and how do they know if it's second hand smoke or not? Some Mac mini's have been known to be chain smokers, hence the stunted growth :)

I don't blame them for voiding the warranty. We have taken in computers for repair from chain smokers and the computers are real nasty to work on. We have seen eMacs and the white iMacs come in that have turned yellow or even brown because of the smoke. They reek of cigarette smoke and smell up the whole repair room. The insides are covered with brown sticky tar from the cigarette smoke. Our repair technicians wear nylon surgical gloves when working on them. And when done will place the computer into a trash bag to keep the smell contained.

Wear gloves? Duh they don't want their employees to inhale the poison. Globes won't help. You should see some of the systems that come in. They are disgusting!

I'm glad it's only second-hand smoke. I'd hate to know there's iMac abuse with people sticking a cancer stick in one of the intake vents and lighting it up.

While I'm not an anti-smoking n***, macjockey is right. When I worked in a computer store, we'd get in computers where it's like the user must have been in a nicotine fog. The c*** was caked on components so badly that it acted as an insulator causing components to overheat. You'd turn on the computer, and the power supply fan would blow that stench all over the place.

nerd

Just wondering what n*** word would be censored...

What are these people doing? Hot boxing with their macs?

I just cant fathom a person being smart enough to buy a Mac, yet ignorant enough to smoking around it so much that it gives the Mac that awful "smoker smell" and coats it with that thin film of tar. Back in my early college days we'd get smokers bringing in PCs that would fill the room up with that awful smell - and like Mr. Strat says, turning on the system only made it worse when the power supply fan kicked on. As you can guess I'm not a smoker, but I can accept those who need an occasional smoke and step outside once or twice a day for it. I find it unacceptable for a person to smoke so much that everything smells of that stinch, even long after they have smoked their most recent cig. I'm all for Apple not warranting these machines, I'm all for all manufacturers not warranting hardware damaged by excessive smoking.

they had better improve the warranty language if they are going to do this (which is not a bad idea) since 1 in 5 people still smoke. If fewer smokers use macs as a result, macs will become even MORE reliable vis-a-vis windows, and what's microsoft gonna do? Advertise that they don't care if you smoke or not, because nothing having to do with hardware is their fault? ha ha!

If true (and can you believe these types of stories), I'd be blaming them and looking to start lawsuits (TX, here we come!).

If Apple wants to void warranties on certain actions, they have to tell the user up-front. You can't just come back later and say "Oh, wait, you were smoking. Well, we won't cover that." What's next. Will they not repair your computer because you didn't use a wrist-rest when using your mouse, which is also considered a bad-thing by OSHA standards?

And why are smokers whose rooms are well ventilated not being violated? They're still using that dangerous substance of nicotine!