Piaras Kelly PR – Public Relations in Ireland

To err is human, to really foul things up requires a computer – Farmers’ Almanac 1978

One of the main reasons why I love Apple products is their mantra ‘It just works.’ I haven’t been having the best of luck of late though because my PowerBook and iPod have been acting up of late.

It started when a message kept appearing on the screen of my PowerBook telling me to restart as it began to load up. Needless to say a quite stressful period ensued where I managed to backup my hard drive, do a clean install and sent it in for repairs. It finally came back and everything was hunky dory. Then my iPod broke.

One problem leads to another I guess. After charging my iPod, I tried to turn it on, but all that appear on the screen was an icon saying charged. No matter how long I left it, nothing would change anytime I tried to turn it on. I’ve dropped it a couple of times so I listened to it closely while shaking it. Sure enough there was a little rattle so I thought that was the end for my poor iPod.

A couple of mornings later I gave it one last try and squeezed it for all it was worth….and hey presto it worked! Don’t ask me how, but by squeezing on the centre of the iPod it magically turned out. Sweet I’ve saved myself a couple of hundred quid, but when I arrived at work my laptop crapped out again displaying the same message.

I rang Image Supply Systems, the guys who did the repairs, explaining the problem and they told me to drop it in again. I sent a quick email to Stephen Davies who I’ve been keeping updated throughout my ordeal. He offered his commiseration’s and mentioned that Adam Curry said the other day that if he closes his PowerBook and shakes it, that it tends to work.

So this morning with nothing to lose and remembering what Stephen said, I gave my PowerBook a quick shake and it started to work! Don’t ask me how, but technology has a funny way of being the most illogical thing on Earth.

So if anyone else happens to actually have an Apple product that isn’t working then give it a squeeze and shake to see if you have any luck.

Unfortunately I think I’ll be forking out for some new gear soon, but I’ll hang on until the 12th to see what Apple are unveiling next.

Technorati Tags: Apple, iPod, Piaras Kelly, PowerBook, Stephen Davies