Fremantlebiz - Paul's Letter from Australia

April Fool's Day

It's April Fool's Day today and I've already been caught twice by the kids. The first time was a bogus telephone sales call asking me to buy something I didn't need at the moment, an inflatable 'doll'. They'd seen one of these last night on a TV trailer for a forthcoming movie.

The second prank was more serious. My youngest daughter informed me that a palm branch had damaged the roof of a backyard shed where we keep the chook food. I said I'd check it later, but my wife turned up and said I had better go see before any more damage was done. I swallowed the bait, hook, line and sinker. Much hilarity. I have a feeling I had better be on my guard from now on.

I mentioned in the past that I've long been a Mac computer user. I think I bought my first in about 1989, but I was using them a bit before that.

They've usually been reliable. The weak design point as far as I have been concerned has always been the mouses (mice) and track balls. They get dirty and don't track properly. The old ones could be cleaned fairly easily, but then Apple developed the "Mighty Mouse" a few years ago. It's still part of the package when you buy a new iMac. For a few dollars extra you can buy a cordless version. A really heavy on batteries cordless version.

The more technical problem with the MM is that there is a tiny track ball which is omnidirectional - it scrolls the cursor up and down and left and right. It's great while it works, but can quickly get gummed up, and the only technical fix Apple suggest is to rub it with a damp cloth. The cure worked once or twice with me, but then no more. I had been warned by other Mac users this would happen. I've concluded the MMs may be the most poorly designed gizmos to ever come out of Apple. The lifespan of my first one was only a few months.

Yesterday I rang Apple Australia to make a warranty claim. Initially I was auto-connected to an Indian call centre. The woman was very difficult to understand, even though I usually am well attuned to people whom are unpracticed English speakers. After she figured out I wasn't calling about an iPod she transferred me back to Apple Australia. Phew. The man knew my problem, he'd heard it before. He advised me to take it to an authorised Apple service centre for replacement.

I rang the nearest one. There are only two in this state. They seemed hesitant because I'd bought my computer online, direct from Apple. Initially I was told it could take at least two weeks for them to get a replacement for me, but then the man had second thoughts and said they had one they could exchange. I went over straight away and swapped. I gathered they have a steady stream of MMs coming in for replacement.

The next port of call was the local Harvey Norman store. The latest HN national catalogue had an ad on page 13 for Varta rechargeable AA batteries, a pack of four for $3.99. There was a photo of them. Trouble was that they didn't have any. The man at the camera counter at first pretended ignorance, then said that the wrong picture had been inserted in the ad. He implied I should have read the main wording more carefully. End of story.

Click the image.

© MMVIII Paul R. Weaver.

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Check out each month's subject index on the Calendar Page for my "common-man" monologues about survival in 21st century Australia – plus a little history occasionally. An original essay is added most days as part of an undertaking to write at least couple of million words. Zzzzzzzz!