MBP due soon and I'm expecting the worst...

[mactim]

I've just been reading the support forums for the MacBook Pro. It doesn't look good. Loud whines, buzzing backlights, badly lit backlights, speaker distortion.... none of these problems were isolated incidents either... one guy even reported a chorus of whining MBPs in an Apple store. I took back a late-2005 Powerbook last year for a refund because I thought the hardware and software bugs were disgraceful. I'm starting to wonder if OSX is worth all this hassle.......

 

[PlaceofDis]

just remember. on fourms you hear about all the problems, not all the fine situations. people don't go clamoring how great everything is, but people do like to complain about their problems. so hopefully you will be fine. and you'll have a warranty. its new hardware though, don't expect everything to be wonderful if you ask me. its a new step for the company. if there are problems, just be firm and polite when getting them delt with and make sure they resolve the issues.

 

[mactim]

perhaps not a great time to 'switch'

Yes I suspect the Intel Transition is also the reason for the bad experience had by me and many others with the 'Rev E' Powerbook. Those who already have Macs can ride out this difficult time.

just remember. on fourms you hear about all the problems, not all the fine situations. people don't go clamoring how great everything is, but people do like to complain about their problems. so hopefully you will be fine. and you'll have a warranty. its new hardware though, don't expect everything to be wonderful if you ask me. its a new step for the company. if there are problems, just be firm and polite when getting them delt with and make sure they resolve the issues.

 

[PlaceofDis]

Yes I suspect the Intel Transition is also the reason for the bad experience had by me and many others with the 'Rev E' Powerbook. Those who already have Macs can ride out this difficult time.

with a new logic board, prcessors, etc. there are bound to be problems.

if you switched using an iBook which has proved to be rather stable your changes of not having any issues would be greater.

like i said though, just hang in there and remember that there is a warranty for a reason. use it if you have to. if you have to send it in more than three times there is a reason why there is a lemon law. if its DOA they will replace it. and don't forget that MR is a good resource as well.

edit: and i don't blame you for being anxious. heck i was nervous while i waited to get my refubed iMac

 

[jadekitty24]

If you don't mind my asking, what were the hardware/software bugs you experienced? Sorry to hear of your problems, but you could get a buggy PC just as easily. I should know, I've gotten three before a permanent switch to Mac. Also, it would be sad if you got a buggy MacBook, because considering it's Rev A the chances of bugs are much greater than if it was Rev C or D. And I would hate to see someone give up on Mac due to that.

 

[Maxiseller]

You know, I agree with the original poster.

When you're paying £1400 for something, you don't expect it to have any issues - new step for the company or not. You mention that PC's have these problems, and while that is true, they're not integrated systems - you can quite simply throw together a whole bunch of components and they have to work together. Apple has the advantage of knowing exactly what components are in every one of their systems, and maybe they're not cashing in on this as much.

After 3 years of using just Macs I'm beginning to use a PC for a couple of things, and, although they're virus prone actually, it doesn't run that bad! There is no monopoly in terms of software, tools and utilities on the web look good and not just thrown together like we mac users get (just look at the ebay listing system for a (albeit bad) example)

And, again although ive often fought this corner in the past, the new Media Centre Edition of XP looks really nice. The skins are much better and it seems a solid, business-like OS.

To the original Poster: You're right; don't settle for a second-rate product with something that has cost you a small fortune. It should be flawless, and if it is not, fight your corner and get it right!

 

[spercharged69]

God forbid any of you people buy a new car... LOL!

 

[matperk]

Well fear the arrival of your macbook if you want to. I'm in love with mine.

As for the whining and buzzing--I hear 1/3 as much noice coming from this thing as I do with my PC laptop.

 

[Maxiseller]

io_burn Please explain the above?

 

[generik]

God forbid any of you people buy a new car... LOL!

Apples and oranges.

God forbid any of you people buy a new Rolls Royce... LOL!

There, fixed it for you. Do you expect your Rolls Royce engine to buzz? I sure as hell will crash that POS back through their showroom, the car alone probably costs more than the whole establishment.

 

[generik]

When you're paying £1400 for something, you don't expect it to have any issues - new step for the company or not. You mention that PC's have these problems, and while that is true, they're not integrated systems - you can quite simply throw together a whole bunch of components and they have to work together. Apple has the advantage of knowing exactly what components are in every one of their systems, and maybe they're not cashing in on this as much.

Strangely, if I can put together a good quality PC using name brand components for less (and I have machines that run for ~ 5 years now, no worse than macs really) it does makes you wonder where that extra money is going into

 

[PlaceofDis]

Strangely, if I can put together a good quality PC using name brand components for less (and I have machines that run for ~ 5 years now, no worse than macs really) it does makes you wonder where that extra money is going into

apple products really aren't all that much more expensive than other vendors when comparing comparable systems. this is a little overhead yes. but that does go into the software cost that you get with a Mac as well as the R&D that Apple does.

 

[Macky-Mac]

Strangely, if I can put together a good quality PC using name brand components for less (and I have machines that run for ~ 5 years now, no worse than macs really) it does makes you wonder where that extra money is going into

well, apple does have to pay somebody to assemble those things and I assume you aren't figuring a labor cost in the numbers for your own machines, or the cost of the time you spent deciding which parts to buy, and rent for wherever you assemble them, and a janitor to clean up after you're done, and I dont suppose you're packaging them in a cute box, and all of the usual overhead associated with R&D and marketing, and somebody to answer the phone, and so on and so on

 

[mactim]

I disgree that you can predict the bugs

The 'rev E' PowerBook was plagued with problems. There have been numerous websites dedicated to it. The horizontal lines on the display was the biggest problem for me. Despite being 'rev E' it had enough changes (new chipset and screen) to give problems. I suspect Apple made these changes too quickly with the MacBook Pro release imminent.
You are right in that PCs are just as buggy. But Macs also cost more.

If you don't mind my asking, what were the hardware/software bugs you experienced? Sorry to hear of your problems, but you could get a buggy PC just as easily. I should know, I've gotten three before a permanent switch to Mac. Also, it would be sad if you got a buggy MacBook, because considering it's Rev A the chances of bugs are much greater than if it was Rev C or D. And I would hate to see someone give up on Mac due to that.

 

[mactim]

Excellent news! We need more posts like yours.....

Well fear the arrival of your macbook if you want to. I'm in love with mine.

As for the whining and buzzing--I hear 1/3 as much noice coming from this thing as I do with my PC laptop.

 

[cwedl]

When you're paying £1400 for something, you don't expect it to have any issues - new step for the company or not.

I totally disagree! It makes you out to be an arrogant consumer, (which I'm sure you not), you can't expect any company to do things right 100% of the time, Apple normally tries out new ideas not thought of or even thought possible by the computing industry, internal testing of products will mean that some problems are not discovered until after release, thats why i always wait for Revision B or above so these problems can be sorted out. Anyway, if you do have a problem use the warranty!

 

[mactim]

Actually the best time to buy is probably between updates. If I'd have purchased a 'rev D' powerbook a few weeks before the buggy 'rev E' was released, I'd have been OK. If I'd have bought a 'rev D' in the first few months, I might have got a buggy trackpad.
It's whenever something changes that the bugs appear, so any new release could have bugs. In fact, the word 'revision' we all use is probably not an apt name - they are new 'models'. I bet there are formal manufacturing revisions that happen during the life of each successive model.

thats why i always wait for Revision B or above so these problems can be sorted out.

 

[Maxiseller]

I totally disagree! It makes you out to be an arrogant consumer, (which I'm sure you not), you can't expect any company to do things right 100% of the time, Apple normally tries out new ideas not thought of or even thought possible by the computing industry, internal testing of products will mean that some problems are not discovered until after release, thats why i always wait for Revision B or above so these problems can be sorted out. Anyway, if you do have a problem use the warranty!

I totally understand your point of view - and I guess the view changes depending on how many bad experiences you've had with Apple's products! My Ti-Powerbook was just a bad unit - but, while nothing major in terms of hardware failture occured things such as the battery jamming, OS crashes to the point ive re-installed everything, bad pixels, oil on the screen from keyboard mis-fix, and finally when the unit was out of warranty the hinge broke!

Ive got an old Toshiba laptop running at 166Mhz thats been around for about 8 years and pootles along like a good'en! Explain why it is that in the mac world, a Ti-Powerbook gone wrong (By the way over £1800) is acceptable as it's out of warranty? Its clearly not.

The same thing with my iMac - a bad hard drive that Apple did fix - but you're talking 2 weeks without a computer everytime somthing happens and I'm relying on it for business every day!! Hello, loss of earnings here people?! hehe.

Just to be clear, I love macs - but, if I was running a PC, I could have gone out, brought a part, had it working in half hour and I'd have suffered two hours instead of two weeks missing work. Just throwing thoughts out there! Don't yell!

 

[jadekitty24]

The 'rev E' PowerBook was plagued with problems. There have been numerous websites dedicated to it. The horizontal lines on the display was the biggest problem for me. Despite being 'rev E' it had enough changes (new chipset and screen) to give problems. I suspect Apple made these changes too quickly with the MacBook Pro release imminent.
You are right in that PCs are just as buggy. But Macs also cost more.

That is a good point that I didn't consider. I meant that I would feel more comfortable buying a product that has been out longer than 2 months. Rev A, of ANY product, not just Macs, is just too "un-tested" for my comfort. As for the cost being more, I could argue until I'm blue in the face that I don't need to buy anti-virus or spyware protection, nor do I have to pay every year for the privilege of slowing my system down. But I wont. What I will do is pay a bit of a premium to use a computer with seamless integration between hardware and software. I will pay more for a computer that just works.

I understand your point of view. I see why you are upset. If you pay a premium it is natural to think you will get perfection no matter what. However, no company out there is perfect. We are talking thousands of employees - factory workers where the componants are made, assembly workers, etc. Not every one of them cares about their job. As much as we'de like it, each Mac isn't lovingly crafted by someone. They are mass produced. I've had great luck with Apples. It's easy for those of us who have had a great experience to admonish those who haven't. I wish you luck in whatever your desicion is.

 

[MacRumoron]

i regretted buying Rev A of iMac G5

i hope i don't regret getting the MBP rev A

if i have many problems with my MBP i will NEVER buy another rev A apple computer again

 

[generik]

The 'rev E' PowerBook was plagued with problems. There have been numerous websites dedicated to it. The horizontal lines on the display was the biggest problem for me. Despite being 'rev E' it had enough changes (new chipset and screen) to give problems. I suspect Apple made these changes too quickly with the MacBook Pro release imminent.
You are right in that PCs are just as buggy. But Macs also cost more.

Actually the lines didn't really bug me that much, until crankycat released that image which confirmed, without a doubt, that I gotten one of the "POS" machines.

That really did bugger me a lot.

 

[generik]

I don't need to buy anti-virus or spyware protection, nor do I have to pay every year for the privilege of slowing my system down.

Me neither

Running my day to day account as a limited user and using Firefox works huge wonders as well.

 

[jadekitty24]

Actually the lines didn't really bug me that much, until crankycat released that image which confirmed, without a doubt, that I gotten one of the "POS" machines.

That really did bugger me a lot.

Can you explain further? Are you saying it didn't bug you until someone else complained? I really hope not. You got a pic of these lines? I avoided that whole thread because I don't own that particular model, but I am curious to see how bad this problem is.

 

[aplasticspork]

Just wanted to let everyone know, I also got a nearly perfect macbook. No hardware problems that i know of yet, no uneven backlight, the buzzing happens occasionally, but you can only hear it if it's completely silent. The computer is quieter than my old imac G4. The only other problem is one blue stuck pixel that I haven't gotten around to trying to fix yet.

 

[generik]

Can you explain further? Are you saying it didn't bug you until someone else complained? I really hope not. You got a pic of these lines? I avoided that whole thread because I don't own that particular model, but I am curious to see how bad this problem is.

I read about the issue, but I kept telling myself "no! mine didn't have any defects!"

Crankycat (one of the MR members) later posted a picture that did make it immediately obvious if you have a defective unit or not, and when I realised I had one of those I just can't stand it anymore.

I'd liken the analogy to.. well, there is a girl that you'd love really much, until one day she told you she slept with jerk X (the bully who who always hit you in the school courtyard) that you really hated. The girl (as with the mac) is still the same as she (it) always was, but something with your perception changes