Repairs
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Microsoft avoids 360 cooling rumors, calls hardware updates 'commonplace'
If we had actually started fixing a problem people had been complaining about since our system had been released (read: Xbox 360s dying) we'd be shouting it from the rooftops. In a statement issued to GamesIndustry.biz though, Microsoft was playing it cool on rumors of additional cooling in repaired 360. (Do you see what we did there?)"Regularly updating console components is commonplace within the industry," was the official line from the spokesperson, who then promptly declined to comment on whether or not Microsoft had done it. There's no word on whether or not the spokesperson's comically exaggerated winking was audible during the interview. If there's actually a Lorenzo's Oil for 360 heat death, we assume Microsoft's worried about opening the floodgates to the millions that might want their problem prematurely fixed. After all, as Peter Moore already told us, the company's not so much interested in preventative care as resuscitation.
Nintendo's Zelda replacement policy
Have you been plagued by the Zelda: Twilight Princess sky cannon bug? We've got good news and bad news for you. The bad news is obvious: you were plagued by the sky cannon bug. The good news is that Nintendo will replace your disc, allowing you to pick right back up where the bug torpedoed your game. If you're suffering from this bug, just send your game disc to Nintendo, along with a note containing your name, address, phone number, and the circumstances of the error, and Nintendo will ship you a replacement.The shipping address:NINTENDO OF AMERICA ATTN: CS ADMIN 4900 150TH AVE NE REDMOND WA 98052-5171
What could you do with a broken iPod?
We get a lot of email to the TUAW tipline: scores of product recommendations, polite and not-so-polite suggestions, and "Won't you post about my new website?" press releases. When we get five consecutive emails, all within a few minutes, all from the same person promoting the same iPod purchasing online service... well, let's just say that it doesn't put us in a mood to post about your site, capice? (Oh, OK, fine. BuyMyBustediPod.com just opened and will buy your busted iPod. There, I did it.) Hopefully this guy can still get a few bucks for his iPod.It wasn't until I saw these emails, however, that it occurred to me: I've got a couple of broken iPods around here somewhere, and certainly friends and family have more... which service should I recommend for monetizing them? Back in December, both Ars Technica and WallStreetFighter listed some extant sites for second-hand sales, including:http://www.beyondthepod.com/http://www.ipodmods.com/sell.htmhttp://brokenpod.com/We even posted about BrokenPod back in February of 2006 -- and of course, there are the perennial options of Craigslist and eBay, or you could, I dunno, get it fixed or even try to repair it yourself. What we really need now, however, is your help: have you sold your broken iPod via any of these sites? Did they pay you as promised? Was the process easy and straightforward? Let us know your experiences; that way I can recommend a site with confidence and a clear conscience.Update: After all that, I got the original site's URL wrong -- it's http://www.buymyBROKENipod.com -- oops!
iPod How-to videos
Need to replace your video iPod's LCD screen or faceplate? Looking to upgrade its hard drive or battery? A new website, ipodhowtovideo.com offers a number of free iPod how-to videos. These are clearly home-brew videos, but they provide well-paced step-by-step instructions and there's a refreshing lack of site-promotion in the videos. It's nice to be able to watch along with the narrative to see how the job actually gets done. I doubt I'm going to do any of these projects any time soon, but the videos made me want to go out and find a bunch of busted 5G iPods, just so I could try.
MS policy change: No free shipping ever
Just when you're really feeling pity for Xbox 360 Customer Support due to the obnoxious prank calls they have to put up with, along comes reader David's aggravating tale of woe:I just received my so called repair console back and it is broken as well. So I call Microsoft and come to find out just two days ago their policy changed and now no matter what we have to pay for the box and the shipping to mail our systems to the repair center. After grilling the call center I finally was told that after I get my system back, which can now take up to 2 weeks, I can call back in and speak with a supervisor and complain that the process took to long etc. and they will refund my shipping cost to mail it to them. Incidentally, their computers are also down and they can't submit repair orders right now. Also, in the many times I have called. once I was told the refunds for the 2005 units will be issued in a month or so after they have a press conference and last night I was just told they would repair all 2005 consoles for free. You still have to pay to ship it to them. We all know this isn't the reps fault, but paying to ship a defective console twice could turn anybody into an amateur Jerky Boy.Any similar stories?
Microsoft offering free repairs for all 2005 Xbox 360s
Those Redmond folks are sure on a good news streak. After announcing 1080p upscaling and a delightfully low-priced HD DVD drive for their 360, they're offering a helping hand to early adopters who haven't had quite as much fun with the console. Microsoft is offering free fixes to all problematic Xbox 360s built in 2005, and is sending out refunds to users who paid for repairs to that "three red lights of death" problem or other quirks before this dealio went into effect. Of course, one could argue that Microsoft should've been doing these repairs for free from the outset, and it seems like 2006 Xbox buyers are just SOL, but this is at least an improvement to the situation.[Via DailyTech]
Chromehounds and the Ring of Death
Unfortunate reader Tim has an update on his Chromehounds problem (read part one of his sad tale here):I recently told you guys about chromehounds killing my box. After reading the comments and your reaction, I blew it off as a coincedence. It recently started working again for no reason. As I had already paid for the repair and was awaiting a box to send MS my shiny broken 360, I decided to try and put chromehounds in again. I got through about 30 seconds of the opening cinematic and BLAM! the screen turned into a strange grid and there was a blaring beep. I turned off my xbox, and when I started it again, Lo and behold: the accursed "ring of death" was back.Double coincidence?
Yet another Xbox 360 petition
This one wants Microsoft to extend the warranty. They're also asking people to file complaints with the Better Business Bureau if your box crapped out in 3 months and a day.
Apple admitting, repairing laptop whining and discoloration problems
Always the good corporate citizen -- well, maybe not always -- Apple has finally fessed up to both the MacBook discoloration and MacBook Pro whining issues that have been plaguing customers since the notebooks were released, and has agreed to fix the problems free of charge. We already knew that the company was sneaking new logic boards into Pro models that had been sent in for unrelated repairs, but now the "high-pitched buzzing sound," as it's technically known, has been officially acknowledged in a support page on the Apple website. An inquiry by DailyTech revealed that affected notebooks fall under the standard one-year limited warranty -- meaning that all MacBook Pros are covered -- and that the solution involves replacing either just the fan or both the fan and the logic board. The discolorations, meanwhile, have not yet been publicly recognized, but AppleInsider is reporting that a recent company bulletin intended for retail and service partners indicates that white, 13-inch MacBooks in a specific serial number range will indeed be eligible for a new top case and corresponding screen bezel -- assuming that approved cleaning solutions have been proven ineffective. Overall, not a bad resolution; sure the admissions could have come sooner, but instead of blaming the discoloration on dirty customers, attributing the whining to tinnitus sufferers, and calling it a day, Apple came through in the end and took the responsible course of action.Read- WhiningRead- Discoloration
PBFixit is now iFixit
One of my favorite Mac sites, PBFixit, has been renamed iFixit. iFixit provides parts and great step-by-step repair and upgrade tutorials for the Mac mini, Powerbook G3 (233-500mhz), iBook G3 (300mhz-900mhz) and iBook G4 (800mhz-1.42GHz), plus the titanium and aluminum PowerBooks. The tutorials are fully illustrated and, best of all, include pages that allow you to keep track of all the screws and parts you remove, in order. iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens had this to say about the name change: "Why are we changing names? A few reasons. The first: iFixit sounds cooler. Secondly, Apple is discontinuing the PowerBook name and we want to stay relevant to all Mac owners. But most important, we want to keep our options open. Our team is working incredibly hard to improve our product line and develop the Fixit Guide series."Check out iFixit if you haven't. They're a very good resource.
Maintainability: lessons Apple could stand to relearn
If you've been wondering why I haven't had many bylines in the past couple of days (come on, you know you have), it's because my trusty eMac died and I've been struggling with repairs. And I do mean struggling. Replacing the clicking hard drive, which should be a simple enough repair, has turned into an hours' long comedy of errors. I love this computer. I love its shiny, no chrome body. I love its iMac-meets-rocketship-nose-cone good looks. Above all, I love its CRT: flat panels don't really work for me, or my eyes. But I don't think I'll ever own another, even if the line is converted to Intel. Here's why.On this model, Apple got carried away and forgot they were making a computer and that computers break. The screws, which give it just that right touch of industrial design are almost an inch across, but the hex sockets are narrow and shallow, making them prone to stripping. And stripping them is exactly what the service people did when I had it in for a recalled video board. I had to drill two of them out, not a pleasant prospect on a machine that is essentially a thin shell over a bare CRT.Once you get inside, things get worse. With the power button around the side instead of in front, just taking the case off means stretching the delicate wires to the power button to their limit and then unplugging them one-handed while you hold the case in the air with your other hand. And getting to the hard drive, easily the most frequent point of failure, requires discharging the CRT and disassembling almost the entire machine to get at a unit that is locked away sideways under the "digital board."The thing is, it didn't used to be like this. Apple engineers used to put effort into making case designs functional, as well as good looking, whether it was the pluggable performa chassis that anticipated modern blade servers, or hinged power supply mounting brackets of the Quadra and early PowerMac cases that nearly doubled the effective working room, or the fold-out sides on the Bondi G3s. Of course, I can't speak for the original iMac, and I know that space is tight in the "nose cone" shell, but there has to be a better way.
