Hate my macbook more by the day

[Billy Bob]

your macbook must be significantly older than a year if you were out of warranty when the crack happened, you got it repaired and it now has another crack? I doubt that all happened within a few weeks of your applecare running out? If it did, raise hell with Ken Bell, he is Steve's big CR guy. I'm sure he could do SOMEthing for you...

My first crack developed approximately 8 months after I for recieved my new macbook. Warrenty however was refused because i had previously replaced my lcd (having it done by apple would have been in the 800 dollar range). Anyway hoping that apple had taken moves to correct the weaknesses in the keyboard top case, I bought a brand new one from apple. I've been using it for just over 3 weeks now and yesterday while cleaning it I found a new crack starting very near to where the last one was.

In regards to some other users comments, I can take a picture of the crack if you'd like but it is virtually identical to the cracks that I have seen on other macbooks posted on the internet.

I am not rough on my equipment and in fact I treat everything very well, with a great deal of respect. I have grown up and spent years working with expensive equiptment and know how it is ment to be treated. With that said I am probably not as easy on my computer as some people here on. It does travel with me daily (in a very good protective case) and it is used a great portion out of every day. I am well aware that some people's computer is treated like a prized jewel and spends all of it's time short of being wrapped in goss, perhaps that's what it takes to make the computer last up, but that kind of defeats the point of having a lap top don't you think?

 

[yojitani]

seriously...it's a piece of plastic, i have a macbook and i have dropped mine etc and no plastic has cracked, im sure apple didnt mean to fix it so it cracked in the same place

Well, cracks like this are no accident. Of course, they didn't mean for it to happen, but it is either a design flaw (some have blamed the magnet) or they are using a cheap piece of plastic.

 

[Billy Bob]

Well, cracks like this are no accident. Of course, they didn't mean for it to happen, but it is either a design flaw (some have blamed the magnet) or they are using a cheap piece of plastic.

It could be the magnet, as the magnet does cause the top to lurch down for last couple mm, and the cracks often seem to be occuring where the contact pad for the screen and the keyboard are. Likely it is a combination of this and substandard plastic.

 

[Killyp]

Funny, a friend of mine's has done exactly the same thing in the same place most pics seem to show it, twice (again after having had a top-case replacement).

Seems this is a defect in the original MacBooks. I'd say, see if you can get Apple to replace it. Claim that it's 'clearly' a design defect/flaw and that the repair Apple has done is not satisfactory. If they don't play ball, take them to court, they should give you a replacement before it can even get to court, they usually can't be bothered.

Not good, I'll admit. To me however, Mac OS X is too valuable. I'd just keep fighting with Apple until I get a good machine (the latest generation ones seem fine).

 

[Cybergypsy]

about 700 tops no more,,,,,,

 

[esotericaqua]

Funny, a friend of mine's has done exactly the same thing in the same place most pics seem to show it, twice (again after having had a top-case replacement).

Seems this is a defect in the original MacBooks. I'd say, see if you can get Apple to replace it. Claim that it's 'clearly' a design defect/flaw and that the repair Apple has done is not satisfactory. If they don't play ball, take them to court, they should give you a replacement before it can even get to court, they usually can't be bothered.

I think "taking them to court" is a little excessive! However, make sure you call apple and get forced up the line of command until your complaint is heard and resolved (ie: replacement parts / computer).

If apple still gives you the shaft or you are not satisfied... then file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. The BBB can sometimes have a way of taking care of stuff - especially if apple doesn't want their rating to go down.

Secondly, filing with the BBB will allow you to collect money if there is a future class action lawsuit with the known defect in the product.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[Diatribe]

My first crack developed approximately 8 months after I for recieved my new macbook. Warrenty however was refused because i had previously replaced my lcd (having it done by apple would have been in the 800 dollar range). Anyway hoping that apple had taken moves to correct the weaknesses in the keyboard top case, I bought a brand new one from apple. I've been using it for just over 3 weeks now and yesterday while cleaning it I found a new crack starting very near to where the last one was.

In regards to some other users comments, I can take a picture of the crack if you'd like but it is virtually identical to the cracks that I have seen on other macbooks posted on the internet.

I am not rough on my equipment and in fact I treat everything very well, with a great deal of respect. I have grown up and spent years working with expensive equiptment and know how it is ment to be treated. With that said I am probably not as easy on my computer as some people here on. It does travel with me daily (in a very good protective case) and it is used a great portion out of every day. I am well aware that some people's computer is treated like a prized jewel and spends all of it's time short of being wrapped in goss, perhaps that's what it takes to make the computer last up, but that kind of defeats the point of having a lap top don't you think?

If it has only been three weeks then it is still covered by part warranty, so what's the problem?

 

[Techguy172]

That must be a problem with the older ones the new ones seem fine to me. Good luck with getting it sorted out. But honestly I would just sell it and get a windows machine.

 

[supercaliber]

15 years of PC and Mac use, macbooks win in a landslide

I have owned IBM and lenovo, and Acer and Compaq. I have had macbooks and macbook pros.

I had the cracked keyboard too, but I also had the extended warranty, which I buy with every laptop, you should too.

Apple service is the best if you pay for it. If you don't they suck like everyone else.

Apple hardware is the bomb. Whenever I hear hate towards the hardware I usually jump to the conclusion that you are naive.

 

[Billy Bob]

I have owned IBM and lenovo, and Acer and Compaq. I have had macbooks and macbook pros.

I had the cracked keyboard too, but I also had the extended warranty, which I buy with every laptop, you should too.

Apple service is the best if you pay for it. If you don't they suck like everyone else.

Apple hardware is the bomb. Whenever I hear hate towards the hardware I usually jump to the conclusion that you are naive.

Well you may have a point but care isn't all roses and sun shine. First off, apple care is 250-350 for a laptop, on top of this, they first have to agree that the problem isn't so called "abuse" (which can sometimes be a problem in it's self). Then to top everything else off, you have to be able to survive the weeks with out your computer that it takes to send your laptop in to apple, have them fix it and send it back. Is your assertion that all hardware is equally unreliable so it doesn't matter what company you buy from?

 

[supercaliber]

equally unreliable not at all

Hardware is not equally unreliable. I think certain parts of the computer have proven to be equally unreliable for me over the years, such as hard drives, cd-roms, and fans. But I think other parts of a laptop such as buttons, latches, heat management, power supply, and lights can be engineered better and can last much longer because of that engineering.

My experience is that Apple has more parts engineered at the top of the market, even for the macbook. Apple for me has been superior in durablility to all but lenovo/IBM, and even then I would say it was a wash. The OS and the great resell are deciding factors to me. I will pick an Apple every time if I have the choice. I only get new PCs now when my work buys me a new one.

I have beat on my macbooks as hard as any laptops I have owned and in the end I sell them faster and for more money than any PC I have owned. Try selling a nasty old IBM thinkpad and then try selling a macbook of the same year. On Craigslist you will sell the apple in a day, the thinkpad you may never sell and have to resort to ebay and get a fraction of the cost. resell is definitely one area where Apple's attention to design pays off, people want used apples they do not covet used PCs, that is my experience.

As for the support, I do think that paid-for support is equal with all manufacturers. If you pay for it, you typically get reasonable support. Apple paid support is good, but I would not say better or even as good as others. They have problems like wait times and finding a mac store, et cetera. But when your computer breaks, it doesn't matter who is supporting you, your life is going to suck for a few days, or maybe even weeks. Which is why I have been changing my behavior over the years to store all docs in a central location and always have two computers similarly capable of doing my job.

Believe me there is a reason google docs is so popular. There will be a day when we will laugh at the idea we once stored critical information on our sorry little laptops and desktops, just way to unreliable for critical data.

 

[Billy Bob]

Hardware is not equally unreliable. I think certain parts of the computer have proven to be equally unreliable for me over the years, such as hard drives, cd-roms, and fans. But I think other parts of a laptop such as buttons, latches, heat management, power supply, and lights can be engineered better and can last much longer because of that engineering.

My experience is that Apple has more parts engineered at the top of the market, even for the macbook. Apple for me has been superior in durablility to all but lenovo/IBM, and even then I would say it was a wash. The OS and the great resell are deciding factors to me. I will pick an Apple every time if I have the choice. I only get new PCs now when my work buys me a new one.

I have beat on my macbooks as hard as any laptops I have owned and in the end I sell them faster and for more money than any PC I have owned. Try selling a nasty old IBM thinkpad and then try selling a macbook of the same year. On Craigslist you will sell the apple in a day, the thinkpad you may never sell and have to resort to ebay and get a fraction of the cost. resell is definitely one area where Apple's attention to design pays off, people want used apples they do not covet used PCs, that is my experience.

As for the support, I do think that paid-for support is equal with all manufacturers. If you pay for it, you typically get reasonable support. Apple paid support is good, but I would not say better or even as good as others. They have problems like wait times and finding a mac store, et cetera. But when your computer breaks, it doesn't matter who is supporting you, your life is going to suck for a few days, or maybe even weeks. Which is why I have been changing my behavior over the years to store all docs in a central location and always have two computers similarly capable of doing my job.

Believe me there is a reason google docs is so popular. There will be a day when we will laugh at the idea we once stored critical information on our sorry little laptops and desktops, just way to unreliable for critical data.

Point taken, apples definitely have a distinct advantage when coming to resalability and depreciation.

 

[yojitani]

Well you may have a point but care isn't all roses and sun shine. First off, apple care is 250-350 for a laptop, on top of this, they first have to agree that the problem isn't so called "abuse" (which can sometimes be a problem in it's self). Then to top everything else off, you have to be able to survive the weeks with out your computer that it takes to send your laptop in to apple, have them fix it and send it back. Is your assertion that all hardware is equally unreliable so it doesn't matter what company you buy from?

Check ebay. I bought ac for my macbook at around $120.

 

[Wallace86]

yes...perhaps, someday, you may reach for the light once more and buy an apple...steve will forgive your sin and accept you back into family of Job.

 

[joseph2166]

My only experience of Mac Books is my sister's one - all I can say is that any computer... scrap that any bit of technology at all that can survive her has to have SOME tough qualities.