Thanks, Apple!

An electronics brand manufactures your rather expensive laptop with a defective component which fails 3 years after purchase. Not long after, the same brand announces that the MP3 player you bought 6 years ago has a potentially faulty battery. If that were the end of the story, I imagine you would never buy a product from this company again. I would imagine there would be wholesale defections of consumers, possibly permanently, to other brands.

Well, the brand in this case is Apple. And in this case, far from moving my allegiance, I think I will probably be hanging around for a few more years yet.

About 1 month ago, my MacBook Pro started acting funny. Strange lines appeared across my screen, the computer seemed unusually hot, and eventually all that would appear would be a fault message in 6 different languages. I took my laptop to the Apple store in Shibuya and a week later I was told it was ready for collection - no charge! The logic board which forms the majority of the internal gadgetry required replacement due to a manufacturing error. I am now the proud owner of a MacBook Pro which has had most of the internal components replaced. Had I have had to pay for this myself, the bill would have been approximately £350. It is not unreasonable to now expect my laptop to carry on going untroubled for a few more years yet.

Last night, I received an email about my long forgotten iPod Nano which was been gathering dust for the majority of the last 6 years. The mail informed me that there is a potential problem with the battery which therefore requires some form of remedy.

Dear iPod nano owner, Apple has determined that, in very rare cases, the battery in the iPod nano (1st generation) may overheat and pose a safety risk. Affected iPod nanos were sold between September 2005 and December 2006. This issue has been traced to a single battery supplier that produced batteries with a manufacturing defect. While the possibility of an incident is rare, the likelihood increases as the battery ages.

Apple recommends that you stop using your iPod nano (1st gen) and follow the process noted below to order a replacement unit, free of charge.

After following the additional instructions on the email, it turns out that my iPod Nano is from one of the manufacturing batches which require replacement. The official line from Apple is that this would be a like for like replacement i.e. 1st generation iPod for 1st generation iPod. However, according to other sources such as The Guardian Newspaper, the replacement will come in the form of the latest 6th generation iPod Nano. Perfect! Can you guess what one of Clara's Christmas requests was? Yep, an iPod Nano.

So, all in all, despite the problems with some of the Apple hardware I have bought over the years, it would seem that I am now an even more loyal customer. In admitting their errors and providing replacements with little stress or effort, they have ensured that my hard earned cash will flow in their direction for some years yet.

This experience reminds me of the Tylenol saga from 1982 - product problems which were dealt with openly and without too much focus on the bottom line. The result? A greater market share and a brand with an even stronger market reputation.

Shimogo - A Sad Return

On Saturday, I woke up early and travelled up to Shimogo in Fukushima Prefecture, a place where I lived for 4 years. I had planned on visiting Shimogo on 26th November to meet my friends Tomo and Satoshi. Unfortunately, my trip was earlier than planned and for an altogether different reason. Satoshi died very suddenly - heart attack. He was only 57.

Although I was worried about being a liability at the funeral, I really wanted to do everything I could for an old friend. Attending his funeral was all I could really do to demonstrate the value I placed on our friendship.

Despite prior doubts, my attendance at the the funeral was very warmly received by Satoshi's family. I am glad that I played a small part in making their grieving process a little easier. It brought a tear to my eye when his family told me Satoshi liked to drink from a Scottish cup I gave him as a present and that he often talked about me.

Satoshi's family and friends welcomed me with open arms and we had many good conversations about him and other subjects. I certainly know that Satoshi would have approved of all the events. I felt extremely privalaged to be asked to attend the cremation and to assist with the placement of his remains in the funeral urn. I am sure that such a ceremony may seem macabre to many readers, but it does not feel that way. Japanese mourning gives the deceased great dignity and respect and helps those left behind to move on with their lives with fond memories of the departed.

The trip back to Shimogo was undeniably sad, but undeniably worthwhile. Given the circumstances, I don't think that it could have been much better. I will always remember the good times I had with Satoshi and may even visit the Donzoko restaurant / bar (in Tokyo) soon to have a pint in his memory. On a visit to Tokyo a few years ago, Satoshi was very keen to visit Donzoko as it was his stamping ground when he was much younger. At the time, I felt very privileged to be taken to such a place where he had so many happy memories. It was nice to see Satoshi reminiscing about happy times in his past.

After the events connected to the funeral, I met up with Dr Tomo in Wakatsuki, a local restaurant we used to frequent with Satoshi. Of course the evening was tinged with sadness, but we certainly managed to have a good time - Satoshi would certainly have approved. Tomo kindly brought 2 bottles of very nice wine which were quaffed with unknown quantities of beer.

I took a few photographs in Wakatsuki, but they all turned out blurred. Obviously the Canon designers have not yet worked out a solution to alcohol induced camera shake.

Nursing a hangover, I slowly walked to Shimogo Station this morning (Sunday). The autumn colours were splendid and the air was chilly and refreshing. I was extremely pleased to bump into Fuminori, my old work supervisor, although he nearly caused a car accident when he pulled over to speak to me. Another nice event was meeting an old student from my time at Shimogo Junior High School. He got off his train and was hanging around the platform for 5 minutes while he plucked up the courage to speak to me. I remembered him from school - the Shimogo students were really a fine bunch!

The visit to Shimogo was certainly worthwhile. I celebrated the life of a friend and met people who I associate with happy days.

Satoshi Yuda

Very sad news - my friend from Shimogo in Fukushima, Satoshi, died suddenly today. I do not know any details of his passing but am sure to find out over the next day or two.

Satoshi and I usually used to meet up every Friday night in the local restaurant called Wakatsuki. Very fond memories of spending Friday afternoons on the Aizu ski slopes and then meeting up with Satoshi for some food and drinks. We had some very good times indeed and that is how I will certainly remember him.

I regarded Satoshi as somewhat of a unique character. He was frank and honest about any subject we discussed - quite unusual in Japan where people tend to be very guarded with their thoughts. I learnt a lot from him and he helped me view Japan from a different perspective.

Condolences to his family and other friends. RIP.