My PowerBook returned today from Apple. They replaced the hard drive and the "flex cable", whatever that is. The good news is that the noise is completely gone. The bad news is that I have to reinstall everything. I got the essentials put back together tonight, the rest will have to wait until tomorrow at work. I wouldn't mind doing this so much if Tiger (aka Mac OS X 10.4) wasn't coming so soon, which means I get to do it all over again...
Dell wins the prize for getting the first of my three impaired computers fixed, as the new power supply arrived today. Took me about 10 minutes to swap them, and I was back in business. That's one computer that has had its grind eliminated. The PowerBook made it to Memphis today, which is where Apple is repairing it. I haven't received a shipment notification yet, so I'm guessing I won't see it until Tuesday.
My iMac is awaiting the shipment label Apple is supposed to be sending me. They said they'd e-mail it to me as well, but it hasn't arrived, so I'm guessing they forgot. The saga continues...
Ever have one of those weeks were everything you touch turns to crap? Last Friday I replaced the midplane on my iMac G5, in an attempt to end the buzzing noise that it's been driving me nuts with. No luck on that, and after Apple basically told me that they didn't have a fix, I complained to our Apple rep, who has gotten my case escalated with their customer support people. I told them I either want my machine fixed, replaced with a non-noisy one, or I want them to apply the purchase price as credit towards a PowerMac G5. The "Senior" Product Specialist who had my case thrust upon him is off today, so we'll see what he tells me tomorrow. Next, my PowerBook started suffering from a noisy hard drive or fan when it's not sitting level on a table. It's fine level, but as soon as you tilt it, it makes a bad noise. So, I called Apple on that, and they're sending me a box to send in my PowerBook for repair. They think it's the hard drive, which doesn't make me happy, as I don't want to have to reinstall all my apps if Tiger is only a few weeks away, but what can you do? So, I backed up my hard drive today, there's nothing "essential" that I only store there, but why make this harder than I have to.
Two hours after getting off the phone about my PowerBook, the power supply on my Optiplex GX270 decided to act up, it's making a horrible grinding noise now, as the bearing in the fan has given up the ghost. So, I generated an e-mail to Dell about that, hopefully one of their Subcontinental support people will have a new one over-nighted to me before this weekend.
I'd better go home soon, before I break something critical...
I swear, there's a conspiracy at work. Half of the first-round NCAA Tournament games are going to be shown in High Definition. For the first time in history, all three Iowa universities got in at once. But NONE of them are going to be shown in HD: NCAA First Round HD/SD Viewing Guide Thursday March 17, 2005
12:15 PM Wisconsin-Milwaukee #12 vs. Alabama #5 HD 12:45 PM Niagara #14 vs. Oklahoma #3 HD 2:55 PM Penn #13 vs. Boston College #4 HD 3:15 PM Texas-El Paso #11 vs. Utah #6 HD 7:10 PM Chattanooga #15 vs. Wake Forest #2 HD 7:25 PM Winthrop #14 vs. Gonzaga #3 HD 9:40 PM Creighton #10 vs. West Virginia #7 HD 9:55 PM UCLA #11 vs. Texas Tech #6 HD
12:20 PM Eastern Kentucky #15 vs. Kentucky #2 12:40 PM Pittsburgh #9 vs. Pacific #8 2:50 PM Iowa #10 vs. Cincinnati #7 3:10 PM Montana #16 vs. Washington #1 7:10 PM Nevada #9 vs. Texas #8 7:20 PM Utah St. #14 vs. Arizona #3 9:40 PM Fairleigh-Dickinson #16 Illinois #1 9:50 PM UAB #11 LSU #6
Friday March 18, 2005
12:15 PM North Carolina State #10 vs. Charlotte #7 HD 12:25 PM Ohio #13 vs. Florida #4 HD 2:45 PM University of Central Florida #15 vs. Connecticut #2 HD 2:55 PM New Mexico #12 vs. Villanova #5 HD 7:10 PM Louisiana-Lafayette #13 vs. Louisville #4 HD 7:10 PM Vermont #13 vs. Syracuse #4 HD 9:40 PM Old Dominion #12 vs. Michigan State #5 HD 9:40 PM George Washington #12 vs. Georgia Tech #5 HD
12:30 PM Iowa St. #9 vs. Minnesota #8 12:30 PM SE Louisiana #15 vs. Oklahoma St. #2 3:00 PM St. Mary's (Ca.) #10 vs. Southern Ill. #7 3:00 PM Alabama A&M/Oakland #16 vs. North Carolina #1 7:20 PM Northern Iowa #11 vs. Wisconsin #6 7:25 PM Delaware St. #16 vs. Duke #1 9:50 PM Bucknell #14 vs. Kansas #3 9:55 PM Mississippi St. #9 vs. Stanford #8
UNI is looking to fill two IT positions. One is an Information Technology Specialist in the College of Education, the other is an Information Technology Specialist in the Library.
