Repaired MacBook Unboxing Photos

Four days ago at noon, I had an appointment at the genius bar in the 23rd St. Apple store in Manhattan. I was there to discuss what seemed to be Random Shutdown Syndrome, in which a mac shuts down due to overheating. The shutdowns were sudden; one moment I was browsing or watching video; the next moment, the screen was dark and the fan had stopped. This was no “going to sleep,” the thing had turned itself off in less than a second.

The mac genius told me that I’d get my computer back in “about three days.” Two days later, it was still listed online as not having even shipped to the factory. On the morning of day three, it was listed as having arrived at the factory. On afternoon of day three, it was listed as ready for departure. At 10am on day four, FedEx arrived at my door with it.

Having only my iPhone as an outlet during this time, I tweeted about the process an awful lot. Who knows whether or not that was a factor. The Apple customer support people are certainly scanning for relevant tweets, but it’s hard to say which ones actually get their attention, and it seems out of character for them to admit that they paid attention to one case more than any other.

That's a good picture of me. Too bad I've gained 100 lbs. since then.

The image was rotated 90 degrees right in Photoshop, but WordPress has its own interpretation.

As you scroll through these photos, you can fantasize about what it might be like to get your own computer repaired.

Here's the "tell them what you told them" technique in action. See, they sent me my computer, and now they are reminding me that they sent me my computer. Very reassuring.

Dude. They replaced the main logic board. That sounds serious.

Yes, my pretty. You thought you had escaped, but you are back in my clutches.

In every great story, there is a death and rebirth. Here we see the embryonic sac.

All my applications are still installed. Weirdly, though, Spotlight had to re-index the hard drive before it could start.

Obviously, all this was covered by Applecare. As far as I’m concerned, Applecare is simply part of the price of purchasing a mac. Yes, they break, but the company fixes them. This computer is a first-generation Intel macbook, about two years old.

The apple-baby image is from the TV show Fringe. I found it on Ren’s photoblog.

The footprint sticker on the computer is because I’m a digital nomad, yo.