Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!snorkelwacker!mit-eddie!mit-amt!mjkobb
From: mjkobb@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Michael J Kobb)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Re: Worthless Warranty
Summary: One more coment....
Message-ID: <1951@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU>
Date: 21 Mar 90 23:12:06 GMT
References: <50816@cc.utah.edu> <7306@goofy.Apple.COM> <1945@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU> <1990Mar21.014309.10015@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu>
Reply-To: mjkobb@media-lab.media.mit.edu (Michael J Kobb)
Organization: MIT Media Lab, Cambridge MA
Lines: 49

In article <1990Mar21.014309.10015@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu> mart@csri.toronto.edu (Mart Molle) writes:
>>
>>Okay, first of all, I'm not a crackpot, and I resent your implying that I am.
>
>Sorry, I have to agree with David Berry.  You're acting like a crackpot...

Obviously, I disagree.  I won't hold name-calling against you, though.

>>Second:  I feel that everybody who has complained about this issue is 100%
>>justified.  The fact that car buyers don't complain that the car companies are
>>screwing them over as loudly as we do when the computer companies screw us
>>over is not a valid excuse.
>
>Why?  You knew about the warranty situation when you bought your machine.
>If you wanted the longer warranty (which, apparently, you didn't), you could
>have paid for AppleCare.  Now, in effect, Apple *lowers* the price of all 

You misunderstand me.  Of course I knew the warranty situation.  However, I
also wanted a Macintosh much more than I wanted some other machine.
Therefore, I chose the lesser of two evils:  I purchased a machine with
inadequate warranty.  And no, I wasn't going to shell out the outrageous sum
of money Apple wanted for AppleCare, because I couldn't afford it!  I could
barely afford the IIx at university discounts, and subsidizing Apple corporate
greed with more of my money was not at all on my agenda.

Now, then: It has been pointed out to me in email that Apple couldn't really
have put all machines <1 year old under warranty, because some of them might
have broken in the meantime, and been fixed by non-Apple shops, etc. etc.
I'll concede this point.

I think what it comes down to is this:  Apple had an inadequate warranty,
about which people justifiably complained.  Now they have fixed it (to their
credit and, I think, the benefit of their business).  They should expect
people who felt screwed over at only having a 90-day warranty to feel screwed
over that they missed out on it.  They deserve all the flames they get.  They
do, however, also deserve praise for listening to their customers (even if it
was only in fear of losing them).  SO, thanks, Apple, for upping your
warranty. If you'd done it a bit sooner, I would have bought a bunch more
stuff from you, but at least I'll feel okay about buying stuff from you in the
future.

Here ends my contribution to this flame war.  I'm not going to respond to any
more email or any more postings, because it's taking too much time.

--Mike

Disclaimer: I think that disclaimers are an incredibly sad statement about our
society.  Nonetheless, nothing that I say can or should be construed as having
been said by anyone.  Ever.