My 10 year, disk-crash free run came to an end the other day when my 6 month old MacBook decided not to reboot and to present me with the old blinking question mark. After a day of fiddling the disk still showed no signs of life. As far as my MacBook is concerned, the disk is not even plugged in. Not a good sign I think. Having pretty much survived data-loss free since I started using computers I've become pretty blase about back-ups. Most of my paid work is checked in to one or another subversion repository but I have some private documents, photos not on flickr and other random old stuff that may be lost. Needless to say I'm now investigating backup strategies, to be implemented when I get home.
I have realised that if you have a drive failure there is really no point in using the Apple warrantee. Apple's customer service continues to go downhill. Phone Apple and (after you spend 15 minutes telling them who you are and giving them your credit-card number) the best offer of assistance you will get is a suggestion to take it to an authorized dealer for repair. Couriering your laptop for repair appears to be a thing of the past. I asked the guy if paid up AppleCare would get me by-post delivery. Apparently it doesn't! Then what on earth is the point in purchasing AppleCare? It's a shame because I know a lot of people who have recently converted to Apple from the more respectable PC manufacturers and I suspect they would pretty amazed at the lack of support should their machine fail. Especially when some of them have bought AppleCare. I asked about getting a new disk sent out for a DIY repair (as advertised on Apple's site). The guy told me that Apple "didn't do that anymore". It's a real shame if Apple are abandoning the DIY repair scheme. It worked nicely for my iMac. I replace a mainboard and an inverter without having to let go of my machine for 2 weeks.
The trouble seems to be that Apple's warrantee and even AppleCare terms are rather non-specific. They state that "repair service may include onsite, carry-in, and direct mail-in; specific availability of each option depends on product type and location of Apple Authorized Service Provider". Finding out what repair option you are entitled to is impossible and probably just depends on who you happen to talk to on the phone.
