In my tenure behind the Genius Bar there were a few themes that played out again and again. In the interest of improving your Macintosh computing experience, I want to furnish some suggestions gleaned from this experience that can save you aggravation or worse.

Borked Hard Drives

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When I say worse I mean the loss of your data…your digital life. When it comes to computer hard drives it’s not a question of whether a given drive will fail; it’s just a matter of when. Remember, these mechanical devices have platters that spin at thousands of rpm. If a drive fails catastrophically, you’re going to lose your work, your contacts, your music, your photographs, your emails, all the login passwords that Keychain was remembering for you, etc. You get the picture.

If I had a nickel for every person I helped who had suffered a complete loss of their data, I’d be as rich as Croesus. A complete and bootable backup of your computer’s hard drive is a godsend when the drive goes click, click, click. In fact, in more cases than not, it’s your only hope.

At Visionary Computer we sell many external hard drives that are inexpensive, fast, and—with Leopard’s Time Machine—automatic. By the way, this is probably the best reason to upgrade to Leopard, if you’re not running one of the new Macs that come with it pre-installed.

Time Machine does hourly backups as you work. If you deleted something last week (or last year) you just turn the clock back in Time Machine and voilà, the file is undeleted. It’s all Apple magic (read clever programming) and it works beautifully.

Best place for drinks: On the Floor

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The next kind of heart-rending episode from the Genius Bar would have to concern computers that have suffered spill damage. This is the fate of many laptops.

Spills are not covered by AppleCare, and they leave readily apparent forensic evidence when they’ve occurred.

Even if the Mac Genius doesn’t send the spill-damaged computer into the Genius Room for a quick internal inspection, Apple will halt the repair when they open the machine up. Trust me: it will then be requoted as what’s called a Tier 4 damage repair. In plain English, this means the customer must pony up $900.00 to repair an $1,100.00 computer. To ensure that this never happens to you, keep your drinks on the floor. And don’t let your laptop out of your care, custody, and control, unless the person using it knows the rules.

Don’t Drop It

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Falls and drops are the other extremely popular way to kill computers. Like spills, they’re not covered by AppleCare. When a laptop falls, the LCD display often breaks. This component fails in a way that is readily apparent to any Apple-certified technician and it’s the second most costly part in the computer (the main logic board runs a bit more).

The best way to avoid this is to use a good carrying bag with a well-padded sleeve for the laptop. Also don’t leave your machine closed and flat where an unknowing person might put something on it. There are apocryphal stories of cats jumping on laptops and breaking the LCD. I’d say if you have a largish cat, be afraid.

AppleCare

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The last two bad Genius Bar scenes I want to mention concern AppleCare, or more specifically the lack of AppleCare. First let me state that as of today’s date, I have twelve AppleCare plans running. And I’m the guy who never buys extended warranties.

Here’s why: Say you buy a new MacBook. You’re in for eleven hundred bucks at a minimum. An AppleCare plan will set you back $249.00 and extend the hardware support from one year to three (two years for iPods and iPhones).

Very few of the major components in the MacBook cost less than $249.00 (and several of them cost three times that figure or more). With a non-covered repair, you’ll also have to pay labor charges to replace the part.

The other important feature of AppleCare is unlimited telephone tech support for your Apple hardware and Apple software. This is also a three-year plan. (Again two years for iPods and iPhones.) (Your Mac’s one-year warranty includes four telephone tech support incidents in the first 90 days.)

The support is available seven days a week from nine AM to nine PM at (800) SOS-APPL. The wait times are relatively brief, the hold music isn’t too bad, the people on the other end of the line are tenacious problem solvers, and, best of all, they are native speakers of English.

Besides spills and drops, there’s one other big thing that isn’t covered by the plan: data. If you don’t have a backup, that’s sad, but it’s still not covered. If you don’t have the install discs for any software you added to the computer, that’s gone too.

When it comes to AppleCare, there’s an important point to keep in mind to avoid an unpleasant surprise. You have the first year of ownership to add AppleCare to the machine. Once the year ends, you’re out in the cold. The warranty has ended and you can’t add AppleCare. Don’t let this happen to you.

Many people buy AppleCare and fail to attach it to their computer. At Visionary Computer, we do this for you if you’ve purchased AppleCare from us. Just remember, if you buy a stand-alone AppleCare plan in a box, follow the directions on the certificate to enroll the plan and attach it to the machine by its serial number. It’s also worth mentioning that if you buy additional Apple products at the same time as you buy a covered computer; for example a display, wireless keyboard and mouse, and/or an AirPort wireless router) your AppleCare plan may cover these devices as well at no additional expense. Sweet, eh?

Many people ask if they can buy another AppleCare plan when the three years runs out. Sadly the answer is no. But I would say it’s time to upgrade anyway.

My Strategy

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In fact, I always sell my machines while there’s still another month or so of AppleCare left. The coverage combined with the fact that I take good care of my stuff means I get a better price. Since the coverage is on the machine, not the owner, if a buyer thinks there’s anything wrong with the machine, she can take it in for service.

These issues may seem pedestrian, but, from my experiences behind the Genius Bar at Apple, Inc. I can assure you that they cause a lot of angst. We probably should have kept a box of Kleenex there. Please don’t let these things happen to you.