New Mac. Bust out of the box. Again!

[taliesin]

It's not that I buy a new Mac every summer, or upgrade by selling the older one.
Even if I don't drive a car.
This year, however, being on extended sick leave = no holiday = money set aside = Marianne's first Mac.
And not just any first Mac, now that she's old enough to use a machine expected to last a good long while.
It hasn't quite broken the bank, but it's the second in four Macs I've bought broken, straight out of the box. The third in five if you include one that was delivered but failed even to start up.

I've always been nothing but nice to Apple, as you're my witnesses.

No longer. Not with Apple's own install DVD firmly lodged inside Marianne's PowerBook G4, a semi-surprise semi-ruined, and Apple pursuing its usual cavalier policy: we'll keep your money but you can wait the time it takes to fix the Mac.
It's neither money I want nor to jump the queue. Not even an apology.
But I don't believe that I'm exceptionally unlucky. This must happen to too many people now.

So I've thrown down the gauntlet, this time in public on my 'blog: Three bad Apples in five: a challenge to Cupertino.
That's just the beginning.
I use a Creative Commons licence anyway, but have also offered it to another, more widely read place, should they care to publish it.
I intend to get an explanation of what the heck is going on with Apple. Preferably in writing.
I haven't put the whole piece here, nor on the "front page" of the online journal, because it's long, even by my standards.

Usual disclaimer. The log contains P, R & S. Politics, religion and sex; and even sometimes explicit pictures which may or may not cause offence. Much of it is tongue in cheek, but some isn't and it's not always very kind to some kinds of Americans (or Brits, or French people... or even me).
All comments there are welcome, however, including harsh ones.

[beacher]

Sorry 'bout the problems, Nick. . .You're one of the few people in the world that seems to have worse luck than I do!  Hopefully, the end of this "little trial" will take a lot less time than the last one did.  You might mention that you help run a Mac specific web site with an international constituency, and maybe they'll try a little harder? Keep us posted. . .

[Bill]

Mr. T.
The stuck disk in the drive issue happened to me on a PB once.
Try rebooting while holding down the eject key.  

Even if that does work, it's a temporary solution to the problem.

Also read somewhere just by rebooting alone, then dragging the disk icon (if the icon appeared on the DT) to the trash works.

[pendragon]

Nick, What Bill said.

And, Apple Knowledge Base Document 106752 has additional suggestions for ejecting really stubborn disks. Seems like some good counsel there.

Also, I heard that if you open iTunes and click on the eject icon (lower right) that will sometimes work when other methods fail.

BTW, Nice blog you have--must be a(nother) full time job.

Harv

[george]

I smell blood and the way Taliesin tells it it ain't gonna be his.
More power to to your elbow!
Go for it!
George

[taliesin]

Thanks.
In the hope that what I write under a waxing moon, I shall fulfil as it wanes.

Harv and Bill.
No dice.
Bugger's still in there. Even putting the PowerBook in the fridge didn't work.

Which reminds me, Paddy.
The 42°C (c. 108°F) we got here in mid-week may be no match for Texas. Very little is, as we know.
But.
Have you tried watering the cat at the same time as you water the plants? I've been thinking of you.
So has Marianne's cat, which wants new temporary accommodation rapidly.

I was cruelly entertained when one or two here announced discovering a while back how very different our AZERTY keyboards are.
That "booting into open firmware" trick Apple recommends, Mr Pendragon, extracted its revenge.
Easy to get in. A darned sight more difficult to get out again when you've not seen a QWERTY keyboard for months.
"mac-boot" (up my backside) alone contains three traps. A = Q is obvious. M = ; less so. - = ) not at all!!

Thanks for your comment on the 'blog. It has sprawled a bit. Keeps me out of mischief.

[kelly]

That's too bad about your new machine t.

By all means. Get on Apple Europe.

They have a fairly good reputation here. (For a Multi-Billion Dollar Corporation).

There's no reason they shouldn't be as good there.