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Brewin06111 · 11-24-2009, 01:37 PM

http://blogs.computerworld.com/15136/apple_voids_applecare_warranty_for_smokers

Let me be the first to say this is a great idea.. As an IT consultant there is nothing worse than working on an EU laptop of a smoker...

If you are a smoker.. no offense but it's just gross...

**Laughing_Gnome_Invisible** · 11-24-2009, 01:50 PM

Sure, they could void the warranty because of smoke damage. But to void it because it's gross? that would be plain stupid. It would be like refusing a morbidly obese person in a store because they grossed you out. Or a doctor refusing to lance cysts because they are yukky.

david_42 · 11-24-2009, 01:58 PM

I still remember opening a 5 1/4" floppy that had a groove in it. There, stuck to the cover, was a fleck of cigarette ash. I tried not to smile when I pointed this out to the user. I then showed her manager, just to be certain she didn't try blaming me.

tallybrewer · 11-24-2009, 02:24 PM

+1 ->MStudinski.

**the_bird** · 11-24-2009, 02:28 PM

If there isn't language in the warranty to indicate that they've void it for smokers, it's 100% lame that they're trying to void coverage now. You could easily put in language to say "damage resulting from tobacco use is not covered" and that would be fine, but don't try and weasel out of this stuff retroactively. Your techs aren't going to die because they have to clean up some ciggie tar, give me a ****ing break.

**GilaMinumBeer** · 11-24-2009, 02:31 PM

I find this amusing in this day and age of "anti smoke" given how many hardcore computer geeks are portrayed as chimney smoking soda freaks.

**Homercidal** · 11-24-2009, 05:42 PM

As someone who has worked on more than his share of computers, I can attest that the machines from a smoking home may be more likely to fail than those that do not. The reason being that the cig smoke is somewhat sticky, and holds the dust particles against the cooling fins much more than plain dust. Quite often you have to use a toothbrush to brush it out, and you KNOW you're not getting it all.

Standard canned air won't cut it. Yes it's gross, but no more gross than many other things I happily encounter on a nearly daily basis. I think it has more to do with the potential damage to hardware due to heat stress.

OMJ · 11-24-2009, 05:54 PM

I used to work on a lot of computers and there were a couple computers that when I was cleaning the dust out of I almost threw up. I agree with homercidal that the dust can be near impossible to get out and can definitely have an adverse affect on the performance and life of a computer

tallybrewer · 11-24-2009, 06:10 PM

Right on, Homercidal. I, too have been inside many a Mac; several of which had a significant build up of tar or sticky smoke "stuff" & dust. I remember it most notably in particular with G3 iMacs. The accumulation seemed to insulate the components & mobo resulting in overheating issues.

**weirdboy** · 11-24-2009, 06:19 PM

I don't see how the position is tenable from a warranty standpoint. How are they going to tell if a user is a smoker or not? You cannot simply open up the machine and look for evidence of smoking, because that will invalidate non-smokers' machines as well if they happen to sit around coffee shops, bars, or other places where people may be smoking. Or if a friend comes over and lights up a cigarette in the vicinity, etc.

Also I agree that if the warranty at time of purchase plainly stated that smoke damage was not covered, then fine. Otherwise they are legally bound to honor the warranty regardless of whether the users smoke or not.

If they are worried about health issues for the people servicing the laptops, the workers can voluntarily wear masks to avoid inhalation. They should be doing that anyway because the insides of machines tend to accumulate a lot of crap that I would consider worse than, or as bad as, tobacco smoke.