy put a Mac Mini inside an old Apple Disk II case. Why the hell not?

Original pics at this Flickr link.

Been trying out the Networked Media Tank called the Popcorn Hour the past few days, and I’m enamored (I’m saving the full review for another day), but one of the few niggles for me is the cheesy name and logo. The fact that this is one of the major irritants is an indication of how wonderful the gadget actually is.

In brief, the PCH is basically an Apple TV equivalent for half the cost and three times the functionality. It’s a capable media storage device, HD video player and streamer, and best of all, a great standalone, unattended torrenter that runs at just 20W. [Insert cricket sounds here.]

Anyway, let’s get back to the cheesy logo. It’s emblazoned on the top of the device, large and loud, and I felt removing the brand would make the gadget more pro-looking and more serious. I’ve been wondering how to remove it without damaging the surface of the case the past couple of days, and I thought of carefully scraping it off, or maybe use duct tape to lift it from the metal, but felt the finish might come off with it. I thought of finding some solvent or fluid to dissolve it, but there was the same concern.

Then it just occurred to me to just… flip the lid!

The top is attached by four simple thumbscrews, and when I installed the server-grade hard drive in it a couple of days ago, I remembered seeing that the bottom of the lid had the same finish as the top side – with no logo. It was the same shape and had the holes in the same places. Just reverse it, and voila!

Occam’s Razor—the principle that the simplest, most obvious solution is the often the right one—worked, and I kicked myself that I hadn’t thought of it first. Then it occured to me how Occam’s Razor might also be best applied to our problems in life, and solve them in short order, without fuss or French horns. Simple, direct, obvious solutions to complicated, difficult problems. Problems with work, with the government, with society.

With relationships.

Hmm. A Valentine’s Day reflection, if there ever was one. (Borne of geekery, yet. Who’da thunk it?)

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!