Technocrank

Icon

It Done Broke.

How Apple Enriches My Life (Part 2)

Continued from How Apple Enriches My Life

So no less than 24 hours later, I’m called by the Apple Store, Regent Street, and informed that the replacement optical drive has arrived and is awaiting my return to have it put in.  I was told that if I didn’t think I could make it in the requisite 7 days I could just call and tell them when I could and they’d hold the part.

Read the rest of this entry »

Dear MySpace Stranger

Dear MySpace Stranger,

If you try to add me as a friend and I send you a polite email requesting further information, please at least have the courtesy of responding.  If you do not, I regret I will have to decline adding you.

Sincerely,
Not Actually Your Friend

How Apple Enriches My Life

I use my Macbook Pro constantly.  My freelance work demands having a computer available all the time (I’m a tech guy for hire – I used to do systems admin full-time).  I had a desktop workstation at one point which I built from scratch and I also had a Dell Inspiron 7500 way back.  What a back-breaker that was.  The MBP is a great machine – solid, powerful and decked out with plenty of peripheral ports (it’s a 2007 model).  Since I knew I’d be using it so much, I wanted to minimize any risk of downtime.  So I bought the AppleCare extended 3-year warranty.  Yeah, I know…it’s a questionable move.  But I had a similar extended warranty with the Inspiron back in 2000 and I didn’t regret it.  Like, what do you do when the keyboard falls apart?  Or the optical drive stops working…

Read the rest of this entry »

USB Timing Out

I was having problems transferring files from one external USB drive to another. They were both attached via a powered USB hub. I tried running TechTool Pro on the drive I suspected with having a problem but it kept hanging.

The system.log showed this whenever it happened:

AppleUSBEHCI[0x6dfc000]::Found a transaction past the completion deadline on bus 0xfa, timing out! 

I finally switched cables and removed it from the hub and plugged it directly into the computer. Seems to work fine now…but I should check it with the old cable again…

Venice Is Sinking

I was wondering why, if Venice is flooded 200 days out of the year now, why they haven’t done anything about it.  I mean…why not a giant levee?

Well, I guess there are plans.  But by the time they get around to it, won’t it be too late?