Filed under: Humor, Odds and ends, iMac, Apple, iPhone
Three stories of Mac woe
Maybe there was something about this weekend, but we received not one but three stories of busted Mac stuff in the past few days. Warning, these pictures are pretty graphic, if you consider seeing computers worth thousands of dollars in disrepair graphic.First up, we have Katie W's iPhone vs. Recliner story: She was apparently sitting in her recliner at home watching a movie, and after the movie, couldn't get the footrest to fold back in correctly. After a lot of pushing (and a few sickening crunches and grinds), she got it fixed, but then figured out why it wouldn't close: her iPhone was sitting right on the metal mechanism. And it still worked! Even more unbelievable: apparently Apple hooked her back up with another 8GB iPhone for free.
Then there's Nicholas' story-- he works in an Apple store, and says they had a new iMac sitting in the sun for days. He says the glass was superheated, and you can see from the pictures that the screen's color got thrown way off. But he says after putting the iMac away and powered off for about 3 hours, it was back to normal.
And finally, Shawn M sent us this forum thread, which is "what happens when you run over a MacBook Pro." Yeah, pretty gruesome. Again, apparently the flatted MBP worked just fine-- only the screen and the SuperDrive had issues. The guy was, however, able to hook it up to a monitor and keyboard and had no problems. Apple didn't treat him so well, however-- they told him it wouldn't be covered and it would cost $900 to fix.
Pictures of all the carnage in the gallery below. Take care of your Macs, or this too could happen to you!
Gallery: Apple Product Devastation
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Phil said 6:35PM on 8-20-2007
How can you run over your MBP? What is it doing under the wheel of your car in the first place?
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derek said 6:41PM on 8-20-2007
@Phil
Just what I was thinking
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Mathew Duggan said 6:47PM on 8-20-2007
That iPhone really looks destroyed. Man these are brutal.
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Fabio P said 6:48PM on 8-20-2007
dude, this is the best porn i've seen for long time.
:P
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reid Dudley-smith said 6:59PM on 8-20-2007
I was in a hit-and-run accident with my 14" ibook in my bag, it took almost all the impact head on, and apart from the red colour connector for the screen getting shaken out, the store said it was totally fine, and I haven't had a single problem with it.
I love you, Steve Jobs, and all who sail in you.
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Shon said 7:31PM on 8-20-2007
what i want to know is how she got her iPhone replaced due to her negligence! Hell thats awesome, but seriously, how did they not laugh in her face? Dear Katie W., please do tell how you got them to give you another one!!!
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Tom said 8:49PM on 8-20-2007
Yeah Apple should definitely NOT be replacing iPhones that are obviously damaged due to user neglect.
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Catt said 9:44PM on 8-20-2007
Hey I'm happy for Katie W. This says a lot about Apple as a company and her bargaining skills way to go. Sometimes your phones can end up in the strangest places esp. when you use it a lot...
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Robert Mohns said 10:10PM on 8-20-2007
He ran over his MacBook and you said Apple didn't treat him well because they wouldn't call it a warranty issue? Are you from Bizarro World?
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Robert Mohns said 10:12PM on 8-20-2007
Or I could be an idiot. You said "so well" -- comparative to the fortunate person who had an iPhone replaced. Mea culpa.
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Katie said 11:47PM on 8-20-2007
I went to the Apple Store (which was PACKED) and had to make an appointment to see the Mac Genius. I straight-out told him the truth, and asked if there was anything he could do for me. He was impressed that I told the truth, and intrigued by the method of destruction. When he told me that he’d simply replace it, I was flabbergasted. He said they have a lot of latitude when deciding how to handle a situation like this. If the customer is a jerk or definitely lying, they tend to go by the letter of the law. If the customer is polite and truthful, they tend to do whatever they can to ameliorate the situation. He said he was so tired of customers coming to him and saying, “it just stopped working”, and then upon inspection discovering a dripping wet SIM card.
The Mac Genius added that Apple is really pleased with the iPhone’s launch and wants customers to have very positive experiences which will in turn engender brand loyalty. He added that the breadth of their carte blanche regarding iPhone replacements will likely be curbed in the coming months.
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artifex said 11:38PM on 8-20-2007
I agree, these cases where the devices have been damaged due to absolute negligence shouldn't be covered, unless AppleCare has that kind of comprehensive coverage, and they had it.
Just makes things more expensive for the rest of us.
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TexRob said 11:48PM on 8-20-2007
It's fantastic PR both in how Apple treats it's customers and here is TUAW posting pics of how it STILL works. They should be paying Katie. On top of that, for a new product like this, I guarantee Apple wants their hands on as many destroyed products as possible. That way their engineers can see what failed, or didn't fail, so they can improve it so that it's even tougher.
It's good to know it can take a beating. I'm very careful with mine, but my wife has dropped hers a few times already, eek! No scratches, no damage, even on the chrome edges. Only one of them was onto concrete from a short distance luckily. I can't get her to put a case on it. I understand her desire to not put a permanent case, but I think for her, in her purse, a little sunglass style case with a magnetic "snap" would help her avoid the purse grab drop where it hops out when she pulls out her wallet. /end tangent
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Nick said 2:39AM on 8-21-2007
@ 1 and 2
I know exactly what it feels like to run over your nice, shiny computer. I was leaving school when I put my computer bag up against the front wheel to open the door, got distracted talking to people, got in and started driving. Only when the back tire went over something did I remember about my computer. ( That's how it can get under the tire ) All I could do is kneel down on the ground. Everything except my computer (Powerbook G4 1.33 12") came out ok. The computer was still operational minus the screen, and optical drive slot. The hard drive went bad not too long afterwards, but other than that, I'm extremely pleased that it could get run over by a truck and still work.
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John D. said 3:32AM on 8-21-2007
Wow, I think I would be in shock if I ran over my laptop or crushed my iPhone in my recliner. Apple is pretty generous for replacing Katie's iPhone, but according to the thread, the guy even had Applecare, but that is a true testament of how strong those MBP's are, running over it and it still functions as a computer. Just the thought of that makes me feel more happy about my MBP purchase. Apple should replace it and give it to the engineers so they can make it even more stronger! Applecare is $300 too, probably the most expensive extended warranty. Cmon Apple, you could at least be nice to one guy that was brave enough to post his stupidity on the internet. If I knew anyone at Apple HQ I would let them know about this guys story. Great PR for Apple products.
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Joseph said 4:19AM on 8-21-2007
please, no more photos graphic in nature here. this is very disturbing.
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raven said 9:41AM on 8-21-2007
Word from the Genii I know is that Apple has given them license for an indefinite full-exchange on broken iPhones - in order to see how users are breaking them and try to make them less breakable. (And in the meantime, people think it's wicked. Go Apple!)
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irisamelia said 11:39AM on 8-21-2007
Oh, the humanity!
The crushed Macbook Pro pictures made me laugh out loud. That is some crazy (stuff) right there.
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