Archive for the 'Mac and Me' Category

The return of the MacSafe Power Adapter

Published on August 15, 2009 in Mac and Me and This I like. 0 Comments Tags: customer service, macsafe power adapter.

So after a fruitless weekend plus the National Day holiday without my trusty MacBook, I called the folks from Apple (the real ones, not the authorised ones) in hopes of getting my dead MacSafe Power Adapter replaced..for free of course. Initially skeptical, I constantly reminded myself to keep my composure while explaining my predicament to the dude at the other end and at the same time, prayed silently for a miracle or a sign that would give me a glimmer of hope for a free replacement. Don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to be a miser here (well, maybe a tad bit) but I’d rather spend the $150 on something else than on the MacSafe Power Adapter, which till today I believe shouldn’t have taken a permanent break given that I rarely take it out (so strange).

Thankfully, the two service dudes I spoke to in the morning and the night (long story why I had to call twice) managed to somehow woo me back to loving Apple again with their customer service. It isn’t so much that I got a free replacement, but rather the effort they have put in. Its basic customer service – if you don’t know, go find out, even if you have to put me on hold. I don’t mind waiting and I kinda like the music they played. They have shown that they are trying their best to resolve the issue (free replacement or not) and restored my confidence in their customer service. I won’t go into the details, I’ll leave that for the feedback they asked me to fill. Top notch guys.

Heading back to the EpiCentre the very next day knowing that a replacement code with my Mac’s serial number was entered into the system all thanks to the Apple dudes, I faced the same lady that served me the day before. You know, the one that had to put up with my attitude (though I still stand corrected that I have the right to, after being treated ‘wrongly’) and left me leaving the service centre extremely unsettled. Putting our awkwardness aside, we got into the replacement process with her smiling most of the time. I have to give it to her, she is a bigger person that I am, because I don’t remember pulling off even the weakest grin. To cut the long story short, I headed back home with my MacSafe Power Adapter and my MacBook is fully charged. Welcome back Mac!!

Okay I admit, not a very well taken photo of my replacement

Apple customer service leaves something to be desired

Published on August 9, 2009 in Mac and Me and Things that suck. 8 Comments Tags: apple, customer service, macsafe.

So we all have seen their marketing efforts – how they have proudly and profoundly proclaimed that their products are more superior than their competitors. Just throw in a dash of carefully and well crafted finishing touches giving it that cool factor, and what you have here is a ’successful’ line of ‘must have’ products with a huge cult following. Yes, the Apple has somehow brainwashed a significant number of the global community to switch from PC to the Mac, me included.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of Apple (wait..its was not am) and one just can’t get enough of their sleek, clean and less is more designs. Nevermind that the prices for both their accessories and products are through the roof or that you need to pay a significantly huge amount for extended warranty, unlike their competitors where they will give you up three years. We are all suckers and want a piece of Apple from their Macbooks to iPhones and don’t we know it. But when their customer service is not up to par, everything Apple promises suddenly seemed like a huge cloud of fluff.

My MacSafe Power Adapter for my Macbook died on me yesterday afternoon to my dismay. Being a regular user of my Macbook, I was rather disturbed given that the long weekend will allow me more time for surfing and everyone knows we need sufficient power to ensure long usage. Running on my battery, I did a quick check at Apple’s website that noted:

‘Whether your product is in or out-of-warranty, you can take your adapter to an Apple-Authorized Service Provider or Apple Retail Store for evaluation and replacement if necessary. You may be eligible for a replacement adapter free of charge provided there are no signs of accidental damage.’

So with a huge sigh of relief, I popped over to the EpiCentre at Wheelock yesterday night hoping to get a quick exchange. After a few checks here and there, they told me that my Macbook is no longer under warranty and that I would need to get a replacement. To me it means exchange, but the to the folks at Apple, it means forking out a whopping $150. I must admit that having experienced a number of really bad customer service recently, especially from Nokia, I wasn’t exactly the nicest customer there. Although I was smiling and tried my best to reason, I was flustered and was not in the mood to take my non-working MacSafe Power Adapter back.

When I told them that the Apple website clearly indicated that a replacement can be done whether it is in or out-of-warranty, the lady at the counter gave me a small slip of paper asking me to contact Apple first. Once Apple gives the okay for replacement, all I need to do is to pop back to Wheelock again and get a replacement. This means that they will only evaluate upon Apple’s blessings, contrary to the website. What we have here is a new layer. Troublesome and somewhat shocking their policy may be, I unwillingly agreed and looked at the paper hoping to get my problem resolved the very next day. That was when the second wave of shock hit me, they are not opened on Sundays and public holidays. I’m pretty sure Apple thinks that is good customer service, but to me, it is two more days of Macbook inactivity…there goes my weekend.

While I can’t fault Apple for a spoilt MacSafe Power Adapter (I mean gadgets do fail from time to time), I question their quality service. I’m pretty sure I am not the first person with such an experience and God knows there will be a string of other similar Mac users with the same issue. I shudder to even begin thinking about Apple’s thought process for customer service. A keg of beer and a couple of shared hash in a meeting room does not make good management decision.

After a few taps (not bangs) on the table and reasoning with the service centre for the slightest solution possible to allow me to continue using my Macbook through the long weekend, I left extremely upset and even more flustered, wondering if switching to Apple from a PC was even a good choice in the first place. They were apathetic and unapologetic. Until Apple gives me another reason to think otherwise (and no, the new 3G iPhone does not cut it), I believe they have lost a fan.

At the spice rack..

Published on June 29, 2009 in Mac and Me, Other Bloggers, This I like and Usual Ramblings. 2 Comments Tags: saffron strands, tanglin mall, vanilla pod.

To be honest, my only relation to food is just eating and talking about it. I can’t cook to save my life and all the hours spent watching the Asian Food Channel with Lyn (my boo) does absolutely nothing to inspire me to don an apron, pick up that pan and whip up something bold and spicy. But if you have spent enough time in the supermarket while your other half takes eons analysing the ingredients of just about everything within the line of sight while picking on how unhealthy they are, and given that your only comfort is that pair of shoes you’re wearing (not comfortably on a bed or a chair like at home), you are bound to notice something.

Lyn and I popped over to the Market Place at Tanglin Mall a couple of months ago to pick up some groceries after a wonderful lunch at Yantra. The drill is just about the same. I push the cart around staring into blank spaces while she does the selection. At the spice rack, a place where Lyn spent most of our time that day, I can’t help but notice two unique spice packaging.

Left: Pure Vanilla Pods in a cigar (look alike) case | Right: Any empty bottle of Saffron Strands?

Nope, just a small packet in a big bottle. I can never understand why they did that.

My supermarket adventure continues…

Hello Windows 7 RC

Published on May 8, 2009 in Mac and Me and This I like. 4 Comments Tags: apple, windows 7.

I know I had earlier sworn never to install any Microsoft operating systems in my Macbook again. My previous adventure was about a little more than a year ago when I installed Windows Vista via Boot Camp. It was an absolute disaster leaving me very much ashamed and with an extremely corrupted hard disk that decided to to take a permanent vacation (looking on the positive side, I got myself a new paper weight). But when Microsoft last week announced that they released a release candidate (RC) of their latest operating system, Windows 7, I knew I have to give it a shot. Yes, I’m pretty sure this is another one of my classic ‘backside itchy and I will be paying for it sooner than I think I would” moments.

Instead of partitioning my hard disk again, I decided to take a different approach this time round and installed VMware Fusion first followed by mounting the operating system as an image. Pretty much similar to the popular Parallels, VMware Fusion allows you to install an operating system as an image within the Apple environment. Think of it as an operating system within an operating system. Don’t really want to go all technical on you and to be honest, I’m not sure how this will pan out given that I was bitten once. But since the operating system is an image instead of a partition followed by a direct installation, I am sure all will go well ~crosses fingers and Jedi wave~.

For a light weight operating system (or so I’m told), I must admit that installing Windows 7 was not only a breeze but lightning fast. In fact, it was so quick that all was completed in under a half hour with all the required drivers and network set up. The comedy that I was watching before I started the installation hasn’t even ended. I believe that the folks at Microsoft are trying to redeem themselves after a dismal performance with the Vista and so far, they are heading the right direction. But do allow me to be prudent with my opinion, I have been burnt before and will take the wait and see till it crashes approach ~touches wood~.

Meanwhile, HELLO WINDOWS 7!! .

Left: Full screen with Windows 7 | Right: An OS in an OS, Windows 7 on my Macbook

HSBC Women’s Champions weekend

Published on March 8, 2009 in Mac and Me and Usual Ramblings. 2 Comments

Thanks to an old friend Jane again, Lennie and I plus a couple of friends headed to Tanah Merah Country Club to catch our second year of the HSBC Women’s Champions. Unlike last year, world number one Lorena Ochoa was unable to dominate the boards giving way to other LPGA greats including Paula Creamer and Katherine Hull vying for the cup. With players exchanging leads throughout the four days, none of them were able to withstand the combination of weather, turf and game consistency.

Teeing off from the sixth position this morning, a quiet South Korean who went by the name of Jiyai Shin sank a number of birdies and took the lead during the later part of the game. Keeping herself headstrong, she rallied into the 18th hole scoring a magnificent -11, two ahead of once-was-first-place Katherine Hull and ran with the cup. At the end of a very hot, very humid day that left us burnt into a crisp wondering where the heck my sunblock was when I needed it most, we clapped our hands in somewhat disbelief that a young, shy, 5′1″ Asian could have beaten LPGA’s finest. Little did we know, this was not her first time. Well done “Muscle Girl” (or how Keith describes her).

At the end of the day

Not wanting to leave home empty handed, we queued with other fans and managed to bag ourselves a number of autographs. The long wait under the hot baking sun was worth it as we departed for home with signatures from Lorena Ochoa and South Korea’s Jiyai Shin, Se Ri Pak and Hee Young Park. They can really complement the one I got from Paula Creamer last year (now if only I remember where I put it). To be honest, these autographs were not easy to acquire. Apart from the heat, we had to time ourselves in the queue to ensure that we get to the golfer we want. Any early misses would mean its back to the start of the queue for us. This would mean that your hopes for her autograph is pretty much a goner.

Needless to say, we really had to be very shameless just to get them. But then again, I guess its safe to say that being shameless comes easy to me, a walk in a park if I may add . Memorable weekend? Yeah, I guess so. Looking forward find out what next year has in stall for us… .

Left: Se Ri Pak signing | Right: Se Ri Pak on the left and Hee Young Park on the right

Left: Lorena Ochoa | Right: Jiyai Shin

More of last year’s HSBC Women’s Champions here and here.

Macbook up and running

Published on March 5, 2009 in Mac and Me, This I like and Usual Ramblings. 1 Comment Tags: hard disk, macbook, sim lim.

Woah it has been a while hasn’t it? Just in case you thought I might have possibly died in my office cubicle and none of my colleagues noticed anything amiss for about a good two weeks, well…I haven’t. The long break is the usual combination of slacking off (its a periodic thing I guess), endless research for a new and life changing project and an incident that has something to do with a corrupted hard disk in my not so new Macbook.

Lesson learnt here, never ever install any Microsoft Windows operating system in an Apple computer…EVER!! Its really a kick in the nuts when you discover both your operating systems decided one day that they are no longer friends and stopped booting up. Its an even hard kick at the same location (really, its that painful) when you haven’t gotten round to backing up your files. Long story short, these fellas can’t co-exist and seriously, if you want Microsoft Windows, go get a PC.

So with a corrupted 250Gb hard disk (which I personally installed about a year back) that refuses even to allow me to format, I headed to Sim Lim Sqaure’s Best Bargain to pick up another one in a bid to get my life back to normal, technology-wise. Forgetting how much such drives in addition to RAMs cost these days, my collegue Dan and I awkwardly stood there frozen for a short moment as the nice lady cashier quoted us an unbelievable price. Heck, even bargain hunters upon hearing it would almost immediately kneel down while throwing both hands up in victory, claiming that they have finally reached shopping Nirvana. Okay seriously, it was a real steal at S$109 for a 2.5″ 250Gb hard disk and 2Gb 667Mhz RAM for Lyn’s (my boo) HP 2133 (I know, it was supposed to be mine..long story ).

Heading home happy last night, I easily removed my old, corrupted and new paperweight hard disk and replaced it with a fresh one. Although Leopard installation took a little longer than I expected but before I knew, I found myself back in the comfort of my room “downloading the internet” (as Lyn would put it), instead of twiddling my fingers at the edge of my bed and intermittently sobbing about how painful life can be when disconnected. Its good to be back. Hope to get out of my blogging drought soon.. .

New hard disk on the left and the corrupted one on the right

Singapore Slingers’ 38-point victory

Published on September 18, 2008 in Mac and Me and Usual Ramblings. 7 Comments

All thanks to Nic (again), Lyn (my boo) and I popped over to the Indoor Stadium yesterday night to catch the opening night of the Singapore Challenge Series. To cut the long story short, the Singapore Challenge Series is a series of basketball matches where professional teams from around the region are invited to take on the ever so hungry Singapore Slingers. The lucky team that manages to beat the Singapore Slingers will take home a bounty of $10,000.

First up in the schedule is one of the Philippines Basketball Association’s finest, Air 21. Once the ball tipped off, Air 21 showed their scoring prowess and defence cutting drives giving them an early lead at the end of the first quarter. However once the whistle blew for the second quarter, the Slingers took over the dance and never trailed, giving them a 124-86 win over Air 21.

I have never mentioned this before but I guess the seats we got were just too good. We were so close to the players that apart from smelling their perspiration, photography was pretty challenging. Most of my shots included bobbing referee heads at the official’s table which no one can ever achieve if not at the best seats in the house. Thanks again Nic.

Left and Right: Air 21

Our new players including Darren Ng #8 and Eric Sandrin #14 made their presence felt with them scoring 28 and 24 points respectively. Darren Ng’s consistent three-point threat proves that he is not a force to be reckoned with. Canning treys from just about any angle in the court, any team playing against the Slingers must know that they cannot take their eyes off from him..not even for a second. For a person of a much slimmer built compared to others playing in the professional league, Darren’s fearless in his face shots and drives shows that size is never a factor to him. You can know more about Darren at his blog here.

Left: Darren fires from the arc | Right: Darren for an easy two

Eric Sandrin on the other hand puts his physique and size into play. Standing at over 2 meters, the Korean American was once a member of the Harlem Globetrotters in 2005 (not too sure if he is into street ball though). His repertoire of tough defense, fierce dunking offence and sharp shooting abilities proudly and loudly shows any team playing against the Slingers that victory may not be a walk in a park…not on his watch at least.

Left: Eric skies for a rebound | Right: Defence!!

In addition, Eric is not your average shy Asian American (I’m being stereotype here) who quietly takes in anything that comes his way. His absolute disregard for any opponent big or small and ever readiness to fire up cheap shots of all sorts both during and off game time earns him the title of the “Slingers Bad Boy”. Easily put, Eric to the Singapore Slingers is pretty much like Dennis Rodman to the Chicago Bulls.

Left and right: Eric fearlessly stuffing the ball in the hole

As tough games go, conflicts are inevitable and before we knew it, the two teams started taking it out against each other leading to an ejection of Air 21’s forward Homer Se for attempting to kick Eric’s head. The Philippine majority crowed showered the Slingers with boos and slurs only to fire up the home team’s goal of taking the game with much force.

Left: The confrontation begins | Right: Our Filipino fans (judging from their boos, I think they are Air 21’s fans)

A big welcome and a nice pat on the back to the Slingers team, especially to the new players for their team play. Much mention to the big man Sam Harris for making his presence known and the more aggresive Pathman (our only Singaporean) who scored 5 points.

Left: Pathman scores | Right: Big ‘ol Harris

Left and Right: The Slingers’ offence

The Singapore Slingers will meet Air 21 again this sunday as the latter attempt to redeem themselves from a pretty much painful loss yesterday. Judging from how it goes, Air 21 is not going to take the game lying down and all I can say is, expect more phyiscal plays and loads of action. Tickets are available at Sistic.

More photos of the game in my Flickr album here.

What now after MacBook Air?

Published on January 31, 2008 in Mac and Me, This I like and Usual Ramblings. 0 Comments Tags: earth, fire, macbook, water.

So now that Apple has launched the MacBook Air, the people at DVICE managed to get their hands on some images which may suggest how Apple can move on. Introducing, the Earth, Fire and Water edition.

What Keyboard problem?

Published on December 24, 2007 in Mac and Me, This I like and Usual Ramblings. 0 Comments Tags: , apple, engadget, keyboard, keyboard freezing, leopard, macbook, macbook pro.

According to a recent Engadget article, “Apple just posted a new software update for MacBooks and MacBook Pros running Leopard, which solves the problem with the keyboard freezing up sporadically for a minute or so”.

Image shamelessly taken from shutterlife.net

My view: errr…was there a problem? Coz erm…I haven’t gotten any problem with it…yet!! But I guess I should do the Singaporean thing and play safe by installing the software anyway. Wouldn’t want it to freeze up on my halfway through blogging eh?

PC World giving it to Microsoft

Published on December 19, 2007 in Mac and Me and Usual Ramblings. 3 Comments Tags: , 2gb ram, apple, Home Premium, iPhone, leopard, macbook, Microsoft, mighty mouse, Office 2007, OS 10.5, PC World, vista, windows, Zune.

Just into a few days after installing a copy of Windows Vista Home Premium for my new MacBook, I discovered from Gizmodo that PC World had name the software created by Microsoft as the Biggest Tech Disappointments of 2007 from a list of 15. Talk about a kick in the head eh? But hey, before you say “I told you so” and ramble on about how I should have listen to you in the first place, yeah…I know…the software is pretty screwed up now and super resource sucking.

Honestly in my humble opinion, I think I’m doing fine and yet to have any qualms with Microsoft Vista. I love the interface, the way the download speed boosts up while logging on to the internet and those tiny little things that makes me go “wah so cute” or “wah so smart” amongst other improvements. Powering up my Vista on a MacBook has never been sweeter, especially when its tricked out with 2gb ram and a mighty mouse. I mean it works perfectly (for now) and the fastest notebook to run a Vista was once an Apple MacBook (MacBook Pro anyways). So I guess I have not felt the pain…yet .

So anyhoo, while reading the article on the 15 most disappointing tech stuffs by PC World, I couldn’t help but noticed that Microsoft has three products in the list. Apart from Vista which ranked at no. 1, the Microsoft Zune is at 11 and the office 2007 at 9. If that doesn’t surprise you, what about the Apple “Leopard” OS 10.5 chilling at no. 8 (worse off than the Office 2007) and the iPhone..yes the iPhone at no. 5? Ever wonder how the writer derive to the conclusion?

Disappointing? Nah-ah…not to me

Eitherway, I seriously hope I am not losing out with the MacBook. I mean both the OSs are among the 15, but I guess it is a matter of opinion. Having said that, the things I do with my computer these days do not require a ton of resources. One factor leading to that could be that I stopped playing computer games seriously. Just run some big graphics, blog, surf and other stuffs. So from my current usage status, I think I’m good, just make the best of what I have eh?