i’m screwed, out of luck, and there’s nothing i can do about it.

i called the mac store – the one that’s in tukwila, the “authorised” mac store – the one with the apple on the storefront – and the guy said that they could probably do a data retrieval for me.

so i took my computer to tukwila, which is about halfway to seattle from where i am currently located.

when i was a mac-head, before i got involved with windows, and before i even knew what linux or unix were all about, when a person came to an authorised mac dealer with his computer under his arm, even if they couldn’t help you right away, they made sure that you knew that everything was going to be okay. you rarely had to wait more than 15 minutes or so, and if you weren’t exactly sure of the problem, they took your computer, and made an appointment with you for later on that day, or later on in the week, to go over the problems they had found with your computer, and made sure that they had done what you needed. it was odd for a mac to need service that required you to bring the machine into the shop, and they made sure that you were happy when you left.

now, i walked into the authorised mac dealer, with my G3 under my arm, and i was met by a high-school age “mac genius” (he had a nametag that said so, so i wouldn’t wonder about it… 8/ ) who wanted to know if i was here for service, so i said yes, and started to tell him what i thought was wrong, but he said he couldn’t help me unless i was “checked in”, which you did by finding the computer where you check in, which was on the shelf with all of the other computers they had on display, and giving them your name and email address – you can’t continue until you have entered your email address, even if there is nothing that you want that they can email you about – and then make an appointment to talk with the “mac genius”, which, of course, is a minimum of a two-and-a-half hour wait. so i made my appointment and walked out of the mac store, five minutes later, with my G3 under my arm, without getting any help at all! two-and-a-half hours later, i met with the “mac genius” – who was a kid that couldn’t have been more than a year or two out of high school – who proceded to tell me that they don’t support my machine any longer! – apparently they’re considered “vintage” now… 8/ – and the software he suggested that i buy (for $150) only works with OsX, which requires at least twice as much RAM as the machine has. he said that they could “attempt a data retrieval” for me – for $250 – but there was no guarantee, and regardless of whether they got anything off the disk or not, i would still have to pay the $250. the guy literally said “you’re screwed, out of luck, and there’s nothing you can do about it”.

it’s enough to make me forswear using macs for good. apple authorised customer service has taken a nose dive, and is currently somewhere around the level of the sewers, and nobody seems to notice.

fortunately, there are a couple of “independent” authorised mac dealers in the area, and hopefully they will have better customer service, a “mac genius” who actually knows something, and the possibility of actually helping me get one directory off of my “dead” hard disk.