It’s been 3 days since I updated to Software Update 10.6.3 and it’s been 3 days that I have not been able to use Photoshop CS3. Photoshop CS3 crashes 3-5 seconds upon initializing and I tell you, I am very, very frustrated by this.

I’ve been lurking the Adobe Support Forum and the Apple Support Forum but I have yet to find any concrete solution (like maybe a patch perhaps, hint hint) to this really annoying problem. I know there’s a love-hate relationship between Adobe and Apple. But it is simply ridiculous that every time a Software Update comes up, all Adobe users have to cross their fingers that the update won’t screw up their apps.

There are however several arbitrary solutions that worked for some people. I’ve tried all of them and unfortunately none of them worked for me. If you’re having the same problem, you might want to try the following. You might be one of the lucky ones!

• Solution #1. Turn off “Open using Rosetta”. Right-click CS3 icon, click Get Info and uncheck “Open using Rosetta” (a lot of people swear by this, but this feature was unchecked on mine begin with)
• Solution #2. Reinstall 10.6.3 by manually downloading the 10.6.3 combo update.
• Solution #3. Run Applejack, verify and fix disk permissions
• Solution #4. Delete the Photoshop plist file. Path is at User/Library/Preferences/com.adobe.Photoshop.plist. (Before deleting, please keep a copy of the plist file just in case)
• Solution #5. Delete the FLEXnet folder. This would require however to input your CS3′s serial number. Path is at Library/Preferences/FLEXnet Publisher/FLEXnet
• Solution #6. Revert back to 10.6.2. Honestly though, this should be your last resort since it totally defeats the purpose of the 10.6.3 update.

Adobe has also said that they have determined the root cause of the problem, with some Apple machines having invalid serial numbers such as “System Serial#”, or “SystemSerialNumb”. And they also concurred that it happens on machines where the serial number is a value with more than 12 characters. So one of the solutions is to obtain a new system serial number. Wow, what a hassle.

My serial number only has 10 characters so I personally think that’s a dumb rationalization. Come on, Apple and Adobe, you can do better than that!

As for me, I’ve installed CS4 in the meantime, but I’m missing the actions that I’ve installed in my CS3. I might downgrade to 10.6.2 soon (when I find my installer) but like I said, it really defeats the purpose of the update. If you haven’t updated to 10.6.3 yet and you are a CS3 user, you might to hold off on the update for a bit until things get sorted out.

[ Image via Tech Shout ]

A lot of people seem to think that the iPad is an iFail. From my point of view, it really did fall short of the expectations and the speculations that has been going on for months.

But really, the iPad isn’t that bad of a gadget, especially if you pair it with a few accessories that could actually enhance your iPad experience.

An example of this accessory is the Pogo Sketch Stylus. The Pogo Sketch is a pen-styled stylus that is compatible with most touchscreen gadgets, like the iPad and the iPhone. It even works with your MacBook’s multi-touch track pad.

The Pogo Sketch has a soft tip that glides easily over your touchscreen and it definitely makes sketching and jotting down notes easier, compared to using the virtual onscreen keyboard of the iPad.

You know, if I were still a college student, the iPad would definitely appeal to me as a replacement for notebooks, digital or not. Netbooks are great for taking down textual notes, but when it comes to let’s say scribbling diagrams and illustrations, that’s going to be a hard thing to do on a netbook or laptop. You can of course you can take photos with your phone or digital camera, but imagine being able to draw it straight on your iPad. Just like a what digital “notebook” should be.

Where to buy: Ten One Design
Price: $14.95

Air Stash – a flash drive that you can access with Wi-Fi enabled gadgets. Interesting.

I can actually see flash drives and other external storage follow this suit, as being accessible by Wi-Fi is the next best thing for all gadgets in the very near future.

Makes me wonder if USB 3.0 will be short-lived. (thinking aloud)

Anyway, the AirStash uses an SD card to determine how big your AirStash storage capacity will be. If you have a 32GB SD card, great. Just insert your SD into the AirStash and you have a 32GB flash drive that you can access wirelessly.

You can store most multimedia files on the AirStash such as movies, music, photos and documents and easily access them with Wi-Fi enabled gadgets such as the iPhone. The AirStash has a built-in lithium polymer battery that you can charge via USB.

Another great thing about the AirStash is that you can share all its content to multiple users and devices simultaneously. Unlike a typical flash drive, where you can only view it on a single computer. The AirStash uses WPA2 encryption so you won’t have to worry about unknown people accessing the contents.

I’m looking forward to seeing this product in the market. So far it’s not yet available and no official news on its pricing. If you want to know more news about the AirStash, you can follow them on Twitter (@AirStash)or even add them on FaceBook.

Visit: Air Stash

[ Image courtesy of AirStash ]

The i360 is extremely easy to use as well. No need for assembly. Just slip the iMac’s base into the i360 and you can easily rotate your iMac around in any direction.

Instead of asking the person to come over to you when you want to show him something on your iMac’s screen, you can just flip the iMac in his direction.

The i360 iMac Turntable is available for the 17inch, 20inch and 24inch iMac Cinema Display.

Where to buy: Rain Design Inc
Price: $39 to $44

[ Image courtesy of Rain Design Inc ]

My fiance and I watched the movie The Proposal yesterday and I can’t help but notice that in the first 10 minutes of the movie, I’ve spotted around four (4) Macs.

When Sandra Bullock enters her office building, you can already spot a couple of iMacs in the background. When she enters her room, there’s an iMac right smack in the middle. When Ryan Reynolds makes a phone call, an iMac practically takes the whole left area of the screen. And when Sandra Bullock enters another room, an Apple MacBook Pro is just right there!

I guess we can say that Apple has come a long way, especially in media. It seems like lately, Apple has been the choice of computer props when it comes to movies, TV shows and even commercials. I find it funny that sometimes they remove the Apple logo but you can see that it’s an Apple product anyway. I can name a few TV shows that have Apple products as their mainstay. There’s Privileged, where the opening actually features a MacBook Pro and the Baker twins have a iMac each in their room. Then of course there’s Gossip Girl where you can see spot multiple Apple products from the iMac, to a black MacBook and an iPhone. If you actually watch the new series V, I’ve spotted one of Visitors using an iPhone to take a photo of herself in episode 2!

And of course, the most legendary of all movie Mac Spotting is with Sex and the City, both the series and the movie. If I’m not mistaken, Sex and the City is one of the first few TV shows in where a Mac made its debut and how all fashionistas raved about how sleek Carrie Bradshow’s brand new laptop was. I actually think Sex and the City is the TV show and/or movie that made Apple laptops a fashion-must.

One thing I have to say, it’s fascinating that, most, if not all movies that have Apple products in them usually have a story line about fashion, or lives of the rich and famous. You can really see what kind of reputation Apple wants to show to the world.

So, have you spotted any Macs in any movie or TV show lately?

The discounted prices are out for the different Apple products at the Apple Store. You can save as much as $101 when you buy an iMac, $101 for MacBook Pros, $11 for iPod Nanos, $41 for the iPod Touch and $21 for the Apple TV. The iPhone does not seem to be on the list of products with discounts.

However, if you are looking for better deals, it looks like Amazon and other Apple authorized resellers, such as MacMall, MacConnection and Club Mac have trumped the Apple Store this year in terms of better discounts.

Apple Insider has collated a fantastic Mac Price Comparison Guide for iMac, MacBooks and iPods.

Initially, I had a hard time convincing myself to switch to a Mac, ultimately because of the price. For the price of $2000, I could have bought a better specced non-Apple laptop compared to my late 2007 MacBook Pro. But after 2 years of being a Mac user, I can definitely say that it’s worth the switch.

In line with the Thanksgiving Holiday, here are my reasons why I’m thankful that I made the right decision about switching to a Mac.

1. I don’t have to worry about virus and spyware. I remember when I was still a PC user. I wasted so much time scanning my PC for virus and spyware. Not to mention that most virus scanners and anti-spyware softwares are heavy on the system and ends up bogging down the machine. And sometimes, when you find a virus and you try to ‘heal’ the infected file, it does more damage and you end up with a messed up system registry.

2. No need to be paranoid when the next BSOD will strike. Every time I install a software or run an application, I don’t have to worry about my system crashing. Each time I boot up my MacBook Pro, I don’t have to worry whether it’s going to boot up correctly or not. And I’m very thankful for that.

3. Convenience with iCal. Sure, Microsoft Outlook also has a calendar where you can set meeting and send event invitations, but it’s not as pleasing to look at and it’s definitely not as user-friendly as the Apple iCal. I also love how seamless it is to sync my iCal with my iPod Touch.

4. Apple Care and Apple’s very accessible Tech Support. Probably one of the things I’m most thankful for when it comes to switching to a Mac. Some may disagree but based on my experiences, investing on Apple Care is a must. Also, I don’t have to figure out where to bring my Mac if I need to have it serviced. All I have to do is go to an authorized Apple reseller and I’ll be sure that my machine will be in good hands. Before when I was a Toshiba user, I had absolutely no idea where to bring my laptop when it needed repairs.

And lastly…

5. It’s so easy to find accessories for a Mac. Anywhere you look, there’s an Apple accessory for every Apple product. Unlike with using a non-Apple laptop, let’s say you want a crystal case for it, its either you have to reach the ends of the earth looking for one, or pay for a premium to have someone customize it for you. If my MagSafe charger gets broken, it’s so easy for me to just run to the nearest Apple Store and get a replacement. My friend who uses a Lenovo had to wait for 3 weeks before her charger got replaced. That was 3 weeks of being unable to user her laptop.

What are you thankful for as a Mac user?

Apparently, second hand smoke is not only bad for your health, it’s also bad for your Apple products, too.

There have been reports of Apple warranties becoming void due to the presence of cigarette smoke in their homes.

Derek, a Mac User from Jordan Creek, West Des Moines bought his overheating black MacBook to an Apple Store for repairs. The Apple store then called him and told him that his warranty has been voided since his MacBook has been in a household that has the presence of second hand cigarette smoke.

Derek had tried to appeal directly to Steve Jobs with no avail. Another report came from a woman named Ruth who sent in her son’s iMac for repairs. The Apple store also told her that they cannot work on the iMac since it had cigarette smoke and was a bio-hazard.

According to the OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) Regulation, workers and laborers are protected from working around hazardous compounds and nicotine has been found to be on the OSHA list of hazardous substances.

Apple has just announced that they will be having their annual Black Friday sale on November 27, 2009. Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving is probably the busiest shopping day of the year.

Several Apple retail stores and the online Apple store will be participating in the said event. Hopefully, the discounts this year will be better than last year’s $100 discount on Macs.

For students who are thinking of combining Black Friday Sale discount and their student education discount, don’t even bother going thru the hassle. As with previous years, combining the said discounts are not allowed.

I also suggest that you take a look at third party retailers that sell Apple products. They might offer better discounts compared to the discounts they will be giving out at the Apple stores. Might.

I just read about Apple winning the copyright infringement case about Psystar today. If you are not familiar with the Apple vs Psystar case, Psystar is a corporation that believes in open computers. And with this ideal, they sold non-Apple machines with OS X operating systems for a more affordable price. They are the first ever company to commercially distribute Mac clones or Hackintoshes.

Apple filed the lawsuit against Psystar last July 3, 2008. Wow, it’s been more than a year and it’s only now that some sort of finality has been made.

This event has made me wonder, what if Psystar won and installing OS X on non-Apple machines became a norm? How will that affect the sales of Apple laptops and desktops? We all say that Apple is actually selling it’s hardware more than their software that’s why they don’t really care much about their operating system or OS X being pirated (for a lack of better term), but would that change if Psystar won? Would they become more protective and become more like Microsoft?

I find it ironic that you can install Windows on an Apple machine, but you can’t install OS X on a non-Apple Machine. Just makes you wonder.

[ Image courtesy of Image Cave ]

While other retailers call them flagship stores, Apple has announced that they are targetting to open around 40-50 ‘significant Apple stores’ all over the world by the end of 2010.

Just this year, they have opened around 26 stores, including three (3) brand new ones in Paris, New York and Australia.

The largest Apple store to date is the UWS (Upper West Side) Apple Store in New York which boasts of an all-glass arched roof and a 45-foot genius bar. Wow.

Apple is aiming to open stores in major cities such as Paris, London, Shanghai and in other countries such as Canada, Australia, Italy, Switzerland and Germany.

As for me, I just wish an Apple Store would open up in Manila, Philippines. We actually don’t have an official Apple Store here. What we do have are authorized resellers and service centers. Having an Apple product or parts serviced takes twice as long, sadly, since they have to request for approval from Apple Singapore.

As for Apple’s expansion plan, this move reminds of me what Starbucks did. The next thing you know, there’s an Apple store in every corner.

So you’ve made the switch. You decided to junk your old PC laptop for a brand spanking new Apple laptop. As you stare lovingly at the newly delivered box (or maybe you bought it yourself at an Apple Store) in your house, you wonder, “What now?”

Here are a few things a new Mac User can do:

• Take un-boxing photos, in all the possible steps and angles, and blog about it. You’re a Mac user now! Enjoy the life of not worrying too much whether you’re going to get infected by a virus (for now) or when your next BSOD will be.
• Calibrate your battery. As a new Mac user, you will understand the obsession about battery life. Read up on how to calibrate your battery.
• Register your unit online at the Apple website. Also enroll your Apple Care if you decided to get one.
• Run the Software Update. Updating with Apple is free and hassle-free!
• Personalize. Set up your iCal, Apple Mail and Address Book. Change the desktop and screensaver. Create an admin User account.
• Install QuickSilver. The best app launcher around. Eliminate the need for the numerous clicks before you get to launch an app. Clean up your dock as well and place only important icons since you won’t be using it much if you have QuickSilver installed.
• Install iStat and SMC Fan Control. iStat is a good enough app that helps you monitor your system, from the temperature to the processes running. You’ll also understand the obsession about keeping your Apple laptops cool and you’re going to need the SMC Fan Control for that.
• Research on Mac accessories. What’s the best laptop sleeve around? Do you want an Speck crystal case? Should you use a keyboard saver? Once you’ve decided, buy them ASAP, especially the case so you can protect your new Apple laptop while traveling from one place to another.
• Make several copies of the install disc and keep in a safe place. If the original install disks get broken or lost, at least you have a copy still. Try to make an image of the install disk if you can and save on an external hard drive.
• Start saving for your next Apple machine or product. Trust me. You’ll want more.

No need to wait for the mythical Apple Tablet. You can enjoy touchsreen and multi-touch goodness  on your iMac or MacBook with the help of Troll Touch. Troll Touch, a Valencia, California based company that is known for selling resistive touch screens is offering their services to install touch screen displays on select Apple products and Dell monitors.

The touch screen devices are easy to install and can be installed over the existing panels. The touch screen device is then connected to the iMac or MacBook via a USB port.

Troll Touch touchscreens are available for the new 21.5 inch and 27 inch Apple iMac and the 13-inch unibody MacBook. They will be available for delivery come December 1. Troll Touch sells machines with pre-installed touch screen displays as well.

Price: $699 for the MacBook; up to $1,699 for the 27-inch internal iMac
Site: Troll Touch

MacHeist has released the nanoBundle, which consist of 6 popular Mac apps namely: ShoveBox, WriteRoom, Twitterrific, TinyGrab, Hordes of Orcs and Mariner Writer.

If you purchase all the apps, they would cost around $154, but MacHeist is giving away ALL the apps for FREE.

The apps will only be free for another 2 days so download them now and tell all your friends, too. We need 500,000 downloads to unlock the Mariner Write so spread the word!

Site: MacHeist nanoBundle

There’s a new worm in town (specifically a town in Australia) and it is affecting jailbroken iPhones. The worm is called “Ikee”. If you have a non-jailbroken iPhone you pretty much don’t have to worry about a thing.

But if you’re on a jailbroken iPhone, then consider yourselves warned.

At the moment, the worm is not destructive in behavior. What it does is actually annoyingly funny. The worm simply changes your background to a photo of Rick Astley (Rickrolled, much?) and looks for other phones on the network for infect.

While the effects of the worm may not be that serious now, it opens up a whole lot of scary possibilities and exploits for the iPhone. I’m pretty sure hackers are rejoicing at this news.

The worm targets iPhone owners who have not changed the default password after insalling SSH.

With this said, I wonder if people will still consider jailbreaking their iPhones if iPhone worms become a norm. And I wonder, iPhone anti-viruses?

The internet is buzzing with news about the Beamer, an iPhone case with a built-in light from Quirky. With the looks of it, it seems like it’s the first of its kind. I actually tried googling the term “iPhone case with built-in flash” and a site bout the Beamer came on top.

The built-in light is primarily used a flash so you can take better photos in a dim environment. The built-in light can also be used as a flash light as well when you’re in the dark.

It’s fairly easy to use. Press the button switch once, and the light will be on for 10 seconds. That’s enough time for you to be able to take a photo. Press the button twice in a row and the light will be on indefinitely until you turn it off, by pressing the button the third time.

The Beamer uses replaceable Lithium coin batteries and boasts of 10 hours worth of illumination. It comes in a variety of colors from boring black to hot pink, so people of all ages with an iPhone can actually use this iPhone case.

There are only 500 units available for pre-order so pre-order now at Quirky. Beamer iPhone case has a retail price of $32.

There is a game app going around in cyberspace called Lose/Lose and it is very similar to Space Invaders, but with a deadly twist.

When you shoot and kill alien, the game deletes a file from your computer.

The creator of this game app is Zach Gage, a digital artist from New York. I don’t understand what he was thinking when he created this app, but he included a philosophical view about the game in the Lose/Lose website.

“By way of exploring what it means to kill in a video-game, Lose/Lose broaches bigger questions. As technology grows, our understanding of it diminishes, yet, at the same time, it becomes increasingly important in our lives. At what point does our virtual data become as important to us as physical possessions? If we have reached that point already, what real objects do we value less than our data? What implications does trusting something so important to something we understand so poorly have?” – Lose/Lose

Whew. Heavy. Download the game AT YOUR OWN RISK, though I don’t really recommend it as it may contain other security threats like viruses or malware. But if you’re formatting your computer, you can probably try it out as you have nothing else to lose.

Symantec has already added the game to its list of potential security threat and has identified it as OSX.Loosemanque.

It’s an absolute steal since most of the apps that come with the bundle are normally priced at around $20-$40 per app. Awesome, isn’t it.

The following apps are included in the 2nd Mac Sale:

• Crossover Games (original price of $25.99) – Now gamers can play the games they want, on whatever platform they want! With CrossOver Games, you can run many popular Windows games on your Intel OS X Mac or Linux PC.
• Picturesque (original price of $29.95) – Picturesque is a simple app with a simple goal: to make images more beautiful.
• HoudahGeo (original price of $30) – With HoudahGeo you may “pin” photos to locations where they were taken.
• MacJournal (original price of $39.95) – MacJournal organizes all your important information and helps chronicle your life faster and easier than ever before.
• Morph Age Regular (original price of $59.95) – Morph Age is an application for morphing/warping images and movies on Mac OS X, such as faces, and save the result to a QuickTime movie.
• Opacity Express (original price of $39.99) – Opacity is an editor for screen graphics designed exclusively for Mac OS X.
• Searchlight (original price of $39) – Search and access all your Mac’s files remotely via your iPhone or any web browser.
• Vinoteka (original price of $29.90) – Vinoteka is a brand new wine cellar management software for Mac.
• Stone iMaginator (original price of $99) – This is the ideal partner for any digital camera, allowing your creativity behind the lens to continue unhindered on your Mac
• Stor (orignal price of $16.99) – Stor is the new and easy to use MySQL editor from The Escapers.

If you think you’re already getting a huge discount, Apple Gazette is going to give you another 5% discount to the already cheap price of $49.99! Just use this discount code: APPLEGAZETTE when you purchase the 2nd Mac Sale bundle.

Have fun with your new apps!

Buy: The Mac Sale

Included in this count is the recent case when Nokia sued Apple, claiming that the iPhone infringes Nokia patent for GSM, UMTS and wires LAN (WLAN) standards. The patents included wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption.

More recently St. Clair Intelllectual Property Consultants, a Grosse Point Michigan company has also sued Apple, claiming that Apple has violated imaging related patents owned by the said company. The imaging related patents are as follows:

• U.S. Patent Nos. 5,138,459 (“Electronic Still Video Camera with Direct Personal Computer (PC) Compatible Digital Format Output”);
• U.S. Patent Nos. 6,094,219 (“Electronic Still Video Camera with Direct Personal Computer (PC) Compatible Digital Format Output”);
• U.S. Patent Nos. 6,233,010 (“Electronic Still Video Camera with Direct Personal Computer (PC) Compatible Digital Format Output”); and
• U.S. Patent Nos.6,323,899 (“Process for Use in Electronic Camera”)

Apple has earned $8.34 billion in revenue for the third quarter of this year, but is that actually enough money for them to take care of all these infringement cases? As we all know, responding to these cases take up a lot of time AND money.

[ Image courtesy of TechShout ]

Well, thank the geek gods. I don’t think I can handle anymore new Apple product announcements for the mean time. And I don’t mean that in a bad way. At least you can be assured that if you buy an Apple product now, you have around 2 months or so to bask in it’s glory before new models come out and yours become fairly obsolete.

Last year, the new Mac Book Pros were released around early January. If there’s any truth in the rumors about new MacBook Pro models (identified as 6,1 and 6,2) coming out, then we might be seeing announcement of these so-called MacBook Pros by January 2010.

As for the rumors about a Apple Tablet, you might as well stop holding your breath for the mean time since I don’t think that this product will materialize any time soon.

Apple’s first official Twitter account, @iTunesTrailer was registered last March and now Apple has registered the following Twitter accounts: @iTunesMusic, @iTunesMovies, @iTunesTV and @iTunesPodcasts.

You can follow these accounts now on Twitter to get the latest from iTunes. As of now, @iTunesPodcast seem to be the more active account with 44 tweets.

Creating niche Twitter accounts for the different content of iTunes is a great move by Apple as compared to making a general @iTunes Twitter account. You can just imagine the influx of tweets if that’s the case. Spam, much?

While on the subject of Apple embracing social media, iTunes also has a Facebook Fan Page.

Just this morning when I logged on to Facebook, I saw two (2) people update their statuses (status? statii? sp?), saying that they recently bought a Mac and are having a hard time getting used to them.

One specifically said, “Trying not to hate Mac… why oh why did I have to be a PC baby…”

As an Apple Fan Girl, I always had the notion that normal PC users will have a better life if they switch to a Mac. In fact, I assume that PC users will greet switching to Apple with open arms.

Apparently that’s not the case.

Which leaves me to ask, is using a Mac an acquired taste? Or is it just a case of getting used to and getting thru the learning curve?

[ Image courtesy of Free Digital Photos ]

It’s like Apple announcements are always TOO hyped up. Honestly. As much as I am an Apple Fan Girl, I can only muster so much enthusiasm about something that’s not so ‘revolutionary’.

For this month’s Apple announcement, they released New iMacs, MacBooks, Minis, Mice and oh, yeah the remote too.

Seriously, how many times does Apple have to reinvent the iMac in a year? They made an announcement about new iMacs early March 2009 this year. After 7 months, there’s a new iMac again! And personally, I think it’s misleading that they say it’s a ‘new’ iMac. I would rather think it’s just an upgraded version, not necessarily ‘new’.

As for the MacBook, as Jayvee of the Blog Herald would say, ‘It’s a fatty!’ I was expecting thinner and sleeker design. The new MacBooks remind me of a shiny, white, slightly thin turtle shell.

I have no comments about the Minis. Poor Minis, always seem to be ignored.

But ah, the Magic Mouse. Now that’s what I’m talking about it. So the Mighty Mouse is now a Magic Mouse. I love the spaceship-y design and ofcourse, the idea of a multi-touch mouse is definitely geek-gasmic. Thank the geek gods they removed the little scroll button. It’s such a pain especially when the ball gets dirty and it doesn’t scroll up or down anymore.

Some people though might find it a bit redundant to own a Mighty Mouse especially if you’re a MacBook or MacBook Pro owner since you already have a multi-touch track pad.

So yeah, new Apple stuff. Hurray.

Only recently have I been able to fully appreciate being a Mac user because of its Apple Care Protection Plan (APP). Some might disagree with me on the topic of investing in the Apple Care Protection Plan but I still firmly believe that it’s still a good investment.

But that’s not what this article is all about. What I want to talk about is how Apple still cares without Apple Care. In my opinion, anyway.

This month of October hasn’t been a good month for me and my Mac Book Pro. In a span of 30 days, my logic board gave out, my battery just got fully discharged and my left fan just totally conked out. And just recently, my MagSafe adapter gave out, too. I just noticed it was fraying at the part near the block, and the next thing I knew, it wasn’t charging my laptop anymore.

I knew for a fact that the other parts like the logic board and fan were included in the Apple Care Protection Plan so I wasn’t worried too much about those.

My battery getting replaced, on the other hand, was a big bonus. It’s true, what one reader commented on my past post. Batteries aren’t normally included in the APP. But if you feel that you have been given a lemon of a battery, then you can still bring it over to an authorized Apple Service Provider to have it evaluated EVEN if it’s out of warranty. There’s still a good chance they might replace it for FREE. One sign of a bad battery is when it has a low number of battery cycles and the battery health is also low. My 2 year old battery had only 160 cycles and yet the health was already 20%.

Another similar issue is when Apple gave the announcement about Mac Book Pro models with faulty NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processors. Even if your unit is not under warranty anymore or not under APP, you can still bring it to an Apple Service Provide (ASP) and have it evaluated for a possible replacement free of charge.

Same thing with the MagSafe adapter, apparently the “fraying” problem is common.

Additional Information
Whether your product is in or out-of-warranty, you can take your adapter to an Apple-Authorized Service Provider or Apple Retail Store for evaluation and replacement if necessary. You may be eligible for a replacement adapter free of charge provided there are no signs of accidental damage. – Apple Portables: Troubleshooting MagSafe adapters

This is also reminds of the thread I recently read in our local Apple community forums, where I based the title of my article. (Philippine settings.)

I may seem like an Apple fan girl, but I believe that Apple is definitely giving me back my money’s worth in terms of service and quality of products. But with Apple becoming mainstream, let’s hope that they will be able to maintain the same amount of excellence in years to come.

I find it really ironic that Apple is doing everything in their power to make the iPhone un-jailbreakable. Just recently, Apple has updated the bootrom (iBoot-359.3.2) on the iPhone 3Gs units that shipped in the past week.

While this won’t fully stop the jailbreaking community from creating a new jailbreak update, it will however make the iPhone 3GS un-jailbreakable for the meantime. For how long, that’s the question.

This constant move on keeping the iPhone hack-free definitely shows that Apple is very much against piracy.

Yet do you know how easy it is to find and install a pirated version of the newest OS X, Snow Leopard? If you’re resourceful enough, I’m sure you’re running on one right now.

And how many people out there have actually installed a single-user installer on multiple machines, or shared a single-user installer with a “couple” of close friends, instead of buying the family pack?

Pirating the OS X is actually very easy since there’s no need for any serial key. The first time I’ve installed an OS X (that was with Leopard), I was puzzled that there was no serial key on the box or on the CD. I found it even weirder that there was no prompt coming from the installation for me to input the serial number.

And what’s definitely more mind-boggling is that every time we do a Software Update on our Mac machines, Apple does not even check the authenticity of our OS. Unlike with Windows Update, where your machine gets locked out of Windows if the update sees that you’re running on a pirated version.

But I guess I kind of understand why Apple is more vigilant with keeping the iPhone piracy-fee. In a way, I see it as Apple’s way to protect the iPhone App developers.

But it also seems to me, that Apple is less concerned about piracy compared to Microsoft.

Image: SmokingApples