FC: Clarification on Apple's warranties and copy-protected CDs

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

[From MDJ, available at macjournal.com. --DBM]

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**Follow-Ups**

* Apple Computer garnered lots of press for its KnowledgeBase
  article on copy-protected "CDs." That was the one that said, in
  part, that if you put one of those platters in your optical drive
  and couldn't get it out, any procedure necessary to remove it
  would not be covered by your warranty. Apple got dinged for not
  helping users affected by the plastic impostors in coverage from
  Wired News [1], the Hollywood Reporter [2], and Macworld UK [3],
  along with lots of Mac sites that didn't necessarily emphasize the
  warranty issue.

  [1] <http://wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,52513,00.html>
  [2] 
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/bpihw/20020513/en_bpihw/apple__some_cds_don_t_compute>
  [3] <http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/main_news.cfm?NewsID=4645>

  Apple seems to have meant that if a non-standard disc gets stuck
  in a drive, any repairs necessary to get it out - or any damage
  you cause trying to get it out - are not covered by warranty.
  That's bad enough, but the original article left the distinct
  impression that simply _inserting_ such a disc voided your
  warranty and could damage the drive in some way even after the
  disc was removed. Other sources dispute this interpretation, but
  it may be a moot point.

  Apple first removed and then replaced the KnowledgeBase article
  [4] on the topic. The new version, dated 2002.05.16, says only
  this: "Audio discs that incorporate copyright protection
  technologies do not adhere to published Compact Disc standards.
  Apple designs its optical disc drives to support media that
  conform to such standards." The company suggests you take your
  computer in for service if a paranoid CD has crippled it. The word
  "warranty" is nowhere to be found in the new article. It's not
  clear if Apple has changed its policy or not, but at least the
  company isn't publicly blaming you for not reading the fine print
  on CDs. (MDJ_ 2002.05.12)

  [4] <http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106882>




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