I got a copy of the Lion OS (Genuine? Who cares!) installed from eTechies.in and finally installed Windows Office licensed by my college network. My macbook pro got burnt out after I charged it using low voltage electricity in Imphal, Manipur during the month of December 2012. After eTechies.in burnt another hole, Rs 16,500.00, I finally got my macbook pro repaired from them and here I am writing another blog entry.
The guys at eTechies sure do know how to do business selling warranty to the laptops without warranty with an applied condition that there will be extra charges for any replacement. An intelligent move I would say. They claimed to be the best in the country having been recognized by Microsoft and Google!! You know the obvious situation that would arise once you give it to them. "Oh Sir, Your XXX component needs to be replaced. It will cost you Rs XXX." Oh dear. Nevertheless, they are honest with their work.
I'm more than happy to get my macbook pro repaired in Delhi and got it delivered to my hostel. I couldn't think of buying a dreadful Windows laptop. Seriously, it becomes a pain to use Windows OS once you get the hang of a mac. Its an endless argument with people who uses Windows OS. I use both for my work and I would give a thumbs up to a mac with my eyes closed any day although I must warn you about the price you have to pay if the warranty goes out and your mac give up on you. If it is out of warranty, NEVER take it to the authorized service center for they will charge you over Rs 2500 in advance just for diagnosing the issue. They are no good. The guys at the iWorld, Authorized service centre of Apple products in DLF Promenade, Delhi couldn't even diagnose it. They wrote, "Logicboard is the suspected part" and quoted Rs 38,000 for a replacement. I learned the incompetence of the apple care centre much later and I hope I have warned you enough. The guys at the authorized apple care centre will replace your mac parts rather than repair it. Rs 8000+2500 for HDD failure and Rs 40,000+2500 for anything else since they will ask you to replace the Logic Board.
I couldn't pay up that much and so I took it to a local store that repairs macbook pro, Zion Technologies in Sant Nagar after a friend from p2power.com recommended it. All they did was re-install mac OS on my laptop for just Rs 1500. That's right. The guys at the iWorld, DLF Promenade quoted me Rs 38,000 to replace the Logicboard and won't refund my Rs 2500 taken in advance just to diagnose, "Logic board is the suspected part". Rs 1,500 is a lot of money just to re-install the OS but I was happy to pay such little amount after hearing the quotation from the apple service center. Call it nervous breakdown if you must. Never thought it was the OS crashed. I could have re-installed it myself.
I have been repairing laptops/computers since my 7th grade. Oh those were the days with Windows 98 on a 64MB RAM, 20GB HDD, 800MHz Intel PIII processor, CRT Monitor, Mouse that needs its ball to be cleaned, IE4, IE5.. LOL. The new OS, Windows Me with IE5.5was a delightful upgrade. Exciting times hehe.. I used to love the new icons and the new bootup screen in Windows Me. I didn't care to check the differences between 98 and Me but for the icons. I hated the next release, Windows 2000 but the XP was heaven sent. Vista came with an evil grin and then another savior, Windows 7 in the span of 10 years with each copy costing a few thousand bucks and you thought Apple updates are expensive?!! Rs 1,200 for Lion OS and Rs 11,500 for Windows 7 Ultimate.
Two and half years with my macbook pro and it hung up on me less than 5 times unlike a windows laptop with i5 processor and 6GB RAM which hangs on working with a 10MB image file on Photoshop™ on a regular basis!! Its an endless discussion. Windows OS has its advantages like gaming and easily pirated software availability or the 10 years old engineering software abandoned by the developers itself and still used extensively in the engineering colleges today.
Anyways, six months after the Zion Technologies repaired my macbook pro, it got burnt out in Imphal and that is how the story all started.
P.S: I hope Apple Inc. doesn't sue me for this. I'm a fan of their products although I'll never buy an ipod touch. How many gadgets must I carry in my pocket? Isn't the wallet, cellphone and keys not enough?. Btw, I'm really looking forward to buy Macbook Air within the next 12/18 months. Donations welcome :)
For those of you who might want to get their macbooks or macbook pro repaired after the warranty expires, these are reliable but unauthorized apple service centres in Delhi: You can either called up Zion Technologies in Sant Nagar, New Delhi and talk to John, the proprietor and a very respectable man or talk to the guys from eTechies.in, they do home delivery. I recommend both of them, highly.