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It has been several months since my last post. I’ve been typing on the latest MacBook Pro line. You are probably asking, “What’s up with the ‘Goodbye Apple‘ post?” Everything. I believe that post helped Apple actually listen.

I made one last ditch effort. I called Apple Care again and asked to speak with a different Product Support Specialist. I explained my call history again. This time I also threw in the blog. I gave the dude on the phone the link to my Goodbye Apple blog post and asked him to share it with his managers. He sympathized with me and asked if he could put me on hold for a moment.

The entire call took over an hour, but it was well worth the wait. When nice Product Support Specialist picked up my call again he said, “Here’s what we want to do for you. A 15″ MacBook Pro with a 2.53GHz Processor, 4GB of memory, 250GB HardDrive, and a NVIDIA 9400M.” All I had to do was ship back my old MacBook Pro when the new one arrived. Well, you bet your snakeskin boots that I accepted the offer. I said, “You just made an excellent customer service recovery. Would you mind connecting me to your manager so I can let him know what a great job you did?” PSS said, “Sure. Thanks.” I said, “No. Thank YOU dude. You rock!”

We parted ways and I can say that I am more than happy with the outcome. To be honest. My confidence, in the company that I love, has been fully restored. Thanks Apple.

For those of you who know me you know that I have been dedicated to Apple since birth. I’ve used Macs exclusively my entire life. I also converted several people to Macs not to mention our entire non-profit organization. In my book Apple could do no wrong—until now.

Back in May I started having problems with my MacBook. I was pleased that Apple made all the repairs at no charge. Since them I’ve still been having the SAME problems. I called Apple again. They did what they could to help, but my problem still was not resolved. I went so far as to drive four hours to the nearest Apple Store. I spent all that driving time for a sixteen year old Apple “Genuis” to tell me all the things I already tried and some things that I knew would not work. I called Apple again. They finally connected me with a Product Support Specialist named Jeremy. I spoke with Jeremy June 30, he gave me his extension, and told me to contact him if I had any more problems.

The problems did not go away. I called Jeremy several times and all I could get was voicemail. My calls were never returned. Frustration stared setting in. I finally made another trip to the Apple Store and asked to meet with an Apple Genius who actually knew how to do something other than set up a printer. I got the right guy. After two hours he was stumped. The best advice he could offer me was to delete some login items and do and archive and install. Both of which I already did. I was still getting crashes on a clean install of OS X. 

I attempted calling Jeremy several times again. Still no contact. My computer took two trips to Apple Repair, I took two trips to the Apple Store (four hours away), I wasted tons of cell minutes leaving voicemail, and my Mac still does not work! The day I finally gave up on Apple I received a call from a manager at the Apple Store in Albuquerque. I told him my problems with my computer and my problems with Apple Support. He said he would make some calls and get things fixed for me. I waited a couple of weeks and he never called me back. I left messages for him twice and I still have not heard from him. So much for getting things fixed.

I work for a non-profit organization. We are in the business of capturing the hearts of the next generation. We don’t have time to mess with computer problems. That is why we went with Macs. As it stands now I’ve had just as many problems with our Mac as other people have with their PCs. In my opinion our Mac is now just a really expensive PC. Instead of spending my time working with teens I’ve had to spend my time trying to fix my computer. Too bad Apple doesn’t seem to think this is a problem.

So I am now officially saying goodbye to Apple. I will still continue to use their products, but I’ve faced the reality that the old Apple is gone. The Apple that cared about creating quality products. The Apple the loved their loyal customers. The Apple that made things right when things go wrong. Welcome to the new Apple. The Apple that is now like all the other companies (Dell, Microsoft, etc). Companies that want to make a quick buck by throwing excellence out the window. Companies that don’t care about the customer. Companies that take your money and laugh when things go wrong. Welcome to the new Apple. Goodbye old Apple.

I was three years old when this was introduced.

I found a great idea at Productivity 501. Anytime I can streamline my life I go for it. The idea is to create a template folder for clients. Since I do graphic design and photography this is a perfect fit for me. I did not want a folder called “z_template” sitting around my computer so I brought in Automator to help.

1. Read the post on folder templates at Productivity 501 to give you some background. Download the example Automator workflow.

2. New Folder. Customize your subfolders in each New Folder section. I chose to use “_Billing”, “_Contracts”, _Notes, “_Material”, and “_Wrap Up”. Subfolders will initially be created on your Desktop.

3. Get Specified Finder Items. Choose paths to each of your subfolders.

4. New Dated Folder. In this section create a destination for your new client folders. The workflow’s default is the Desktop. On my computer I have it set to my Projects folder.

5. Go to the File menu and save your workflow as a Plug-in or an Application.

When you run the workflow it will create a folder in your specified destination (point #4) with all your specified subfolders (point#2). The template folder will be made with the current date and titled “ProjectName” but you will have the option to change “ProjectName” when you run the workflow. Get the workflow download from Dropio. Hope this helps. Please leave a comment if you have suggestions to make this better or you encounter any problems. Peace.

The good folks at MacApper gave me a free license to GarageSale for simply leaving a comment. GarageSale is a beautiful Mac program for selling stuff on Ebay. If you are looking to purchase a branding iron I have one for sale. Thanks to MacApper and to the GarageSale team!

Apple Fanboy alert! Please do not read or watch the following if you hate Apple fanatics! I found this rare clip about the making of my favorite commercial of all time. I can’t believe they made it on G3 Macs! Computers have changed, but I think Apple’s passion is still the same.

I can’t believe TBS is still in the dark ages! In this age of the internet everything should be accessible to everyone. The TBS site is not requiring Windows Media Player to watch videos. They are actually requiring Microsoft Windows to view videos. As a Mac guy this drives me crazy! I am still one of those die-hards who refuses to touch anything that is tainted with MS Windows. Do I have the ability to install Windows on my Intel Mac? —yes. Will I ever install Windows on my Mac? — NO! So much for FrankTV. I’m sticking with Youtube. TBS needs to take a clue from Hulu (instead of driving people to use Bittorrent)!

I am the quintessential Apple Fanboy. Dedicated, spreading the word, and thinking that Apple can do no wrong. I’ve been an Apple Fan since 2nd grade. I finally got to play with the iPhone at the Albuquerque Uptown Apple Store. It was everything I imagined (except for the AT&T part). The touch screen interface is easy to use. The iPod feature with Cover Flow is slick. The whole thing is cool of course, but a subliminal voice coming from inside the iPhone convinces you that it is actually useful. Too bad I can’t afford the phone. Plus, I have a genuine abhorrence of cell phone companies. To this day, I still refuse to pay for a cell phone plan (and get tied up with the greedy, unfriendly, controlling big guys). So the day Apple provides its own cell phone service I will proudly plop down my hard earned dollars. Until then, I must meet up with my beloved iPhone at the Apple Store.