I bare a couple of issues with the new Apple MacBook (Pro) but this post isn’t necessarily about those issues, most of which are processor transition & software related, but moreso about Apple.

Apple has been receiving a few uppercuts regarding customer service in the iPod related departments. And just today, in the middle of a SuperBowl party, I found myself as the resident Apple specialist (not Specialist) being called into action to resurrect a newly purchased 60gig iPod Video. I can’t vouch for my friend’s claim of speaking to 14 different Apple support reps and getting nowhere, but he does not have a tendency to exaggerate such facts and his iPod is still not working. Lucky for him though, he ‘lucked out’ with a dud which can easily be replaced because of his new purchase Apple warranty.

I on the other hand, was not so lucky some months ago. I speak of a moment after having purchased a new G4 17″ PowerBook that was not even A MONTH OLD! After consulting for a client’s restaurant business and adding some polishing touches to a FileMaker system, I see something. It’s black, nay… charcoal gray, and it is walking with a slow and methodical trot to the center of the restaurant where I sit typing away on my new baby. It is a mouse. Quite literally, it has sauntered off into the middle of a packed restaurant floor and EVERYONE is to busy to notice, except for the author of this post. Such things don’t go over well in restaurants and I sympathize with a small business owner looking to grow and establish themselves, most especially because they listened to me and purchased $10,000 of Apple equipment to run their business. I’m usually the most sympathetic animal lover, but this mouse had to die and I had to kill it because it was a measly 6″ from my foot. But in the thrill of the hunt and my lunge to squash the poor unassuming and lost mouse beneath my boot, the power coard from my PowerBook was snagged and dropped to the floor on its corner. I missed the mouse but took a giant and forceful second step to kill it and did so. I told a dumbfound waiter, who failed to understand why the weird consultant was dancing in the center of the dining room, what had transpired beneath my foot and he took care of the rest.

But the mouse had its revenge…

And it wasn’t till later, that I noticed this strange aberration on my new laptop: a dinged corner. Karma came back to bite me in the ass. Thankfully, the client offered to pay for the repair of the laptop and the offer still stands, but I have yet to take them up on the offer for a myriad of reasons which are beyond this writeup. But my point reveals that the MagPlug that Apple recently unveiled with the MacBook is a genius solution to a simple problem and it is perhaps one of the reasons I adore the design details of Apple so lovingly. I’m sure there are problems with the iPod, iPod batteries, hard drives, etc. but this attention to detail on Apple’s part proves to myself, at least in some form of mildly soothing therapy, the the design team is listening and is listening well. They may be even in contact with the support department who surely keeps track of the number of peeved users that experience the same kind of laptop trauma. For those not in the know as to what the MagPlug does, here it is (as per Apple):

Innovative right down to the power cord
The new power adapter with MagSafe connector is just that: a magnetic connection instead of a physical one. So, tripping over a power cord won’t send MacBook Pro flying off a table or desk; the cord simply breaks cleanly away, without damage to either the cord or the system. As an added nicety, this means less wear on the connectors.

If someone wants to trade a MacBook for my 1ghz PowerBook G4, ding and all, you let me know!