No Mo' Apple Blues for Me

By Jeralyn, Section Blog Related
Posted on Tue Jul 24, 2007 at 11:05:00 PM EST
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So many readers responded by comments and e-mail to my Powerbook woes and request for help getting a new Macbook with helpful hints on how to save a failed hard drive, select a back-up system and transfer music and video files from an iPod to a new computer, and with donations, I thought I'd post a follow-up.

Things are looking up. Here's what happened.

After receiving the failed diagnosis from the Genius Bar at the Apple store on Sunday, I took the Powerbook in to the local authorized Apple repair shop on Monday. Hard drive failure diagnosis confirmed.

The options were: Buy a new hard drive and have them install Tiger on it and transfer the music and videos from the iPod to the new hard drive, for a cost of $400 (and maybe throw in a few hundred more for additional memory since the Powerbook only had 512 mb memory and then think about still more for an external hard drive).... or give them the Powerbook and they'd give me $400 for it, which I could then put to the cost of a new Macbook.

More...

They will also remove the hard drive when they get around to it in ten days or so (they are very busy) and give it back to me at no charge in case I later decide to see if anything is salvageable.

I decided to sell them the Powerbook and go with a new Macbook.

With the $400 for the old machine and $450 in donations readers sent in, I'm only $450 short of a new Macbook. As between spending $400 to repair an old machine and $450 for a new one, it was actually an easy decision.

When I get the new Macbook, I can either use one of the third party applications you all suggested to transfer the stuff on my iPod to it, or I can bring the new Macbook and my iPod to the repair shop and they will do it for $39.00.

So, I'm almost to a new Macbook. Thanks to all of you who donated,I couldn't have done it without your contributions.

I expect to order the new Macbook within the next week. I can't wait to have my "kitchen machine" back, hooked up to its 23" Apple display. It's really the machine I gravitate to and use the most at home. Best of all, I'm not going to lose my iPod content.

And I have no more bad feelings towards my Powerbook or Apple. In fact, I can't wait for the new Macbook to arrive.

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No Mo' Apple Blues for Me | 36 comments (36 topical)

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one suggestion: (1.00 / 1) (#1)
by cpinva on Wed Jul 25, 2007 at 12:03:51 AM EST

get a real laptop, instead of a playtoy one. apples are good for many things; doorstop comes quickly to mind. they're also good for holding up windows with broken sashes. what they aren't very good for is being computers. you found this out the hard way.

i recommend going with an HP/Compaq. go to:

www.newegg.com

for the money you're about to spend on that mac, you can get a machine with at least 1g of RAM, 100g hd, dvd/cdrw, windows xp pro, and a host of other goodies. then spend your $39 to transfer your ipod stuff to a good machine. it will also have a vga port, so you can plug your external monitor in.

one other thing: get an external, USB connected backup hard drive. again, you can get a 250g one on newegg for a good price. backup all your data & songs to this, so in the event that you suffer another hd meltdown, you don't have to pay someone to attempt to extract this data from the internal one.

for the money, it's one of the best computer related investments you'll ever make, i guarantee it.

there's a reason so few businesses use apple computers, they just aren't very good.

I've owned both Mac and PCs (5.00 / 1) (#9)
by Molly Bloom on Wed Jul 25, 2007 at 08:15:20 AM EST

My opinion of PC's are unprintable. The last PC I owned was an HP. Never again.

I am fortunate that I telecommute. The company provides me with a PC and a printer as well as high speed internt. My intel Mac is on the left of my desk. The company required HP is on the right. When I hooked up the PC to the computer, I noticed that both the HP computer and the HP printer had USB ports, just like my MAc. I took a USB cable and hooked up the HP printer to th HP computer. Nothing. No response.

I disconnected the HP computer and hooked it up to my Mac. The Mac immediately identified the printer and said I could print now. I scrounged around and found an old parallel printer cable and hooked up the HP printer to the HP computer. The HP computer stirred to life. "new hardware found." Didn't know what it was, but knew it was there. Progress I supposed.

The HP figured out it was a printer. The HP didn't know it what type of printer it was and asked me if I had the disk. So I inserted the disk. It then installed the necessary software to run the printer.

After about 15 minutes, the HP computer had recognized the HP printer and allowed me to print- but only with Parallel printing cables- desite both machined being equipped with USB cables AND only after installing software to recognize the printer.

The Mac recognized the HP printer in seconds and required no software installation and actually could use the USB ports. Imagine USB ports that were more than mere decorations!

Why HP would sell a computer that did not already have all HP printer software installed is a mystery. If Mac can do it....

Mac- Plug and play. PC- Plug and Pray.

I love these tunderations (none / 0) (#14)
by jimakaPPJ on Wed Jul 25, 2007 at 11:48:01 AM EST

between users.... reminds me of Chevy vs Ford arguments when I was young.

Why HP would sell a computer that did not already have all HP printer software installed is a mystery.

Because the customer might want to use their already purchased Cannon?? Epson?? Brand X???

Do you think there might be a "bundling" issue some happy lawyer would love to address??

Installing printer software should take no more than 10 minutes..

Your trouble description is unclear. If you tried to hook up a USB cable between the HP computer and the printer you would still have had to use the install disk, just as you did the for the parrallel port cable.

If you hooked up both at the same time, aint gonna work.

In the meantime, use whatever makes you happy. That's what makes this country great.

No central planning...


What's unclear about this? (none / 0) (#18)
by Molly Bloom on Wed Jul 25, 2007 at 12:17:55 PM EST

The Mac recognizes any of the printers you mentioned w/o adding any software. The USB cable worked on the Mac w/o installing any software. It did it in seconds. Plug and Play.

Conversely it took me 15 minutes or so to make the HP work with the HP. Plug and pray.

Surely you can comprehend this. Currently I have the HP printer hooked to the Mac with a USB cable and the HP hooked up with the Parallel cable at the same time. No issues. I can print from either computer. The only issue is, apparantly the USB port on the HP computer is for decorative purposes only.

(I only use the HP for work related computing btw).

And lets not talk about malware. Mac leaves the Windows machines in the dust.

As for your bundling and happy lawyer comment, bundling goes on all the time with Mac and Windows. How many lawsuits has it generated?

Then there is your confusion of democracy with free market econmy principles. These are two different concepts and they are not one and the same. Not sure why you included it.

MB (none / 0) (#29)
by jimakaPPJ on Wed Jul 25, 2007 at 03:40:53 PM EST

Uh, note the Chevy vs Ford comment.

And I'm sorry if you couldn't explain the problem clearly, but never mind.

BTW - Do you think you could actually have a democracy without a free market? Or vice versa?


BTW (none / 0) (#30)
by jimakaPPJ on Wed Jul 25, 2007 at 04:06:28 PM EST

Oh BTW - If you are saying that the HP printer wouldn't work with USB when installed using the install program, then that is a separate problem.

If you are saying that you wanted to hook the printer to the Mac and to the HP PC at the same time, I assume your printer has two USB ports.
If it does, check and see if what you actually have isn't one low speed USB port and one high speed USB2.

My Cannon i960 lowspeed USB connection will not work on its highspeed USB. I would guess the HP is the same. I would check and see which one I had tried to install to.

Assuming that you have two low speed USB's and assuming that the HP PC is installed correctly, I still wonder if it would work since what the printer will see is two computers on its universal serial buss. That wouldn't be the same if one was a parrallel port.


I'm saying the USB (none / 0) (#37)
by Molly Bloom on Wed Jul 25, 2007 at 05:20:47 PM EST

port doesn't work on the HP. You are deliberatley obtuse. If you are going to go the Ford Chevy route, try Model T (HP) v. Porsche (Mac).

MB (none / 0) (#42)
by jimakaPPJ on Wed Jul 25, 2007 at 10:52:28 PM EST

If the USB port doesn't work then take it back to the dealer and have it fixed and quit moaning.

Simpler. It is supposed to work.

But you must use the install disk.


: Jim you are obtuse (5.00 / 1) (#43)
by Molly Bloom on Thu Jul 26, 2007 at 07:51:59 AM EST

For the record, I don't want the d@mn thing. Its forced upon me.
Why should I have to use an install disk? Why should it take