Smoking Voids Apple Warranties

[Aristotle]

After the ad patent and now this, anyone still want to say Steve Jobs is looking out for the end user?

Smoking Voids Apple Warranties

[Darion]

Next thing you know you'll have to cough up extra fifty bucks to buy a warranty that covers smoking just so you can resume indulging in smug superiority.

[Rosuav]

Wow. The article lists, among the other hazardous substances, "sucrose (a sugar)". (Why "a sugar", not just "sugar", I don't know. Sucrose is the classic cane/beet sugar. Anyway.) I can see how it would be hazardous to a computer (I've had to clean sticky keyboards because someone spilled something sugary), but not to a human.

Perhaps the biggest issue with the whole sorry story is that Apple's extended warranty service - Applecare - makes no mention in its terms and conditions that the presence of a smoker in the household in which the device is used will render the warranty null and void, an omission which could potentially backfire on Apple should Mac-owning smokers wish to start a class action suit against the company.

If there's a generic clause in it saying that cruel and unusual damage will void the warranty, then Apple's lawyers will make it work. Just imagine, for instance, that someone puts an axe through their Mac. Is there a clause in the warranty that explicitly says that axe damage is not covered? I doubt it. But they're not going to cover it, all the same. (I've heard stories not so very different from this, actually. Not sure how true they are, but it's still funny to hear of a Mac copping a shotgun blast to the side...)

There's two real issues with cigarette smoke. One is that it can seriously mess up a computer - I have personally seen two laptops that died of smoking, and were no use even for parts - and the other is that a smoke-filled computer is *foul* to work on. I don't blame Apple for wanting to protect their workers from a disgusting AND futile job; although, if the laptop is in warranty, they could perhaps offer a complete replacement. It's only _working on_ the laptop that's going to be a problem.

[Loigan]

Originally posted by Rosuav

There's two real issues with cigarette smoke. One is that it can seriously mess up a computer - I have personally seen two laptops that died of smoking, and were no use even for parts - and the other is that a smoke-filled computer is *foul* to work on. I don't blame Apple for wanting to protect their workers from a disgusting AND futile job;

Hear-Hear

I say kudos to Apple, I hope that other manufacturers follow suit.

[Maelgrim]

Smoke filled computers?

The fuck?

What are people doing? Having compression sessions with the lappy?

So poor ventilation and dusty environments are covered, but somehow they can detect what damage is caused by smoke?

I call bullshit, something just doesn't ring true here.

[Rosuav]

Originally posted by Maelgrim
Smoke filled computers?

The fuck?

What are people doing? Having compression sessions with the lappy?

So poor ventilation and dusty environments are covered, but somehow they can detect what damage is caused by smoke?

I call bullshit, something just doesn't ring true here.

It may be different in desktops, where the components aren't crammed in so tight, but in laptops, you can. You remove the keyboard and smell the smoke. You see the traces of brown residue, with obvious "shadows" where the airflow is interrupted by a screw pylon. You see the inner workings of a CD drive that are gummed up - dirty optics (which, as Chris Knight discovered, wreak havoc with lasers) and grimy motors. Every part, except maybe the hard drive, is affected in some way by the smoke. And I wouldn't rely on the hard drive either - the actual platters may be hermetically sealed, but the circuitry could well have been gummed up. Yes, computers CAN die from secondhand smoke, and it's obvious that it's not dust.

[anthson]

I've heard of vehicle electronics (speedometer, radio, fuel gauge) failing due to the owner's in-car smoking.

[Loigan]

Originally posted by Maelgrim
Smoke filled computers?

The fuck?

What are people doing? Having compression sessions with the lappy?

So poor ventilation and dusty environments are covered, but somehow they can detect what damage is caused by smoke?

I call bullshit, something just doesn't ring true here.

Oh, it's VERY easy to tell. As soon as I open up a computer desktop or laptop, I can tell you if the owner runs it in the midst of Cigarette Smoke instantly. Cigarette smoke is HORRIBLE for computers and the damage is very visible to someone who knows what they are looking at.

[Aristotle]

Originally posted by Loigan
Oh, it's VERY easy to tell. As soon as I open up a computer desktop or laptop, I can tell you if the owner runs it in the midst of Cigarette Smoke instantly. Cigarette smoke is HORRIBLE for computers and the damage is very visible to someone who knows what they are looking at.

Wow. That's very interesting. I had no idea it could have so much of an effect.

[Malacasta]

My curiosity was piqued as well.
Here are some pictures of a heat sink exposed to smoke

http://www.squidoo.com/cigarette-smoke-computer-damage