From my inbox,

Apple has determined that certain 1TB Seagate hard drives used in 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMac systems may fail. These systems were sold between October 2009 and July 2011.

Our records show that you have an iMac with an affected 1TB Seagate hard drive. Apple will replace your hard drive with a new one, free of charge, under the iMac 1TB Seagate Hard Drive Replacement Program

Please choose one of the following options to get a replacement hard drive.

• Apple Retail Store – Set up an appointment with a Genius.
• Apple Authorized Service Provider – Find one here.
• Apple Technical Support – Contact us for local service options.

Apple recommends replacing your affected hard drive as soon as possible. Before you go in for service, please back up your data. Learn more about backup options.

Additional Information

You will need to have the original Mac OS installation discs that were shipped with your iMac in order to reinstall your operating system, other applications, and any backed up data after your hard drive is replaced.

This worldwide Apple program does not extend the standard warranty coverage of the iMac.

Apple will replace affected 1TB Seagate hard drives, free of charge, for three years from your iMac’s original date of purchase or until April 12, 2013, whichever provides longer coverage for you. Apple will continue to evaluate service data and provide extensions to this program as needed.

We apologize for any inconvenience.

Sincerely,

Apple Inc.

They apologize for any inconvenience. I will apologize after I push your overpriced, brushed-metal, “I’m a Mac” face  in.

SEAGATE: when you can’t afford even second best.

This is the SECOND time I have had an iMac with a piece-of-junk, fell-off-a-truck, engineered-by-Kazakhstan-sheep-herders, taped-together-by-Oompa-Loompas Seagate hard drive. The first one just died. I only found out I was entitled to a free replacement one week after the offer had expired and I had hauled my machine to an Apple dealer. That iMac also featured a defective start button, which naturally discouraged frequent use. And starting.

My most recent investment in “It just works” stopped working when I upgraded to Lion, which killed my Wi-Fi connectivity. It also had the annoying habit of opening every application upon start-up that had been in use the previous session, even though I had checked the little “Do not open applications upon Start-up” box when shutting down.

So I upgraded to Mountain Lion. Oh, the Wi-Fi is better, still cranky, but better. It’s just that now the entire machine freezes when Safari is open. I haven’t had to worry about freezes since 2003. And Quark.

And don’t get me started about Time Machine, which deleted a good year’s worth of backups when I updated to Mountain Lion.

And now this — another ticking time bomb. At least they had the decency to warn me. TWO AND A HALF YEARS AFTER PURCHASE.

On the other hand, my now ancient-by-modern-standards Lenovo Thinkpad, purchased in early 2009, still functions with nary a quirk. (But my goodness, how many times in a freaking day do I have to update JAVA? It’s been refined so many times, I should be able to run my car with it.)

My friend in IT let me tool around Windows 8 on a virtual machine. It is wild. No desktop upon start-up. No Start button. Just tiles, which you can mix and match. It’s a shame so few people will actually get to use it. It’s too weird for business. And too intimidating for the average Windows user. But fast. And touchscreen, gesture-friendly fun.

But it just might be the future.

UPDATE (March 30, 2013): I was wrong about Windows 8, which turned out to be an annoying toy that, once again, as is Microsoft’s want, complicates everything that should be getting simpler. And Apple finally got around to fixing all the Mountain Lion issues it kept denying existed in the first place (including the annoying “Hard Day’s Night” guitar chord of a start-up gong that rang out every time I booted up — even when the volume was turned off). And I bought an iPhone 5. What can I say: It’s like a bad marriage you just can’t walk away from because of the kids. In this case, because of my lovely Macbook Air. Which is the best computer I have ever had. And which still runs Snow Leopard, thank you very much.