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maestrokev

macrumors 6502a
Apr 23, 2007
875
8
Canada
even 49.9 percent is "the minority" …
Being in "the minority" doesn't mean there aren't a slew of problems with the MBA and that some people get it swapped for a new one multiple times, finally giving up. The over heating problem is a real one, and from just a gander at these forums, you can see it for yourself.
Now, I know you'll be going "But it's only "the complainers" who will post about the issues". But of course it is. And they should. Notice the absence of MBP-owners complaining about heat-issues? On the other hand, there's a whole slew of MBP owners complaining about screen issues.

Even if these people ARE in "the minority", it doesn't mean that the MBA isn't a crap product, regardless if one likes the design or not. The fact of the matter is that, once again, Apple seems to have chosen looks over build quality and function. Call it sloppiness, catering to the fanboys, a "lapse" in QC lasting for years in the entire product line, but you cannot just dismiss these things with "it doesn't matter, as you're in the minority".

Oh, and even if you deny it, you certainly are an apologist.

No, I'm not an apologist, I'm a realist. I never said all of Apple products are 100% perfect. That means unlike most of people complaining I get the problem resolved. If it has a problem I bring it back to Apple. No product is perfect. Look at the new car industry, no matter how much you spend there are still problems. Look at the stock market, blue chip stocks go down. And when you move out of your parents house you will pay rent and have to buy your own groceries. Deal with it - buy from a store with a 30 day return policy and if not happy return within 30 days.
 

Tosser

macrumors 68030
Jan 15, 2008
2,677
1
No, I'm not an apologist, I'm a realist.
Sorry, but when you write off any opinion as ridiculous, because it's not what the "majority" experiences, because what Apple does HAS to be right, then you have just given yourself the label "apologist". It's not realism, it's apologism, like it or not.

I never said all of Apple products are 100% perfect.
No you didn't, you merely stated, that until people were in the majority, their experiences doesn't count.

That means unlike most of people complaining I get the problem resolved
.
No it doesn't. You just made leap of logic. You're inferring that the people who complain per definition doesn't do anything about the problems, except complain. Well, guess what, it doesn't work like that in the real world. Complaining is PART of the acting. It doesn't mean one is utter absent otherwise. On the contrary, one could say, that if you think that one shouldn't complain (being in the minority and all :rolleyes:), how the hell should a company know when something is wrong? Sounds like just the sright strategy for Tossers (not me, mind you).

If it has a problem I bring it back to Apple. No product is perfect.
Hmm, so when a product has huge problems, one should silently contact the company? You don't imagine people do that AS WELL, do you? Public outcries _along_ with direct contact is really listened to by companies.
Go take a look at how it works: If a matter is not covered and told to the public, it's seldomly rectified. No matter that many people experience the problem. Because until it becomes publicly know it doesn't touch the company's image profile.

Look at the new car industry, no matter how much you spend there are still problems.
Again, you're being apologetic. First you go "You're just a minority", and now you go "Oh, but everyone is having problems", inferring that all problems are equal, and that we should simply take what the corporations ask us to, no matter if we get a ****** product. As I said: You're an apologist.


Look at the stock market, blue chip stocks go down. And when you move out of your parents house you will pay rent and have to buy your own groceries.

Haha, yes, if only it wasn't almost twenty years since I moved from home. On the other hand, corporate fanboys seem to have little life experience. At least that's what these boards should tell anyone.


Deal with it - buy from a store with a 30 day return policy and if not happy return within 30 days.
Ah, yes, and "please keep quiet about quality problems so the image of Apple won't be hurt" :rolleyes:
 

Abbas

macrumors regular
Jul 9, 2008
176
48
Dubai
Thought I'd throw my opinion here as I have some experience with the topic.

I've been using MacBook Pro for about 1.5 years now. I'm on my third one now- the 2.4GHz system with the nVidia 8600 GPU, 4GB RAM and 250GB Hard Drive. Never really had any complains with the MBP aside from the heat issues.

Last week, I went ahead and bought the Air. Reason I did that was becuase I recently acquired an EeePC and realized that I'd been using it more than the Pro simply because of its size/weight/portability.

While I agree that Air is not a performance work-horse like the Pro, I can very easily see me using the Air a lot more than the Pro. The 3 biggest reasons for that are that my Air runs a LOT cooler than any of my three Pro notebooks, has better battery life and the portability on the Air is just incredible. I hated the keyboard on the EeePC but the Air solves the problem of having a highly portable device with an awesome keyboard.

My main activities include lots of writing, emails, web surfing, iTunes and a bit of Photoshop everyday with images aroun 2-4MB in size. I have Parallels with Outlook 2007 running in the background all the time as well- connected to our Exchange Server. Again, the Air isn't as fast as the Pro, but it's not slow by any standard either. What took 8 seconds on the Pro will probably take 10 on the Air.

So now I have to decide to get rid of one of the machines and I think the MBP is the one that will go. FOR ME, the Air is a better machine. My Mac Pro is available for any heavy duty work while Air's form factor allows me to not think twice about powering it up.
 

maestrokev

macrumors 6502a
Apr 23, 2007
875
8
Canada
Haha, yes, if only it wasn't almost twenty years since I moved from home. On the other hand, corporate fanboys seem to have little life experience. At least that's what these boards should tell anyone.

If people like you spent as much time complaining online as dealing with a live person at Apple you'd have a working laptop by now.

Do you even own a MBA?
 

mhnajjar

macrumors 6502a
Mar 3, 2008
777
0
I wonder why some people defend the MBA? It is the most unusable computer I have ever seen in this era. I have been through more than one and they all SUCK big time. I cannot watch any YouTube video for a long time without having a core shutdown. I also cannot use MS Office 08 properly on my MBA :eek: What a BS did Mr. Jobs promote to us? I still wonder why it is the ONLY computer suffering from the core shutdown issues. Oh you would say it is a feature to prevent heat from damaging the machine, so why isn't it happening to the other computers. BTW, if Apple cared more about providing us with a product that means performance instead of design, then they would have known that they should have placed their vents on some better place than underneath the machine itself. In addition, why are we having a mono speaker while even the smallest PC laptops and cheapest that cost a fraction of the MBA have stereo speakers?

I wish that we all admit that the MBA is sexy but it is USELESS. Even my iPhone runs YouTube videos without any problems, let alone a $1799+ LAPTOP!

I just hope that in these forums, when people complain about the MBA (even if they do not have one), some of the members won't jump right on their face and defend the MBA just because they cannot admit that they bought a piece of **** promoted by the Holy Steve Jobs.

I started to dislike Apple because of the crappy QC they are having on their faulty products lately and I wish they respect the fact that we are paying for their machines because we think that we are getting the best while this is NOT always the case.


Regards to all :)
 

Tosser

macrumors 68030
Jan 15, 2008
2,677
1
If people like you spent as much time complaining online as dealing with a live person at Apple you'd have a working laptop by now.

Don't be daft. Time is not equal to "effort".

Do you even own a MBA?
It doesn't matter if I own an MBA or not. I entered into this thread because of your apologetic statements about problems which didn't matter, unless one was in the majority, that people should stop complaining until they were in the majority, that people that complained never did anything else about their problems, and so on. I reacted to your nonsensical statements that in their essense was nothing more, nothing less than an apologetic fanboy trying to shut the people up whom were talking about their less than ideal experiences with your favourite company.
 

Tannerozzy

macrumors regular
Feb 2, 2008
109
13
Waco, Texas
I'm considering it. I like the portability, but I also need the power. My iMac came in yesterday though, so that might keep me happy power wise for awhile. But man... it'd be nice to have that type of power everywhere I went.
 

Sesshi

macrumors G3
Jun 3, 2006
8,113
1
One Nation Under Gordon
No, I'm not an apologist, I'm a realist. I never said all of Apple products are 100% perfect. That means unlike most of people complaining I get the problem resolved. If it has a problem I bring it back to Apple. No product is perfect. Look at the new car industry, no matter how much you spend there are still problems. Look at the stock market, blue chip stocks go down. And when you move out of your parents house you will pay rent and have to buy your own groceries. Deal with it - buy from a store with a 30 day return policy and if not happy return within 30 days.

No, not a realist. The frequency with which this happens renders that argument - and any pretensions that Apple may have of being a truly quality maker - moot. At the same price points, even Dell is a hundred times better.

I am considering a swap following a fruitless conversation with Customer Services, but I have plenty of MBP's already. The MBP is also still something of a pretty piece of @&%$ in comparison to other 15" machines I might consider but it is a known-factor piece of @&%$, i.e. I know how to work around the problems. I dunno. It would be redundant as I'm trying to reduce the number of MBP's in my possession. I've got rid of the spare, so what I will do is to probably keep the remaining MBA as purely a 'posing' machine. It's all that it's good for in any case.
 

mBurns

macrumors 6502
Oct 3, 2006
357
0
USA
I've been considering jumping from a MacBook Pro to an Air. It all depends on how good of a deal I can get on one. :)
 

El Carbonite

macrumors regular
Apr 1, 2006
147
0
Is it possible to trade in a MacBook Air for a MacBook Pro after the initial 14-days? I've had my Air since April but I'm just not satisfied with it. First, the core shutdown issue (I've already tried CoolBook) - now my headphone jack is completely dead and I can only use the internal mono speaker.
 

SFStateStudent

macrumors 604
Aug 28, 2007
7,496
3
San Francisco California, USA
I had my MBA 1.6/80GB for a few weeks, when I realized that I needed the larger HD. Sold my MBA to my brother, and bought a MBP for the 200GB HD and the extra power for the many programs that I need to run while I'm vacationing this summer. I'm planning on the MBA 1.8/64SSD in August '08, since school is starting up again very soon...:cool:
 

SFStateStudent

macrumors 604
Aug 28, 2007
7,496
3
San Francisco California, USA
Is it possible to trade in a MacBook Air for a MacBook Pro after the initial 14-days?

Take it in and speak with the Store Manager and there's the possibility that you can switch it out for a MBP. I had a similar situation with the MB 2.16 developing scratches on the screen about 2 weeks after I bought it August '07, and they replaced it with a BlackBook 2.4 Penryn February '08, without paying for the upgrade. I just filled-out the email from Apple Customer Service and explained my dissatisfaction and the SM called me at home and invited me to a "personal shopping experience" with her that same day...:p
 

El Carbonite

macrumors regular
Apr 1, 2006
147
0
So I just got back from the Apple Store - went to the Genius Bar because I had an appointment. They insisted on sending it in for repair but when I asked for a replacement, they asked me when I bought it (April 2008). They said anything after 14-days they can't give me a replacement.

Why would they say this when the problems I'm having are just starting now? Any advice?
 

dibara2003

macrumors 6502
Aug 18, 2007
357
0
Hawaii!
So I just got back from the Apple Store - went to the Genius Bar because I had an appointment. They insisted on sending it in for repair but when I asked for a replacement, they asked me when I bought it (April 2008). They said anything after 14-days they can't give me a replacement.

Why would they say this when the problems I'm having are just starting now? Any advice?

sjobs@apple.com it really works. i've had to use it before. unfortunately, i'm jumping ship to a pro or a blackbook
 

Jayy24

macrumors newbie
Jul 23, 2008
21
1
What did your email say that you sent to sjobs@apple.com?

On topic, I came back from the apple store about 3 days ago with a brand new air. I'm a 3rd year college student and on the way there I was trying to make up my mind because I knew I wanted the power of the MBP but I also wanted the portability of the MBA. I ended up taking a gamble on getting a non-lemon MBA and so far it's great. No core shut downs, you-tube for hours, etc.

Can't see me trading the MBA for a MBP anytime soon. Plus, I already have a desktop to handle my power needs so I really don't have to worry about that.
 

El Carbonite

macrumors regular
Apr 1, 2006
147
0
I'll be selling mine on eBay as soon as I get it back from repair. I'm sick of going through this core shutdown business. Almost every Mac I've owned has had a problem with it, the exception being desktops.

Good luck with everyone else.
 

jk1002

macrumors member
Jun 18, 2008
66
5
I actually just ordered a Macbook Air. I didn't really look at the MBP due to the size, 15" is just too big for me.

I eyed the Blackbook. I never looked at it, only at the white one which I found was using cheap plastic. The black one is a bit nicer. Performance is in between Air and Pro, cheaper on top. I did like the display a bit better of the Air, also loved the ambient light sensor and that it adjusts itself. Plus the illuminated keyboard.

I did extensive testing, had 3 HD 1080P trailer running in quicktime. That brought down the Air to a crawl, but no shutdown or crazy heat development.
 

ohforfckssake!

macrumors regular
Aug 2, 2008
122
0
Singapore
Strictly a second computer (that is, secondary to the MBP). If you have a desktop or equivalent primary computer, go for it. Otherwise, I'd stick with a machine that didn't require me to bump my head against an artificial ceiling every time I did something intensive that required more power, screenspace, drivespace, or whatnot.

Anyone else unimpressed by the feel of the keyboard? I prefer the MBP's clickity-clacks. It's awesome for mobile computing, but I can't imagine myself typing and word processing for long periods of time on the MBA. It's underwhelming. I'd love to get the MBA at some later date myself, but definitely not as a primary machine.
 

gooddeal

macrumors regular
Aug 3, 2008
207
0
PA
I got my MBA late in June. After I used it for a couple weeks, I decided to let my Macbook with 4GB of RAM that I got late last year go.

Sure, it's a little slower than the Macbook but I don't want to carry the extra 2 lbs around if I don't have to. Also, I like the touch pad on the Air. It's much better than the Macbook.:p
 

mac jones

macrumors 68040
Apr 6, 2006
3,257
2
It's a tough call.

I slam the AIR but i'm on it right now.

I't just a whole series of weird tradeoffs.

Thing is SO damn thin it's anorexic.
 

me_94501

macrumors 65816
Jan 6, 2003
1,009
0
I wonder why some people defend the MBA?

I like to call it "difference of opinion." ;)

If I had a desktop at home, I'd probably consider a MacBook Air as my next laptop, but I rely on my MacBook as my main computer. Oh, and I like the user-accessible hard drive too.
 
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