I haven’t written in this blog for some time. The cause? Due in part to my openness to speak out on any number of consumer advocacy issues, I have been courted by some very large companies to help reshape their public relations image. I’m unable to go into detail, but my professional life, and some of my private life, has nearly been sacrosanct, leaving very little time for thoughtful responses to consumer related Apple stories. Even as I sit writing this at yet another iMac that is turning brown for no discernible reason, I am on the precipice of a major decision. One that could very well take me either deeper into consumer advocacy or to the farthest point away from the topic. This site receives, on average, 200 readers per day.  That number can jump to well over 800.  Not a large number, but the people those statistics represent are important to me. In this time of transition, I send a query out to the web… Do the consumers of Apple products, and perhaps of consumer electronics in general, want, wish for, or need, a consumer advocate that companies actually listen to? Leave a comment. Let me know. Your comments and e-mails may well steer the next phase of a massive project I’ve been working on.

Also, if you have any suggestions that might heighten awareness of this issue, I’m open to any feedback. When I have completed work on the Crimson Foundation website, all information will be moved to that site. Perhaps then, someone will stand up and take notice.  Finally, I will be contacting some people I know within the tech community to encourage them to at least make mention of this effort either on their Podcasts or their blogs.  If we’re lucky we can get the support of people like Cali Lewis of the GeekBrief podcast and others like her who sincerely care about people.

From the title you may have guessed that the condition I’ve been referring to is Cellulitis, a bacterial infection of the skin, which can be deadly!  Here is a link to information on the Mayo Clinic website provided through CNN that gives a concise overview of the topic and the inherent dangers.  I am personally very worried about this situation as the infection continues to spread across her leg.

Why not just give her the money yourself, you ask of me?  I can only give so much and I have, but there’s a little more to the story.  She has previously been treated, and barely succeeded in paying the bill at a “Community Health Center.”  Obviously, they failed to provide adequate medical care to ensure the infection did not return.  This time around, it won’t be as “cost efficient.”  I’ve seen the bill, it wasn’t cost efficient in the first place.  

By the jumbled wording, you may have already determined I’m writing this as hurriedly as possible.  I’m angered and saddened by a number of issues that crop up every time I sit down with my accountant to go over which charities to give money to.  I’m always concerned whether the money is actually making it to the people its been earmarked for.  

So, in an effort to at least help this one person, I have placed a PayPal Donate button in the left sidebar. Clicking that button will enable you to donate money to the “Senior Citizen Cellulitis Fund.”  My goal is to raise $5,000 to ensure she receives the medical attention she so desperately needs.  Please, please, consider providing whatever you can so that, together, we can make a difference.  I am certainly not above begging to make this happen, so if there is an online or physical route to be taken to help this person, please leave your suggestions in the comments.

• A flickering backlight that would sometimes become so bright I had to decrease the brightness on the display completely.
• The optical drive would scrape and clank with every spin.  I only dared test one cheap CD, which was more than enough to instill fear.
•  An odor, very similar to sulfur and very metallic, pervaded the room just after opening the box.  The odor increased once the unit was turned on.
• Of less importance, but annoying none the less; the mouse wouldn’t always respond to clicks.

Apart from these issues, there was a question of cleanliness that cropped up almost immediately.  Just as I would refuse a meal from a restaurant if I discovered hairs wrapped around the shrimp, I wasn’t particularly amused to find several long, black hairs clinging to the plastic wrapping of the peripherals as well as the plastic cover for the display glass.

Once again, I contacted the Customer Relations representative I had been working with, informed her of the problems, and she prepared another Advanced Replacement.  Rather than having you wait with anticipation to discover what happened when the second replacement arrived, I’ll spare you the pain and let you know that I’m writing this post on that particular system.  Everything is fine, so far.  Let’s hope this one will last for at least One Full Year.

Just to bring everyone up to speed… In August of 2007, Apple sent an Advanced Replacement with upgraded specs, due in large part to the extent of my troubles with the company. Previously I had bought a white iMac, which was upgraded, and upgraded again, and eventually became a 24 inch Aluminum iMac.

Coming back to the present… The 24 inch Aluminum iMac had progressively developed the following problems:

• The LCD would leave an image, of whatever was displayed, for over an hour after I had quit an application or closed a window.
• The LCD had developed black marks horizontally and vertically across the display.
• The glass displayed heat damage, on the side facing the LCD, which created swooping arcs of discoloration over the top half of the display.
• The speakers would pop occasionally. At other times they would emit a high pitch before and after any type of audio was played.
• The fans had begun chirping and squeaking. Something Apple’s suppliers seem completely unable to compensate for.
• The Hard Drive failed.

That fairly well summarizes the issues the unit developed over a period of 7 months.

On the day the hard drive failed, I called Apple. Now, keep in mind the Customer Relations individual I had been working with warned me not to purchase AppleCare until I was absolutely sure there was nothing overtly wrong with the unit and only when the 1 year hardware warranty was coming to an end. I followed his instructions to a “T.” Eventually, I was connected with an iMac Specialist who promptly informed me that I had to either purchase AppleCare or pay for the phone incident. I explained the situation in great detail, giving him a few of the many case numbers I had in front of me. He placed the call on hold while he spoke with a Product Specialist. When he returned, he once again informed me that there was nothing he nor a Product Specialist could do until I paid for the phone support. After having yelled at him thus far, I grew weary and took another approach.

With blinding speed I called Customer Relations directly. Within minutes I had described the situation, given the CR person a case number that had been provided to me near a specific date, and detailed my experience with the AppleCare people. He apologized for the unfortunate events and placed me on hold to consult with a Tier 2 representative. He returned and alerted me to the fact Tier 2 would not need to assess the situation and that he could prepare yet another Advanced Replacement or me immediately. Once again, Apple upgraded the specifications of the system (which, out of respect, I’m leaving out of this post). Apple Admin took over from there and today (Friday, March 28, 2008) I received the new unit.

In my next post, we’ll delve into the two hours of testing that occurred before I had to call Apple; again.

recorded on Friday, August 3, 2007 - Fans Chirping

However, no update has been released for the unexpected increase in volume for internal speakers. As we, and many others have reported, a recent software update resulted in an unexpected increase in volume for internal speakers, leaving many users frustrated that Apple would foist such a “feature” on unsuspecting users. Not all Apple users enjoy being blown away by their systems nor are they from the generation that believes “loud” is the norm. Apple, Inc.’s Ambient Light Sensor provides a fairly acceptable level of light for bedroom use when the computer is not powered off. Although dissimilar in nature, a bedroom environment (or home office, den, nook, etc) is often quieter than your average family room on Friday nights. Internal speakers should be a convenience, not a hassle to overcome in such environments. There has been no explanation as to why Apple took the direction it did in regards to this issue and I expect anything other than “user feedback” will never be given. A simple preference in the Sound pane would have sufficed. I sincerely hope this won’t continue for much longer; especially into Leopard.