GetSheila

Does Apple have a “one free drop” policy?

I don’t know the answer to whether Apple has a “one free drop” policy. All I know is I went to the Apple Store with my iPad2’s spectacularly cracked screen and left with a brand new one for free.

Here is what it looked like after I dropped it on my tile entryway floor (which will be ripped out as soon as possible because I’ve always hated it and now have a genuine reason to perform tile genocide):

You can’t see it very well, but the worst of the damage is at the lower left edge. It looks kind of blue, eh, from left edge to about halfway across? If you tilt your screen away from you and look at it from “below” you may be able to see that entire area is a mass of shattered glass. Clearly that’s the edge that hit first. I kept using it for a bit that morning and suffered “tiny shards of glass in my index finger” syndrome.

Because sometimes I’m not too bright.

It was chaos when I arrived at the Apple Store. CHAOS. TIP: If you’re going to the Apple Store, don’t go on Saturday. I’d never been to one of their brick and mortar stores before, having bought my iPad2 online, so was unprepared for the melee.

I thought making an appointment online worked like it does at DMV where you  jump ahead of everyone who is too stupid to make an appointment. It does, sort of, but either they drastically overbooked or the standard 10-15 minute appointments took longer than expected because I wandered around the store for 30 minutes before my “genius” came to greet me.

BTW, if you’re new to the Apple Store and have an appointment, be sure to check in with any of the worker bees walking around with iPads. I wasted 5 precious minutes standing at the Genius Bar waiting for someone to acknowledge me so I could check in. I finally interrupted one of the “Geniuses” and was cheerily told to find anyone walking around with a tablet and check in there.

Then he laughed behind my back as I walked away and called me an Apple Virgin.

Not really, but I did feel the teensiest bit humiliated that I was DOING IT WRONG. I had, in fact, read the instructions online that said to check in that way but thought doing so at the Bar itself would be faster. VIRGIN.

My genius’s name was Estavan and I should have taken his picture because he was ADORABLE. Also 12 years old, or thereabouts. He began by telling me the warranty only covers hardware failure, likening it to a car warranty. If your engine falls out due to mechanical failure, that’s probably covered. If you crash into something, that’s what you have insurance for and there is no insurance for you iPad.

He said they don’t replace the screens on the iPad2, either, and a new unit would cost $499 (the original price) but he could offer me a replacement for just $279 AT THAT STORE ONLY (Modesto’s Vintage Faire Mall.) It sucked, but I said okay because I take my iPad2 to bed with me every night and can’t imagine life without it.

As he processed the paperwork and got my new iPad2, I chatted with the girls next to me who were there to replace an iPhone but couldn’t get the case off. Their male Genius couldn’t get it off either. My Estevan tried and only got half of it off. Then a female Genius picked it up and – boom – case off! The males declared they “loosened it” for her, of course.

So I go to sign the paperwork and Estevan says he’s going to take care of me today and I think, yes, yes, you’re giving me a brand new iPad2 for almost half price, but it’s still almost $300 so don’t get cocky. But then he makes sure I am looking him in the eye when he says, “so I’m giving it to you for free.”

“Uh…what?” I almost climbed across the Genius Bar and kissed his adorable little cheeks. Free. FREE. One of my Facebook Friends says they have a “one drop” replacement policy, which my Genius didn’t tell me, but I don’t care if it’s true or not. I’m just happy to have my brand new replacement:

Isn’t it beautiful? *sniff*

So I waited 30 minutes past my appointment time but walked out 15 minutes later a satisfied Apple customer. Apple’s customer service ROCKS.

 

Technorati Tags: ipad2,apple one drop policy,cracked ipad2 screen

Never around when you need it

I have too many extra / leftover cables. I do not, however, have an extra of the specific type I need right now.

Of course.

DAMN YOU, CABLE GREMLINS!

 

Technorati Tags: mess of cables

The more things change, the more they stay the same

Along the lines of my previous post:

When did this:

Become this?

I stayed up way too late last night reading Tina Fey’s Bossypants. Loved it! Not quite done but decided I have two whole weeks of vacation ahead of me so what’s the hurry?

Speaking of reading on your electronic device, I have two words for you:

Calibre (e-book management on your PC or Mac), and

Stanza (e-reader that can access your Calibre library and download books wirelessly. Currently only for iDevices, though.)

I didn’t think I needed Stanza because I already have both the iBooks and Kindle apps on my iPad but I was having trouble getting Calibre to recognize my iPad when plugged in so I tried out Stanza. Did I mention I just click a button in Calibre to turn on the content server and Stanza on my iPad can see my entire library of ebooks on my PC and download any I choose to my iPad wirelessly? I did? IT BEARS REPEATING.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have terribly important things to consider, like whether I should brush my teeth or have another mug of tea and read the rest of Bossypants before I venture out into the world today.

 

Technorati Tags: tina fey,bossypants,ebooks,calibre,stanza

Addict

I, uh, think I may have a slight addiction problem.

Yes, I really do use all three of them at once sometimes.

Please ignore the cat behind the screen. Or not. He’s probably part of the problem.

Do, however, note the fingerprint smudges on the laptop screen. Going back and forth between a touch screen and having to use a mouse takes some coordination, which I don’t always have.

Reminds me of the time my friend JennBo lathered up her hands with soap in a public restroom and kept thrusting them under the spigot trying to trigger the faucet’s IR sensor before she realized it was the kind you have to turn on manually. Thanks for making me smile, JennBo.

 

Technorati Tags: techno addict,addicted to thegrid

And the money just FLEW out of my pocket!

While in Idaho taking care of my mom, I tried to wash her clothes every couple of days so she always had something clean to wear. She went up there for a 4-day weekend, you see, but ended up staying a month. You don’t pack a lot of clothes for a 4-day weekend. Certainly not a month’s worth.

It turns out I am a bad caregiver. I blame it on living alone, not having a husband to take care of since 1991, and never having children. I, uh, washed her cell phone.

I didn’t mean to. She left it in her pants pocket and, due to the aforementioned, it didn’t occur to me to check the pockets before tossing her jeans in the machine and turning on the water.

::sigh:: Live and learn.

Her 2-year contract was up ages ago so I went to the AT&T store when we got back to Merced to get her a replacement phone: a simple flip-phone just like the one she used to have so she doesn’t have to learn anything new. THAT’S ALL I WENT IN THERE FOR.

I mistakenly mentioned I thought my own two year contract just ended so I may be eligible for a new phone at a reduced price as well.

This is what happened:

 

It’s the iPhone 4.

With a blue-tooth device.

And a fancy purple case.

And a car charger (not pictured.)

And I signed up for DirecTV, to boot.

I know! I couldn’t help myself! BAD, Sheila! BAD, BAD Sheila!

I am keeping my Comcast Internet service because it’s faster than what AT&T offers in my area but I will be getting rid of my Comcast cable service and home phone. The only people who call me on my home phone anyway are 1) my mom, 2) sometimes my friend Micky, and 3) people trying to sell me stuff. Numbers 1 and 2 have my cell phone number so that’s no problem and number 3 can bite my butt.

Did you know you can get iBooks and Kindle books and audiobooks on the iPhone? And load it with all your CD’s? And get Pandora radio so you only have to listen to songs you actually like?

You did? Oh, well, I’m new. Maybe Apple isn’t The Devil after all.

 

Technorati Tags: iphone 4,pandora

Blackberry is messing with me

I meant to blog this weekend, really I did, but I went to Fresno Saturday and on Sunday my Blackberry desktop software told me it had an update.

Tip: when a software program tells you it has an update that may take more than 30 minutes, BELIEVE IT.

I whiled away the time surfing the Blackberry application center for new themes since I’ve had my phone almost 2 years now and never updated the original theme that came with it.

It is a lovely misty mountain scene. Shut up.

When the update finished, it reset my icons back to their original order, including putting some in a completely different folder! Grr. I moved the lock button back up so it shows on the top line, inactivated all those stupid expired trial games I swear I deleted but which have now miraculously reappeared, and moved everything back to its proper location.

Borderline OCD, she ain’t pretty.

So I finally have it just the way I like it…and end up having to do it all over again because the new theme I installed reset everything.

Then I decided I didn’t like the new theme, so I installed a new one. And had to reorganize all my icons again.

OMIGOD!

After all that, what theme did I end up with, pray tell? The same boring original one. I just changed the wallpaper. And the layout.

What? Consistency is a virtue. Or maybe it’s the hobgoblin of little minds.

Oh dear.

Whichever it is, I finally have everything just the way I like it only to discover this morning the keys I used to hit in combination to unlock the phone no longer work. It conveniently tells me to press the Mute button to unlock it, which would be fabulous if it would also tell me where the damn Mute button is located.

My phone has a Mute button? I HAD NO IDEA.

Thank god for Dr. Google, consultant extraordinaire. Apparently the “Mute” button is the one on the top edge of the phone I call the “Silence the blasted ringer so the caller eventually goes to voicemail without my having to press “Ignore” to send them there immediately, thereby alerting them to the fact that I am intentionally ignoring their call” button.

I suppose “Mute” is more efficient. Do you have a pet name for your “shut them up” button?

 

Technorati Tags: blackberry bold update,blackberry mute button,cell phone drama

Kitty Cam - Why Didn't I Think Of This?

William at Artist Hideout set up a kitty cam so he and his family can keep tabs on their two kitties while they are away visiting family for the holidays. BRILLIANT! The image refreshes every two minutes. He hopes someone will capture an image of one of the cats cuddling with the b5media hat he left on the bed. I think that squished thing on the right used to be the hat so hopefully someone got the shot. I took a few screenshots for William's (and your) viewing pleasure.

This is how Elijah looks most of the time:

But then, movement!

"What was that? A mouse? An intruder? Food?"

"Oh, it was nothing. Did anyone see me freak out? Damn, they still have that freaking camera on."

"Nothing to do but go back to sleep."

"zzzzzzzzzz"

"ZZZZZZZZZZ"

________________

I could watch this kitty cam for hours. There is another kitty I haven't even seen yet. If you are looking for some mindless fun, click on over to Artist Hideout and refresh-at-will. Thank you, William. I now know what to do the next time we go on vacation.

Tags: artist hideout, kitty cam

How Wikipedia Entries Get Written

Have you ever wondered how Wikipedia entries get written? Cory Doctorow tells us over at Boing Boing.

Cory actually told us back in September but I was saving it for emergency use, like when it is 10:00 at night and I am tired and all I want to do is put on a Miss Marple DVD and snuggle down in bed to the sound of old, rickety people solving a murder but I have to post to my blog first.

How Wikipedia deals with drive-by contributors and misinformation is for another post. And perhaps another Miss Marple DVD.

Technorati Tags: social encyclopedia, knowledge sharing, wikipedia

A Torrent of Torrents

It is 9:45pm. I am about to go to bed and leave my computer in a completely different room. I know! How can this be?

Well.

I finally downloaded my first torrent today. Two, in fact. But you cannot simply download files and think you are done, oh no. That would make you a leech and leeches are frowned upon. So much so that you may find that no one wants to send you files anymore.

So I will not be a leech. I will upload at least as much as I download. But to do that, I have to leave my computer on overnight, uploading to its electronic brain's content. (It is slow, this uploading business. I think I picked "bad torrents" but how was a girl to know?)

::sigh::

Sleep. With no computer to lull me into unconsciousness. What an intriguing idea.

Tags: file exchange, torrents

Google Search Trumps Technorati

Just an FYI to let you know I changed the Search feature in the upper right hand corner.

I used to have a Technorati search there but I discovered lately that it was searching all of Technorati blogs, not just GetSheila like it used to. Now maybe that is just a temporary bug over at Technorati but, frankly, I have neither the time nor the inclination to wait for them any longer. They have already annoyed me by:

1. Making it impossible to do what they call "claim" my Medium Dreams blog on Technorati, even though I have followed the instructions provided on their site to the letter;
2. Not responding to multiple requests for assistance with claiming a b5media blog (2 requests from me and countless others from other b5media bloggers);
3. Listing my GetSheila blog as one I have claimed on Technorati, yet not finding it when I click on it over there.

This what get when I click on GetSheila on Technorati's list of my blogs:

It would be funny if it weren't so frustrating. According to their stats, I have not updated GetSheila for 60 days, yet I ping them every time I update (which is almost daily.)

So enjoy the new Google Search button. It works beautifully. Well, sort of. If you enter a search term that also happens to be a tag (like "travel"), you get duplicates. Oh well. I'll figure out something better later.

Props to Hsien for pointing out the Technorati search bug. And speaking of Hsien, have you visited her blogs lately?

• Cotton-Pickin' Days (personal blog)
• A Hearty Life (where she mentions me and my mp3 Zelda in her Fibby the Defibrillator post)
• Genetics and Health
• Play Library (kids toys, games, books, and other fun stuff)

Did I mention Hsien has a really good brain? I wish we lived closer so I could visit often and absorb brain food by proximity osmosis.

Technorati Tags: hsien, search, technorati