Apple Creates Rev-1 iMac G5 Repair Program -- Four months after my iMac G5 went "Up In Smoke" (see TidBITS-777), along with those of untold numbers of other users, Apple has finally admitted publicly that there's a problem, instituting an official repair program for revision-1 iMac G5s. According to Apple, symptoms eligible for free repair include scrambled, distorted, or missing video (caused, I believe, by blown capacitors on the midplane) or no power (the problem I had - there is, of course, no mention on Apple's page of smoke and an evil smell emanating from the computer). Apple lists the range of serial numbers of affected machines. These are all revision-1 17-inch and 20-inch iMac G5s; the revision-2 faster machines released starting in May 2005 are apparently unaffected.

<http://db.tidbits.com/article/08080>
<http://www.apple.com/support/imac/ repairextensionprogram/>

The good news is that Apple will repair affected machines for free, even if they are no longer under warranty. The initial program is for two years from the date of purchase, but Apple may extend this at its option. The bad news is that in order to qualify, it appears that you must place your machine physically before the eyeballs of an Apple representative or service provider. It will be interesting to learn whether this means that repairs like mine, where Apple simply shipped the needed parts directly to my home, will no longer be available. [MAN]