MacBook snaps photos inside Apple repair depot

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
What do you get when you write a script that instructs your MacBook to take a photo every time it wakes up from sleep, then send the notebook in for repairs? Photographs from the inside of one of Apple Computer's repair facilities.



That's exactly how things turned out for Flickr user OmegaStation. Using the Automator application that ships with Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, he had written a small workflow script for his MacBook that instructs the built-in iSight cam to snap an image every time the notebook wakes up from sleep, then upload those images to a Flickr account.



Having forgotten about the script, the user at some point needed repairs done to his MacBook and shipped the notebook off to Apple. It was to his surprise when images began appearing on his Flickr account -- apparently from inside one of Apple's authorized repair facilities, Flextronics International in Tennessee.



Although OmegaStation has since removed or edited many of the photos due to privacy concerns (the cam snapped the faces of several Apple technicians), a few remain available:



The MacBook arrives at "Receiving" in Apple's Tennessee facility



An Apple tech examines Mr. MacBook (face disguised)



What has the MacBook caught? A rack of other 'borked' MacBooks?
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 44
    nay_acharyanay_acharya Posts: 31member
    right....i saw this on digg a while back, but is it really apple news that needs to be seen on appleinsider?
  • Reply 2 of 44
    fooeyfooey Posts: 52member
    haha thats hilarious



    I see apple are employing prison inmates to repair the MacBooks too.

    It explains a lot!
  • Reply 3 of 44
    kasperkasper Posts: 941member, administrator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nay_acharya


    right....i saw this on digg a while back, but is it really apple news that needs to be seen on appleinsider?



    We found it to be pretty humorous and felt others would get a kick out of it too -- not to mention that it offers a slight glimpse inside an Apple facility you otherwise wouldn't get to see. =P



    Best,



    K
  • Reply 4 of 44
    josa92josa92 Posts: 193member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Kasper


    We found it to be pretty humorous and felt others would get a kick out of it too -- not to mention that it offers a slight glimpse inside an Apple facility you otherwise wouldn't get to see. =P



    Best,



    K



    yay for Kasper



    (I be bored)
  • Reply 5 of 44
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    That is pretty funny.



    I'm not sure how much the shades do to protect the tech's identity, though...
  • Reply 6 of 44
    josa92josa92 Posts: 193member
    who IS Kasper??
  • Reply 7 of 44
    fraserdrewfraserdrew Posts: 8member
    My guess is that the 'borked' macbooks are actually just a bunch of trays on which they store them while being repaired... like to keep all the bits together, and probably to protect them a bit too
  • Reply 8 of 44
    josa92josa92 Posts: 193member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by fraserdrew


    My guess is that the 'borked' macbooks are actually just a bunch of trays on which they store them while being repaired... like to keep all the bits together, and probably to protect them a bit too



    sounds good
  • Reply 9 of 44
    rebel_without_a_pcrebel_without_a_pc Posts: 43member
    I, too, have imagined clandestine activities I could accomplish by exploiting the presence of a user's MacBook iSight cam.

    To a dark place, this bundled iSight cam will take us.
  • Reply 10 of 44
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,456member
    That was terribly uninteresting.
  • Reply 11 of 44
    josa92josa92 Posts: 193member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rebel_without_a_pc


    I, too, have imagined clandestine activities I could accomplish by exploiting the presence of a user's MacBook iSight cam.

    To a dark place, this bundled iSight cam will take us.



    the possibilities are endless....
  • Reply 12 of 44
    jadamsjadams Posts: 20member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross


    That was terribly uninteresting.



    I dunno, it interested you enough to post a comment.
  • Reply 13 of 44
    maimezvousmaimezvous Posts: 802member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jadams


    I dunno, it interested you enough to post a comment.



    Melgross is just trying to get over 10,000 posts.
  • Reply 14 of 44
    josa92josa92 Posts: 193member
    i like the glasses on the inmate in the second picture...
  • Reply 15 of 44
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,456member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by josa92


    who IS Kasper??



    The "Friendly Ghost".
  • Reply 16 of 44
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,456member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jadams


    I dunno, it interested you enough to post a comment.



    If there were some interesting pictures, it would have been different.



    But we have to let them know that these "articles" aren't interesting.



    It's called feedback.
  • Reply 17 of 44
    eckingecking Posts: 1,588member
    Blacking that guy's eyes out makes him look crazy, this place looks like the prision from Face Off.
  • Reply 18 of 44
    dean812dean812 Posts: 32member
    Very cool! It makes me wonder of other possibilities we could emply our MB's for. Hmmm.....lemme think.
  • Reply 19 of 44
    macinthe408macinthe408 Posts: 1,050member
    In the last picture, you can see what looks like the rumored iPhone, a 16-core MacPro, and a device with both a TiVo and Apple logo on it.
  • Reply 20 of 44
    abster2coreabster2core Posts: 2,501member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider


    What do you get when you write a script that instructs your MacBook to take a photo every time it wakes up from sleep,



    It seems obvious that this is a great way to help grab the guy that steals your computer. Or catch your mom when she checks your messages.



    Could be embarrassing. However, I certainly would use it.



    Perhaps someone could post his script.
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