According to separate reports, Apple denied coverage for two users in 2008 based on the fact that OSHA lists cigarette smoke as a biohazard. Both techs refused service to the computers not because the smoke damaged them, but because it's considered hazardous to a tech's health to work on a contaminated unit.

Both owners tried to appeal their cases, even going all the way up to Steve Jobs. Unlike this guy, they weren't as lucky.

These are just two isolated incidents though, and in the comments at Consumerist some smokers are reporting having no trouble getting Apple to service their computers. It appears to be on a case-by-case basis, not a hard-set policy. Any smokers out there ever run into trouble getting Apple to repair hardware? [Consumerist via Slashdot]

Last week I called Dell Technical Support about my Dell Studio 1537 Laptop and a DVD drive which was making loud noises and ejecting all cds. I had the basic "mail-in" warranty which required I ship them the laptop back. After my phone conversation with overseas tech support I received an empty box with a prepaid packing slip to mail the laptop back. A couple days ago I received both an automated email and phone call that my laptop was coming back to me. This morning, Fedex delivered a refurbished hard drive - yes just a hard drive.

I began my calling spree this morning and spoke to 7, yes 7, different Dell reps who transferred me between technical support, customer service, and back to technical support. After about 90 minutes of phone calls, hold music, and redialing I'm stuck with a 250gb hard drive but no laptop. Who do I call for help?

Oh, so he expected the whole computer to come back to him. I see. Perhaps this is some sort of new "you'll get a hard drive and like it" approach to customer support Dell is trying out. I don't see it working. Incidentally, Consumerist suggests sending emails to michael@dell.com in situations like this. Apparently, the messages are routed to an executive relations team that has been helpful in the past. [Consumerist Image via 60 in 3]

1. High-torque, low-speed pistol power tool with it's own CPU.
2. EVA mini-workstation, where the astronaut puts the tools he needs, attached to his chest.
High speed, low torque electric screwdriver.
3. Low-torque, high-speed power tool to unscrew or screw quickly.
4. Guide studs in their bag, used to repair the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph
5. Washer extraction tool used to secure washers so they don't float into space once they are removed.

So pretty, yet so menacing. Like the ones a dentist will use with you. If you are Dustin Hoffman and your dentist is a nazi, that is. [NASA via NPR via Daily Icon—Thanks Jonathan Will]

Photos by by Michael Soluri

The major brands, like Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic, may have higher prices, but they back it up with service, especially in warranty and repair. After all, they've got the integrity of their name to protect. But the lesser-known brands (often just rebadged, unidentifiable Chinese models) often have repair options to match their low prices. Almost all of these brands researched require the customer to ship the HDTV out, which usually costs a few hundred dollars. If any warranty is included, it's invariably meager (90 days), but many simply have no option for repair.

Considering a certain flammable Insignia set, extended warranties seem more pressing now than ever. Maybe spending a few more bucks now isn't such a bad idea. [HDGuru]

Everyone has a story about fixing a gadget with tough love, but this is kind of extreme. Depending on your history with flat panel TVs, this video will be either cathartic or nerve-wracking, but with the endless shouting arguments going on in the background, the maniacal glee with which our subject takes a metal bat to his television and the inexplicable success of the whole endeavor, well, it's hard not to feel like you've witnessed something significant. NSFW for language. [NoWhereElse—Thanks, Steve]

Only after I had dismantled the motherboard, separated the screen and delicately pealed free the "home" button's backplate from the adhesive that had affixed it to the machine's front glass could I see what had disabled my iPhone.

Lint.

...Now, however, with the iPhone's guts exposed to the world, a quick blast of compressed air cleared away the obstruction in a millisecond. The irony was inescapable—only when I had completely destroyed the iPhone could I fix it.

I don't know that it's a new phenomenon for gadgets to be unfixable, and it's certainly not an Apple-exclusive problem either (though their design certainly doesn't lend itself to easy user repair). But there is a certain, not so subtle irony that the better our tools work, the more our tools seem unable to fix one another. [PopMech]

CERN spokesman James Gillies explained, “"It's too early to say precisely what happened, but it seems to be a faulty electrical connection between two magnets that stopped superconducting, melted and led to a mechanical failure and let the helium out.” The specific section will have to have its temperature raised significantly above its usual absolute zero so engineers can go in and repair it without dying, which is apparently a very time-consuming process. This kind of failure isn't unusual for particle accelerators, but the LHC's internal temperature makes the whole ordeal much more difficult. Each warm-up or cool-down takes a minimum of several weeks, so the total repair will last more than two months. I suppose we've waited a long time already to unlock the secrets of the universe, so a couple more months can't hurt, right? [CNN]

Make sure to write this down. You're gonna need it. [consumerist]

Since Nathan's Xbox was returned stark naked, his girlfriend left him, his pet dog didn't even recognize him and people on the street looked at him in disgust. (Probably.) Such was the change in Nathan's life, he could hardly bare waking up in the mornings. However, Microsoft saw this atrocity going on, and they sure fixed it:

Despite Bungie jumping (ha!) in and giving our man all of the following:

• Legendary Edition Helmet signed by most-if not all-of the studio staff
• Halo 3 Soundtrack (two disc) signed by Marty O'Donnell (with "DO NOT ERASE!" written under his name)
• Bungie Jacket
• Bungie T-Shirt
• Halo 3 Messenger Bag
• Two Halo 3 Limited Edition Wireless Controllers (one covenant, one human)
• Signed Halo 3 Faceplate and Skins for Xbox 360
• Four McFarlane Action Figures (MC, EVA Spartan, Brute Chieftan, Jackal Sniper)
• Halo Actionclix Preview pack (Target exclusive sticker on the front)
• Halo Actionclix Game Pack 4
• Halo 3 Wall Graffix
• Halo 3: Ghosts of Onyx Novel
• Halo Graphic Novel
• Halo 3 Wristband
• Halo 3 Hackeysack

M Nathan is, we presume, now back with his girlfriend, his dog loves him and people in the street can't wait to stop and chat with him. He's so cool, we want to be his friend. [Kotaku: 1, 2 and 3]

After a little experimentation, he realized that it the heads may have gotten misaligned or stuck, and if he could jar the heads loose, it might work again. Naturally, when you heat something up, it expands —so, in theory, if the drive was heated, it should have the same effect. Apparently, by double boiling your drive you can achieve the proper amount of heat without doing any further damage —and the guy claims that the drive worked perfectly after the procedure.

Would I do this? Hell no—but then again I'm not a lunatic and I'm not willing to screw around with important data. However, if your idea of troubleshooting is to bang on it with a hammer, or your are too cheap to pay someone to recover your data, this may be something to try. [Mandible Games via Spluch]

Product Page [ThinkGeek]