1. Create a service-only account

Often repair work involves administrator-level access to your Mac’s operating system. While I’ve never heard about privacy violations at Apple Authorized Service Providers, I like putting an extra barrier to protect my personal data, since I’ll sheepishly admit my account password is used in a few other places, and I’d rather nobody know it.

For added protection, I have another administrator account prior to sending my Mac in for service. An extra administrator account is good for testing purposes, so I already have one. If you don’t, then go to System Preferences, and then to Accounts and click the plus button and under “New Account.” choose “Administrator.” Create a full name and unique password and then click “Create Account.”

When checking in your computer at the repair shop, give them this password. Yes, your original account’s password could be reset and your data read, but at least this makes it a bit more difficult to do so. Even if your primary account’s password is reset, they still won’t have easy access to your keychain or be able to find out where else you use that admin password.

Now that your Mac is safely backed up and ready for service, here are two tips for an often overlooked part of the job — physically transporting your Mac.

2. Dress your iMac in a t-shirt

The iMac’s screen in particular can be easily scratched when lifting it in and out of the car. Shirt buttons and jewelry are common items that could cause scratches on your person, too. A large towel is a common protector for transport, but it’s difficult to keep that in place. My solution is an old t-shirt. If your screen size exceeds your shirt size, go to a thrift store and pick up an XL. Old shirts tend to be extremely soft and stretch easily, thereby protecting your iMac screen and keeping that protection in place during transit. The bonus is that your computer looks absolutely adorable.

Once you’ve got the T-shirt wrapped around the iMac, lift it carefully, making sure to grasp it firmly with two hands at the bottom and press the protected screen against your body. Don’t try to carry it by the stand. Unless you’re a weightlifter with unusually long arms, avoid carrying an iMac under one arm.

3. Keep it in the backseat

Just like people do with their other most precious cargo (ie., children and pets), keep the Mac in the backseat. Have the screen face backwards and strap it in with the shoulder and waist restraints. I typically place the shoulder strap over the back of the iMac and then use the waist restraint close to the base. This will not keep it in place as well as it will a child in case of an accident, but it serves to slow the Mac down, and if it does hit the back of the passenger seat, the screen is less likely to crack and the hard drive is less likely to get jostled. For an extra ounce of prevention, I push the passenger seat as far back as I can and brace it with a pillow if needed. This will also help if you have to make a sudden stop, or if you hit a few potholes long the way.

Any other tips for getting your injured Mac to and from service-related visits?

Photo courtesy of Flickr user kaikajus.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Building a better paywall: strategies for monetizing news content
• Flash analysis: Steve Jobs

The report is based on an internal announcement reportedly made by Apple notifying employees that the system is nearing completion. It makes sense for Apple to do this, because one of the first steps in determining what’s wrong with a product brought in by a customer reporting problems is to run a software diagnostic. Doing this remotely could free up time for in-store service technicians, by determining if issues can be fixed at home or should be immediately escalated to a mail-in factory return, and by providing them with crucial info in advance of a customer visit. Obviously, the affected iPhone, iPod touch or iPad has to be in good enough shape that it can access the web and open mobile Safari and Mail, but it could still prove very useful for users with less serious issues.

Information gathered from your device will also be available to staff at service centers, so that if you do have to bring your device in, they can expedite the process of a repair, according to the report. That info will apparently include details about battery health and charge capacity, time since last full charge, the minimum charge level of the device’s battery, what version of iOS was installed, and if it went through a normal shutdown process prior to problems appearing. The only personal information transmitted will be the device name, as well as the device’s unique identifier number, as well as the time spent daily on voice calls if it’s an iPhone.

HardMac says this will be rolling out in the next few months everywhere, so we’ll keep an eye out, and be sure to let us know if Apple directs you to a new diagnostic website as a first step in fixing any iOS-related issues you’re having.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Flash analysis: Steve Jobs
• Mobile Q2: Smartphone growth surges; iPad’s rule continues
• A Media Tablet Forecast, 2011 – 2015

The MacBooks displaying the problem are said by Apple to have shipped between October 2009 and April 2011, and the problem is described as “the rubber surface on some MacBooks [separating] from the bottom case of the system.” Customers who qualify (Apple will check your serial number to see if you’re in the affected crop) can get their bottom case replaced free of charge either at an Apple Retail Store or at an Apple Authorized Service Provider. Customers also have the option of ordering a replacement kit online, which includes a new bottom case, a Phillips head screwdriver, screws and instructions.

MacBook owners should not that Apple is also offering refunds for customers who’ve already paid for a repair due to the issue described above, and that anyone who thinks they’re eligible for getting some money back should contact Apple directly.

It’s not clear how widespread the problem is exactly. A search at the Apple Support Communities site turned up numerous threads related to the issue (at least six by my count), but it’s not a problem that has attracted the spotlight as much as the reported signal attenuation issues with the iPhone 4, for example. Apple says in its note that customers who aren’t seeing problems shouldn’t take any action, even if they purchased their MacBooks during this time, so it’s possible only a small subset of product was affected.

Anyone seeing their MacBook’s bottom rubber cover separating from the case?

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• The Case for Increased M&A in 2011: Actions and Outlooks
• The Structure 50: The Top 50 Cloud Innovators
• Connected Consumer Q1: The Over-the-Top vs. Pay TV Battle Heats Up

Though some critics like to vilify Apple for its practice of building devices with inaccessible batteries, the benefits definitely outweigh the consequences for such a tradeoff. The MacBook Pros are rated for up to eight hours of battery life, the iPod nanos get up to 24 hours of audio playback and the new iPad is touted to go for 10 hours on a single charge. But what happens when your iPad doesn’t get a great charge anymore? Similar to programs in place for the MacBook Pros and iPhones, Apple has announced its iPad Battery Replacement program and it’s not a bad option, all things considered.

The rules are pretty simple. If your iPad no longer holds a charge as good as it used to, you can pay Apple a service fee ($99 plus $6.95 shipping) and it will replace it. Of course, if your iPad is damaged because of an accident, neglect, liquid contact or if there is another hardware issue, then Apple reserves the right to say “No, sorry.” Fortunately though, unless your glass screen has been smashed, Apple is rarely picky on these types of issues. If your device turns on and displays what its supposed to on the screen and can connect to a computer to sync, it’s pretty much eligible for a battery replacement.

What is interesting about the iPad Battery Replacement program is that Apple outright acknowledges that your data will not be preserved because you will receive a replacement iPad. In reality, this is what usually happens with an iPhone replacement as well, but its refreshing to know Apple is actually acknowledging this now. Replacement devices (iPad or iPhone) are technically considered “refurbished” but, as a company who puts extra care into every little detail of the experience, refurbished to Apple means “almost new” to most users. As is the case with iPods and iPhones (and will likely be the case with the iPad) the “refurbished” unit will come with a new exterior case so even if your previous unit did have a few superficial scratches, you’ll end up with a fresh and clean device.

Arranging for a replacement can be done by calling AppleCare or through Apple’s website. Additionally, users can get service through the Genius Bar at their local Apple Store. Once the initial iPad demand settles, Apple Stores will begin to carry additional iPads as “service parts” which means that, should you need a battery replacement, you can simply walk into an Apple Store, pay your fee and walk out with your replacement.

If you’re not keen on paying Apple such a price for a battery replacement or you’re one who doesn’t sync their device and therefore do not want to lose all your apps and settings, you can look into third party service providers for battery replacement options. These will likely be cheaper than going through Apple, but this route means you will lose the benefit of getting a nice, new and clean scratch-free exterior.

What are your thoughts on Apple’s built-in batteries and their replacement plans? Have you had your iPhone or iPod replaced because of battery issues? Do you think their plan is fair? Sound off in the comments and share your thoughts!

On the support page created to describe the problem and the resulting warranty extension, Apple doesn’t mention which brand of hard drives are affected by name, which could mean that the problem doesn’t lie with the hard drives themselves, but with some other system components. Another indication that this is indeed the case is that all capacities of hard drive are also affected.

If you’re wondering whether or not you have an affected unit (Apple says only a “small percentage” of users will experience problems), it’s very easy to identify. Your MacBook will just stop working altogether, and any attempts to boot it will result in a screen that displays a folder icon with a question mark over top of it, as in the image below. As someone who’s seen this screen many times while fixing up old PowerBooks, I can tell you it isn’t a heartening experience.

Apple describes what you should do if you’re greeted with such a screen:

Please take your MacBook to the Apple representative most convenient for you:

• Apple Authorized Service Provider – Find one here.
• Apple Retail Store – Set up an appointment with a Genius.

If Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider confirms that your hard drive is affected, Apple will replace it with a new hard drive. You will need to have the original OS installation discs that were shipped with your product in order to re-install your operating system, other applications, and any backed up data.

If you need assistance finding the best service option in your area, you may contact Apple Technical Support for more information.

It sounds like any data you may have stored on the drive will be irrevocably lost if this does happen to you, so if you have one of the affected models and you haven’t yet implemented any kind of backup system, you should probably consider doing so.

If your machine has already had this problem, and you’ve already paid out of pocket to get it fixed or replace your drive, you can contact Apple Technical Support and inquire about a reimbursement process. No word on whether that extends to at home HD replacements, which is how I would’ve tried to solve the problem, but if you haven’t kept your old faulty drive, I highly doubt it would. Mostly I expect this will apply when people have taken their machines through official Apple repair channels to correct the problem.

The extension period covers affected Macs three years from the date of purchase, for this specific problem alone, or until August 15, 2010, whichever comes last, so you still have about six months in which your HD can fail and you’ll still be covered. It may seem like an arbitrary window, but Apple does include a caveat that it will be evaluating the repair need on an ongoing basis and extend that deadline if circumstances require.

Anyone experienced the symptoms Apple is describing with this model MacBook?

The new study, by Rescuecom, which is a U.S. firm specializing in computer repair, puts Apple at the top of the list when ranking computer makers. Previous studies by the repair franchise had seen Asus take the top spot, in keeping with the results of the SquareTrade study, but the most recent numbers (Q3 2009) show Apple with a commanding lead, according to Electronista.

Apple scored 374, which is more than double Asus’ 166. The PC maker scored third. Rescuecom’s rankings are based on the numbers of machines that it sees come in for repairs, as measured against the number of computers each company ships. The methodology for the study also includes factoring in things like system construction quality and manufacturer post-sale support, in order to bring some influence outside of Rescuecom’s operation to the table. Apple’s sales accounted for nine percent of the market in Q3, while only making up 2.4 percent of Rescuecom’s repair calls.

CEO David Millman suggests that Asus’ recent slip may be due to the growing presence of netbooks in its lineup of offerings. “Now that many of the netbooks by ASUS have been out for a while, there is obviously a higher need for service,” said Millman. It’s true that while Asus makes some of the most sturdy netbooks around, to achieve the incredibly low price points they offer to consumers, corners have to be cut in parts and manufacturing quality.

Lenovo also fared better in Rescuecom’s study, placing a strong second behind Apple with a score of 320. Toshiba and HP rounded out the top five with fourth and fifth place scores of 165 and 134, respectively. The common thread? All of these manufacturers offer at least one netbook-type computer.

There’s no way of saying for certain that low-cost netbooks are definitively affecting the reliability scores of computer makers, but it is beginning to look like Apple was wise to abstain from joining the fray, at least in this regard (though not in others). No doubt Apple’s introduction of unibody aluminum construction, which requires far fewer moving parts and better overall structural strength is also contributing to its increasing product dependability.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Report: The Future of Netbooks!
• The State of the Smartbook
• Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC Era

For many of us, the iPhone has become a staple item in our daily assortment of tech gear. Like any product that gets heavy use on a daily basis, sometimes it can fail. For the iPhone, that means a trip to the often-crowded Genius Bar for help. Now, as more consumers are adopting the digital device, Apple is facing an increasing number of iPhones in need of repair. The good news for consumers is, the majority of those repairs can now be done by your local Genius.

When the iPhone first launched, Apple offered a “loaner” program (with a fee) for consumers who had iPhones that needed to be repaired. This program, which received little attention in the press, finally disappeared from Apple as it began offering instant iPhone swaps, instead of asking a consumer to wait a few days for an offsite repair. (Come to find out, the “waiting” technique may work well for iPods, but doesn’t fly for iPhones). In an even more efficient move, Apple now offers a new service allowing Geniuses to perform actual repairs of the screen assembly to your iPhone at the store.

What? No more free swaps?

For the business-minded, the talk of your Genius Bar appointment being even longer while a Genius dissects and operates on your iPhone may make you scream, “No fair! Usually you just give me a new one and I’m on my way.” We all knew, though, that it would not be cost-effective for Apple to simply swap out an iPhone on a whim when things went bad. With the ability to perform certain repairs in-house, this means you keep your original iPhone and won’t need take the time to sync up a replacement iPhone before you are back in the game.

Cracked screen? No worry!

The biggest component likely to either fail or be damaged is the screen. Similar in construction to the screen on the iMac (minus the touch-sensitive components and newer oleophobic coating on the iPhone 3GS), the screen can be removed from your iPhone via a large suction cup. (Though I’m sure Apple has a very “specialized” device that does this — much like the infamous unbent paper clip that doubles as the SIM card ejection tool). Geniuses can now replace a defective screen for free if your iPhone is under warranty or, if not warranty-related, for a nice hefty $199. (Standard disclaimer: Defective doesn’t mean cracked beyond belief because your estranged ex drove over it in her Hummer. That does void your warranty, as does liquid damage and jailbroken phones.)

Before Apple began offering this service, consumers faced choices like iFixIt or iResQ, which offer similar repair services (or just components) at rates cheaper than Apple. However, such solutions do void your Apple warranty. These solutions also require you (in repair instances) to send off your iPhone, so you will be without it for a few days. Going the Apple route, provided you can actually find a Genius Bar appointment at your local Apple Store, they should be capable of (provided the parts are in stock) replacing your screen assembly within five to 10 minutes. When a Genius graces your iPhone, your warranty remains intact.

Apple’s talented Genius team can also perform other repairs to the iPhone, as the screen assembly contains other parts that can fail, including the receiver or touch sensors. In order to continue to reduce costs and provide quicker turnaround to consumers, Apple will likely follow its trend of performing more repairs in store. As crowded as the Genius Bars usually are, Apple will have to keep repair times under consideration. Most stores allocate 10 minutes per iPhone or iPod appointment. When times are busy and the Geniuses get behind, taking the time to swap the screen may only extend wait times for others. At the time of this writing, the Apple Store is unable to do screen replacements on the iPod touch or the classic iPhone due to slight construction differences. (Hint: These models do not feature the same two screws found on the bottom of the 3G and 3GS.)

Most importantly, please remember to back up your iPhone before going to the Genius Bar. You never know when your iPhone may need more than just a simple screen replacement.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Mobile Q4: All Eyes Were on Android, 4G and the Rising Tablet Tide
• Report: A Mobile Video Market Overview
• In Q3, the Tablet and 4G Were the Big Stories

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m a simple man. I like a good cup of coffee in the morning, mellow get-togethers with close friends, and technology that simplifies my life…not makes it more complicated. So what’s there to do when your Mac starts to act a bit funky? By “funky,” I don’t mean “Tom Cruise” funky — the last stage before total meltdown — but rather “Michael Richards” funky. That stage when the computer starts doing odd, unexpected things and people start noticing.

Back in the days of OS 9, if your Mac acted strangely, there was a trick that was so simple that anyone could do it and help to maintain their Macs themselves. All you needed to do was to rebuild your desktop files — and everyone knew how to do that. The upshot? Even if rebuilding the desktop files didn’t fix the problem, it couldn’t damage your Mac. It could only help.

And man, wouldn’t you love to know that there was something like that for OS X? Well there is and — shock of all shocks — it’s totally free! The application is called AppleJack and it’s incredibly simple to use.

Let’s break it down to five easy steps:

1. Head over to SourceForge and download the app. Benefits> Like I said, it’s free!
2. Install the software. If you want to also check your RAM, do a customized install and also install the “MemTest” application. Benefits? You’ll get two programs for the price of one.
3. Restart your Mac, hold down the “Command” and the “S” keys to boot into “Single User Mode” (Note: You must use a wired, USB keyboard for this. Wireless keyboards will not work). Single User Mode is a fancy term that tells your Mac to “turn off the graphics and boot strictly into text-only mode.” Benefits? Seeing your Mac boot into single user mode is seriously cool. In fact, since you’ve probably never seen your Mac boot up into plain ‘ole text before, you’ll feel like you’re a computer whiz seeing something rare and forbidden.
4. When your computer is done booting into Single User Mode, the scrolling text will stop. It should look something like this. Type applejack auto restart and then hit enter. Now go grab a cup of coffee. Benefits? Harvard thinks coffee is healthy. And so do I, even though I went to UPenn, a far cooler school.
5. Watch your screen for about five minutes as AppleJack runs through five different tasks — running disk utility to repair your internal hard drive, fixing your permissions, cleaning up a series of cache files, validating core preferences and removing all “swap” files. When it’s finished, your computer will restart auto-magically. Benefits? You’ve just enjoyed an awesome cup of coffee while looking very cool.

While this application won’t fix a hardware malfunction, it’s perfect for software problems. Plus, it’s simple, easy and free. Give it a shot and relive your old “rebuild the desktop files” glory days, why doncha?

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC Era
• The Near-Term Evolution of Social Commerce
• Content Farms: The Players, The Benefits, The Risks

In mid 2008, amid growing evidence, NVIDIA acknowledged that a significant number of its previous-generation GPUs (graphics processing unit) and MCPs (media and communications processors) for notebooks are failing at higher-than-normal rates. For readers who are not aware of this story, TheAppleBlog covered this piece of news back in October.

Three weeks back, I was personally afflicted by this problem. One fine morning, after arriving at the office of a client, I took my mid-2007 MacBook Pro out of my bag and proceeded to fire it up. The MBP never got past the startup chime; there was only a blank, black screen. I took the usual troubleshooting steps: resetting the PRAM and the SMC, booting from the OS X installation disc and from an external hard drive, and finally, plugging in an external display…all to no avail. It was then that my suspicions turned to the NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT graphics card in the MBP, even though I had not ruled out a misbehaving hard drive.

Without a working display, there was no way to salvage my data unless I took apart the MBP and extricated the internal hard drive. Upon trying to boot the MBP’s system disk on an iMac, and diagnosing with DiskWarrior, it became clear that I was facing not one but two problems.

The system disk of the MBP was not booting up right. In addition to a dead graphics card, I was also facing an impending hard disk failure. Fortunately I was able to make a perfect clone with CarbonCopyCloner.

The next day, I took the MBP in to an Apple reseller for repairs. I told them that the most probable diagnosis was a failed graphics card, but, as a regular procedure, I had to pay a diagnostic fee of $58.

As I waited to hear from Apple, I braced myself for the possible cost of repair should the problem have turned out to not be the graphics card. No, I did not purchase AppleCare for this notebook, a decision I have come to regret after the Super Drive on the MBP began misbehaving and refusing to burn. ^[1]

A week later, I received a call from the reseller. Apple has confirmed that the NVIDIA graphics card has died, that they would be replacing the entire logic board, and that Apple will, true to its advisory article on this matter, honor the cost of repair on my out-of-warranty MacBook Pro. A couple of days later, I had my MBP back in my hands, back from the dead. I was even refunded the diagnostic fee I had paid.

If you own a mid-2007, late-2007, or early-2008 MacBook Pro of either the 15- or 17-inch model, you should brace yourself for the possibility that the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics card in your notebook may suddenly fail. While you can rest assured that you will not have to pay for repairs if it fails within two years after purchase, you should prepare a fallback plan if your only machine does go down. When it does, my advice is to bring along a print-out of Apple’s support article when you send your notebook in for repairs, as the reseller I went to was, incredulously, not aware of the advisory.

And the final word I have in the wake of this affair? If you own one of these MacBook Pros, expect it to fail. Oh, and also: Buy AppleCare; it will pay for itself and then some, quite possibly when you least expect it.

_{1. Strangely, after updating to OS X Leopard 10.5.6, the SuperDrive on my MBP could burn again, without the dreaded “The device failed to calibrate the laser power level for this media” error dialog box showing up even once.}

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Questions for the IT Industry’s Green Intentions in 2011
• Big Data, ARM and Legal Troubles Transformed Infrastructure in Q4
• In Q3, Big Data Meant Big Dollars

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Richard Haddock, President of the Haddock Corporation, an Apple reseller that has been in the Mac business seriously since there have been Macs.

I first found Haddock a couple of years ago when, in a panic over accidentally wiping out my hard drive in some kind of strange Linux experiment, I needed OS X installed and couldn’t find my install disks. Not only that, but loading Linux had rewritten the boot record of the disk and wiped out how the Mac looked at it, resetting it from GUID, which the Mac installer requires, to MBR. 

Long story short, I couldn’t load OS X back on my MacBook. So, I called around town and was pointed at Haddock. I dropped by and explained my problem, and the staff booted my MacBook into target disk mode and mounted it on another Mac, and then fixed the disk with Disk Utility. I was very, very grateful for their help, I almost thought I had ruined my Mac! Haddock earned a customer that day with their honest help and technical expertise.

TAB: The Haddock Corporation has a long history with Apple. Can you tell me a little about what impressed you the most about your first Macintosh?

Richard Haddock: When I was shown the first Macintosh 128k, I was programming on an IBM 5110, which used BASIC, and I had to constantly work on the screen layout for my programs. When I saw it I knew that this new graphical interface was the future of computing, so I immediately signed up to be an Apple Reseller. We’ve been an Apple Reseller since 1984. During the time that Dr. Amelio was the CEO I became friends with him and asked him to set up the Apple Specialist program, which would reward and help dealers who mostly sold Apple products. He asked me to help him design this program with the help of Paddy Wong and a few others. I think it’s one of the longest running dealer programs at Apple. I’m very proud of that.

TAB: Apple went through some tough times in the 90′s, did Haddock also hit some rough spots with them?

Haddock: Fortunately we were able to hang on while Apple got things going again. It was a slow-down, but we were able to make it through.

TAB: What can you tell me about your involvement with the education market?

Haddock: We’ve been involved in the education market for nearly 30 years, selling into 11 states. In the past we sold Apple products to these schools, but Apple has since taken those education sales inhouse. We currently sell the Promethean interactive whiteboard to schools in 8 states in the midwest.

TAB: How has the opening of Apple’s chain of retail stores affected Haddock?

Haddock: I think that overall Apple stores have helped the Macintosh business. It has taken some business from us, but overall our Apple sales are up every year.

TAB: How do you use a Mac to run your business?

Haddock: We use Macintosh exclusively in our business, from ordering to research to our accounting.

TAB: Are there any “Must Have” applications that you use on a daily basis?

Haddock: Right now I have the following applications open, which is fairly normal for me:

Mail, iCal, Address Book, Safari, iTunes, Preview, Firefox, Calculator, Filemaker, Excel, OmniFocus and Google Earth. OmniFocus is an excellent program which I use constantly and actually syncs my to do list with my iPhone.

TAB: Haddock started out as Wichita Software, are you still involved in software development?

Haddock: We do some in-house software development on Filemaker, but no longer develop software for others. We sold off our Petroleum Accountant program to a company in New Zealand who still supports it.

TAB: What do you think about Apple’s focus on consumer technology with the iPod, iPhone, and Apple TV?

Haddock: Apple is playing to their strengths and making great consumer products. Everyone who I know owns any of these products really likes them and uses them daily. I know these products will only continue to only get better and lead the market in innovation. I think we’ll see many more breakthrough consumer products.

TAB: What do you see as the future of Apple, and Haddock Corporation’s relationship with Apple?

Haddock: We’ve had an excellent relationship with Apple over the years. In fact, I served on Apple’s Reseller Advisory Board for 10 years. They have an excellent strategy, and a great management team. I know that we’ll continue to do business with them for years and years. We continue to look for ways to expand and support Apple products for our customers.

I also was able to get some insight into the retail and repair side of the Mac market. Speaking with the technicians at the store, the topic naturally went to the new MacBooks. It seems that they are not nearly as excited about them as the average consumer is; they expect them to be much more difficult to service.

My many thanks to Richard for taking the time to answer my questions. Here, in Des Moines, we are a long ways away from Cupertino, but you never know when you might have a little piece of Apple history right in your backyard.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC Era
• The Near-Term Evolution of Social Commerce

It took three visits to the local Apple Store – over the course of 8 days – to finally get my machine back. Two logic board swaps and keyboard + top cover replacement later and my MBPro feels like new again. I definitely want to give kudos to the team at the Alderwood Mall Apple Store for doing everything in their power to get me back up and running. While a loaner Air would have been nice, the techs did a good job giving me updates and making things happen as quickly as Apple processes would allow. If you haven’t had to deal with Apple support, they really do an excellent job between online scheduling, in-store attempts at problem resolution and speedy return of items in repair. Even though this fix took a while, they definitely showed they cared at every step of the way.

Service Generates Sales

During the course of those three visits I had a great deal of time to hang at the Apple Store waiting to be processed by a Genius (scheduled times can be off a bit as they do make every effort to fix problems right there). Staring at the walls of Apple-compatible products, it was difficult to resist the urge to buy…everything. I did manage to successfully leave twice without a single purchase, but one item caught my eye: the Monster® iSoniTalk™ Microphone Headphone Adapter for iPhone

From one of my earlier posts, you should know that I’m ever on the lookout for the best accessory for the job when it comes to my Mac’s, iPhone or iPod. While the Shure adapter reviewed in that post has done a great job, it is far from an optimal product. The headphone cable is extended way too much and the weight of the cable + mic is a bit much for the clip to support well.

While I generally find Monster products to be overpriced and not always better than their “normal” counterparts, the iSoniTalk has some definite merits (and a few detractions). First, you can find it online for close to $10.00 USD, which is significantly cheaper than the Shure counterpart. Second, because of the combination jack & extension you do not have to deal with a ton of extra cable to manage. Third, there are built-in clips along the adapter cable which make it very easy to manage the cable from your existing headphone sets.

Lastly, the mic + clip + button combo control attaches securely and works very well (not nearly as sensitive as the Shure, which for me is a good thing). I probably should mention that sound quality for music and calls is not impacted in any negative way by the adapter.

There are a few “gotchas”, however. The same jack + extension dongle combination can be a bit unwieldy, especially if you use any type of case with your iPhone. It just doesn’t hold in as well given the overall size of the unit. The actual cable itself could use a couple of inches as it comes up short to most headphones I own. One extra clip near the mic would also be nice in the event you just want to use it without talking.

I’d have to definitely recommend it over the Shure on price and convenience, but I’ve only had it a few days and would really like to hear from TAB readers on your experiences with the product.

Hardware-tied License Woes

While Apple managed to get some additional hard-earned cash out of me from my free repair (1-year warranty FTW!), my support saga continued with the annoyance of hardware-based software licenses. At least two products on my system – iTunes and launch2net tie themselves to data that is specific to the logic board of the system they are installed on. I had to burn an iTunes activation (no time to deal with Apple online support just now) and e-mail the customer service folks at nova media to deactivate my old launch2net code from their database. This should serve as a notice to consumers to ensure you deactivate your hardware-specific licenses prior to service (if possible) and a plea to developers to find an alternate mechanism to secure software purchases. nova media may have lost a future upgrade sale since Leopard works fine with my 3G modem without their software and I do not need the hassle of waiting 3 days for tech support to reset a license. I understand Apple’s constraints, but they should make it easier to manage authorizations online rather than the “reset all” feature once per year.

If you have had similar experiences with license woes post-repair or want to provide data on software that you use which ties itself to hardware, definitely drop a note in the comments.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Mobile Q4: All Eyes Were on Android, 4G and the Rising Tablet Tide
• Report: A Mobile Video Market Overview
• In Q3, the Tablet and 4G Were the Big Stories

A quick introduction: This is the keyboard that shipped with the G5 Mac Pros, and in terms of everything but color, is identical to the keyboard from G4-era Macs as well. I was doing this repair because the keyboard was full of food and gunge, relic of a past user, and there was no way that I could issue this to anyone else in the condition it was in. Unfortunately, it was also the only keyboard that I had with the handy little shortcut-reminder stickers that used to come in boxes of Final Cut Pro, and the user wanted those. It was clean it out or nothing. So, without further ado…

How to Take an Apple Pro Keyboard Apart

First, tools. This keyboard has four different types of screws: two different sizes of hex-heads, long and short, and two different sizes of Phillips-head, larger and smaller. I used the smallest Torx I could find, a T5, and my usual tiny Phillips. I would also strongly recommend a flathead, for reasons that I will explain. You may also want a butter knife, although I used my fingernails for more butter-knife-y things.

If you’re cleaning it out, you’re going to need paper towels and a toothbrush. I also found it faster to simply throw the keys in the sink with some dish detergent. A can of compressed air didn’t cut it in this case – or most involving food or drink, in my opinion – but it tends to be an industry favorite. The screws are also the usual Apple tiny ones, so whatever your usual not-losing-the-screws precautions, they apply.

This is the keyboard before I started to clean it, about half-disassembled. Yuck.

Opening it up

The two clear shells are held together by some screws and a series of snaps. First, unscrew the two screws on the bottom, one at either side, with the T5. Next, pop off the key caps of the semicolon, caps lock, and the number pad’s six. Under these three keys are three more tiny screws, Phillips ones. Watch out for these; they’re incredibly easy to pop the heads off of, and the ones in my keyboard were on abominably tight.

To remove the keys, insert the flat head screwdriver, nail file, or whatever other flat, flexible object you picked under the key cap. Using a neighboring key or the edge of the shell as a fulcrum, lever the key off. I learned the hard way that it would probably be smart to hold onto the key while you pop it off – I had to go looking for more than one, and thy snap off hard enough to give you a good poke in the eye.

There is also one more screw that you’ll have to remove – under the Apple Pro label on the bottom, right next to the cord. (This one is ridiculously hard to find – I got lucky and noticed it from a strange angle.) There are two ways I can think of to get at this screw. The easier one is to feel around until you know where the hole is, then simply poke a Phillips screwdriver through the label. A magnetic screwdriver can then pull the screw right out, or you can shake the keyboard until it falls out. Alternatively, you can peel the label off using a knife. I chose not to do so on this keyboard, but the label is one of the stiff plastic ones that Apple seems to favor, and I have found a butter knife to work well in the past.

Now that all the screws are out, next are the snaps. There are seven or so along the front, two on each side, and four in the back. Stick a thin, flat object into the crack in the corner and start gently wedging them apart. Once I got one, I was able to get my fingernails in and slide the rest apart.

The top clear cover will come off cleanly, leaving you a tray of keys in a shallow, clear plastic shell.

Accessing the keys

Next, you need to remove the little piece of clear plastic that prevents cord strain, which also serves to attach the plastic piece the keys clip to to the lower shell. There are two Phillips screws holding this in place; if you’re careful, you can shift the key support up and forward a little to reach them without disturbing anything.

You can now lift the keys out of the bottom shell. The keys are attached to a plastic sheet that holds the key caps. Under this is the actual membrane and the circuitry, with a thin piece of metal beneath for protection. All of this is attached to a small printed circuit board.
If you need to clean liquids out – fortunately, I didn’t – you will need to separate all these pieces. There are two screws on the PCB that need to come off, and then you can use something thin and flexible to get the plastic, the membrane, and the metal sheet apart. The photo to the right is taken from the bottom, so that you can see the PCB and one of the screws on it. The clear plastic bit secures the cable, and the metal just to its right is actually how it attaches to the keyboard.

Cleaning

I pulled all the keys off the plastic clips and threw them in the sink. (My coworkers thought this was hysterical, and quite strange.) The only exceptions to this were the long keys – the tab, caps lock, shift, space bar, enter, return, and control – as these have a metal pivot bracket underneath.

They’re still pretty easy to get off, but there is some sort of clearish lubricant on the metal bits. If you need to clean this off – hair and food will, quite evidently, get stuck in it – a little vaseline makes a fine replacement.

I then used water and paper towels to get all the gunge off the shells and the white piece under the keys. If you have one to spare, I’d recommend a toothbrush for this; it would have made my life a lot easier. Windex worked a wonder on the clear shells. While you’re cleaning it out, be careful not to dislodge or lose the clips that hold the bottom support bar in place. If you do, these little C-shaped pieces of plastic are fairly easy to reunite with the bar, but it’s worth a second or two to mention that they are actually separate from the bottom shell.

Putting it all back together

Basically, it all goes back together in the reverse of the way it came out. The one hard part to this is getting the screws on the strain-relief bit back in place. However, if you tip the keyboard slightly up and forward, you can get access to the screws again. I put the keys back on almost last, with just the shell left to go, so that I had access to all of them as long as possible.

For putting the keys back on, you might want to find another keyboard of the same vintage – I was looking at mine, one of the new Bluetooth ones, and it threw me for a loop until I realized that only one of them had an F16 key. Fortunately, the keys are easy to move. There are some interesting side notes, as well. The shift keys are two different sizes. The arrow keys are subtly curved and uniquely shaped; the up arrow is the only one of the four that is concave. It might be wise to mark the other three on the bottom somehow. Also, it is possible to distinguish the number pad keys from the top row numbers by the fact that the number pad is blank except for the numbers.

Those keys with metal pivots slide into place from one side before they snap down. Due to the size and the fact that they must be inserted from an angle, I would recommend putting them on first. (They make useful landmarks, too.)

Final Impressions

Altogether, this took me about four and a half hours to figure out and do, although a lot of that was spent searching for screws, screwdrivers, and the H key, which flipped under my desk. It really impressed me with the solid design of these keyboards – I think it would have been much, much harder to do this with many of the ‘IBM-compatible’ keyboards I’ve worked with over the years. It was notably easy to take this all to pieces; even the keys popped off easily, with a noise very reminiscent of Legos.

Also, the little design details were very impressive. The curvature of the arrow keys, for instance, or the enter key on the number pad, were subtle differences that really distinguished the keyboard from much less classy looking rivals.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC Era
• The Near-Term Evolution of Social Commerce
• Content Farms: The Players, The Benefits, The Risks