Has anyone ever done this...?

[YoYoMac]

I'm going to buy a MBP in the morning at the Atlanta Apple Store. Has anyone ever opened they Laptop right there in the store to make sure that it doesn't have any dead pixels or any other problems? If you did check it right there, and you did have problems, what did Apple do about it? I guess I'm just a little nervous with the different "issues" the new models are having. I would wait, but I don't have lots of time on my hands.

 

[macgeek2005]

I'm going to buy a MBP in the morning at the Atlanta Apple Store. Has anyone ever opened they Laptop right there in the store to make sure that it doesn't have any dead pixels or any other problems? If you did check it right there, and you did have problems, what did Apple do about it? I guess I'm just a little nervous with the different "issues" the new models are having. I would wait, but I don't have lots of time on my hands.

Do whatever you want. It doesn't matter. I'm sure there will be no problems, as is always the case when you actually get your hands on a machine. Theres all these horror stories, but it never actually happends to you. You know what I mean?

PM me if you have problems with your machine, so that I stop boasting this stuff so much.

 

[DMPDX]

After having 2 DOA powerbooks I opened the third in-store to make sure it was functional. The manager made the offer to do so after the stink I made, caught other customers attention. But yea, if you ask theyull most likely let you open it in store.
-dsm

 

[YoYoMac]

So, I went to the Lenox Square store today. I got there and a guy asked me if he could help me. I said, "yeah sure, I have one question for you. What is your dead pixel policy?" I was given a blank stare. The guy didn't know what a dead pixel was! No seriously, I'm not making this up. Then he proceeds to tell me that a mac genius would have to make sure that the dead pixel wasn't caused by the user! He used the example of someone putting their pencil through the monitor! Oh MY GOODNESS! I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Anyway, I found a different guy, and had him get my MBP. Bought it, took it right outside the apple store and looked it over. I have zero dead pixels as far as I can tell. Oh and I have the "revision D" logic board according to my serial number, and I have the whine noise. I'm always listening to music, so it doesn't bother me that bad. It probably will on a flight. Anyway. That's it.

 

[Eniregnat]

... Then he proceeds to tell me that a mac genius would have to make sure that the dead pixel wasn't caused by the user! ...

Some time ago, back in the clamshell iBook days, Apple's dead pixel policy was somewhere in the order of 27 single instance failures (one or all layers of a pixel stuck), or 5 completely dead pixels in a row. Which is really a small number of failures considering the number of transistors involved with each pixel. My first iBook had dead pixels which Apple later fixed for free. It was irritating at first, but later on I rarely noticed. I don't notice it any more- but I work mostly with documents and wav files.

Dell’s policy is 6 or “severa”l in a cluster.

According tothis article, Samsung’s policy is zero dead pixels.

Apple’s TN on “pixel anomalies” states if you think you have a large number, but I think it is as I stated. Speak with a honey voice not a vinegar one when dealing with Apple’s techs. This disagrees a little with what I know, and [URL= http://www.macmerc.com/article.php?sid=1016]this one jives with what I know. Both use the same source which Apple Legal had removed.

An article about how some companies charge extra for zero-dead pixels, and what some companies allow and don’t allow. Here is a great web article which lays out the range in table format (good on 2/17/05 for a 1024 x 768 screen).

• From Notebook Review .com See article for clarifacation.
  Key S = stuck or partially lit pixels D = dead T = total dead or stuck pixels. U = unstated or not applicable
  S 7 D 7 T 7 Dell
  S 5-11 D 5-16 T 9-16 IBM
  S 7 D 7 T 9 HP/Compaq
  S 6 D 6 T 10 LG / LG.Philips
  S 7 D 7 T U Sharp
  S 9 D 9 T 9 Acer (note: all were ranges for 9-10)
  S U D U T U Apple
  S 0 D 0 T 0 Samsung
  S 3 D 3 T 3 Fujitsu
  S 3 D 3 T 3 Panasonic
  S 2 D 2 T 2 Portable One
  S 5 D 5 T 5 Sony
  S 5 D 5 T 5 Toshiba
  S 2 D 2 T 2 Alienware

Some of these numbers don’t jive with other information I have looked up, but at the time I bet it was right. There is probably an advantage to some silver tongued persons. By Apple not stating It’s policy openly, it does give individual techs some leeway to make exceptions to what ever Apple’s internal standard is.

As to your quote, it happens! I have people write on my lcds all the time. Once somebody punched through the screen, and then try to erase it! Luckily the organization I worked for at the time was a tier 1 purchaser, so ultimately it was replaced no questions asked, but really. People are that dumb.

Edited to fix UBB codeing -perhaps title of this thread should change to reflect what it's about.