Crack in iPhone case: Replaced under warranty by Apple

Posted on By Mark Wilson

Alex says that I write too much about Microsoft and not enough good news about Apple… and there’s a reason for that (two reasons actually).

Anyway, here’s a good news story about Apple. My iPhone 3G has developed a crack in the case. In fact, there’s not just one crack on the side but a number of hairline cracks too – almost like the rings if you cut through a branch or a trunk on a tree. Is that the good news? Well, no, but I took it into my local Apple Store, where a “genius” took a look, agreed that it was not desirable and that the rest of the handset was in mint condition and ordered me a replacement. That’s the sort of customer service that I expect from a vendor of a premium product and I’m pleased so see Apple respond in this manner (especially as this unit was actually purchased from Carphone Warehouse – it’s a pity that it took a week to get a replacement unit but at least my phone wasn’t dead so I could us it in the meantime).

Unlike the issues I’ve been experiencing with my MacBook (where there is clearly a design fault), this probably stems from carrying the phone around in various pockets (but, after all, that’s what you do with a mobile phone!) and the curved side of the case being a point where particular pressure is exerted. The replacement unit may not be new (possibly “remanufactured” – i.e. new case, new screen, new battery, someone else’s old circuit board) but it’s impossible to tell and it seems reasonable, given that the original phone was not new either (just in “as new” condition). Swapping the phone over was simple. After switching my SIM to the new handset, the Apple Store activated the phone and I simply restored a recent backup in iTunes. I need to register the MAC address on my Wireless Access Point and if I had insurance I’d need to let my insurer know that I’d changed handsets but other than that everything seems good.

Whilst on the subject of the iPhone – I previously wrote about how I had applied an InvisibleSHIELD to my iPod and iPhone 3G. Whilst the iPod is still happily wearing its shield, the iPhone is no longer as it started to peel away at the edges and also experienced some discolouration (turning blue as the dye from my jeans transferred to the plastic). These days my iPhone lives in a leather case that I picked up at an O2 store and that seems to be doing a pretty good job of keeping the device in good condition.

Buying Microsoft Office for a home PC doesn’t need to be expensive

Posted on By Mark Wilson

Over the last few months I’ve found myself in conversation with various people who want to install Microsoft Office on their PC but are put off by the high price of a a full retail copy.  What many people don’t seem to realise is that there is a Home and Student Edition for Microsoft Office 2007 that is very reasonably priced and it’s valid for up to 3 PCs in one household.  Suggested retail price in the US is $149.99 but, here in the UK, Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student Edition can be purchased for as little as £53.93 (Microsoft Office for Mac 2008 Home and Student Edition is slightly more expensive at £78.45).

Because Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student Edition is intended for consumers in general (i.e. it’s not just an educational discount) there is no need for purchasers to prove academic status.  It just needs to be for home/educational use (i.e. not for a small business!).  You don’t get the full Office suite, but you get the important bits – Word, Excel and PowerPoint (no Outlook, but Windows Mail, Windows Contacts and Windows Calendar are all perfectly capable clients and are built into Windows Vista).  Office:Mac users also get Entourage (minus Exchange Server support) and Messenger (although Messenger:Mac  is a free download).

If someone in your household is in education, students (school, college and University) and their family members can get even better deals including something called the Ultimate Steal which allows the purchase of Office Ultimate 2007 for £38.95 (which includes Access, Excel, Groove, Infopath, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher and Word), Office Visio Professional 2007 for £36.95, Office Language Packs for £9.95 or a Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade for £40.95 but for these prices you do need to be enrolled on a college course with an academic e-mail address and meet certain requirements regarding hours of study (sadly my 3 hours a week in evening classes won’t count!).

It seems that buying a copy of Office doesn’t need to break the bank after all.