iTunes Frustration

Technology can be frustrating sometimes. I was installing iTunes the other day to upload some songs on to ED's iPod but it just didn't seem to work. When it was connected to the computer, the computer recognised that the iPod had tunes on it but when I detached the iPod Nano from the computer it said it had no music on it. I had installed iTunes on the PC from a CD which came with the iPod Nano- the first generation one . I did try to update it through iTunes itself but the message I kept getting was that the service could not be found. I looked online and I found articles advising that in order to play aac files I would need the iPod software version 1.3 which I knew that the new iPod Nano could not support. So I tried loading other files - wav files, mp3 files, anything I could find. But still no music appeared on the iPod Nano. Then I decided to update iTunes by downloading the latest version from the Internet, from Apple's website itself. That took an absolute age; it was deleting files, restoring files, replacing files, registering files. By now it was about 22:20 - past my bedtime! So I thought I would give it one last try. Once iTunes had installed itself - the latest version of iTunes, that is - I synced the iPod Nano with iTunes and hey presto! the tunes appeared on the iPod Nano. I believe it was because I was trying to use iTunes version 6 to upload songs to a newer machine. Once I installed iTunes version 10, which is the current version, all of a sudden life was very easy indeed. So that's a lesson learnt for me. Always use the latest software when required. And in the process I've learnt more about which files iTunes and my iPod support!

Posted via email from Rob Thorley's Posterous Site

Hats Off to Apple...

So, we chose to be really generous and give our eldest daughter an iPod for Christmas. It was an iPod Nano, and to be fair, it was a 1st Generation iPod Nano which Amy had been given a number of years ago, But, thanks to my inability to throw anything away, we had all the original packaging, so we were able to clean it up and make it look like new - like a Christmas present, in fact.
We charged it up, and on Christmas Day we gave it to ED. I loaded some songs on to it when I had a moment. On Boxing Day, ED brought the iPod to me and told me it wouldn't switch on. I thought maybe she hadn't held the button down for long enough, so I gve it a go. Unfortunately that didn't work, so I thought maybe I would reset it. I went online to look for tips, and while I was browsing around, I came across a "1st Generation iPod Nano Replacement Scheme". It turns out that some of the batteries in the 1st Gen Nanos were a bit dodgy, and as a result they had decided to replace all 1st Generation iPod Nanos. Result!

So I went to the Apple website, entered my serial number, and clicked 'Enter'. I got an instant reply; Apple were sending me some packaging I should use to return the Nano, and they would replace it. ED and I waited a day or two and the packaging arrived. We packed up the Nano and sent it off, and waited. I checked the website regularly for updates, and then I saw it - a replacement unit had been dispatched and UPS were going to deliver it last Friday. Unfortunately TW wasn't in, so UPS took it back to their depot and advised they would redeliver it on Monday.

Monday came, and I sat on UPS's website, refreshing my tracking number every five minutes. I was worried that TW had such a full day of exercise and work and dropping off the kids and picking up the kids and driving and errands and BEING OUT OF THE HOUSE that she would miss the delivery. I think I was more eager to receive the delivery than ED! Late in the afternoon, I pressed F5 for what seemed like the 1,000th time, and instead of being "Out For Delivery", the replacement iPod Nano was "Delivered and Signed For by Customer". I rang home immediately to check, and counted down the minutes until I could leave the office and get home.

Upon arriving home, I went to look at the delivery, and we had been sent a 6th Generation iPod Nano. This iteration has a touchscreen and 8gb of memory.

So because Apple had identified a potential fault in a 6 or 7 year old piece of tech we had lying unused in the bottom of a drawer somewhere, an old bit of kit with a clickwheel and 1gb of memory, they were willing to replace that with a two-year old newer bit of kit with a touchscreen and 8gb of memory. And it's got a 90-day warranty. I'm sure that by then ED will be bored of it. :-)

Great customer service - but then I think most people say that, right?

Posted via email from Rob Thorley's Posterous Site

Apple got Served

So, I see that Apple have been told off for not complying with the judgement handed down by the UK courts. As well as publishing the required apology, they published additional detail confusing the issue and making it look like other courts disagreed with the UK judgement.
Looking at the 'apology' the last phrase is "Samsung willfully copied Apple's far more popular iPad." which kind of misses the point.
Apparently Apple asked for 14 days to make the change but were denied. As someone else pointed out today, they didn't wait 14 days to publish tributes to Steve Jobs. They were obviously playing for time, looking for a way to weasel out of the judgement again.
Well, I don't think it went their way.
Apple make lovely products, they should rely on that. Going after Samsung boosted sales of the SIII - so the action Apple took was self-defeating.
I hope these companies stop their court activities soon, it's getting tedious.

Posted via email from Rob Thorley's Posterous Site