Apple iPhone $100 credit - Hope you didn’t want to use it to buy music

Apple released details today on how you can obtain your $100 credit for your iPhone.

Nice of Apple to do this right? Sorta. Here’s what you can’t use your credit on:

“Customers may not redeem their store credits: (1) at any iTunes Store in the United States or elsewhere, (2) Apple Store locations outside the United States; (3) at Apple resellers; (4) for cash; (5) to purchase Apple Gift Cards, or,iTunes Store Gift Certificates, to give iTunes Store content as gifts, or to create iTunes Store allowances; or (6) as payments on Apple accounts”

Come on! So that forces you to buy hardware, software, or accessories which in most cases costs more than your credit.

Thanks Apple.

(Thanks Erik)

Apple bends you over

.. if you bought an iPhone more than 14 days ago that is.

And here’s what Steve Jobs has to say to you:

Jobs spoke with USA TODAY’s Jefferson Graham and Edward C. Baig.

Q: What do you say to customers who just bought a new iPhone for $599? Sorry?

A: That’s technology. If they bought it this morning, they should go back to where they bought it and talk to them. If they bought it a month ago, well, that’s what happens in technology.

USA Today

Hahaha! Meanwhile, the Apple iPhone support forums are still getting flooded with posts of people asking for some kind of credit or refund, and it looks like it’s not going to stop anytime soon.

I, myself tried to call the Apple retail store which I purchased my iPhone from which ended up just annoying me more, when a rather rude employee answered and just didn’t want to deal with me. Then I tried the 1800 number, which informed me that since I purchased it in an Apple store there was obsoletely nothing they could do, and it was up to the Apple store I made the purchase in to decide if they’d credit me.

There have been some success stories posted on the Apple forums, and I would link to them if the moderators weren’t on a mission to delete all threads that talk about this issue.

Think Different my ass.

MacBook SMC Firmware Update 1.1 - Random Shutdowns

Apple has released a new SMC firmware update for all MacBooks. This update improves the MacBook’s internal monitoring system and addresses issues with unexpected shutdowns. It’s recommended that all MacBook owners download and install the update, including those that received warranty repair for the random shutdowns.

More details about the update about Apple’s site.

Apple software update kills MacBook [Update]

[Update: Problem solved - Read solution at the bottom of the article]

Apple recently released an update for airport. The update is called “AirPort Update 2006-001” I decided to install it tonight on my 2.0GHz MacBook, when the auto updater popped up. After installation it asked to reboot.

I rebooted, but the system never came back up. Instead of the wonderful OS X desktop, all I saw was a white blank screen at first. It looked strange, and the longer I looked at it, I noticed that different colored vertical lines were starting to appear. After about a minute or so, there were hundreds of lines going down the screen.

I forced a shutdown by holding the power button, and booted up again. Same thing. Shit! So, knowing that the next step would be to reset the PRAM, I did just that. No luck.

MacBook users beware! The AIRPORT UPDATE 2006-001 could potentially kill your computer! Can anyone confirm if this has happened to anyone else?

Here are the screenshots

Ouch!

Update:

I called Apple this morning, and they were able to help me even without the extended AppleCare. They had me reset the MacBook’s PMU, which fixed the problem. The Apple tech said that this is a problem that Apple is now fully aware of. It’s been happening to people when they are rebooting or shutting down after updates, or even just completely randomly. It is a problem with the screen resolution, and currently, resetting the PMU is the only solution.

Here is the Apple article on resetting the MacBook PMU.

iPhoto and iLife annoyances

Colin D. Devroe from TheUberGeeks.net has documented some annoyances and issues with iPhoto.

One of the main issues is not being able to use Spotlight to search for photos which you have tagged(keyword) in iPhoto. There is now a solution to that issue which was posted in an apple discussions thread. Another issue is that iPhoto keywords do not function within iLife properly.

Read the full article here to find out more details.

A MacMini and a Windows XP DVD

Here is a quick experiment we did with a MacMini and a Windows XP DVD. The reason the MacMini’s casing is off is for a memory upgrade. Find out what Macs really think of Microsoft Windows…

Here is the video:

Update:

Before this gets blown out of proportion, it’s obviously a joke.. We all know that Macs do not hate PCs and Windows.. You’ve seen the Apple ads, they get along great!

New GUI effets in Apple OS X Leopard with Core Animation

Here is Core Animation in action. Check out this new slick GUI effect coming to the next version of OS X, here. View the YouTube video below, since the video on the linked might be having bandwidth issues.

Here is the video:

Expect to see more GUI enhancements like this in OS X Leopard applications.

Core Animation lets Mac developers create applications and experiences as groundbreaking as Spaces and Time Machine, without needing to know esoteric graphics and math techniques.

More on Core Animation at Apple’s Site. (Source: Digg)

Inside The Mac Pro - Apple Video

If you want to know everything regarding specs and interior design of the Mac Pro, Macworld is going to take care of you. This video shows you everything you want to see regarding the Mac Pro.

The Apple 2 Ranks #1

Pcworld.com has ranked the Apple 2 as the #1 PC of all time. Sure the Apple 2 wasn’t the first, the best, or most unique, but PC World claims it was the most revolutionary. PC World states, “On all four of our criteria–Innovation, Impact, Industrial Design, and Intangibles–it was such a huge winner that it ended up as our Greatest PC of All Time.” Source We here at Ibloggedthis tend to agree with this choice for all the reasons stated above. Another reason the Apple 2 succeeded is in large part due to the thought that went behind the entire project. Apple has always been smart and innovative, but their advertising and concepts took them to a whole new level.

Before there ever was the silouette Ipod commercials, or the Mac vs PC ads, there was the simplicity ad:

The foundation for apple’s success started early, and this shows why.

Czech Apple Advertisement (Picture)

Apparently the U.S.A. market can’t handle scandalous and sexy advertising… Check out this Apple ad found at a Apple store in the Czech Republic:

To be truthful, that just isn’t fair. Apple Ipods are sexy, and so is that girl, why not put the two together? Sure there will be people who will be offended (for no reason mind you), but we have to be willing to take that chance! Either way, we can always root for that ad campaign to make it overseas!

Loosely translated, we believe (based off a fundamental knowledge of language and some dictionary work) this means: “Ipod, the best “partner” for this year” It might also mean: “Ipod, Better than Sex this year”