Project 11: Replacing my defective Battery

Project Description: To get a replacement for my defective battery.

Cause of Project: My battery is defective, it would go down to around 35% and shutdown without warning

Difficulty: Hard, it's a bit like being a lawyer.

Length of Project: 2 hours

What I did: I called Apple Support:

Me: Hi, i'm pretty sure that my MacBook's battery is defective.

Apple: Okay, can you tell me your serial number and name?

Serial number and name told and confirmed

Apple: Sorry, your warranty of your MacBook's battery has expired.

Me: I have Apple Care Protection Plan, and it says that all hardware is covered for 3 years.

Apple: Well, the battery is a disposable (I think that's what they said) part and is only covered for 1 year.

Me: Oh. That means that I have to order a new battery right?

Apple: Well, you can go to an Apple Retail Store to get your MacBook checked up on and repaired for a cheaper price than if you were to buy a new battery.

Me: Can I bring my MacBook to an Apple Service Provider?

Apple: Yes, and there is an Apple Service Provider near you in... It would probably be cheaper than going to a Retail Store. Here is the name and telephone number...

This could have been the end. I could have done what he suggested. And that would also mean the end of this blog. But due to financial problems, I would really rather not pay for repair. I went back to this page and discovered that the Intel Core Duo computers receive coverage for up to 2 years, and my MacBook had an Intel Core Duo processor! Only problem, was that the battery exchange program was only for computers bought between February 2007 to April 2007. I bought mine on April 7 2007. Any way, I decided to give it a try with new "evidence" and ran Apple Support again:

Me: Hello, my MacBook's battery is defective.

Apple: May I have your serial bumber and name?

Serial number and name told and confirmed

Apple: It seems like you already called earlier today and you were advised to go to an Apple Service Provider. Is that right?

Me: (not stunned by this statement,) yes I have called earlier today, but I have just checked the apple page about defective batteries, and it said on it that "For MacBook and MacBook Pro systems with Intel Core Duo processors, this program extends repair coverage on the battery for up to two years from the date of purchase of the computer."

Apple: (Talks something about how the battery doesn't have to do with when the computer was bought)

Me: It also says at the end of this page that that "This program extends repair coverage on the battery for up to two years from the date of purchase of the computer for Intel Core Duo-based MacBook and MacBook Pro computers"

Apple: I understand, but according to our database of serial numbers, your battery is not covered. But, I will have to speak with (someone that has to do with the website) to find out if your battery is covered or not.

Me: Will I have to call or e-mail them?

Apple: No, it's okay, I'll call them and I'll call you back. 

30 minutes later...

Me: Hello?

Apple: Hi, this is Apple Support, is this a good time to talk?

Me: Yes, I can talk. (I could tell by the tone of her voice that it was most likely good news)

Apple: Well, I talked to (whoever it was she talked to) and they said that the symptoms can indeed be caused by a defective battery, and so we will be sending a new battery to you in around 2~3 days and when the battery arrives, Apple needs to take back the defective battery to make sure that it is defective. Is that alright?

Me: Yes, but I do have another question, if it does happen to be my MacBook's problem, what will happen then?

Apple: Well since you are covered with Apple Care Protection Plan, we can take back your MacBook and repair it for free. However I recommend you backup your hard drive first.

Me: Yes, I am already doing that. Will I have to pay for delivery?

Apple: No, it is free off charge.

Me: Ok, thank you for your time. Bye.

Challenges: Making them believe that my battery is covered!

What I have learnt: When calling Apple Support on a subject that includes replacement and warranty, you have to really think like a lawyer. Without evidence, you will not win the trial. By telling Apple Support that they are contradicting themselves according to their own website, they will most likely have to accept it. Oh yeah, and Apple Support keeps a record of all your phone calls and keeps most of the details of them, so I learnt that losing your temper on them won't help you in the future.

Status: Received Battery

Problem 4: Defective Battery

Problem: The MacBook's or MacBook Pro's battery goes down to around 5%~80% (varies for each battery, mine goes to around 35%) then shutdown with no warning. When rebooted (if able to) there is no window saying that the computer shutdown unexpectedly.

Cause of Problem: Defective Battery

Time needed: 2 minutes ~ 10 days

Model: Battery/Computer bought between February 2006 and April 2007 for MacBook or MacBook Pro

First noticed on: My MacBook

Solution:
1. Download the battery update. If it doesn't work go to step 2.
2. If your computer has been bought less than 1 year ago, go to step 4. If not go to step 3.

3. If your computer has an Intel Core Duo Processor and has been bought less than 2 years ago go to step 4. If not go to step 5.

4. Call apple and demand for a replacement. Get your computer and battery serial number out before you call them. If they reject at first, tell them that according to this page, you are covered (supposing that you bought your computer/battery between February 2007 and April 2007).

5. Go to a Retail Store to get it fixed. You will get 90 days of warranty for you battery. 

Or, you can buy a new battery for a more expensive price with 1 year of warranty.

Result: Your battery shouldn't have any problems.

Other: According to this page, Intel Core Duo MacBooks and MacBook Pros that are bought between 2007 February and April are covered for 2 years, even though the battery originally has a warranty of 1 year (including those with Apple Care). This can be a key tipping point for you to get that replacement.

Project 9: Introducing iPhones for Education

Project Description: To successfully introduce iPhones for educational purposes.

Cause of Project: To advance the school in to a "21st Century Environment"

Difficulty: Hard due to the complexity of many considerations

What I did: I was involved in a meeting today with Yoshi, a representative from Apple with accompany from his boss. Our main topic was to discuss the possibility of having iPhones used in our school. We started off by showing my blog, then moved on to discuss my current, main project. I also explained to Yoshi my role in the MS Student Tech Team, and what we have done, as well as future plans. When we started to discuss about iPhones, Yoshi said that the iPhone will bring a "21st Century Environment", which is definitely true. I then asked a series of questions to Yoshi:

Q1: Is it possible to restrict what the user can do with their iPhone? I mean, for the Mac there is Parental Controls, and Apple Remote Desktop, but what about the iPhone?

A: At this point, it is not possible to do so without hacking the iPhone itself.

Q2: Is it possible to be able to have a constantly updating digital list of all the school's iPhones and how much they are spending, as well as how they are being spent?

A: Softbank's package is a fixed price which includes internet access, mail and phone calls.

Q3: How about phone calls to other providers, like Docomo?

A: That's not included in the package. You should talk to some one from Softbank for more details.

Q4: Is it possible that apple can modify the iPhone so that it can't make any calls.

A: Well, the iPhone is a phone, so if you can't make calls that defeats the purpose.

Q5: Is there a way to remove the 5 people limit on iTunes U, since this is for education?

A: We can not change this, since apple has already placed specific copyright laws.

Q6: Can one application be installed on all of the iPhones?

A: This is similar to iTunes U, because you can only install one application per 5 iPhones.

Q7: So if I had 50 iPhones, I would have to buy the application 10 times to provide it to all the iPhones?

A: Yes.

Q8: The next version of Mac OS X, Snow Leopard is focused on reducing the size of files. Because of this, will iPhones be compatible with it?

A: There may be a newer version of the iPhone that will be compatible with it, or just an update. However, Apple is very strict on releasing information like this, so I personally do not know.

We also had Mr. Lockwood bargain with Yoshi for a Data Package at a cheaper price, instead of a package that includes phone calls. He then continued to talk about the possibility of apple creating a NetBook (but with it's own original name).

My opinion: I was not disappointed by Yoshi's answers, simply because I already knew that my requests were probably not going to be available at this point. Because of this, I disagree with having the iPhone used in the school at this point, since there is no way to restrict users or to even monitor what they are doing. And the fact that it can make phone calls, is some thing I see that isn't going end up as "educational" but more of "personal use". The only thing I think why this school should provide it, is because of it's "Cool Factor". Okay, not only that of course - it has wireless internet, a camera, downloads education podcasts, and offers applications like a Graphing Calculator (which would usually cost 10,000 yen to purchase). However, I personally do not think that students should have such flexibility with the iPhones, and I think that lending them is going to be a ticking time bomb. If you do not understand what I mean when I say a ticking time bomb, i'm talking about students watching the latest episode of Heroes, girls talking on them for hours with other service providers, or even worse, students throwing iPhones accidentally while playing iBowl. Before you know it, students grades will fall, while the bills never seem to stop going up. All is not lost for the iPhone though, since Yoshi will do some "homework" and it is only a matter of time before my requests becme true.

The Next Step: I think that we should start some heavy bargaining with Softbank for a data plan as well as other things.

Other: Questions and Answers were summarized