Marvyn+Mary

If you haven't noticed by now, I'm not very fond of Apple products. I have given them years of support only to experience premature failure with numerous devices ranging from iMacs to iPhones to Macbooks. Over the last few years I have been phasing out Apple products from both my personal and business life while my main work PC has been chugging along nicely. Give me more PC and Microsoft products. Enter a new era of PC heavy ecosystem. Maybe. Mary's Macbook — the last standing Apple device in the house — froze a lot and became pinwheel happy. For Christmas I surprised her with an Asus Vivo Tab RT. It has delivered a very positive Windows 8 RT experience, but I'll leave that review for another post. What this post is about is the support at our local Microsoft Store.

I’m onto your game now Steve Jobs. You build somewhat reliable hardware and back it up with customer service. But the device dies a horrible slow Trinity-Neo death right after the warranty expires. Luckily, (for you) that’s just in time for the new improved hardware released that makes us want to sink another $2000 into your pockets. I hope you like the 2 years of subsidies I’m paying you through the nose with AT&T.

My Applecare ran out a few weeks ago and as expected my blackbook stopped working with Mary using it. Just like her white Macbook. I tested the HDDs. Docked it into a Thermaltake Black Widow BlacX docking station and it wouldn’t mount. Picked up a new Seagate 320GB and the blackbook is back up. So I think new HDDs for all Macbooks, including her Mary’s dad. Apparently Apple has shipped a batch of bad HDDs from Seagate with FW 7.01. Apple is at fault, and Patti and Mary are off the hook.

Why is there not a recall on this? …

Steve Jobs and Co. are once again ripping off the consumer. The latest version of the iPod Shuffle requires that 3rd party headphones use a proprietary chip in order to communicate with the device. Apple charges a license fee to the 3rd party and in turn pass on the extra cost to the consumer. Really Apple? I use to enjoy their products until recent where now it seems they are in it for the extra buck more than anything.

Add to that they released details about the upcoming iPhone OS 3.0, which finally has MMS and cut & paste features. Why only now? To keep up with the Palm Pre. (slated to release this summer—Yay competition) Mr. Jobs said that MMS was not needed when the iPhone has such an intuitive email interface. What made you change your position Steve? Is the Pre the new heir apparent? Now it seems that Apple is chasing down Palm rather than the other way around. I need to trademark “Palm Pre Killer” before it becomes the new buzz word.…

Recently, my father downloaded a trojan virus thinking he was downloading a virus scanner. He was fooled by an ad that claimed his computer was infected and as a result of the trojan, one of his credit cards was exploited. Luckily he was quick to catch it before it got any worse. My parents, like most people, are not as tech savvy as the scammers, giving them a huge advantage. Aside from virii and computer hacks, there are people who still use some old fashion trickery to gain access to your private files, your home, etc. I'm going to share with you a few known scams and hopefully you don't fall victim to any of them. (If you're wondering, NO, I have no conducted any of these scams. I just happen to be street knowledgeable on a few things) Follow the link to read more on current scams and how to avoid them.

An avid PC monger, I was forced into the Mac world by my design work field. Soon my appreciation for Apple products grew into a collection of iPods, iPhones, iMacs, and iEverything-else-under-the-Apple-world. The simplicity of their products and user friendly UIs are so solidly built that it's is so refreshing coming from my days of PC desktop tinkering. These days are coming to an end. Read about the death of a relationship after the jump...

Bertrand Leroy has released this free nifty little app to control your WowWee Rovio from your iPhone. While it is a little barebones in features, it's definitely a step in the right direction. More after the jump...

After 3 months of use, I think it's time to revisit this product and give my thoughts to how it has stood up to the test of time. My initial post on Wi-Ex’s Cell Phone Signal Booster Dual Band YX510 PCS/CEL explained how to install it, but I never covered how well it works or any pros/cons. Read the full review after the jump...

Recently picked up WowWee's Rovio to watch the house and keep tabs on Oreo from a remote location. Despite some negative feedback, I have to say that it does exactly what I expected it to. Maybe I'm not a robot geek and don't mind some of the Rovio's shortcomings. More images and thoughts after the jump...

If you have spotty wireless cell phone signal in your home or office and want to get rid of those dead zones, look no further than Wi-Ex's Cell Phone Signal Booster Dual Band YX510 PCS/CEL. Play close attention as the name is misleading. It is not a signal booster, but rather an extender. Read more after the jump...