So far, there is only one source for this claim... and no corroboration.
Mac no smoking plan Ping!
If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.
Posted on 11/21/2009 1:59:29 PM PST by Clint Williams
Mr2001 writes
"Consumerist reports that Apple is refusing to work on computers that have been used in smoking households. 'The Apple store called and informed me that due to the computer having been used in a house where there was smoking, [the warranty has been voided] and they refuse to work on the machine "due to health risks of second hand smoke,"' wrote one customer. Another said, 'When I asked for an explanation, she said [the owner of the iMac is] a smoker and it's contaminated with cigarette smoke, which they consider a bio-hazard! I checked my Applecare warranty and it says nothing about not honoring warranties if the owner is a smoker.' Apple claims that honoring the warranty would be an OSHA violation. (Remember when they claimed enabling 802.11n for free would be a Sarbanes-Oxley violation?)"
So, what Mac have you been using for nine years?
So far, there is only one source for this claim... and no corroboration.
If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.
In this case, that would be iGore.
I no longer smoke inside my apartment. When I did, it was usually at my desk, and yes, it got pretty nasty. Even with fans and an air filter in the room. I shudder to imagine how bad the worst of those smokers’ computers can be.
We’re not talking about the kind of second-hand smoke smell you get on clothing. We’re talking about thick goo that sticks to fan blades and goes where the air from the cooling fans goes — pretty much by definition the parts that most need cooling, CPUs and their heat sinks. Dust sticks to the goo, and compressed air won’t blow it out.
The Apple warranty, like most, does not cover damages due to “abuse” or use in “extreme environments.” Arguably, heavy enough smoke to coat all the interior components qualifies. Keep in mind that the “Apple says” is based on two individuals at two Apple stores out of the millions of Mac-owning smokers, so this isn’t cause to fly off the handle.
In my 25+ years in the computer business, I’ve cracked open thousands of computers.
Computers from people that smoke REEK! Even when I was smoking it was unpleasant. It is a really foul stench. Blowing it out helps tremendously.
The second worse? Computers that smell like Curry.
In no way did I think I was being harmed in the process.
Yep, you are far better off with those staunch conservatives Billy Gates and Mike Dell. Unfortunately, when there is a problem each often blames the other and you get to play ring-around-the-rosy.
Wow! Very first post and already an Apple-bashing post... and all with zero evidence.
Kind of funny how I know Apple users who are smokers, one who is a heavy smoker, who never had a problem getting warranty work done (what very little has been necessary - but that is another thread).
The 9th Commandment of God is “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” This includes passing on unverified information or accusations intended to disparage the reputation of a person or entity.
The only way Apple could void the warranty in relation to smoking would be if the smoke somehow gummed up the workings in question. For example, nicotine on the CD/DVD lens will cause the device to stop working correctly.
And any warranty related to cosmetics of the machine would be in question as well.
But again, before passing judgment, one might want to hear all the facts - and the record does not bear out the accusations posted.
You might be right, if the accusations are factual, and the evidence supports it... But for every case (one so far) that this accusation is made, one could point out 10 or more that contradict that complaint.
Windex works if the coating of cigarette crap hasn’t been there too long, or isn’t too thick. I helped clean up a house several years ago that had been owned and occupied by a lifelong chain smoker. Windex just made yellow sludge just as the previous poster described. Rubbing Alcohol helped quite a bit. The walls also had to be scrubbed before repainting. Was absolutely disgusting.
And people intentionally coat the inside of their lungs with that crap... then wonder why they lose lung capacity, develop Emphysema or even cancer...
But for now, this is mostly a free country... Just don’t ask me to pay for smoking-related problems and I won’t ask them to pay for issued related to my weight.
If the user is a heavy smoker the entire inside of the machine is coated with goo.
You would think that smokers would consider -- also -- the goo that gets inside of them, inside of their lungs and the chemicals that gets jacked around their own "system" (i.e., inside of themselves)... LOL..
I don't have any feelings of concern or sorrow for these kinds of smokers and what they do to their computers. I've seen it with a relative and the heavy smoking around their computer, the ashes, the absolute mess. I would have hated to get into that Windows laptop that they had. I would just throw it away and get another. It was an absolute mess.
Sorry..., absolutely no concerns for these smokers and their computers...
So far, exactly ONE uncorroborated posting. Could be one particular person at one particular Apple store, for all we know (and that's my guess. Might be a few of them, but a few cases does not a corporate policy make.
"But...but...but I read it on the internets!!! IT MUST BE TRUE!!!!"
I'll wait for the official policy too. That said, having worked on dozens of cigarette-smoke-damaged stinky computers over the years myself, I wouldn't be too surprised if a policy existed about severe chemical or particulate damage -- that's essentially abuse. Same if in a salt-water environment, or an industrial environment with corrosive chemicals in the air.
I've worked on those -- the record holder was one where the air had acidic vapors... The workers had masks of course, but the process control computer, not so lucky. The circuit board, components, traces, etc. had been etched away over time, until one day it stopped working. Total loss, of course.
Why should responsible users be penalized because of the actions of others.
Absolutely...
It's always the absuers that end up costing all the other people (in a "group") that costs for something. It happens all the time in our society. It's time to let the abusers pay for their own absue.
I've always been concerned to take care of my computers, to not spill things on the components, to not eat around it, to keep it clean, to dust it and to wipe it down and keep it looking nice.
People should treat their machines (and other things they have and other equipment) with care, so it lasts for a while).
But considering that smokers don't even care about their own bodies, it's no wonder they don't care about their computers. This is the equivalent of them getting cancer for their incessant smoking. Let their computers fail and tell them to buy a new one... LOL...
“I wouldn’t be too surprised if a policy existed about severe chemical or particulate damage — that’s essentially abuse.”
From second hand smoke?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....THAT IS ESSENTIALLY BULLSHIT!
“This includes passing on unverified information or accusations intended to disparage the reputation of a person or entity.”
HMMM...NAMES, DATES, DETAILS, BUT IT IS UNVERIFIED?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA..........this is a riot...you are verrrrrry funny...
You sound like the typical wuss that’s all. There is no shortage of those. Good luck to you the next time you work on a smokers PC in your pink hazmat suite.
Considering the abuse that smokers heap upon themselves (and if they want to, that's fine - let them die...) -- there's no reason for the rest of us to accept the abuse on ourselves as a result of their foul and dirty habit. It's on them.
Let them go out and buy a new computer...
This sounds like BS. I will believe it when I see proof.
It might very well be B.S. -- as is being described. However, it should be that way that the smokers who spew out the foul and dirty habit of theirs and "foul their own nest" in all that they do around themselves -- should pay for anything that they mess up like that with their dirty habit.
I'm all for it. Let them buy another computer when they mess it up from their dirty habit.
Right.
Some uber-liberal idiot behind a desk somewhere with an anti-smoking agenda who is making his or her own decisions is not the same as a company making a guideline for customers.
I got a small television a few years back when my great aunt died, and she was one of those skinny 89 year old irish spinsters who smoked five packs a day. This entire television was covered in a visible yellow film, and handling it or turning it on was enough to activate the scent of stale nicotine!
I remembered taking the knobs and stuff of and sticking them in a bowl of ammonia. It turned a dark, dark brown...ugh!
“I’m all for it. Let them buy another computer when they mess it up from their dirty habit.”
Another staunch conservative idea - punish people who have habits you don’t like...I should have expected such puke-worthy ideas on this Apple-inspired thread...second hand smoke violations...what’s next, they look at the hard drive and see you have been on FR and therefore contaminated your system with conservative messages from REAL conservatives? What a massive pile of steaming horscrap this is...
Are you people all investors, or what? Second hand smoke damage to the computer? No...more PC habit control...what about all the damage from that weed you are all obviously smoking?
Used to be that people were polite enough to not say anything about the way people and their things smelled. Then, folks began to feel free to mention the way people smelled. Now, it is apparently alright to be righteously indignant about the way peoples things smell.
It would be like someone defecating in their own bed and then sleeping in it (and yes, some people do that...). Smokers "foul their own nest" and then they expect the rest of people in society to put up with their foul and dirty habit -- and on top of that for the rest of society to bear the costs and burdens associated with it, too.
Let them pay for their own foul and dirty habit and let them buy new computers, pay for all the costs associated with killing themselves in our healthcare system, too. Why should the rest of society pay for their foul habit?
But for now, this is mostly a free country... Just don’t ask me to pay for smoking-related problems and I won’t ask them to pay for issued related to my weight.
Amen to that. Let smokers pay for all the costs related to their smoking, in every area and facet of their lives and keep it away from others who don't want having a foul, nasty and dirty habit about them.
Then they can smoke all they want -- as long as they pay all the associated costs for "fouling their own nest"...
> From second hand smoke? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....THAT IS ESSENTIALLY BULLSHIT!
No, and don't be so freakin' smug. I'm talking about damage to the computer, not the technician. I know whereof I speak; I've tried to repair computers that were smoked around, and the damage is quite real, and often permanent/irreparable.
Another staunch conservative idea - punish people who have habits you don’t like...
It's a foul and dirty and unhealthy habit that costs in our society. It's conservative to have people be responsible for their own actions. Let them be totally responsible for "fouling their own nest"...
WoW!, you need a hobby .
“No, and don’t be so freakin’ smug. I’m talking about damage to the computer, not the technician. I know whereof I speak; I’ve tried to repair computers that were smoked around, and the damage is quite real, and often permanent/irreparable.”
Ohhhhhhhhhhh...and how exactly does this permanent/irreparable damage occur and in what tech manuals is it documented? This is pure bovine excrement.
The only reference in any tech manuals to smoke-related damage is from FIRE.
Smug? I’m not the one who is spewing liberal do as I say pseudo scientific theology, my friend...
AND...if it is such a well-known fact, why is it not mentioned in the Applecare contract?
WoW!, you need a hobby .
Free Republic has been one of my hobbies for the last ten years, among many others of interest to me.
One thing conservatives should appreciate -- without a doubt -- is not having society pay for the stupid, foul and damaging things that some people do, forcing the rest of society "cover their butts" in the process of their stupid decisions.
It's "conservative" to decide for yourself -- and, as a result -- to pay for your own decisions yourself. Let smokers pay for their own idiotic decisions.
“It’s a foul and dirty and unhealthy habit that costs in our society.”
Good argument...liberal cornerstone for every freedom-sucking law that comes down the pike...hey, isn’t this the basis of the argument for every FREAKIN entitlement program we have?
Think about it man, you are over on the dark side now...if it ain’t illegal it’s none of your GD business...
I have never seen such vitriol from you in the 10 years we have been here...................I’m amazed.
At best, it is some idiot somewhere in the labyrinth of Apple support acting on their own without any corporate policy or guidance. And that is at best. Could Apple hire a dumb ass liberal moonbat to work for them? Yes. As if every other company is somehow immune from that.
In the middle, it it is the Internet version of the "Telephone Game" where something happened, and due to being passed from Internet entity to entity, the nature changes into what it is now.
At worst, it is some dope with an ax to grind, some loser with an "I hate Apple" bug up his butt who can't quite make it out of his parent's cellar.
Here is a link to Apple Official Support and Repair Policies.
I just did a cursory check by looking through the top few likely documents this might be outlined in. Feel free to check the rest, if you don't believe it. These are the actual warranties people get with their Apple products.
Go ahead, bring up a document any document, do a search for TOXIC, TOBACCO, NICOTINE, SUBSTANCE, HAZARDOUS, CIGARETTE, SMOKE just to look for relevant context. If anyone can find a relevant reference, post it here and I'll believe it.
If you can't find a policy, it is one of the three options I listed above, which is a waste of people's time.
if it ain’t illegal it’s none of your GD business...
It's my business if I'm paying for you or anyone else fouling their nest. I have no problem with someone else smoking in their own place, if they want to foul up their place and/or their own computer. Let them pay the full bill for it -- and not have me cover their costs for doing it by driving up my costs for "insuring" them.
Likewise, I have no problem with them smoking, as long as they keep that away from me. If their smoke gets in my face, my fist will probably be in their face -- quid pro quo...
Being conservative is doing your own thing and not having it impinge on someone else around you and not forcing others to pay for your actions. As long as they do that, I don't care what they do...
Well, I couldn’t agree with you more on this.
Of course, I came from a family of eight, and for long periods of my life, I would be the only one not smoking who would be engulfed in a cloud of smoke at family get togethers.
Personally, I don’t care if people smoke. I work in health care, and don’t think people should smoke in hospitals, but that is about it.
I have never seen such vitriol from you in the 10 years we have been here...................I’m amazed.
You haven't seen me talking about Muslims then, have you? ... LOL...
It gets worse with Muslims... and they are absolutely evil, in adhering to such a despicable and false and perverted idealogy, and fully well deserve it, too...
But, in any case, it should be absolutely clear to conservatives that anyone who asks society (i.e., the "rest of us") to pay for things that they choose to do on their own -- is absoluty "not conservative" -- but a "liberal idea" in sheep's clothing...
Correction to myself: actually, two. And I see that The Register has an article mentioning the events, about a year apart:
Apple voids warranties over cigarette smoke, users say
However, all the claims are based on verbal conversations, nothing in writing from Apple. I think what we have is a couple of repair outfits that just don't want to work on a disgusting, crapped-up machine, and are coming up with excuses. "Bio-hazard" and "OSHA", my @$$. Wear a mask.
One of the claims was: "...the computer is beyond economical repair due to tar from cigarette smoke... the hard drive is about to fail, the optical drive has failed and it isn't feasible to repair the computer under the warranty..."
Smoke-wise, that's entirely plausible with regard to the optical drive. Not so much the hard drive. But the "uneconomical to repair under warranty" part is probably true. Cleaning out such a machine is very time-consuming and can be tricky -- and it was the user's voluntary actions that caused the problem. It was not a fault or flaw in the computer, period. Folks, above a certain threshold, that's abuse, no different from driving over it with your car and complaining that it's smashed.
Are people really so stupid these days that they can't figure out that smoke and computers don't mix? Apparently so. Do they pour coffee with cream and sugar into their car's gas tank too, just because they like to drink coffee on the way to work? Sheesh.
Anyway, until I see something in writing from Apple, I call BS on the "health-hazard" aspects of this story. I think somebody is making that sh!t up, on one side or the other of the argument...
“Likewise, I have no problem with them smoking, as long as they keep that away from me. If their smoke gets in my face, my fist will probably be in their face — quid pro quo...”
Hahahahaha...someone smokes, you punch them out? THAT is quid pro quo? Hahahahahaha...this is hysterical...the indoctrination is working magic on you, man, magic...
“Smoke-wise, that’s entirely plausible with regard to the optical drive.”
Yep...and would that include the lads and lassies smoking a big fat aromatic joint while cruising the web, or is it the tell tale smell of cigarettes that is the problem? I’m going to guess...not...
Nice try...
Perhaps you should move out of the way before you suffer a broken jaw. You are obviously an Internet tough guy that needs his ass kicked in order to see the light.
I practice what I preach off the keyboard, too... LOL...
People don't smoke in my face... :-)
And I'll guarantee you, I'm going to be very "conservative" in this, too -- and not support the idea (in any way, shape or form) of me paying for them "fouling their own nest" with their dirty habit. So, they'll have to try and get their fist in my face, if they think they're gonna get my money for their foul habit... LOL...
As far as I know, it doesn't matter whether the smoke comes from tobacco, pot, or old socks. Smoke damage is smoke damage, differing mainly in degree due to thickness of smoke and duration.
That said, there -might- be some chemicals in one or the other source that are additionally corrosive... my bet is on the old socks in that regard :)
my bet is on the old socks in that regard :)
If they were MY old socks, it would be a safe bet...you did say Socks, right?
I’m enjoying a cigar with my coffee at the moment. I’m not in the mood to read about how you are macho in the face of second hand smoke. No smoker wants to “get in your face”. However, there is nothing illegal about smoking and some hothead like you with a hotbutton aversion is just looking to get mauled.
BTW, my computer has endured my second hand smoke daily for the last 5 years and I don’t have a problem with it. Of course, it’s wintel.
However, there is nothing illegal about smoking and some hothead like you with a hotbutton aversion is just looking to get mauled.
There's no problem with smokers doing their thing. Just keep it to themselves and don't have me paying for any associated costs -- healthwise, computerwise or anything else, like separate facilities to keep it away from other people's noses.
As long as they bear the full costs associated with it, that's fine...
When these people who engage in their foul habit decide to take my money and try and force me to pay for any of the associated costs involved in "fouling their nest" ... then that's when they have gone into "liberal-think" and are no longer "conservative"...
Apple won't repair Macs if owners are smokers News TechRadar UK#comments
and several other sites are picking up the Consumerist and Techradar stories as well.
Used to be that people were polite enough to not say anything about the way people and their things smelled. Then, folks began to feel free to mention the way people smelled. Now, it is apparently alright to be righteously indignant about the way peoples things smell.
It would be like someone defecating in their own bed and then sleeping in it (and yes, some people do that...). Smokers "foul their own nest" and then they expect the rest of people in society to put up with their foul and dirty habit -- and on top of that for the rest of society to bear the costs and burdens associated with it, too.
Uh... no. It would be more like refusing to work on the TV of someone who rolled around in their own feces. That's a more accurate analogy and more demonstrative of the irrational indignance I'm talking about and that you so thoroughly display.
Your religious references don't cover up the vulgarity of the fecal references or tremendous anxiety you have about the issue. If you don't already have medication for that, you should really think about getting some.
Uh... no. It would be more like refusing to work on the TV of someone who rolled around in their own feces.
Ummmm..., I would stay far away from that TV and that person... :-)
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