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Apple Issues Power Supply Exchange

Posted by pudge on from the back-in-my-day-computers-made-us-go-deaf dept.

mpath_lamp writes "Today Apple issued an exchange program for all owners of the Mirrored Drive Doors Power Mac G4. It's meant to resolve the incredibly loud fan noise in the current power supplies of Power Mac models that began to ship in August 2002. The program requires a $20 shipping charge and the return of the old power supply. Apple will begin shipping the kits on March 10 in limited quantities and the kit consists of a 360-watt power supply, system fan, allen key, and installation instructions. A big thank you can be directed to the guys over at G4noise.com for the continuous support in trying to get an official response from Apple."

8 of 63 comments (clear)

  1. Great but... by esome · · Score: 2, Interesting

    is the average mac user savvy enough to replce their fan and powersupply? I don't mean to belittle mac users (I am one), it's just that Apple caters to the sort of folks who don't want to have to deal with or think about things like this.

    1. Re:Great but... by batobin · · Score: 4, Interesting

      That really doesn't sound like Apple. I worked in an Apple-Authorized Service Center for two years, and whenever the company messed up, they were better to their customers than this. Maybe it's the harder economic times, but it seems to me that Apple is getting cheap.

      For example, Apple's 15 inch MultiSync monitor often was effected by something which everyone referred to as "the tint issue". If a customer brought one in, and we verified tint was indeed wrong, we'd simply call up Apple. They'd say, 'What's up?" We'd say, "Tint issue." They'd say, "Give us two days."

      The two days referred to how long we had to wait for an empty box. Usually we got it the next day. We packaged the monitor up, and Apple paid for the shipping back to their shop. They'd fix it free of charge, send it back to us, and we'd give it back to the customer. Good as new. $0 paid by the customer.

      When Apple didn't perform the fix themselves, they'd always pay our shop to do it. Even if the machine was out of warranty. An example of this is the 7200/90 which had ethernet-port problems on the motherboard. Apple paid for new motherboards, and for the Apple shop to install them for any customer. There also wasn't a time limit set for people to get it fixed. I noticed there is one for the new power supply fix.

      So all in all, it seems like Apple is getting cheap. Darn shame, too.

    2. Re:Great but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Well, this does only apply to the PowerMacs, which I would assume are mostly either tech-savvy Mac users that wouldn't mind replacing a PSU themselves, or rich Mac n00bs that wouldn't mind paying someone to do it for them. (for once Apple's price premium works to their advantage :) ).

    3. Re:Great but... by jericho4.0 · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Well, if you havn't noticed, as above, many of Apple's 'deals' are 'U.S. only', also.

      I understand that the U.S is Apples biggest market, but the rest of us take notice, ya know? I want to love Apple, I really do.

      --
      "A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming, is not worth knowing" - Alan Perlis
  2. shocking by rat_herder · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'd been using my x2g4@1ghz exclusively in OSX for at least two months before I had the need to boot OS9. It was a particularly hot day on the Austalian coast, and I got a real shock when I finally heard the fan kick in...

    I was in another room, but it sounded like something taking off in my lounge. Wondering out, i discover that my g4 is an industrial exhaust fan wrapped in pretty plastic!!! It's really loud. Strangely enough I ONLY hear it when in OS9, which is just about not at all.

    Still the fan replacement thing is a nice suprise.

  3. Re:is it just me... by FunkyMarcus · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Except for the original iBook, which is universally identified as the Toilet Seat, I refer to them by year. I wish Apple would officially do the same. It seems to work for the automotive industry.

    (It seems to work for Microsoft, too - never mind.)

    Mark
    1999 PowerBook G3 - or Bronze or Lombard

  4. A testament to their fan base by elliotj · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I think it's a testament to Apple that their fan base follows their product line with such vigor that I can describe my laptop at the TiBook 800 as "the first Ti with the higher-def screen" and a whole lot of people will know exactly which model I mean.

    Can you think of another computer maker who could say the same?

  5. You think this is bad? by CottonEyedJoe · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I've heard the offending noise, and boy have we come a long way. As computer noises go, it really is a testament to how quiet Macs are, that people bitch about the G4 noise.

    I have a SGI indigo^2 that literally sounds like a jet engine winding up and a Sun Sparcstation 5 that is nearly as bad (the SGI is the worst "desktop" I've heard).