Macbook Pro. It's going back and so am I.

[maestro55]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/3B48b Safari/419.3)

The funny thing is I read threads like this and have to wonder how many hundreds or thousands of posts are on PC forums with all the issues with cheap PC notebooks. Apple like all companies have issues with machines, your best bet is to get a new one and enjoy.

 

[palmerized]

Wow, took some time but I've read through these comments. I'm not saying people are experiencing issues with their Macbook Pros. Just remember, these are a roughly dozen people posting their issues. Forums are places where people go to get answers to issues their having and post their problems. So... ya, there a a handful of people having problems, but there are thousands and thousands of people happy with their product.

I've had 5 Macs. The latest is a new MacBook Pro. Maybe I'm lucky, but I have had no issues with it. I've had issues with a Mac only once. Logic board issues on a G3 Powerbook. Apple replaced it with a newer model - I was happy they stood by their product.

I've also had many PCs. Toshiba, Gateway, etc and used more at work, IBM and Dell. Most of these have been crap in comparison in terms of quality... and the reason I keep going back to Mac is because of their hardware and hardware support. It would be different if Apple was refusing to fix your computer!

Anyway -- that's my two cents. I'm happy with mine, and I'm sure there are thousands happy with theirs.

 

[marcelg]

How can we argue that it is a handfull of people when some have gone back times and times again to have their machines replaced?

It is like arguing that a dozen people have won the lottery over and over and over again.

When are we going to be humble about it all and admit that Mac is just as crap as any other company and the more success it will have, the less it will care about it's users!?

The reality is that once upon a time, Mac was know for paying attention to detail, quality control, design etc. Nowadays, with the success it's had, it will inevitably seek to keep it's shareholders happy, and therefore, it will not care less and less about us, users.

You see, in the past, it could not afford to let so many issues go by without addressing them - it had to build a reputation. Now, it has done that and it will ride on the back of it at our expense.

As for some of the arguments put forward in this forum e.g. I bought a house which had problems and ... now I live in the street - If you went to the same company and bought a house which had problems, and had to move out because of them; and then, bought another one and had to move out of that one as well; and every when you went on a citizen's forum heard that many who were there had the same problems - would your wife not be right in saying that you are an idiot for going back for more punishment? Would not the right decision be to hang in there until the company improved its standards before you move your entire household into another house built by the same manufacturer?

 

[eenu]

You see, in the past, it could not afford to let so many issues go by without addressing them - it had to build a reputation. Now, it has done that and it will ride on the back of it at our expense.

Sorry but what utter rubbish. Apple maybe doing well but its hardly the industry leader that can just kick back and relax. I know for a fact at my Apple interview just how passionate the company is about getting switchers onto their platform and you think they are happy to push switchers hard in one area of the business model but then let them down intentionally in another? BS!

Apple is suffering from classic rapid expansion issues. I'm not saying its right or justified but at the moment its becoming a victim of its own success and I don't believe anyone at Apple is just sitting back counting the $$'s and thinking screw our customers. When your turning out millions and millions of units (which they never used to) then the time it takes for a problem to rear its head is much greater. Apple logs all the reported faults with all returned machines and when a pattern occurs Apple Engineering pull random samples from the production lines. These issues can sometimes take a long while to be detected and also for a resolution to be found. I know that Apple returns also ship specific machines direct to Apple Engineering so they have specific examples from customers to see.

Don't for one second believe Apple doesn't give a crap and they do nothing, despite having had to have gone through 5 machines until i got a good one the customer care was great, and i got money off to say sorry. Whilst it provided me with hassle and in an ideal world it wouldn't happen i know with Apple if things aint right they will fix em for me and will keep on doing so until i am happy - there aint many companies out there that have communicated as effectively with me as apple and helped so much when things have gone tits up.

 

[Sabrezx]

Surely the easiest way to bypass this problem is to buy from an apple store instead of by mail order. I recently bought an i mac 24" and a macbook and both have been perfect. There is no way I would spend that kind of cash without seeing the product first, you also get much better customer support because you can build up a rapport with human beings instead of an anonymous help line. Sorry to hear of your bad experience though and as has been stated in many previous posts don't let some technical probs put you off what is a vastly superior OS and platform. ( I was PC/windows all the way for 12 years)

 

[lil'homunculus]

Surely the easiest way to bypass this problem is to buy from an apple store instead of by mail order. I recently bought an i mac 24" and a macbook and both have been perfect. There is no way I would spend that kind of cash without seeing the product first, you also get much better customer support because you can build up a rapport with human beings instead of an anonymous help line. Sorry to hear of your bad experience though and as has been stated in many previous posts don't let some technical probs put you off what is a vastly superior OS and platform. ( I was PC/windows all the way for 12 years)

You are a very wise person. I could not concur with you enough. Having spent $2500$ on my MBP, i actually had it delivered and set up in my own home, to my utter satisfaction. Buying something sight-unseen is a complete crap-shoot. CAVEAT EMPTOR...

 

[kaiwai]

This information is interesting and does mean that the only real difference between the hardware is what is running it, hence why I mentioned OSX. The "superiority" to me, isn't about the hardware, but about what is running on it. I'm sure other Mac users might disagree with me (loving their hardware to bits), but I care more about leaving Windows behind.

Same here - the only reason I purchase Apple computers is for the operating system, not the hardware. btw, Quanta assembled Apple computers before the Intel switch. Out of all the computers I've had, the only bad luck so far was with a Toshiba A100 PSAA9A laptop 18 months/2 years ago.

What I find funny is the number of 'back in the old days' every time a new product comes out - looking back on old products with rose tinted glasses. Everytime a new product is bought out by Apple we have old farts come out of the wood work waving their walking cain around going, "back in the good old days I had xyz product, and it was far superior quality!"

I mean, even Steve Jobs said when they moved to Intel, customers purchase their computers for the operating system, its the operating system which makes a Mac, a Mac. Mac OS X is the heart of the Mac.

 

[heatmiser]

I mean, even Steve Jobs said when they moved to Intel, customers purchase their computers for the operating system, its the operating system which makes a Mac, a Mac. Mac OS X is the heart of the Mac.

Oh, definitely. If it were possible to run a fully functional version of OS X on my Gateways, I'd never buy another Apple. I don't care for the hardware, and quite frankly, would prefer to be able to pick my own configurations to run the OS on, and pay half the price I currently need to pay in order to run the OS on a given piece of hardware. I think a lot of people feel the same way, which is why it'll be a long, long time before Apple releases hardware-independent versions of their software. Apple may call OS X the heart of "Macness", but the bottom line is that they make their profits through their hardware, and not through their software. This is the only reason why the OS is chained to Apple hardware. Very few people would pay the Apple Tax if it were optional.

 

[solvs]

When are we going to be humble about it all and admit that Mac is just as crap as any other company and the more success it will have, the less it will care about it's users!?

First of all, it's Apple, not Mac. And the reason we don't admit it is because it isn't true. Even with all of the issues, they still lead in the industry as far as build quality and support. Sure there are issues, no one is perfect and no one is saying Apple is, but there are bound to be more issues reported as there are more people using them. The numbers go up, but the percentage really hasn't. And Apple does (eventually) usually fix the issues, especially the large scale ones. When they don't, we can, and do, complain. As well we should. But writing it all off as crap, or just as bad as everyone else, is going too far.

And again, my Mac and most of the ones I deal with at work (so far numbering in the hundreds) are perfectly fine, as a majority here have, otherwise they wouldn't be here.

If it were possible to run a fully functional version of OS X on my Gateways, I'd never buy another Apple.

Of all the brands to bring up. Gateway has the one of the worst reliability and support rating in the industry. Maybe you've had better luck than I have, or the multitude of others who've had issues, but the ratings and anecdotes tell us that maybe you're in the minority there.

 

[marcelg]

The reason for which I wrote my original post and I hold this point of view is that while a year ago the MacBook and MacBook Pro forums dealt with minor issues people experienced, a quick look at the forum at this point in time and one will notice the majority of the threads deal with major issues - keyboard problems, screen issues, freezes, restarts, warped screens etc. (Same goes with Leopard, and this is before the software hackers have had any serious go at it - one that will happen, I could foresee a heavy laden Leopard with all sorts of security fixes. But this is another issue)

I will give the Mac community that much - when one has a problem (in the vast majority of cases), the Customer Services do their best. However, I still cannot bring myself to spend so much money only to take a lottery ticket, especially since I am looking at getting a laptop in the States, while I live in the UK.

 

[solvs]

However, I still cannot bring myself to spend so much money only to take a lottery ticket

You have a much better chance of getting one that doesn't have a problem than getting one that does. I'd love a lottery like that. And if you do have a problem, you can get it fixed or get a replacement. Same as with any other brand. Actually, since Apple has the lowest percentage of computers with issues, your odds are actually better with them.

 

[Matiek]

My MBP is four months old and it has been perfect. I use it every day for at least three hours during which I render video and play games (savage/wow) and I haven't had any problems. There are a lot of good MBPs out there you just don't read about them on forums and while I do agree that apple should take "the customer is always right" stance when it comes to bad hardware I think the costumer needs to be willing to work with apple. If they offered you a new computer and 70(british pounds) off it seems like you're being unreasonable.

 

[heatmiser]

Of all the brands to bring up. Gateway has the one of the worst reliability and support rating in the industry. Maybe you've had better luck than I have, or the multitude of others who've had issues, but the ratings and anecdotes tell us that maybe you're in the minority there.

I doubt it. As neither of us have full statistics to work with--ie, accurate means to compare the number of buyers with problems to the number of buyers without problems--badmouthing Gateway on the basis of "anecdotes" is about as shallow as badmouthing Apple. I've had success with every Gateway I've used. Maybe that's the case for you with Apple. I'm not sure what that tells us except that you're more willing to give Apple the benefit of the doubt, while I'm quite happy with Gateway--and would still be using them if not for my desire to run Tiger.

 

[alex2402]

don't give up

yes, I agree with steven, don't give up. I bought one las t week and it's working fine.

 

[Rustman]

Happy Ending.

Well, it seems that this thread has a life of it's own, but I just thought that after all I've read here that I should try and finish off by saying that it seems we have a happy ending. At least for the OP.

After looking for alternative laptops, I realised that the greatest reason for having a lappy was because I wanted to be in the front room with a powerful computer. The iMac fulfilled that need, but I didn't want a glossy screen.

But therein lies the rub. All the decent laptops that I was thinking of replacing the MBP with had glossy screens, the main reason I didn't get an iMac on the refresh.

So it seems my journey has gone full circle. I waited for the iMac refresh, got disappointed, waited for the Mac Pro refresh, (nearly dying of old age), bought a MBP on an impulse, (felt totally let down) and then woke up this morning thinking, maybe I should just get an iMac and damn it all. So off to my local PC World I went.

Well, as you already know, I'm a picky sod and so far I'm very happy with my decision. The screen isn't the best on the planet, (it has slight yellowing in the corners), but it's quiet, a decent speed (thrashes my 2.16GHz Dual Core Duo PC) and Applecare is a decent price for it.

So, a proud new owner of a 24" 2.4GHz iMac Alu has been added to the ranks. I hope my switch is a happy and relatively painless one.

 

[Techguy172]

Well Good Luck with your new mac. I hope this one's good to you.

 

[kaiwai]

Oh, definitely. If it were possible to run a fully functional version of OS X on my Gateways, I'd never buy another Apple. I don't care for the hardware, and quite frankly, would prefer to be able to pick my own configurations to run the OS on, and pay half the price I currently need to pay in order to run the OS on a given piece of hardware. I think a lot of people feel the same way, which is why it'll be a long, long time before Apple releases hardware-independent versions of their software. Apple may call OS X the heart of "Macness", but the bottom line is that they make their profits through their hardware, and not through their software. This is the only reason why the OS is chained to Apple hardware. Very few people would pay the Apple Tax if it were optional.

The new Dells look pretty cool; the el-cheapo emerald laptops from Acer would be great for those who want a low cost laptop running Mac OS X - I'm sure if there was some way of ensuring that the Mac OS X experience was consistent and Apple could make a descent amount of money, they would go down that route; but the last time they did it, they almost were taken to the cleaners.

I would like to see their supply chain improve. When I bought this MacBook, I went into Magnummac, I went into Noel Leeming, and I went into Harvey Norman to purchase a MacBook Pro 15inch - neither of them had them in stock. Here was I, willing to pay more for a laptop, but due to the lack of supply by Apple, I was unable to purchase it. Yes, I could have ordered it in, but I wanted it then and there. Quite frankly, Apple need to get their act together.

 

[Neutral Gamer]

Ha, I can't believe it Rustman. After 5 pages and 3 days of reading this thread I thought I'd seen it all but I definitely didn't expect you to go out and buy an iMac!

I myself was waiting for the refresh before I made my decision to purchase the MBP (the graphics card performance of the iMac pushed me away) and I do remember how amazing I thought the screen looked, especially when viewing photos.

It's a great machine and I'm glad your return to the dark side was a short lived affair. Welcome back to the world of Apple, hope your iMac treats you well and no doubt you'll be in the iMac forums from now on so good luck for the future mate!

 

[solvs]

I doubt it. As neither of us have full statistics to work with--ie, accurate means to compare the number of buyers with problems to the number of buyers without problems--badmouthing Gateway on the basis of "anecdotes" is about as shallow as badmouthing Apple. I've had success with every Gateway I've used. Maybe that's the case for you with Apple. I'm not sure what that tells us except that you're more willing to give Apple the benefit of the doubt, while I'm quite happy with Gateway--and would still be using them if not for my desire to run Tiger.

I think you misread my post. I pointed out anecdotes because there are plenty of them out there about GW, like the guy who had such terrible luck and service with his he brought it back into the GW store (remember those?) and smashed it with a hammer. They used to be pretty good, maybe they are again, but I was actually really referring to the ratings and should have expanded on that. Every computer review I read where they do a shootout, from Consumer Reports to PC World, Apple is consistently rated best while Gateway and Acer are rated low, if not the lowest. Usually Emachines as well, but they've improved lately. All owned by the same company.

Glad you've had luck with them, and sorry for those who've had bad luck with Apples (again, not saying they're perfect) but I have more than anecdotes and personal experience backing up my argument.

 

[kaiwai]

I think you misread my post. I pointed out anecdotes because there are plenty of them out there about GW, like the guy who had such terrible luck and service with his he brought it back into the GW store (remember those?) and smashed it with a hammer. They used to be pretty good, maybe they are again, but I was actually really referring to the ratings and should have expanded on that. Every computer review I read where they do a shootout, from Consumer Reports to PC World, Apple is consistently rated best while Gateway and Acer are rated low, if not the lowest. Usually Emachines as well, but they've improved lately. All owned by the same company.

Glad you've had luck with them, and sorry for those who've had bad luck with Apples (again, not saying they're perfect) but I have more than anecdotes and personal experience backing up my argument.

There are slight variations with different brands, but lets remember that it isn't as though Mac's are 'just another PC'

 

[Chilll]

MBP's are made very cheap quality with lots of issues

Ill second this. My first MBp purchased in June 07 after the revision, was a NIGHTMARE of issues...Sound crackling...yellowing screen etc etc. I finally got it replaced and my replacement is perfection. not a single thing wrong with it.

Get the replacement and quit bitching...

I just sent back 2 MBP 2.4 due to,Warped lids,Yellowing screen when looking from an angle.I gave it the game test last night with Call of duty 4 using bootcamp..This laptop got VERY hot (Behind the f1-f12 keys and directly under the harddrive(located by the power cord area ) area and along the lcd panel area) You could actually burn your hands..Apple acknowledges how hot they get thats why they changed the name from laptop to Notebook.(Like thats going to make a difference) because some one had burns on their legs from the heat..I went to the apple store looking at every computer(notebooks,laptops,imacs)..EVERY computer ,(Glossy and matte screens ) when looked a from a slight angle the white colors started to turn yellowish ,the more of an angle the darker it got.this happens to all colors.THe lids are warped on every one.. These MBP's have a rep for burning up the motherboard which apple calls "Logic board" Apple really needs to redesign the cooling system.Anyway my point is your paying top dollar for great software and garbage hardware..I wanted to say ..YOU CANNOT BLAME zepharus for complaining.You pay over $2000.00 and that dam computer better be iwithout flaws or issues...Personally I think Apples quality control needs a reorganization..Their notebooks are cheap garbage..for the price..If people pay this kind of money and think its normal to have all these issues then they arent..Check out this link.Want to see a MBP taken apart(pictures no video)http://www.takeitapart.net/archives/macbook-pro/