moving to italy: using your imac in europe

One of our biggest headaches to date has been trying to figure out how to find a new power cord for our iMac. Unlike most of Apple's products, the iMac can't use the World Traveler Kit. Why? The iMac power cord doesn't have a removable plug (or the white box that plugs into the wall). Instead, it's one thick power cord from the back of the computer/monitor to the wall. That's it.

You may have read in a previous post that we spent hours on the phone with Apple tech support trying to figure this out. Given the amazing usability of Apple's products, we were shocked that it wasn't as simple as just ordering a new cord.

In the meantime, we found this cord from online retailer, DataPro.

From a design standpoint, it doesn't look much like our Apple plug, but the two most important things (1) that the plug into the computer is the same and (2) that the plug into the wall is right, made it worth buying.

So, we took a link to our newfound plug to the Apple store in Philadelphia and asked our question there. No shock, at first they tried to sell us the World Traveler Kit (SERIOUSLY: how can we file a complaint with Steve Jobs on this? Every single Apple employee [phone, email, chat and in person] has tried to sell us the WRONG product and then says "Oh, you're right" when they realize it can't work with what we have).

Thankfully, after a few of the Apple "geniuses" pow-woed it was determined that the plug we found would work. It won't look at pretty as the current one (which is designed to look really seamless in the back), but it will safely do the job.

Attention future expats: We learned some serious lessons dealing with this issue. Most important, don't assume anything will be easy. Next, when it comes to technology issues, try to figure them out early. Finally, do your research so that you can be very confident in a situation where someone recommends the absolute wrong thing. We were told to buy the wrong product so many times that we actually started to question our own sanity.

Moving to Italy: Gadgets Galore!

(a visual representation of our gadget situation)

Not to get all Jersey Shore on you, but we have a serious Situation going on with our gadget collection. Living here in the States, we didn't think twice about accumulating computers, iPhones, cameras and the like. But, when you start thinking about safely and effectively taking them all abroad with you (at once), things get a little hairier. The situation is alleviated slightly by the fact that Rob and I are taking different flights and will be splitting the electronics up between the two of us.

The biggest bear of all is the 27" iMac. We thought about shipping it, but USPS, UPS and FedEx all wanted around $400 to do the job. We also thought about checking it as baggage in it's original packaging, which we smartly kept knowing that we'd be making this type of move in the near future. While this is still an option for us (it's our back-up plan), Plan A is to use this wonderful case, which we received in the mail last week:

The iLugger is what can only be described as a giant laptop case on wheels. The slimline nature of the iMac allows it to be easily slid into the case, strapped in and readied for the flight! Now, iLugger doesn't promise you'll get through with it as a carry on (hence the plan to have the original packaging ready in a pinch), but it will do the job perfectly if allowed through. It's a little pricey at $200, but cheaper than shipping and will come in handy in the future if we take any long holidays.

Coming tomorrow: another tech post...this one about power cords...it's a doozy!

Easy World Traveling with Apple? I think not!

Talk about major frustration! Today we spent over 2 hours on the phone with local Apple Store employees, Apple Care and Apple Sales without finding a resolution for a major issue we are having.

The problem? We own a huge 27" iMac computer and we're bringing it to Italy with us. We bought a fantastic travel case for it and had just one thing left to take care of: getting the new power cord with the European prongs on the end. A simple call to Apple, right? WRONG.

Over and over, the Apple employees we talked to recommended the World Travel Adapter kit, which doesn't work with iMac computers. Only after we pointed this fact out did we get a lot of "Oh, your right...". Thanks, morons, for recommending a product that doesn't work and would waste my money. Seriously, are we the first people to take an iMac from the U.S. to Europe and looking for a new power cord?

If we were staying for a week, we would just buy a standard wall adapter, but because this move is permanent, we're looking for the safe, smart solution, which is simply replacing the power cord. After talking to 10 people for over 2 hours, we still don't have a resolution. How crazy is that?

We found a few generic plugs that would *probably* do the job, but as fellow Apple junkies know, your warranty is totally voided if an issue arises due to a non-Apple product. So, if our computer fried because of a generic plug we'd be out our computer.

We'll let you know if/when this issue gets solved. So much for Apple being a "world" brand...