Barely dropped my MBA, in its sleeve, in a briefcase.

[chrono1081]

I would blame Apple. They shouldn't make a portable product that can't withstand a 2 foot drop without suffering $1000 in damages.

Like another poster said, make sure your next laptop is the Thinkpad x200

Ok, unless your being sarcastic this is easily the stupidest post I've ever seen. Sorry if this hurts your feelings but think this way:

Are you an expert in physics? Can you imagine every possible situation of a laptop withstanding a "2 foot drop" onto every surface imaginable? If so I bet youd be pretty good at designing a macbook that "can withstand a 2 foot drop without suffering $1000 in damages" since you can predict exactly what pieces will break on every single surface this macbook is dropped to and you can predict the starting position for this dropped macbook.

The point is this thing still WORKS after the drop. Thats pretty good. Better then some Thinkpads we have have withstood.

 

[iMpathetic]

And yet.... somehow.... life goes on.

 

[dudeitsjay]

Wait a minute, it still runs. Not like it costs $800 to make it play iTunes or check email. It is COSMETIC damage. It's minor. Cars have been mentioned and are perfect analogy. And an extremely cosmetic dent on a high end car could cost a small fortune to fix; but that doesn't mean the car cannot get you to work in the morning or to the Apple Store.

I would like to know if the Kenneth Cole "designer" bag was fully padded. As I seriously doubt a fully padded "computer" bag would have let that happen. I own a Coach designer tote, and I am fully aware that it is not true computer bag and will not protect my MBA. Also, sleeves only protect from surface scratches and do not have padding to stop dents.

The problem with owning the MBA, is that those like me don't want to carry around a heavily padded computer bag that would weigh three times more than my MBA. So, if I drop my computer, in a sleeve, in my Coach bag, I expect it to dent. It is the risk that comes with being designer and truly ultra portable.

So it sucks, but it is exactly what I expect if I accidentally drop my MBA from even six inches from the ground.

Sorry again, but let's be accountable for our own actions.

Ok, unless your being sarcastic this is easily the stupidest post I've ever seen. Sorry if this hurts your feelings but think this way:

Are you an expert in physics? Can you imagine every possible situation of a laptop withstanding a "2 foot drop" onto every surface imaginable? If so I bet youd be pretty good at designing a macbook that "can withstand a 2 foot drop without suffering $1000 in damages" since you can predict exactly what pieces will break on every single surface this macbook is dropped to and you can predict the starting position for this dropped macbook.

The point is this thing still WORKS after the drop. Thats pretty good. Better then some Thinkpads we have have withstood.

I did mention a very reasonable alternative that I thought up in 10 seconds. It could've taken designers 1 stress test to figure this one out. Have the backplate envelope the corners, much like the screen's backplate. The only issue with the screen's backplate is that it is pasted on, denying any followthrough repairs or adjustments. If they spent the time and money to come up with a more ergonomic screen construction and take away say some of the 30 screws that are completely useless on the backplating and inner assembly and apply it to more pertinent user-friendly component assemblies, then you could have yourselves a very mod/repair friendly laptop. It is clearly evident that visual appeal greatly outweighed inductive design, as with all apple products. Also, by the way their warranty, services, and designs have been for the past years, it is clearly evident that apple would prefer their consumers to not touch or investigate their own purchases and be technological donkeys. This way, premiums in terms of specializing repairs and services are monopolistic. I have no problem with that. I am merely offering my tales as caveats to those who have yet to be so misfortunate: Careful with the corners of your macbook screen, they bend inwards easily from little pressure, and require the entire panel to be replaced for repairs ($800).

And let's be clear, if you assume to accept--by your tone, welcome--$800 of damage from a 6in drop, there is something wrong in your head... Accountability and all, you can have your Mybach get a minor dent on your bumper, cracking through the paint, and have it it cost you $1200 for a tiny crack. It doesn't mean you can't to be pissed about it. Take the metaphor even further, and assume the paint to have a higher purpose of reflecting light from the finishing gloss to look sexy, which in turn, reduces and weakens the fidelity of the paint, making it prone to easier cracks. Sure you can accept the pros and cons, but its not unreasonable or by any means shirking your accountability if you wish there could've been a better compromise in respects to the real world where bad stuff happens. I think the ultimate draw from assuming lack of accountability is derived from apathetically assuming and religiously uplifting apple's products to be perfect. They're not. Let's not be fanboys and let's try to be critical of our purchases as our rights as consumers.

 

[ajohnson253]

Aluminum is a weak metal. Not like steel or iron. It tends to bend easily, easier than other metals.

simply

 

[Scottsdale]

Aluminum is a weak metal. Not like steel or iron. It tends to bend easily, easier than other metals.

But could you imagine the weight of a steel or iron MacNotebook? I agree, aluminum is weak. And I think people should live with damage when they drop their Mac notebooks or else they shouldn't buy a Mac. Apple never said that aluminum was durable for drops.

No computer should have to survive undamaged from a drop from two feet or any height. Besides the MBA works fine, it's just a little cosmetic damage... what I would expect for a computer being dropped.

I believe a proper notebook bag with padding on all sides would have prevented the damage. A designer bag like mine, has no protection at all for the MBA. To some people, design is more important than protection... that is the problem here.

Computers are not intended to be dropped!

 

[-hh]

And let's be clear, if you assume to accept--by your tone, welcome--$800 of damage from a 6in drop, there is something wrong in your head...

Goof-ups are never welcomed; its just a reality of life. In the big scheme of life, this is little stuff not worth obsessing over, since your laptop is still otherwise running just fine.

Accountability and all, you can have your Mybach get a minor dent on your bumper, cracking through the paint, and have it it cost you $1200 for a tiny crack. It doesn't mean you can't to be pissed about it.

And my hatchback's painted front bumper has a hundred tiny chips in the paint from 7 years worth of stone hits. Should I blame all of this on the manufacturer because he avoided using (highly environmentally unfriendly) chromed bumpers, or perhaps take some responsibility upon myself because the fact that it was painted (not chromed) was a very obvious design attribute when I bought the car?

Sure you can accept the pros and cons, but its not unreasonable or by any means shirking your accountability if you wish there could've been a better compromise in respects to the real world where bad stuff happens. I think the ultimate draw from assuming lack of accountability is derived from apathetically assuming and religiously uplifting apple's products to be perfect. They're not. Let's not be fanboys and let's try to be critical of our purchases as our rights as consumers.

My apologies: I didn't realize that Steve Jobs himself snuck up behind you and went "BOO!" to force you to drop your laptop.

Of course, as a reasonably knowledgeable consumer, you should have suspected that there must have been trade-offs involved somewhere in providing the benefit of a 13" notebook that only weighed 3lbs.

If you didn't suspect that huge amounts of ruggedness were absent, then you should have been suspicious at its contextually low retail price.

FWIW, a few years ago, I had a piece of equipment that its customer required 'drop test' protection...a mere $1,000 protective case later, we had finally found something that would pass - and yet when the customer didn't like the repercussions of his own requirement. The contract got amended to add a second 'soft' case, which didn't provide any drop-protection, but was significantly smaller/lighter. More of them are getting broken from drops, but the customer accepts the trade-off for portability & convenience.


-hh

 

[IgnatiusTheKing]

No computer should have to survive undamaged from a drop from two feet or any height. Besides the MBA works fine, it's just a little cosmetic damage... what I would expect for a computer being dropped.

This actually brings up a very good point. Apple has addressed the dropping issue in the way that matters most. That's why the sudden motion sensor was implemented. How would you feel if a two-foot drop resulted in a machine that wouldn't even turn on or lost all data?

So now you have a perfectly functioning computer that happens to have a little cosmetic damage. You could have a nice, undamaged steel case with a dead hard drive.

You should be cursing yourself for dropping the thing and thanking Apple that the damage wasn't worse.

 

[eastercat]

It's a pity about your MBA. You might want to think about getting a good, padded sleeve that can protect your computer against accidental falls. I'm guessing your Kenneth Cole bag didn't have the necessary padding that your sleeve failed to provide.
If you're paranoid, Tom Bihn's Brain Cell is so padded that it can supposedly protect an egg.

 

[jennyp]

Hey I feel your pain.

Especially since I notice the book in the photo is called "Property management"

 

[mags631]

I would blame Apple. They shouldn't make a portable product that can't withstand a 2 foot drop without suffering $1000 in damages.

Like another poster said, make sure your next laptop is the Thinkpad x200

And be sure to post back after a year. I'd love to hear how that goes.

 

[duky]

MB Unibody same deal

I had the same thing happen to my MacBook except it fell from around 6ft in the air and it was inside a Radtech sleeve (not protective at all), which was inside by backpack. It was pretty much expected that it would dent. It was a few weeks after I bought it though, so I took it back and eventually got a replacement because my battery cover was not closing correctly; sorry about your Air though--but if your case isn't protective it shouldn't be shocking really..I don't think Apple is to blame for this.

 

[dudeitsjay]

I offered what I think as a valid and rational design improvement to drastically improve the ergonomics of maintenance, repair, and the costs of both.


ps your name comes along side your post so there's no need to do this

-dudeitsjay

 

[Sesshi]

I'm not a fan of conspiracy theories in general, but sometimes I wonder if Apple is deliberately choosing scratch- and dent-prone designs, to force you to pay extra for cases, skins and "socks", and to make second-hand specimen look so awful that people will give up looking for used ones and buy new. Plastic, for all its faults, tends to stay fresh. This Dell notebook I'm typing on is 3 years old and plastic all over, but it looks spanking new. And every Nokia and SonyEricsson cellphone I have in my retired gadgets drawer looks good too, despite never having been protected by any case or whatever. My iPods on the other hand look miserable, the chrome they used on the back to get that mirror effect will scratch if you look at it funny. I even have the 1st gen iPod Nano, the one that was so scratch-prone someone filed a lawsuit (the glass would go from clear to frosted within a couple of weeks, just from rubbing against pocket lint). And my friend's MBA looks like someone went ice skating on it. The only Apple gadgets I have that don't look heavily used are the Mighty Mouse and a white iPhone 3G. I have a really hard time buying that their industrial designers can do all these amazing things like laser-carved unibodies and ultra-thin iPods but have absolutely no idea how to produce surfaces that can withstand normal wear and tear without looking like sh*t after a week. It has to be intentional.

I've never really been able to figure out with absolute certainty whether it is intentional. But my guess is not - that they are basically learning on the job, and not very well in many cases.

But the machines do feel as precious as they are in effect, and it is mainly about the feel: Which is why they get a much easier ride from most consumers. So the lower quality of engineering, as opposed to the design, goes unnoticed and they keep their reputation for 'quality'.

It's a kind of weird form of arrogance I suppose, but generally consistent with the Apple mindset. Pushing the envelope despite not being adequately sure what they're doing. Their customer base allows them to get away with it.

 

[dudeitsjay]

I've never really been able to figure out with absolute certainty whether it is intentional. But my guess is not - that they are basically learning on the job, and not very well in many cases.

But the machines do feel as precious as they are in effect, and it is mainly about the feel: Which is why they get a much easier ride from most consumers. So the lower quality of engineering, as opposed to the design, goes unnoticed and they keep their reputation for 'quality'.

It's a kind of weird form of arrogance I suppose, but generally consistent with the Apple mindset. Pushing the envelope despite not being adequately sure what they're doing. Their customer base allows them to get away with it.

+1
Lol, just like to mention Im in class n my neighbors just said i have the coolest laptop. ahaha.

 

[-hh]

I offered what I think as a valid and rational design improvement to drastically improve the ergonomics of maintenance, repair, and the costs of both.

You might have thought them to be valid and rational, but that doesn't mean that they actually are. In my professional opinion, I saw no particular evidence that it would make any difference in drop-resistance performance.

But if you're willing to add your P.E. (Professional Engineering) License # and some Level I drawings, I'll take another quick look at your proposal.

ps your name comes along side your post so there's no need to do this

-dudeitsjay

PS: I know.


-hh

 

[Sesshi]

You might have thought them to be valid and rational, but that doesn't mean that they actually are. In my professional opinion, I saw no particular evidence that it would make any difference in drop-resistance performance.

But if you're willing to add your P.E. (Professional Engineering) License # and some Level I drawings, I'll take another quick look at your proposal.




PS: I know.


-hh

Well - if you had your P.E. then you may realise that the material and structural choices evident in Apple's 3lb notebook isn't anywhere near optimised for durability. It is almost purely a choice driven by marketing, and how people react to the tactile elements of aluminium.

 

[-hh]

Well - if you had your P.E. then you may realise that the material and structural choices evident in Apple's 3lb notebook isn't anywhere near optimised for durability.

Fortunately, I wasn't the one that made the claim that a "simple" change would somehow make it magically bulletproof, so my professional credentials aren't the issue.

Of course, occasionally someone that sounds like a crackpot does actually have an intellectual breakthrough. That's why one should never say 'No' without any diligence, no matter how cynical one might be: the old paradigm of "Not Invented Here" has IMO been evolving to "Take the Risk Reduction!", although this does assume that IP issues are satisfactorily handled. Of course, the claim here was also that the proposed change was extremely obvious (only one FEA run, etc), so it would be thus difficult to claim IP after-the-fact.

If the proposal is brilliant, we might even extend a job interview. Some of the best talent gets picked up as cherry-picking during economic downturns.

And if he already has his own P.E. (somehow), that's just means lower employee training costs. Hopefully, he's also been an active volunteer in his school's local ASME chapter, too.


-hh

 

[h.21]

I'm a very careful and cautious guy with electronic investments

I hate to be the one who states the obvious here, but obviously not.

 

[McBeats]

ya man 2 feet drops will do that still... rediculous or not, I bet the machine still runs fine

 

[dudeitsjay]

Leave it to the guy who pulls out his degrees and goes for the inverted ad hominem. Take a closer look at my suggestion and understand clearly that I'm not opting for a more damage resistant design, but a design that openly embraces the ***** of daily life and works to minimize the collateral damage thereof. If you still haven't got it by now and are trying to find that photocopy of your degree and awards to IMG and post for your next link to wow everyone into submission let me so humbly explain, mine führer. Enveloping the corners with the backplating can improve the likelihood that accidental falls most damaging (corner impacts) can be offset to a lesser expensive and accessible part. Once again, this would not intentionally be a design specifically for damage resistance, but of ergonomics. Ultimately, I was frustrated by the pricetag on the fix, and by no means at any time felt it was APPLE's fault. Though, if you do truly have that badge of I'm-not-an-idiot, you could surmise that an enveloping plate can also not only take the damage, but spread the force all across the backplating, further decreasing the severity of the results, and preemptively protect other parts that would by the original design receive the transfer of energy. This is an obvious logical step higher than leaving a design where the corner points of impact will cause the force wave to travel through directly into the intimately attached logicboard.

Also, yea i felt ashamed for thinking myself an extreme caretaker of my electronics after this. But, I just was in disbelief it resulted in something like this when it was in a padded briefcase in a padded sleeve... either way, I like that some people here are at least considerate enough to overlook my prior vehement outbreak and see the resulting suggestion as what it is--an alternative design. So far, I've yet to hear a flaw in the suggestion, which I would gladly read over and consider, than have people pull out P.E. degrees with no intention of dusting it off other than to polish and shine to measure e-dicks with. Oh and your professional opinion had nothing but "in my professional opinion" in it. That was as professional as it got.

I await thine answer, mine führer.

-all hail hh (he haz degree frumz skew)

 

[-hh]

{multiple insults deleted}

Enveloping the corners with the backplating can improve the likelihood that accidental falls most damaging (corner impacts) can be offset to a lesser expensive and accessible part.

If your design consists (as I suspect it does) of a 90 degree bend to cover the corner, the basic flaw with a "wraparound corner" as a design approach is that as a protection scheme, its resistance to deflection from impulse loads is effectively predicated upon how much mass you add to overcome the introduced 90 degree bend, and/or the increases to its underlying supporting structure where the load would be immediately transferred to.

Sure, you might provide better protection from very minor bumps, but part of the design trade-off is that for a bigger bump, you'll incur plastic deformation more readily, due to that same bend. What makes repair downright fun is that this is a plastic deformation, so it can't release back (away from the piece you were trying to protect), so the disassembly is more likely to be jammed and harder to disassemble/reassemble.

... you could surmise that an enveloping plate can also not only take the damage, but spread the force all across the backplating, further decreasing the severity of the results, and preemptively protect other parts that would by the original design receive the transfer of energy. This is an obvious logical step higher than leaving a design where the corner points of impact will cause the force wave to travel through directly into the intimately attached logicboard.

But how is this materially any different from how Apple's 'long taper' approach already distributes an impulse force now? By you trying to strengthen the corner to prevent a plastic deformation, your unintended consequences are that you prevented that energy from being dissipated there, so now it has to go cause mischief (damage) somewhere else: where will this be?

So far, I've yet to hear a flaw in the suggestion, which I would gladly read over and consider...

All design 'suggestions' need to be unambiguously clear, which is why I asked for a design drawing (which unfortunately still hasn't been provided) before offering any critique.

As such, I'm still not 100% sure that your proposed description consists of simply wrapping the back of the case up around the corner with a 90 degree bend. Simplistically, your approach could be made to work with enough structure (mass). However, this would be an inelegant brute force method that adds a fairly significant amount of weight and size, which defeats the design intent of the Air.

The simplistic bottom line is that if you want real drop resistance, you're going to have to use a hard case. Here's a 28lb example.


-hh

 

[Sesshi]

{multiple smug comments deleted}

The simplistic bottom line is that if you want real drop resistance, you're going to have to use a hard case. Here's a 28lb example.

A little company called Sony disagrees in the context of the OP's original post.
http://b2b.sony.com/vaio/durability/durability_videos.html?vid=0

It weighs about ~200g more than the Air - and packs in more than the Macbook.

 

[-hh]

A little company called Sony disagrees in the context of the OP's original post.
http://b2b.sony.com/vaio/durability/durability_videos.html?vid=0

The context of the OP's post was a corner hit. The above Sony video is of a perfectly flat hit.

They're non-comparable, since flat drops are significantly less severe.

Some international test standards, such as MIL-STD-810 (procedure 516.5), very explicitly call for corner hits. Here's one representative example of the basic difference in the test setup configuration.

FWIW, I didn't notice any overt statement on Sony's page as to what peer-reviewed published test standard they chose to use. Perhaps you could be so kind as to point it out, since it isn't Rocket Science to "Game" a test procedure.

In the meantime, one can contemplate the statistical likelihood of a flat hit versus a non-flat one...if one assumes that being within 5 degrees of flat is close enough to flat, then there's (0-5 + 85-90) = 10 degrees which are 'flat' of every 90, or roughly 40 out of every 360 (roughly 11% of the time) ... but which also then means that there's 320 out of every 360 that's not a flat hit (roughly 89% of the time), and the ratio of 11:89 means that a corner hit is roughly 8x more statistically likely than a flat hit.


-hh

 

[Sesshi]

The Air will also deform with a flat-edge hit and a topple.

The Z will survive a corner hit on a hard floor with a somewhat distracting scuff mark - which for a regular user might be enough to continue using, but in my case necessitated replacement - as has multiple Macbook Pros, which featured far more noticeable dents with relatively insignificant impacts while in a laptop bag, as it's my normal practice not to use laptops which look excessively used.

Your point is?

 

[-hh]

The Air will also deform with a flat-edge hit and a topple. Your point is?

It is: "Absence of Evidence is not Evidence of Absence."

Absence of Evidence #1:

A Sony surviving a flat drop doesn't provide proof that it will assuredly survive the known more severe test case of a corner hit drop.

Absence of Evidence #2:

There's no close-up still photos of the Sony after its flat hit test to show that it survived with zero cosmetic damage.

We need to keep in mind that the OP's MBA did continue to operate after a corner hit drop ... his complaint was cosmetic, not a dead machine, and even then, it was more to the relatively high cost of repairing the cosmetic.


-hh