Saturday 17 February 2007

From MacBook woe to MacBook Pro

Well, the final straw came last week that broke the bond between me and my MacBook. Not that I ever felt very bonded to it in the first place. I bought my white 2.0Ghz MacBook in the first week they were released, and boy, was that a mistake. Everyone said, "Don't buy a first generation Mac product," but did I listen? I did not. Listen: "Don't ever buy a first generation Mac product." Will you listen? I doubt it. Anyway. I wanted an Intel replacement for my beloved iBook, given that I was developing Scrivener and wanted to ensure that it was fully "universal" (that is, ran properly on both PPC and Intel Macs). Or, at least, that was my excuse to my other half. Really, I just wanted a shiny new iBook replacement.

Digression: Aah, my iBook. Now there is a thing of beauty (which said other half now has to herself). Compact (it was the 12") and damned attractive, I never had a single problem with it - but then, it was one of the last generations of iBooks, and I know there were loads of problems with previous generations (such as the infamous logic board issue). The only problem I ever had with it, in fact, was my children. My children and their nasty little proclivity for grabbing at leads and tugging, which on two separate occasions caused the spike of the power thingy to snap off inside the port of the iBook and necessitate a repair at an Apple store. The first repair was at the horrible Church of Scientology-esque store in central London, where they kept it for weeks and then tried to charge me after telling me they didn't have to do anything and that the spikey bit must have just fallen out. The second repair was at Bluewater, which has much friendlier (less "computer says no"-esque) staff, but unfortunately they somehow left a loose screw inside the machine which shorted out the never-had-problems-with-it logic board, which then had to be replaced. Anyway, that really was a long digression. The main point is this: that iBook has lasted nearly three years without a single fault.

Digression over - back to the MacBook: The MacBook looked a thing of beauty, too. It really did. And one day, I am pretty sure that MacBooks will be just as beautiful as that iBook. But not yet, I guess. I've had that MacBook for eight months, and in that time I have had three faults, two of which are well-known:


  • Discolouration - the palm-rests went horribly yellow. It took three repairs and a lot of morons on forums (if there are any bands reading, please feel free to use "Morons on Forums" as your moniker) telling me that I must have dirty hands before that got fixed.

  • Random shutdown - after the discolouration issue finally got resolved (mainly because I wrote an angry ranting e-mail to sjobs@apple.com and had Corporate Relations sort it out for me), the notorious random shutdown issue raised its ugly head, necessitating a repair.

  • This isn't very interesting, is it? Well, tough, I need to get it out of my system, and if you're bored enough to be reading this when I very much doubt you have read the entire Penguin Classics collection then you can't blame me.

  • Most recently, the ethernet port just upped and stopped working, cutting off all access to the internet for me. Brilliant



In all, my eight-month old MacBook has been in for repair four times. The primary school teacher in me would just like to point out that that is an average of once every two months. Once every two months! So much for quality assurance; quality possibly maybe, more like. In eight months, my MacBook has been through:


  • Three top cases.

  • Two screen bezels.

  • One bottom case (which they chipped during the first repair).

  • One hard drive (which they found was about to fail during the first repair).

  • Two logic boards.



I am reminded of the old philosophical conundrum about a ship that leaves harbour and changes every part on its journey, or, seeing as my son makes me read it to him nearly every bloody night, Thomas Comes to Breakfast, in which Thomas the Tank Engine moans that he has had so many parts changed that he doesn't know if he is really him anymore.

Anyway. Enough is enough. So I have decided to sell my MacBook as soon as it comes back for repair. Any takers?

I have thus bought myself a lovely new MacBook Pro. Given that the MBPros have been out for nearly a year now and this one is second generation, I am hoping for more luck. It is a beautiful machine, it has to be said. Its design feels more like my old iBook than my accursed MacBook, with the old fashioned keyboard and clasp, the silver makes me feel more important, and the large glossy screen looks beautiful with desktop pictures gleaned from Paxton Prints.

Wish me luck. And don't ever buy first generation Mac products.

26 comments:

  1. I had a couple of issues with my first-generation Macbook, but nothing that compares to yours. It's only had two visits. The first was for the random shutdowns. The second was a personal trip to an Apple store in Atlanta to get a dead hard drive replaced, which they did for free and in the store.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My son's iBook has been just as reliable as yours was: and he bought it refurbished, and slings it around with him all over campus, even taking it to Europe with him when he spent a term at Oxford. My iBook needed the infamous logic board replacement, and then the latch on the case broke. But I empathize with your nightmare with the MacBook, because I have an iMac G5 that never acted right out of the box. It needed a new logic board and power supply after four months, and now the replacement logic board has failed, along with the hard drive. Sigh. I had been looking at a MacBook to replace it, but you've convinced me otherwise. I think when my iMac finally gives up the ghost, I shall buy an Intel iMac.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Don't get me wrong - the MacBooks look lovely. In fact, I bet the new Core 2 Duo MacBooks are a lot better, and it might be worth trying one. I think my problems stemmed from buying one of the first batch off the production lines; it has been nearly a year now, and the current MacBooks are rev 2, and Apple know how to fix random shutdowns and discolouration so hopefully these issues don't even appear on the Core 2 Duo MacBooks. I don't know; I do konw my C2D MBPro is lovely, though, and I really hope it turns out to be as problem-free as my iBook. Your son has a great machine there - I actually feel rather sad to pass mine on to my better half. Some machines just never work right, I guess - your iMac, my MacBook. The new Intel iMacs sound solid, though.

    In all fairness, Apple aren't alone on this - a lot of new hardware from a lot of companies has its fair share of problems before everything gets ironed out. I just wish big companies such as Apple either A) used the new hardware exclusively in house for a good few months before release to ensure that everything is perfect, or B) admitted faults really openly (the discolouration and random shutdown issues have only been rather off-handedly acknowledged to date) and allowed for exchanges with no quibbles in such cases. Customer satisfaction would be increased substantially if this were the case.

    All in all, though, the worst laptop I ever owned is still a Toshiba Satellite... I would add to my rule, "Never buy first generation Mac hardware," with: "Never buy Toshiba!"

    Best,
    Keith

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh my gosh, I just bought one today. Should I be knocking on wood? How do I know if it is first generation and the glitches fixed?

    ReplyDelete
  5. guru - if you just bought one today, you'll probably be fine. I bought mine back in May of last year. Yours will be a second generation (assuming you didn't buy it second hand), a Core 2 Duo, and most of the problems I have had see to have been fixed - at least, I think so. And you know, my MacBook Pro did a strange restart when I put it to sleep at one point today. Now that's worrying me, ugh. I looked at the support forum and it seems some others have had similar problems, though fortunately so far it sounds like firmware rather than hardware. Now I have to keep my eyes on this new machine and my fingers crossed, though. Have Apple been incapable of making a solid Intel laptop? This MBPro is lovely, so I really hope everything is fine...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Well, just to join in this debate: my Mac Powerbook G4 finally died this morning after kindly giving me 'I am getting weary' warnings for a few months, enabling me 1) to start the hugely lengthy process of persuading my employing university (in secret Locations scattered across north London) to purchase me a new laptop (on the order - eventually - I saw 'Hi Spec MacBook for power user' - that's me). It hasn't arrived yet of course, and 2) to scrupulously back up everything I'd want and delete anything I'd feel embarrassed about at a later date if the machine miraculously resurrected in the wrong hands. So, on order, is one of those MacBooks with Core 2 Duo things. I grew to love my silver G4 - and had it, I forgot to say, working perfectly for about 6 years.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I made the same mistake, and ended up losing a lot of irreplaceable data (including most of my photos from a not-terribly-cheap trip to Iceland last summer) when the shutdown issue reared its ugly head and Apple decided to replace 75% of my computer without telling me. CompUSA lost the backup.

    Not only that, but many of my favorite and reliable open source and shareware programs don't work with the Intel chip, despite assurance from Apple that I'd be able to run all my software. Apparently the folks at Apple think people only use software from MS, Apple, and Adobe.

    I really should know better about first-gen Mac products by now.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I made the same mistake, and ended up losing a lot of irreplaceable data (including most of my photos from a not-terribly-cheap trip to Iceland last summer) when the shutdown issue reared its ugly head and Apple decided to replace 75% of my computer without telling me. CompUSA lost the backup.

    Not only that, but many of my favorite and reliable open source and shareware programs don't work with the Intel chip, despite assurance from Apple that I'd be able to run all my software. Apparently the folks at Apple think people only use software from MS, Apple, and Adobe.

    I really should know better about first-gen Mac products by now.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hey I could use a macbook. whats the price range?

    ReplyDelete
  10. I haven't read all of the Penguin Classics collection but I have definitely read most of them. But contrary to what you say, I still found your entry interesting and not boring.

    p.s. Scrivener is awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'd bought my first Mac a couple of years ago when the iMacs first came out - it was very nice (a 17" model) but not a lot of use for some of the windows stuff I still need so I sold it on eBay.

    Amazingly for me, I managed to sell it before the switch to Intel processors was announced so didn't lose to much money.

    This autumn I bought a Core 2 Duo 20" iMac - a fantastic machine, and with Parallels I can still run my Windows stuff (Visual Studio etc.) too.

    I add to the collection in December with a Core 2 Duo Macbook. I've had none of the problems you had with yours, so looks like they've made big improvements.

    Intrigued to hear more about how you learnt to program on the Mac - going to order the two books you recommended in one of your posts (Kochan and Hilleglass)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Keith, I wanted to write to say that I just bought "Scrivener", and am blown away by it. I've been a professional screenwriter and novelist for thirty years, and this is the best software aid for writers I've encountered since I got my first Apple II in 1981. I'm in the States right now on a book tour to promote the second in my China series of thrillers, and the first in my new series of French-based crime books - The Enzo Files. The second in that series is already written, and I'm just starting on the third - with the full intention of using "Scrivener". Which should give it a good road test. Until now I've been using a piece of software called "Dossier" to collate my ideas and research. And, good though it is, it doesn't compare to "Scrivener". My wife (also a writer) and myself run writing courses in France twice a year.... http://www.voyagerfrance.com . We'll make sure to recommend "Scrivener" to our students in the future, as it fits right in to the approach we teach. By the way, do you have Scottish connections?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Good luck! I had a 2004 iBook that was quite reliable (optical drive died within the first week, but Apple managed to fix it within a week (including the time taken for them to send a box, and the delivery time back and forth!). Alas, from what I hear Apple UK's service is not as good (likewise with Nokia and Volkswagen in the States -- sometimes it's just a geographical problem)

    In my case, I replaced the iBook with a Sony Vaio less than a week before the 2nd-gen Macbook was released (ugh!), telling myself I use Linux more anyway. Never got that thing to suspend and resume properly, and it proved more fragile than the iBook when the screen cracked after a 3-ft fall *inside a protective case that's inside a bag*.

    My sister (in the UK) just got a Macbook herself, fingers touched Apple's got things right by now. Now that the heat level is down components should be less likely to fail anyway.

    PS Found out about Scrivener from C|Net's Download Dispatch, I'd have to resign myself to salivating over it until it's time for my next computer upgrade..

    ReplyDelete
  14. The "Never buy 1.0" applies to everything. My Performa (68040 architecture) was perfect but in its nth iteration. My 8500 (PowerPC 604e) was a EOL refurb. My PowerBook G3 I bought the day it came out (Jan 2000) and immediately got bit by the motherboad problem. It went back twice but then was perfect and lasted 5 years. My iMac G4 was a refurb and except for a loose bezel was fine. My Macmini worked fine but hung around for a year as a home web server before I sold it to get a tablet PC--which barely lasted 6 months before I got rid of it out of frustration with Windows.

    ReplyDelete
  15. The "Never buy 1.0" applies to everything but somehow especially to Macs. My Performa 636 (68040 architecture) was perfect but in its nth iteration. My 8500 (PowerPC 604e) was a EOL refurb. My iMac G4 also was an EOL refurb and except for a loose bezel was fine. The Macmini I bought Rev B.

    The only 1.0 I bought was a PowerBook G3. I bought it the day they were announced (Jan 2000) and immediately got bit by the motherboad problem. It went back twice in 3 months but then was perfect and lasted 5 years.

    ReplyDelete
  16. So far (touch wood) my MacBook Pro (CD2) has been near-perfect, even running the Leopard deveoper seed. Second-gen, as opposed to my MacBook's first gen. I guess you are right, that it applies to all electronic and computer products, but of course, it really shouldn't be the case. No producer has the right to charge £1,000 fora product that the users are essentially beta-testing. But I am glad it all led to my buying an MBPro. The keyboard is nicer and the whole silvery feel of the thing still makes me feel good. :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. I hadn't used any mac based system sense the release of OS8 until about three years ago, when a friend of mine brought his laptop with him from New Mexico. I can't recall the model as he has sense replaced it, but needless to say I fell in love with the portable piece of gold. Sense then I have kept an eye on the world of Apple products like a little boy looking in the display windows during christmas. I have seen more programs that offer what I am looking for in features that are Mac only that I have looked in to acquiring a laptop. I even looked in to a more affordable clamshell but still can't seem to budget in a laptop for myself. When I found my friend had installed your 30 day trial of Scrivener I had to beat feet and try it out. It was everything I had hoped for and more. As a person tied to my PC I'd like to say that endeavors such as yours are appreciated by more then just your fellow OS users. Keep up the great work and thanks for sharing your work with us.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I think (I'm not sure) that mine is a third generation iMac. Just upgraded to 256 megs of RAM, and I'm hoping to upgrade to an 80 gig harddrive and OSX. In the long run I'm hoping to get a new iMac. Just one trip to the shop, and that was back in the last century.

    BTW, Michael Blowhard sent me. :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. I had the same problems and after a few times I demanded a replacement and I got a newer macbook. went from a single processor to a dual.

    Not had and problems with the new one and have had it for about 5 months!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Oh, my son loved Thomas Comes to Breakfast, too!
    I had troubles with my iMac hanging and making clicking noises, that the mac store couldn't replicate. But since I phoned them threatening to throw it through a window, possibly theirs, it hasn't done it again. Maybe it heard me. It took me more than a year to get to really like the Mac, at first it was so frustrating (no more freeware. It does crash. The browsers are weird.) but now I love it.

    I covet an iBook, but now I'm waiting for intels to get into the third iteration or so.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I love your comparison between the Apple store in London and the "Church" of Scientology. Last time I was in the shop, a young American in the Apple uniform greeted me with "Hello Friend, can I help you?" If that is not cult, then I don't know what is...

    ReplyDelete
  22. Well, I only ever bought ONE factory-new Apple product, and I made sure it was NOT 1st gen.
    iBook G3/800, Dec 2002, and it was costly for my means.
    Direct hit. Highest failure rate ever. I don't feel like buying a factory-new Apple product ever again, regardless of iteration. Sigh.

    ReplyDelete
  23. You do know that on the forth failure you were entitled to a replacement don't you. I had a stack of problems with a Powerbook. 2 months out of 10 I was without it. I had 4 repairs but as one was for a broken key and not a "technical fault" they wouldn't replace it. I sold mine as well and bought another one. 3 months later sold it and bought the Macbook Pro.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I got my iBook G4 on ebay and I absolutely love it. It is my first Mac and I am not looking back at all. I totally plan on getting Scrivener soon. Thanks for making that, btw.

    I do covet the sleekness of the Black Macbooks sometimes, but I truly love the iBook and I hope it is with me for a long time to come.

    Ben O.

    ReplyDelete
  25. After telling us all that's wrong with it, you want me to buy it??!!??!?

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hi Jolivore, I'm not sure what you mean... I have nothing to do with Apple, so why should it matter to me either way whether you buy a MacBook or not? I'm a little confused... I was just reporting my own (negative) experiences with a first gen MacBook. All my other Apple machines have been brilliant (my only moan about my otherwise beloved MacBook Pro a year and a half on is that the battery life is rather pathetic; other than that, it's a fantastic machine). But I don't [i]want[/i] you to buy a MacBook - I'm rather confused about that, unless you think I work for Apple for some reason...
    Best,
    Keith

    ReplyDelete

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.