IBM ServicePac: worth it?

I blogged about buying an IBM Thinkpad x31 in 2004 multiple times, but since it actually showed up it's been fine until very recently. I noticed about two weeks ago that the case had cracked in multiple spots on either side of the keyboard (probably because I carry it open all the time) and last week I started having problems with the power connector. I can't tell if it's dirty, or shorting out, or what but it's just not getting juice unless I place the system in a dock.

I recalled that when I bought the system I ordered the ServicePac which allegedly offers 24 hour turnaround for repairs. I just checked and it's still valid, until May 2008.

So the question is, with a trip to Australia starting next Tuesday, do I chance shipping off my system tomorrow for repairs? Has anyone used the ServicePac repairs since Lenovo split off?

Oddly I appear to buy Thinkpads only when there's a new Bourne movie out.

Adobe: Still learning that whole updating software thing

For reasons that are beyond me, I licensed Adobe Acrobat Professional 7.0 a couple of years ago. Perhaps because I thought I'd be doing a lot of work with PDFs, or because I didn't know of an easier option to print to PDF on Windows.

Out of the box I should have known that this Acrobat was different all previous Acrobats.

It was big.

It was bulky.

It DEMANDED ATTENTION frequently and often.

About a month after I installed the software, off a CD, it did its update check and said it needed to be updated to 7.0.1. I said sure, go ahead. It ran for a bit, started the update, and then said Insert the damn CD into the computer you filthy customer we suspect pirate you. Perhaps I exaggerate. But it did demand the CD, which was buried amongst a pile of stuff in my office.

So I canceled the update. I wouldn't perform another update for a year or more when I had relocated the CD.

Today, I found the CD again. It's not that I intentionally throw it away, but with most software being available online or updated online it seems silly to have to go fetch the CD to apply an update (oh, and this was all after I'd activated the software).

I ran the update thing. Part of the reason for this is because about once a week I go to read a PDF and the whole system hangs as Reader goes off into the wilderness to check for updates. I'd like to regain some of those moments.

Now, I've been using software for a couple of years, maybe more. I've done software development, maintenance, operations, support, etc. Generally when you have multiple updates to apply to a package, selecting the latest update should drag down whatever is necessary. That's mostly my opinion, but it's based on, well, decades of experience. Hell, even Microsoft has gotten this right, but not Adobe.

I selected to update to 7.0.9 and walked away for awhile as it downloaded and applied the software.

After awhile you get a dialogue box demanding that you reboot the computer. Like Symantec, Adobe assumes you do nothing else with your computer except update your we-assume-you're-a-filthy-pirate-you-alleged-customer software.

So I reboot. On booting, logging in, etc. the updater runs again. And demands another reboot.

!@*((*$@#^$%.

So I reboot. Another ten minutes pass. I fire up Acrobat on rebooting only to have it crash in flames since some libraries have been updated but not all. Seems Adobe's updates not only require having the CDROM in the drive, but they also require you to install all of their pre-requisites yourself. Silly me, thinking that selecting the latest update would drag in whatever was necessary. Worse, you can't select all updates but you have to run through the dialog box selecting each update and confirming that yes, you really do intend to do this update.

I managed to get Acrobat to run long enough to fire off another update run, selecting all of the updates and now we'll see what happens.

You don't really think about maintenance of products when you buy them, and with the exception of Windows Update, you don't hear much about individual products update processes. Perhaps there's a call for a new blog on software maintenance.

In the interim, I'm still waiting for Adobe's updater to finish it's work, an hour or more into the process.

Next time, I'll just find a freeware version instead of wasting my money and time on another Adobe product.