Slow steady wins the race, Apple
I like to post occasionally about the folly of buying products from Apple immediately upon their introduction. Having purchased a $2000+ iMac with MrLittlePants almost two years ago that is a POS, it’s become my own little celebrity crusade.
If Apple is more guilty than other computer manufacturers of rushing unfinished products to market, it might have something to do with them being the only computer manufacturer to engage in “industrial design.” You know, making things look cool. I’m all for that, but considering the premium price of Apple products, it’s plain nasty to burn your best, most enthusiastic customers.
So, for the Apple faithful who’d rather not lose that faith, I’ve got another whip for the self-flagellation closet: the MacInTouch Reader Reports. MacInTouch itself is a little cheesed-out on Apple, but they do the world a tremendous service (and show a little gumption) in hosting a neutral, moderated forum on Apple hardware.
Do you think the MacBook Pro is a sweet notebook? Have you read a couple of good reviews, and envied the people who got in on the first shipment? Well, stop it. Skim through the reports to get an idea of the first round of MacIntel notebooks:
Marian Petrides, M.D. I’m now on my third MBP (2.0 GHz), the first two (both SN W8612 ) having been returned due to the screen whine—the one that reportedly is the result of a defective screen inverter.[…]
My conclusion: I will probably keep this machine since it is otherwise just fine, I almost always work with my machine plugged into the wall […]
A notebook, plugged in? I’d get a second opinion, Doc.
Ben Shapiro I’m now on my third MacBook pro. The first (W8611…) went in for service due to LOTS of heat, the whine, and occasional crashiness. After having it for repair for a while, Apple let me know the repair was delayed because they were waiting on a part. […]
The second machine (W8612…) had issues with the screen backlight. I had intermittent problems with waking from sleep […] but nothing could make the backlight turn on, other than putting it to sleep and waking it back up.
I got the third machine today (W8613) at the Michigan Avenue Apple Store. Hopefully this one will have no functional issues.
Yes, Ben. Hopefully.
Daniel Griscom The big noise is the DVD drive. […] its internal motors makes this strange “whoop… whoopwhoop… wheedlieoodoowopwow… wheedlieoodoowopwow… wheedlieoodoowup” noise.
My guess is that it’s trying to figure out if anyone inserted a DVD since it last had power. Annoying, but of limited duration.
Nice computer, man! Whoop!
I’m drawing attention to this for several reasons. Firstly, I don’t want anyone I know to get burned by new Apple hardware. So the rule is as follows: don’t preorder, and don’t buy until substantive reader reports appear at MacInTouch. Chances are, there will be enough bad news there to spook you until the usually excellent “Rev. B” comes out.
The other reason is, ultimately, Apple’s hardware rush-to-market is harming the company. Bad apples snuff out the enthusiasm of fans like me and MrLittlePants, and they turn fresh recruits into permanent enemies. Let’s see what we have here…
Ron Day This is my first, and will be my last, purchase from Apple. This machine is totally unacceptable, especially given the price. I’ve owned four different laptops in the past 8 years (two Dells and two Gateways) and had nothing like the problems of this machine. For the price of this machine I could have bought two (and even three, reconditioned) PC laptops.
Ouch!
MacInTouch Reader I am only a week new to Apple. So far I am not pleased. My Macbook pro is having some very odd issues. For starters my optical drive is dead. I can’t load any disc of any kind. Nothing happens, push the disc all the way and it won’t grab it. Sometimes when I boot up, it won’t read the OSX, [ed: the OSX—how cute!] it just sits at the gray screen for a few minutes then a folder with a question mark will show up in the middle of the screen. [ed: not cute]
Oh and when things do finally work and are working for about a hour or so, the machine starts to heat up so intensly that I think it could start a fire. Or the beach ball will start spinning again, and I am not able to click on anything again. […]
I am not happy so far with this so called solid Apple hardware. I am thinking of getting it replaced for a Acer Ferarri.
Apple, look at what you are forcing people in to. Stop the madness.
Update: I’m going to start piling on highish-profile problem reports here:
- Apple tries to sue away problem
- Raible Designs “It’s probably time to backup the whole thing tonight just in case the hard drive is next.”
- Apple Defects Wiki Hilarious! Though right now it’s a far less comprehensive source than MacInTouch Reader Reports.
- MagSafe meltdown Again.
- MacInTouch reliability survey Common, non-fatal problems on a smokin’ fast computer add up to satisfied customers, apparently.
Backtalk
thank you!! Your post pulled me back to reality in the face of a luring new macbook.
As an aside, when we were visiting University of Nebraska, the coordinator for the dept in which we’d be studying was using an “Acer Ferarri”. He was obviously pretty proud of his “high performance laptop”, which just made me want to throw up even more.
In any case, I think it’s safe to say we’ll be attending the Monterey Institute.
Will, I’m basically writing these “don’t buy new-model Macs” posts for you. ;) Well, and for me. It’s damn hard not to cave in though. Where are the Rev B. MBPs already!?
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