iLounge

1

I have to admit, I laughed when I read one of the steps is to download and install the latest iTunes version. THAT’LL fix it

Posted by JWj on September 26, 2006 at 9:02 AM (PST)

2

And if that doesn’t fix it a sledge hammer will.

Posted by JL on September 26, 2006 at 9:18 AM (PST)

3

As someone who used to work in the help desk field, I hate this! This is another step in Apple basically becoming Microsoft. I remember people calling the help desk and saying “my software just locked up and don’t tell me to re-boot!” For a while, Microsoft’s support site could be summed up in 3 phrases: 1 reboot, 2 reinstall software, 3 reinstall windows. Did Apple hire a bunch of MS programmers recently or what?

Posted by vic6string on September 26, 2006 at 9:36 AM (PST)

4

I noticed “return” wasn’t one the “r’s”.

Posted by blikum on September 26, 2006 at 10:55 AM (PST)

5

It seems like Apple is giving people solutions and having them find the problem. It’s like telling your mechanic to replace your fuel pump to find out if your car won’t start.

Posted by Michael P. on September 26, 2006 at 11:42 AM (PST)

6

Surely, SURELY! this is not ALL that they are planning to do?

Posted by Richard R-B in Summerville, SC on September 26, 2006 at 12:43 PM (PST)

7

they are definitely not using this as a replacement for customer support. If i remember correctly, apple’s online support was much less simple, for about the same help. if you really need that much help, there’s an apple innovation called the Genius Bar

Posted by anti-luddite on September 26, 2006 at 1:14 PM (PST)

8

I agree with the previous poster that “Return” should be the 6th. R!

I just spent almost an hour fighting with a customer’s iPod 2GB Nano, trying to resolve an issue where it froze up her PC every time it was attached to the USB port.

I finally determined that the firmware in it was slightly corrupt (but apparently not enough to stop it from playing music properly, or basically appearing like it was working properly).

iTunes 7 refused to launch unless you ran it before attaching the Nano to the USB port, and when you did that, it refused to try to download the latest firmware to the Nano.

I even tried reformatting the hard drive on the Nano after manually mounting it as an external hard drive and doing a “restore” with the stand-alone firmware updater, but that just resulted in an odd error message.

I’m 99% sure I could have fixed this whole thing easily if Apple just provided an option to force a flash update through a stand-alone utility, instead of it trying to detect the current firmware version first, etc.

As it is - it seems a return/exchange is the only viable option.

Posted by Tom W on September 26, 2006 at 1:29 PM (PST)

9

Actually, I found the page on video problems quite useful.

Problem is, the people who hang out at iLounge skew against the bell curve. We have lots of newbies, matched by an equal or greater number of advanced users with high expectations and advanced needs.

The Rs page is first line help… an FAQ of sorts, and it might just work for the newbies. I give Apple credit for rolling SOMETHING out while the developers work on iTunes and the firmware issues.

I’m going to stay patient for another week or two. Just the testing alone is a huge effort.

Posted by Aceon6 in New England, USA on September 26, 2006 at 4:42 PM (PST)

10

Am i the only one that had “dodgeball” pop into my head?  I guess so. Oh well

Posted by Steve on September 26, 2006 at 8:02 PM (PST)

11

sure the apple ipods are slleek and sexy but is that all were paying for because the softwear sucks. my ipod freezes up on me at least once a week. ans yesterday it froze and now i cant figure out hom to get it unfroze. i agree with the sixth R as return. and i think that i we would be just be better off buying something cheaper cause my lil brothers mp3 player never freezes and it was cheaper and its just as good if not better.

Posted by dizzy on May 6, 2008 at 8:44 AM (PST)