Apple thinks 2 days is too late

Apple recalled the graphics card in my MacBook Pro; however when I went into an Apple store to get mine replaced, I was 12 days late. My computer was experiencing problems with the faulty recalled graphics one month prior, but I was stuck in bed for the past month with severe pneumonia. Unable to leave the house, I missed the deadline by 12 days. When I showed up at the Apple store on that 12th day, they refused to replace it under the recalled agreement. Instead, they said I'd have to pay over $500 to get the graphics replaced. I explained my illness, but they didn't care. I've bought at least three new Apple products per year since 2007, so I'm a pretty good customer. Apple doesn't care, they wouldn't bend their rules for anything.

Thank you so much Apple, you really care about your customers.

Apple TV vs. Google TV

I reviewed Google TV last year, and though the Android 3.1 update this Fall has brought with it the Android Marketplace and better UI, the Google TV still falls short in my opinion.

I recently picked up an Apple TV for the ability to mirror my iPad 2 on it. Due to an issue I'll be buying a new TV later this year.

Both devices have their shortcomings, both are far from perfect. Overall I will say that the Apple TV is my preferred box of choice. One thing I used Google TV for a lot, was Podcasts. Apple has a larger selection of Podcasts, and all the ones I watched on GTV are also available on ATV. And yes, I realize that you can manually add podcasts to GTV that don't show up in their Podcast list, but it's more of a hassle. Especially when those Podcasts are listed on the Apple TV Podcast list. Also Apple TV makes it easier to watch movies I have stored on my computer. Just throw a movie into iTunes, and it plays on Apple TV. I'm not talking about just movies you buy on iTunes, I'm talking about DVDs that you rip to your hard drive. To do this on Google TV, I have to put the movies on a USB hard drive (or flash drive) and load up Media Player on GTV. And even then, there is a chance GTV will choke on the video and not play properly.

Now if you do buy movies from iTunes for some reason, well those only play on Apple TV. I bought one of the first movies to appear in the iTunes Store, just to test out the quality. After I found out the dreaded DRM prevented me from burning to a DVD, I stopped buying from iTunes. It just doesn't make sense, buy the DVD and rip a digital copy yourself. Luckily a lot of movies these days come with digital copies, so you don't have to rip as much as you used to.

ATTENTION MOVIE STUDIOS:
Speaking of digital copies, UltraViolate is a horrible piece of shit. STOP IT MOVIE STUDIOS! If you want to include a digital copy, make it a REAL digital copy. You used to include codes that worked in iTunes (for iPods, etc.) or Windows Media Center (for Zune). Just continue doing that, people still had a choice (iPod or Zune), but now you took that choice away. People MUST use your crappy software to play the UltraViolate movies. And you have to create TWO different accounts just to watch the UltraViolate movies on your computer.

What I don't like about Netflix

Originally the model for Netflix was DVDs in the mail for a flat fee per month, similar to how it is now with streaming. But here's the kicker, as a bonus you were able to stream some of the movies for FREE over the Internet.

Then Netflix decided to make a business out of streaming, and for $2 extra you could get DVDs in the mail.

Then Netflix decided to charge you a 60% price hike, going from $10/month to $16/month to get streaming plus DVDs.

Then they announced Qwikster as a way to "make people less pissed." However, it just made people more pissed.

Then they dropped the Qwikster idea, but are keeping the 60% price hike.

Oh well, their streaming content was very limited anyway. I used Netflix for a while, and was not impressed at all. Needless to say, I don't use their service anymore. Their lackluster collection of streaming content left a bad taste in my mouth.