Apple not honoring warranties of smokers?

[pokerfan]

First off, smoking is bad, mmkay? Anyway, Apple is claiming that a machine exposed to cigarette smoke is a biohazard and that working on a contaminated machine would constitute an OSHA violation. If this is really their policy, they need to add it to their warranty.

http://consumerist.com/5408885/smoking-near-apple-computers-creates-biohazard-voids-warranty

[david13]

1. Smoking is bad. mmkay? If it's an abuse of a machine, it voids

the warranty. mmkay?
Besides, I hate smokers, as much as I hate hippies.
dc

[Why Syzygy]

2. I dare you to say that on the big boards. nt

[hobbit709]

3. Ditto on that dare.

[david13]

4. You're on. But. I already did. More than once. But just for you

guys, I'll do it again. Not tonight. But I'll work up a really insightful and kicky post for it. Maybe a couple of days.
dc

[Why Syzygy]

7. Be sure to post a link.

;)

[david13]

8. Mmkay? Let me see here. Mmkay, 91 responses, so far? Mmkay. I

did not read one of them. Mmkay.
dc

[Why Syzygy]

9. link? nt

[david13]

10. gd. Done yesterday, I got all ambitious and challenged, and

aggressive, and all that, and boom, out came this post. It's there under my name. The other ones were weeks, no more like months ago.
I'm not a link fan.
dc

[Why Syzygy]

11. Nice.

:applause: You win the dare. It started a flame war and got locked. It lasted 12 hours.
I was going to kick it.

You left out "hippies". So maybe you don't win the dare after all.

Peace. Dude.

:rofl: My gawd! I can't believe you didn't read this. It's hysterical!

[david13]

12. Oops, I forgot about the hippies. I thought you were referencing

the smoking aspect, as that was where I received major flames on previous posts.
The hippie thing over here is just a reference to Mr. Mackey, and his idioms? and Cartman thrown in. I hate hippies. That's one of Cartman's favorite lines.
I'm not done. Not til the meatwagon hauls me away.
I can't read any of the comments. I don't ask any questions. I don't post any poll. I just state my opinion about smoking. And if people have a problem with my opinions, that is their problem.
I'm very glad I don't smoke. What a useless waste.
And of all the posts, I am sure there were many, maybe more than half, that were supportive of my position.
Most, most people do not smoke. And that's the way it should be.
dc

[Deja Q]

5. I used to work for a company where I went to businesses and homes...

Especially with the homes, opening up the case and choking to death of ciggy smoke. Pu-effing-ke.

Apple's method is unorthodox, but to make a long rant short, I'm on the fence with this issue.

[RoyGBiv]

6. I'm on the fence too ...

I have two problems with Apple's response.

1) It's not spelled out in the warranty that the machine being exposed to cigarette smoke voids the warranty.

2) The use of the term "biohazard."

With regard to the first problem, the logic that's being used here could result in warranties being arbitrarily voided. I've worked on a machine more than once that regularly becomes clogged with baby powder. The buildup of this substance has a similar effect to cigarette smoke. Now, I personally think it's this person's own damn fault for *showering* in baby powder every morning right next to where her computer sits (and I think people who smoke near computers are at fault as well), but if a warranty does not have some sort of wording that clearly includes such things, warranties begin to have very little purpose.

With the second complaint, cigarette smoke (or more specifically the residue) may well be a bio-hazard, but then so are many things in a computer. It's not the kind of thing that kills you upon immediate exposure, and the harmful effects, other than the stench, could easily be avoided with the use of gloves. They should be using gloves anyway.

The real reason, in other words, this could rightly void a warranty is that the smoke has a similar effect to dropping the machine in the bathtub. It's introducing the machine into an environment in which it cannot function appropriately. Apple should change its warranty terms to make this clear, at which point I'd have no problem with it.