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This is why I stay with Apple
When I described the problems I've had with Apple's notebooks thus far, a few commenters asked me why I stick with Apple at all. "Have you considered a different brand of computer? A Dell or something?" one asked. Another said, "I find it strange that your answer is to buy another product from the company that is causing you so much pain. Your interim solution is to rely on the phone and tablet from same said company. There are other computers out there." A third commenter reiterated that point: "Hasn't it occurred to you after this time, or to any of the people commenting on this post, to move away from Apple altogether?" Though I've got a house full of Apple gear and make money writing for TUAW, my brand loyalty to Apple has nothing to do with the company itself. The truth is, I've only got two reasons for sticking with Apple, no matter how much its practices or products make me want to tear out my hair sometimes.
PlayStation now offers customer service via Twitter, probably won't help you jailbreak your PS3
Got a question about a PlayStation product? Have a Twitter account? If you answered yes to both, then you'd be interested to know about @AskPlayStation -- the official account for all of your PS concerns. They'll assist you via tweets Monday through Friday from 9:30AM - 5:00PM PST and will answer in real-time between the hours of 2 and 5 PST. Hit up the source link to get all of your inquiries answered -- just behave yourselves, OK?
Apple confirms $100 refund for those who recently purchased an original iPad
Much like the company did when it suddenly dropped the price of its original iPhone, Apple is giving $100 back to those who purchased an iPad up to a fortnight before the March 2nd unveiling of the iPad 2. If our math is correct, that makes February 16th the cutoff date, and it's being reported that those in the US will see $100 placed back on their credit card, while those overseas will get £100 / €100 back in their pocket. If you've suddenly found yourself in this pool, you'll need to head back to a brick-and-mortar location with your receipt to get the refund processed, or if you ordered online, you'll need to call Apple's 1-800 number and use your smoothest late-night voice when asking nicely for your Benjamin back. Godspeed.
Apple's dead pixel policy leaks out, up to 15 anomalies 'acceptable' on 22-inch and above screens?
There's nothing quite like coming home with a shiny new laptop only to find tiny black and white dots peppering your LCD, especially when the screen's manufacturer tells you that you're plumb out of luck. If you buy Apple, that scenario might honestly play out just the same, but the chart above could save you an embarrassing argument at your local Genius Bar. According to the allegedly leaked internal document, Apple has a set of precise charts that determine whether or not it will replace your LCD -- a single dead pixel will save an iPod or iPhone, for instance, and Apple will tolerate only two on an iPad IPS screen. We're sorry to say it's not the same if you buy Mac, as you could have a staggering fifteen dead pixels on that pricey Cinema Display and still have to pick up the tab. Hang on to those receipts, folks.
Peek experiences permanent outage for older devices, vows to replace with free Peek 9
Thinking of upgrading your Peek or Peek Pronto to a shiny new Peek 9? You may no longer have a choice -- following an epic fail when migrating to a new network provider, loads of older devices were reportedly fried. Normally consumer outrage would run rampant at this news, but Peek CEO Amol Sarva has a plan -- he's offering brand-new Peek 9s to existing customers, free of charge. It's not clear what will happen to the older units at this point, but a Peek customer service rep says that while fried QWERTY candybars are no more, the unscathed Peeks might possibly be turned back on. "We are currently waiting on T-Mobile to decide our fate," the rep wrote, "There is still a CHANCE that the sky is not falling and older devices will continue to work." In the meantime, Sarva has an amusing instruction for affected customers looking to get in on the deal: "Just check your email." [Thanks, standingup]
Best Buy charges $30 for PS3 firmware update, laughs all the way to the bank
In case you hadn't noticed by now, Best Buy's Geek Squad isn't always the most scrupulous sort, but their latest attempt to upsell consumers is truly off the charts. We've confirmed for ourselves that the Staten Island, NY store is offering 120GB PS3 Slims for $329.98, explaining away the surcharge as their fee for a firmware upgrade. In case you've never booted up a PS3 yourself, let us explain the sheer ridiculousness at work here: a system update requires about three button presses, and some discs prompt you automatically. Hell, if you want to play online or access the PlayStation Store, you don't even have a choice -- ever since Other OS got Sony's goat, firmware updates have been mandatory across the board. Still, it's hard to say no when Best Buy employees are this polite -- when we explained to a rep that we already had a PS3, he graciously offered us an update anyhow... for just $29.98.
World of WarCrafts: Custom World of Warcraft harpy figure
World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music, fan fiction and more. It's Monday, which means you get some interesting WoW-related crafts to distract you from the Monday blues! Speaking of blues, today's creation is all about the color blue -- a custom-made action figure portraying one of the more annoying denizens of The Barrens. Cincicustoms from the Staghelm server managed to whip up this custom harpy figure in record time, all the while putting in an incredible amount of detail. %Gallery-103185% Check out more about the creation of this work of art after the break.
Blizzard announces automated account recovery form for hacked accounts
World of Warcraft accounts have been under siege for years, with hackers and gold-selling outlets stealing passwords, items and more to fill their coffers, selling that gold to unwitting buyers. Blizzard has fought back incessantly over the years to stem the tide of gold farming and account hacking, and as you can imagine, the scale at which this happens is very tasking on its customer support department. Blizzard has just announced a new, speedier way to get help and answered about your hacked account, stolen items, authenticator issues and more! Now, under the new system, you will not have to email or call Blizzard to get these matters into its queue -- simply use the Account Recovery Form.
Laptop's 2010 tech support showdown reveals ugly truth: you're (almost) on your own
Dealing with warranties is one thing -- it's almost always a crap-shoot, and you're continually pressing your luck when trying to get something covered without any out-of-pocket expense. But how's about the tech support that's so whimsically promised with so many laptops these days? Our pals over at Laptop put in an inordinate amount of work in order to find out, pinging a full dozen manufacturers via phone and chat in order to measure hold time, level of support offered and overall satisfaction. Just about every major laptop maker was included (Acer, Apple, Dell, Lenovo, HP, Toshiba and Fujitsu, just to name a few), and an in-depth report of their findings was posted for each one. In general, though, they found that most companies wouldn't hang around long enough to answer those nagging questions that typically end up in forums ("How do I remove bloatware?"), oftentimes pointing the caller to a paid alternative that would actually take the time to address their issues. If you're considering a new machine, and you aren't exactly one of those nerdy go-getters who can troubleshoot everything yourself, you should certainly give the source links below a look. Just try not to get too depressed, cool?
My magical AT&T experience
We give AT&T a lot of crap for having lousy coverage*, being unable to comprehend where geeks gather** or just plain dropping the ball on big pre-order days, but I have to say that today I was very impressed by the customer service I received when I called to update my service contract. In fact, AT&T was proactive about sending me warnings on my bill. You see, I've been overpaying AT&T these past few months... A year ago when I got the 3GS I thought I'd be clever and sign up for the absolute cheapest plan they had. "I'll just be judicious and save my rollover minutes!" said I, unaware that my gums tend to flap profusely when talking on the phone. "I'll use 3rd-party texting and Skype minutes and it'll be no sweat," I thought to myself as I played with the newfangled compass on my phone. Sadly, this plan was dashed when I started the travel season. Between Macworld, SXSW and WWDC I wound up with hundreds of minutes and texts in overages. My bills were over $200 each month. The dude did not abide by this plan. Today at the Apple Store the AT&T reps on duty claimed I couldn't change my rates, and hastily handed me a sheet that had something to do with my SIM card. So the Apple rep took me to activate my phone, and there I was able to upgrade my text and bring in my grandfathered unlimited data plan, but couldn't adjust the calling minutes. On the way to my brother's house I called the AT&T customer service number (that's 611 on your iPhone) and within 15 minutes they not only upgraded me to unlimited going forward, but they adjusted my previous overages into a less painful range. Kudos to AT&T! They even allowed us to upgrade ahead of the normal schedule, which I greatly appreciate. * Coverage is getting better. I noticed a marked improvement in San Francisco over just this past January. ** AT&T dropped the ball in 2009, but learned from that mistake and picked up the ball in 2010. As I said, things are improving.
AT&T apologizes to customer warned off emailing the CEO: 'This is not the way we want to treat customers'
AT&T's Executive Response Team certainly caused a little controversy yesterday after it warned reader Giorgio Galante that sending another email to AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson would result in a cease and desist letter, but apparently it was all just a mistake -- Giorgio tells us that he's received a sincere apology from an AT&T senior VP, who took responsibility for the mixup. Apparently the cease and desist warning came about due to bad reading of AT&T internal policy -- Giorgio was told the rep who made the call is "not having the best of days today" -- and AT&T tells us it's reviewing its procedures to make sure it doesn't happen again. As for Giorgio, he says AT&T's rep sincerely listened to his concerns about the new data plan pricing schemes and that he's accepted the company's apology, but ultimately he's decided to switch over to Sprint and the EVO 4G anyway. That's to be expected, we suppose -- and we'd say next time Randall might do well to use up a few bytes of his 2GB limit and write back to a dissatisfied customer. Here's AT&T's official statement on the matter: We are apologizing to our customer. We're working with him today to address his questions and concerns. This is not the way we want to treat customers. From Facebook to significant customer service channels, AT&T strives to provide our customers with easy ways to have their questions addressed. Because of this incident, we are reviewing our entire process to ensure a situation like this does not happen again.
Apple #4 in e-tailing survey
This a bit of good news for Apple -- despite the numerous complaints seen day to day against the company, Apple's online store came in fourth in overall customer satisfaction in a recent survey. ForSee Results tracked the shopping experience for 23,400 over the Internet during a two-week period in February. Apple came in behind Netflix, Amazon and Avon. Read the entire report here (registration required). Given the economy and the uncertainty of buying stuff online to begin with (I vastly prefer handling a product in a brick and mortar store before buying it), it's good to find out which companies are easy to work with online. I've also dealt with both Netflix and Amazon and have had nothing buy excellent service, in addition to the few times I've ordered from Apple online. [VIa Fortune/CNNMoney]
Getting a human representative at 1-800-MY-APPLE
Have you called the Apple 800 number lately? At the other end of the line, an insanely chipper robot will try to "help you" connect to the most appropriate department. Mr. Roboto is fiendishly positive, with an upbeat approach to getting you the help you need. The problem is that this robot isn't really very good at his job. He has a tendency to go off on long monologues about the glories of Apple online support options. Go on, give Apple a call and you'll see what I mean. You can bypass this robot. Here's how. After the robot answers, wait for him to get to his first break and say "Customer Service Representative." The robot will confirm that he'll soon place you in touch with a real human being. He'll then ask you to clarify what topic you're calling about. This is a trick. Do not respond with a topic. Apple will do practically anything to keep you from proceeding to a more expensive human service representative. They'd rather provide you with speech-synthesized rambles about the glories of particular online FAQs and help pages. They want to help you to "help yourself," i.e. keep costs down. So, say something strange. Something like "Gallupping Butterflies" or "Indigenous Bicycle Dinosaurs." Make sure that your topic cannot be understand by Mr. Roboto. Once you've stymied him, he'll finally forward you to a real customer service representative. Of course, the customer service rep may insist on asking you all sorts of questions about whether you are using a Mac or a "PC computer" before routing you on a few more times. Even if you're just calling about a simple Apple Gift Card. (Yes, the example is drawn from real life.) Still, your chances of making a solution happen quickly are often better when you deal with a real person-to-person encounter, and now you know how.
iPad: Stand by me
TUAW readers have been writing in to tell us about the stands they have been purchasing to use with their iPads. Personally, I'm using a $6.99 Staples "Study Stand" (SKU 120147). Made of chrome with rubber tips, I have found the stand really sturdy and easy to use. I particularly like that I can attach the charging cable and still use the iPad in portrait orientation. I wrote about this stand in more detail on a couple of blog posts here on TUAW. Although my Staples seemed to have quite a few stands in-stock (they are located near the business card holders in my store), it hasn't been as easy for others to find. My friend Jeff Smykil over at Ars Technica tells me his Staples rep wasn't initially helpful. "They tried telling me that you got that stand at Office Depot--until I showed them the sticker with their logo on it," he wrote. He left, unfortunately, empty-handed. The SKU didn't show up online for me when I did a search on the Staples site, so it may be a discontinued item. Fortunately, readers are locating some good alternatives. Bob Schoenburg found this $6 stand at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Made of clear acrylic and, more importantly, foldable, Bob's stand is meant to be used as a folding easel. Bob writes, "Don't forget to use a 20% off coupon!" TUAW reader "gilmore783" tracked down a Fellowes study stand at Buy.com. Costing two dollars less than the Staples version, the Fellowes folding stand offers free shipping, for a total of just $4.99 shipped. The same stand (at least I think it is the same stand) sells for $7.99 plus shipping over at Amazon, where you can read thirty-odd reviews. According to write-ups, the Fellowes stand does fold completely flat unlike the Staples model, which does not. So do you have a stand? Tell us about it in the comments -- and don't forget to add a link to your picture! Update: Ordered my Fellowes stand from Buy.com, it came the *next* *day* and it's really great. Folds flat (unlike Staples stand), comes with extra rubber tips (unlike Staples stand), a few bucks cheaper and very nice. I still rather prefer the Staples one for my desktop but the Fellowes one is now my travel-stand. Update: Here's a video from TUAW reader "francisreal" showing how to make a credit-card/soapdish ipad stand:
Apple ranks third in BusinessWeek customer service survey
Apple has nailed down the number three spot on BusinessWeek's fourth annual customer service awards, falling in right behind LL Bean and insurance company USAA, and way above companies like Amazon and Dell. The awards were based on survey results from a few different places, and Apple scored an A+ in both Quality of Staff and Efficiency of Service thanks to its Genius Bars and helpful Specialists inside Apple Stores. Of course we've heard the occasional horror story, but in general, Apple Store employees are beyond helpful, which is probably why BusinessWeek says that 66% of those surveyed would "definitely recommend" Apple products, and 58% said they would "definitely repurchase" the next time they needed something. Apple's influence is also found elsewhere on the list -- USAA, number two on the list, has had a lot of success with its iPhone application, which has also helped the company out on customer service scoring as well. And while Starbucks can't necessarily thank Apple for a big boost in its business (it probably would have done fine anyway), it's not surprising that companies that score high in customer service tend to have the same goals in mind. Congrats to Apple for yet another survey-based award. [Via Macworld's Dan Moren, not "Warren" -- sorry Dan!]
AT&T data outage in San Francisco?
Reports are flying in -- using WiFi, we suspect -- that AT&T's having a bit of a data and SMS outage in San Francisco. Our own personal experiences confirm the data, although text messages are sending and receiving just fine. According to a tweet found by TechCrunch, customer service is saying it'll take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours to fix -- sounds pretty extreme to us, and unfortunately we can't get ahold of anyone to corroborate. Let's put it to you, Bay Area readers, how's that iPhone working for ya? Update: Just got a statement from AT&T. "We are seeing a hardware issue in downtown San Francisco that is causing some degradation in service. GSM and EDGE voice and data services are still accessible. Our experts are aware and working to resolve as quickly as possible. Further resolution is expected this evening." We tried it ourselves and, yep, if you turn off 3G capabilities on your phone (if possible), data will work just fine. Update: Our 3G data seems to be working now, and you?
AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon goaded into customer service showdown
It doesn't matter who your carrier is, you're gonna have some complaints. But is the grass always greener somewhere else? To answer that question, the kids at Laptop Magazine have conducted a test of the customer service practices of the big four (Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T) to ascertain each company's friendliness, knowledge, and timeliness. The publication placed customer service calls twice during a week (once at midday and once during rush hour), visited two stores per carrier in New York City, and tried to find solutions to its problems using each carrier's online knowledge base. Apparently, T-Mobile takes the prize for in-store assistance and web support, and Sprint, while not always able to answer questions, at least had taken steps to streamline the support process (and the fact that its employees were friendly didn't hurt). Apparently Verizon Wireless offered solid in-store support (albeit with grumpy employees), "quick and accurate phone support" and "solid" online help. AT&T, sadly, was the loser here -- Laptop says it left the store "shocked" that one representative couldn't figure out how to get email up and running on its Blackberry. Shocking! Hit the read link to see for yourself.
T-Mobile provides support, good vibes to its iPhone-using clientele
Despite not being its official US carrier, T-Mobile still seems to wanna maintain an amicable relationship with all those who came over with an iPhone in tow. According to a report by The Consumerist, a recent update to the carrier's voicemail system caused some of the smartphones, including Apple's touchscreens, became unusable, with a volley of blank text messages dated from the future arriving instead. Those who contacted customer service were called later to acknowledge the issue and offered an one month service credit. Said the rep, "T-Mobile, though they do not offer the iPhone, and that they are committed to supporting users on their network who have them" -- not too surprising a stance, but a kind gesture for sure. The problem has since been fixed, and everyone lived happily ever after. [Via iLounge]
LGJ: Pirates are grumpy, underutilized customers?
Each week Mark Methenitis contributes Law of the Game on Joystiq ("LGJ"), a column on legal issues as they relate to video games: This week I've been at the Game::Business::Law Conference, and one of the speakers was Jason Holtman, Director of Business Development / Legal Affairs for Valve. Jason set out a fascinating theory on piracy: The majority of 'pirates' are just underutilized customers. This certainly sets forth an interesting business proposition, but also interesting possibilities for legal strategies related to piracy management and IP protection. I do want to caveat that this is building on a theoretical basis, and that doesn't necessarily mean any of these strategies is optimal for any given company. I want to summarize Jason's viewpoint to better frame the discussion. His view, and his research suggests, that piracy is heavily mitigated by ensuring worldwide cross-market releases.
Netflix makes pro-consumer shipping adjustment to deal with long waits
The pessimistic among us will insist that Netflix is implementing this change in order to avoid acquiring more new releases and ditching the infamous throttling process, but we still maintain that it's better than nothing. For absolutely zero dollars more per month, Netflix has committed to shipping the next "Available" movie in your queue from a local distribution hub as well as the number one unavailable title in your list from another hub (when available) in order to better meet demand and keep subscribers happy. In essence, this change gives users a free (albeit less desired) flick while a more highly sought after disc gets shipped from somewhere else. Netflix only recently announced that this process was in effect, though it was supposedly put into place a few weeks ago -- so, has anyone benefited yet?
