Hard drive issues-SOLVED! Apple, take note...
We have all heard about the crashing hard drive problems PLAGUEING Apple's portables. Having recently witnessed two of these problems and thought DEEPLY about the situation, I now offer my expert perspective....
As my new, whisper-silent Western Digital gets loaded with my backed-up files and everything gets back to normal, I've realised that the core problem is much deeper than low-quality Toshiba harddrives, as has been suggested by Some- it is in fact my improper use of the laptop that led to the failure; this habit of improper usage is NOT MY FAULT: it is, in fact, DRIVEN by a Fatal Design Flaw in all of Apple's laptops since the Aluminum line began.
The fact is, with laptops, that are so THIN and LIGHT I and millions of other hapless PB users are TRICKED into the unfortunate habit of picking up our laptops while they are running and moving around freely with them. In fact, I've noticed myself being quite careless in this regard. And I've witnessed numerous Mac users practically swinging their laptops around, carrying them with one hand and so on.
An even bigger FLAW: the super fast "Sleep" when the lid is closed. This so-called "feature" inculcates in the unfortunate PB user the habit of slamming the lid closed and sliding the laptop into the bag without waiting the extra second for the sleep light to come on. The stress placed on the hard drive in this common situation is enough to shake the best of hard drives- the Toshiba's simply can't begin to handle this kind of treatment.
So what is the solution to this dire situation, you ask?
SOLUTION (Apple engineers pay attention here): It is simple but elegant. It is necessary to add about 5 pounds to every Apple laptop. When users pick up their computer they should be able to recognize its worth by its weight. Here is one possibility... If that kind of design is cost-prohibitive, then maybe something requiring less thought is more suitable. Remember, we want users to know that this is a SERIOUS computer, not some toy, and treat it as such.
And let's get rid of this "Sleep" "feature." Everyone knows, Windows Vista, which will come out Very Soon will have the answer to this: SideShow. If you need information out of your laptop quickly and you've been thinking that you can open it up and see whatever you need and close it again in just a "few seconds," thanks to your namby-pamby "sleep" "feature," well, guess what? You're wrong. Looky Here, straight from the MS website (so it MUST be the TRUTH): "If you use a laptop computer, you know that starting up your laptop just to check a message or find an address or phone number isn't always practical." Hear that? It's not practical!!!
Apple: Stop wasting time working on impractical features and making your laptops these wussy, thin, light, girly-boy creations. Make 'em heavy and big. And when Vista comes out, (everyone knows all the Mac "users" really just use windows on "bootcamp," (don't you just hate these "codenames"?) anyway) it will solve everything else that's wrong with the Apple design.
As my new, whisper-silent Western Digital gets loaded with my backed-up files and everything gets back to normal, I've realised that the core problem is much deeper than low-quality Toshiba harddrives, as has been suggested by Some- it is in fact my improper use of the laptop that led to the failure; this habit of improper usage is NOT MY FAULT: it is, in fact, DRIVEN by a Fatal Design Flaw in all of Apple's laptops since the Aluminum line began.
The fact is, with laptops, that are so THIN and LIGHT I and millions of other hapless PB users are TRICKED into the unfortunate habit of picking up our laptops while they are running and moving around freely with them. In fact, I've noticed myself being quite careless in this regard. And I've witnessed numerous Mac users practically swinging their laptops around, carrying them with one hand and so on.
An even bigger FLAW: the super fast "Sleep" when the lid is closed. This so-called "feature" inculcates in the unfortunate PB user the habit of slamming the lid closed and sliding the laptop into the bag without waiting the extra second for the sleep light to come on. The stress placed on the hard drive in this common situation is enough to shake the best of hard drives- the Toshiba's simply can't begin to handle this kind of treatment.
So what is the solution to this dire situation, you ask?
SOLUTION (Apple engineers pay attention here): It is simple but elegant. It is necessary to add about 5 pounds to every Apple laptop. When users pick up their computer they should be able to recognize its worth by its weight. Here is one possibility... If that kind of design is cost-prohibitive, then maybe something requiring less thought is more suitable. Remember, we want users to know that this is a SERIOUS computer, not some toy, and treat it as such.
And let's get rid of this "Sleep" "feature." Everyone knows, Windows Vista, which will come out Very Soon will have the answer to this: SideShow. If you need information out of your laptop quickly and you've been thinking that you can open it up and see whatever you need and close it again in just a "few seconds," thanks to your namby-pamby "sleep" "feature," well, guess what? You're wrong. Looky Here, straight from the MS website (so it MUST be the TRUTH): "If you use a laptop computer, you know that starting up your laptop just to check a message or find an address or phone number isn't always practical." Hear that? It's not practical!!!
Apple: Stop wasting time working on impractical features and making your laptops these wussy, thin, light, girly-boy creations. Make 'em heavy and big. And when Vista comes out, (everyone knows all the Mac "users" really just use windows on "bootcamp," (don't you just hate these "codenames"?) anyway) it will solve everything else that's wrong with the Apple design.
Comments
I have an even better solution, though: NAND disks. If you want to jump the gun and have one way before anyone else, there is a way.
Yeah, for the last few revisions, the drive parks its heads when a certain amount of acceleration occurs.
I have an even better solution, though: NAND disks. If you want to jump the gun and have one way before anyone else, there is a way.
Gah...do i even want to know how much they cost?
Vinea
mabye not a bad idea Apple basher
Gah...do i even want to know how much they cost?
Vinea
Generally, the rule is that if it's not easy to find out how much something costs, it's going to cost a lot. But I can tell you that a 4GB NAND chip costs less than $30 in "low to moderate" volumes. By this I mean a batch of 1000 obtained through a distributor. So 64GB of NAND chips should cost less than $480. Add a couple bucks for an IDE controller, and expect a $550 cost-to-build.
In iPod volumes, it could probably be done for an under $400 cost-to-build -- possibly less. The one-off price might be in the $1000 range, but if I were rich I'd do it.
Yeah, for the last few revisions, the drive parks its heads when a certain amount of acceleration occurs.
I have an even better solution, though: NAND disks. If you want to jump the gun and have one way before anyone else, there is a way.
While my 12 incher was before the Sudden Motion Sensor, my brother's PB did have that. I think that's more for protection against sudden, serious, motion that would cause huge gashes in the hard disk. I think the problems people are experiencing are more of a gradual, slow deterioration caused by the kind of handling that the SMS doesn't protect against.
@e1618978: The Toshiba harddrive I took out of my PB had a warning to only handle it on the sides and not even to touch the top and bottom. But, yeah, the new one I put in there was rated for 15 lbs force on the top and bottom and still remain in tolerance, and 500 or so G's while running and 900 G's while off protection.
Joking aside, the moral of the story is, be careful with your PB even though it's very light and easy to move around--especially if it's got an OEM drive in it...
Or else Apple will be forced to follow my design suggestions to stop all the whining....