Since Apple's implementation of $200/incident $799/year for Logic Pro tech support there have been numerous defenses of this policy posted here and in other internet communities.
What all such defenses have in common is a fundamental misunderstanding of how most professional end users use tech support. In the last year I have called tech support once and emailed them 3 times.
All of the above contacts were for BUGS in the program and not the result of a failure to "read the manual" or "post in a forum" or "search the net" or "use the infoweb".
The one time I called tech support in the past year was the result of Logic 6.3 Platinum giving me problems importing midi files by the drag and drop method after I switched from 9.x to Panther. Everytime I tried this function, which had been implemented since at least 4.x, Logic would crash.
I consulted the forums, the infoweb, my personal resources in LA and was finally forced to call Emagic's tech support. After 20 minutes on hold, my call was answered and I was informed that if Audio Midi Setup has more than 8 instruments in it, then Logic will crash when you try to import a midi file through the drag and drop method. The solution was to remove all instruments from the Audio Midi Setup.
Now - I ask you, how is the end user supposed to know about that bug and the workaround, without a phonecall to Emagic? That specific piece of information was not "in the manual", nor was it anyway on the net including the Emagic "infoweb".
With Apple's new tech support policy, I currently have no idea whether or not that little chunk of information would have cost me $200 or not. One thing I do know is that, Apple would have taken my credit card number before they gave me that little chuck of information and it would have been entirely at their discretion whether or not they did charge me.
Another example is the Logic Multiband Compressor. I loved it and used it until I realized it was totally destroying my stereo image and creating huge phasing issues. I didn't know whether I was doing something wrong or the algorithm was faulty. It turns out the algorithm is bad, poorly written and totally unuseble in a professional context. I emailed tech support with the problem and I never heard back. I didn't have the time nor the inclination to call them
A third is the phantom "pre-delay" issue. I have never read about this on Sonik Matter, LogicUser, the infowebs or any other net community. But I have talked to many a Logic User in Los Angeles who has encountered a random, non-duplicatible issue where when recording external midi instruments, the audio initially anticipates the grid by anywhere from 100 to 1000 ms drifiting back to 4-5ms after about 4 measures (at 100 bpm).
I have heard rumours that "Apple is aware of the problem" but I have never had any confirmation.
What criterea is Apple going to use to decide whether or not one of these issues requires a $200 charge? Will this critierea be written down? Will it be consistant? Or will it be up to the individual tech support person?
I have never had a Logic version that was completely free of bugs. There is always something a little off and requites a workaround. That said I love the program and have invested thousands of hours and dollars in it. But tech support needs to be free because there are always bugs/issues inherent in this type of program.
I don't feel like I have abused the tech support system and for Apple to start charging for it is ridiculous unless they are going to guarantee a flawless program.
If Apple can ship a bugless program, I am not going to need tech support. Unfortunately, this will happen in the real world. Case in point is the latest version of Logic Pro 7. I will fight $200/incident tech support tooth and nail. I have too much time and money invested in Logic not to.
