supriy.me

Mar 2008: The dream comes true. I get my first Macbook Pro and name him Marvin after my favourite fictional android. (Yeah, I name my gadgets. I am geeky. Live with it).

July 2008: NVIDIA acknowledges a packaging defect on 8600M GT graphics processor which affects Macbooks and Macbook Pros manufactured between May 2007 and September 2008.  Apple increases warranty of Motherboards with NVIDIA 8600 M GT (including Marvin) to 3 years from date of manufacture. Check out the details on http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377

1700 hrs, Jan 3, 2010, Day Zero: Marvin refuses to boot kicking off one of the worst starts to a new year till date. HDD is working, fans are whirring but no video on the screen. I panic and rush Marvin to nearest iMagine store at Forum, Koramangala.  1700/- to take a look at Marvin and 2 days to report back. Anything you want my friend but please get him back to life

Day 2: iMagine- We need 2 more days

Day 4: iMagine- Operating System is corrupt. We need the Operating System DVDs which we said are not required when you gave us Marvin

Day 5: I submit Operating System DVDs to iMagine.

iMagine- Sir, give us 2 hours to install

Me- Going and coming back in Bangalore traffic !! I think I will just loiter around.

2 hours later

iMagine- Sir, we need 2 more hours to install

Me- Screw you, I will collect it tomorrow

Day 6: iMagine- We installed OS, formatted your HDD for the issue and realized that issue is not with OS but with Motherboard. We need 2 more days for analysis

Day 8: iMagine- The Motherboard is screwed up. We need to replace it. It is out of warranty and will cost you Rs 70,000 only. Yeah, we sell a new Macbook for 85,000 and want you to pay Rs 70,000 to replace just MB of your Mac. We are not joking around or anything.

Day 9: I find out about the issue with NVIDIA chipset, do some research, discover that the issues mentioned on Apple’s site are exactly the same as the ones I am facing.

Day 10: I call up iMagine and tell them about the Nvidia issue and also that it is covered under warranty.

Day 12: iMagine- We checked your Motherboard again and guess what, the issue is with whole, complete motherboard and not just the graphics chipset. We can see that your HDD is working, the fans are whirring, the OS is booting as we can hear the Apple startup chime but all these things happen even if the motherboard has gone kaboom. We need to replace your MB and it will cost you Rs 70,000.

Me- What do I look like? A Manager? I am a Computer Engineer and you are trying to take me for a ride on a computer related issue.

Tech Info: If the MB has gone kaboom, the computer will refuse to perform any action. ZERO. There will be no HDD sounds, no OS startup, nothing.

Day 13: I pick up Marvin back. Curse the iMagine staff. Try to educate their engineers and cough up 1700/- for them doing absolutely nothing.

Day 14: I find out about BCT. Another Apple authorized service provider situated in MG Road. I ship Marvin to them and inform them about the suspected issue.

Day 15: BCT- The issue is with NVIDIA chipset. Your MB will be replaced for free. However, the HDD is not working and is damaged. We need to replace the HDD which will cost 5k and will take 2 weeks to change as HDD is not in stock.

Note: HDD was working and booting when Marvin was given to iMagine

Day 30: BCT- We have replaced the HDD, Motherboard and reinstalled the OS. You can come and pick it up. Total charges: 6700/-

It has been almost 20 days since I got back Marvin and I have not faced any issue so far (fingers crossed).

Moral of the Story: iMagine is jazzy and cool looking. Under the hood, they suck when it comes to customer service or technical support. If you own an Apple gadget and face an issue, do not, do not go to iMagine. You will save a lot of dough, avoid unnecessary headache and the feeling of wanting to hurt their staff that comes from listening to their inane arguments. Search around on the internet, find out the exact issue and go to some other authorized service provider (I recommend BCT)  but not iMagine

Last time there was this much excitement about a tablet, there were commandments written on it- WSJ

iPad has been announced and there is a general feeling of disappointment. Apple for the first time in a decade has not met or exceeded expectations.

But lets face it, with the hype around the event, anything short of a tablet which would replace netbooks,laptops,desktops,cell phones,ebook readers,music players,portable media players, digital photo frames, gaming consoles and coffee makers would have been classified as a letdown. Apple lost out to its own hype but then the launch of a its “latest creation” was seriously underwhelming.

Firstly, iPad? Seriously? Slate was taken up by HP and hence, iSlate was out. Maybe Apple wanted to go for a name that was not rumored earlier which cuts out iTablet etc. iPad is not the most awe-inspiring gadget name ever but neither was iPhone. Apple is counting on the product being cool enough to make people look beyond the name.

Secondly, iPad does not bring a new UI paradigm to the table. iPod revolutionized music players with its scroll wheel navigation. iPhone changed the way people interacted with their cell phones because of the multi touch navigation. iPad is more of the same. The fact that there are “75 million users who already use this technology” might actually curtail the sales of iPad.

No multitasking means no chatting while watching the latest episode of Supernaturals. Or working on a spreadsheet while googling for relevant info. However, Apple has not confirmed or denied the absence of multitasking.

No flash support which translates to Apple not giving a damn if your cows, crops etc die out in farmville.

No front facing camera. Hence, no skype video calls on the move or real time pictures for twitter or FB.

No USB. So no mouse or external HDD support. 16 GB space is a seriously limiting factor to iPad doubling up as a video player as it would need regular sync with a laptop to transfer movies and videos.

iPad does come with iBooks, Apple’s foray into eReaders. My personal experience with reading ebooks on a LCD screen has not been that great but Apple’s LCD and multitouch UI could make it work. Kindle for iPhone app will work on iPad unless Amazon pulls it out of app store. Kindle and other ebook readers are facing a very real threat from iPad.

Is iPad a “third category of products” as Mr Jobs claimed? It will not be able to replace netbooks/laptops as primary computers or cell phones as primary tool for communication. Primary users of iPad will be customers of ebook readers as they can use iPad for other tasks when they do not feel like reading. So yes, iPad is indeed a 3rd category of devices as the evolutionary next step to Kindle/Nook.

It is a sleek device with Apple logo at the back, sexy LCD in the front and more of the multitouch UI that people cannot get enough of. Steve Jobs’ guarantee of an experience like none other is good enough to sell millions of devices in the first year itself. But for the 1st time since iPod, Apple seems to have made a mistake. The opportunity to take on Apple and win the war of the tablets is there. There is a 60 day window for competitors to make their case before the iPad becomes available.

Will I get one? Not sure. I have a policy of not buying any 1st generation gadgets to avoid headache and stress. However, I do want an ebook reader with ePub/PDF capabilities. So it is wait and watch for me as more information and hands-on experiences become available.