can a software update actually fix these problems, or are some of them hardware oriented? Are we, the new macbook pro owners, doomed to a life of short-in-functionality notebooks?
No. I have one of those MacBook Pros and the control of the external monitor only seems to be a problem when the computer goes to doze state before the sleep light fades in and out, but after the screen saver goes out. Then the computer wakes from doze with the external monitor out but flashing occasionally. I can force the computer to sleep by closing the screen/cover and waiting for the sleep light to cycle. After it starts cycling, I can open the screen and the external monitor will work fine. I also noted that If I switch to the Nvidia 9600 module, it doesn't seem to have this problem, but it takes more power.
So, there is something awry with the way OSX relights the external screen after wake from doze. It's probably an easy fix. But since Apple has to run the fix through quality control, it takes a while to get it out.
People need to realize that there is nothing wrong with getting a Rev. A of an Apple product... first, hardware and software problems have come up in EVERY MacBook/MacBook Pro revision - even up to the last gen. MacBook Pros. This is not something that only 1st Ge. products see. Second, without people buying the Rev. A products, a Rev. B would never be released!
I think you'll agree though that last gen revisions have less issues than first gen machines. If Apple didn't have such a bad track record for rushing stuff out of the door ready or not, people wouldn't hold off buying their first gen stuff (this applies to both software and hardware).
can a software update actually fix these problems, or are some of them hardware oriented? Are we, the new macbook pro owners, doomed to a life of short-in-functionality notebooks?
I think you'll agree though that last gen revisions have less issues than first gen machines. If Apple didn't have such a bad track record for rushing stuff out of the door ready or not, people wouldn't hold off buying their first gen stuff (this applies to both software and hardware).
Apple is certainly higher profile than other CE companies so every little hiccup gets widespread coverage, but I've seen no evidence that Apple products actually have more issues than other products. Recently there was an independent?yet limited?report from an iPhone insurer that showed that the iPhone had less issues than the others they insure.
Anecdotally speaking, this year I've purchased 5 Macs, 2 iPhones and 4 iPods and the only issues I can recall are the iPhone power socket recall, the new MB trackpad software glitch which is annoying but not unusable, and torn plastic end of a MagSafe cable plug on a 2007 MB I had that was still under warranty. Not one of my issues was major and every single one Apple has taken care of promptly. I've also had issues with other companies CE, most deal with them jsut as well as Apple.
With CE their will probably always be a certain number of DOA devices or devices that fail too quickly or never work properly, but all companies are subject to this. There is so many different parts designed in one country, then manufactured in China, while being assembled in somewhere else and then finally put together into the final unit in another place and then shipped over seas. I'm surprised the rate of failure is as low as it is. Wasn't there an issue with a Space Shuttle part that was designed using US standard units but then built using metric units which created a very expensive problem? Even NASA has these issues.
PS: Some of you here may remember when you were kids that if something didn't work right you were pretty much screwed. There was no 1 year warranty and 30 day return policies. I recall Stephen Hawking mentioning this in one of his books about a train set he purchased as a kid.
"Notably, the split in demand may also favor Apple's high-end notebooks. Statistics haven't been given for the higher-end systems, but about 20 percent of the 33 percent skews towards the higher-end MacBook Air and MacBook Pro systems. A relatively small 7 percent of all notebook buyers are likely to buy one variant of Apple's 13-inch MacBooks, but nearly as many at 6 percent are willing to buy Apple's lone remaining plastic model. The reason for the near-equal divide is unclear but points to the $999 price of the older design almost equaling demand for the new model."
Sure there is nothing wrong with it and I am highly thankful for it. However, it typically is safer to get a product that was been around a while. I used to work in manufacturing. The manufacturing process is refined almost on a a daily basis to account for issues that come up after the product's Rev A release. For instance, on the last model Macbook initially there was some discoloring. Apple several weeks after the release modified the plastic formulation. With the current model some are reporting that the hinges allow the screen to fall sometimes. If so, Apple will likely correct that before the Reversion. By the time Rev. B comes around many small issues will be addressed thanks to Rev A buyers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TimUSCA
People need to realize that there is nothing wrong with getting a Rev. A of an Apple product... first, hardware and software problems have come up in EVERY MacBook/MacBook Pro revision - even up to the last gen. MacBook Pros. This is not something that only 1st Ge. products see. Second, without people buying the Rev. A products, a Rev. B would never be released! It can be a good idea to wait for another revision... but don't knock on people for buying a Rev. A when they're the ones reporting all the issues that get fixed in the next version!
All that aside, I LOVE my new unibody MacBook. The trackpad issue is a little annoying, but a fix is coming... and I don't regret it one bit.
People need to realize that there is nothing wrong with getting a Rev. A of an Apple product... first, hardware and software problems have come up in EVERY MacBook/MacBook Pro revision - even up to the last gen. MacBook Pros. This is not something that only 1st Ge. products see. Second, without people buying the Rev. A products, a Rev. B would never be released! It can be a good idea to wait for another revision... but don't knock on people for buying a Rev. A when they're the ones reporting all the issues that get fixed in the next version!
All that aside, I LOVE my new unibody MacBook. The trackpad issue is a little annoying, but a fix is coming... and I don't regret it one bit.
Right now Apple has a massive issue on its hands with the screen condensation problems of the alu iMac. I hope this gets revised/cured for the next revision as this is proving to be a time bomb for users.
This is purely a design fault and I cannot figure out how this wasn't spotted before they ramped up production. I highly suspect that there were pressures to finalise the design in time for the rollout and they cut corners on testing.
What is worse is that in some cases Apple is telling users that the problem is a cosmetic issue and as such is not covered by the warranty. In other cases users are taking their units into to dealt with and techs are just taking the glass off and cleaning the stains only for the problem to re-appear down the road.
I hope Apple's solution to the problem is not to put a window on future iMacs to make cleaning easier.
Here's an example of some last-gen MacBooks on how to find out the manufacturer. Everyone else agrees that the Chi Mei is the worst of the bunch... you'll have to do some more research to find out the info on the newest MacBooks, but the method to find the manufacturer is the same. I just don't know the numbers for the new machines and don't have time to find them.
Right now Apple has a massive issue on its hands with the screen condensation problems of the alu iMac. I hope this gets revised/cured for the next revision as this is proving to be a time bomb for users.
This is purely a design fault and I cannot figure out how this wasn't spotted before they ramped up production. I highly suspect that there were pressures to finalise the design in time for the rollout and they cut corners on testing.
What is worse is that in some cases Apple is telling users that the problem is a cosmetic issue and as such is not covered by the warranty. In other cases users are taking their units into to dealt with and techs are just taking the glass off and cleaning the stains only for the problem to re-appear down the road.
WOW i had a client with this exact same issue LAST YEAR!!!
they bought a 24" imac on my recommendation and waited for me to go over and set it up
i turned it on and went thru the setup then watched in *disbelief* as HALF THE SCREEN became covered in condensation internally : (
i called applecare immediately and they told me it was simply a "cosmetic issue" and would pass
(i thought the unit must have been improperly warehoused prior to shipping)
Or they would be responsible and put out a better Rev the first time.
I was beta with Gen 1 and 3G iPhone and I'm tired of beta testing Apple's crappy hardware/software.
If you are so upset about it, stop buying their products, or at least wait. Seems like a simple solution to me. And to compare Apple's "crappy" hardware/software, just take a look at Dell as far as crappy hardware goes and no further than Vista as far as software is concerned. Three years into it, and people are still basically beta testers. I'm starting to be convinced that Vista is simply one big beta test for Windows 7, that's how crappy it truly has been.
I'm buying today the new MBP 1G obv. If it comes with issues typical of a 1G relase will them be covered by the warranty right? So where is the problem?
I'm buying today the new MBP 1G obv. If it comes with issues typical of a 1G relase will them be covered by the warranty right? So where is the problem?
The problem comes from having to deal with the issues and the downtime from having to ship it off to Apple for repair if needed. Though the chances of having a major issue is slim. My new MB is working except for the trackpad annoyance, which is a bit annoying, but nothing that would prevent me from buying the machine if I could do it over again.
Apple has generally had four suppliers for MacBook displays ... LG/Philips, Samsung, Au Optronics, and Chi Mei. I've had direct experience with three of these -- the LG/Philips, the Samsung, and the Au Optronics.
The LG/Philips was superb in terms of colour reproduction (low amount of dithering).
The Samsung was horrible to the point that I'm surprised Apple even ships MacBooks with these displays (very rough, distracting dithering everywhere, even under menus, and it was dimmer).
The Au Optronics was as good or better than the LG/Philips for colour reproduction, and a touch brighter. Reports I've heard say that the Chi Mei is about the same.
So ... the "Chinese crap" actually is a decent display. In my experience, it was the Samsung that was unusable. I wrote [email protected] and they replaced my display in a hurry away from the Samsung.
Yikes! I have a brand new, upgraded MacBook Pro I purchased being delivered on Thursday. I'm not sure which of these issues applies to the Pro. I understand the trackpad is an issue, but as far as the external display and determining who manufactured each particular machine's display, does this apply to the Pro too?
I don't want to anticipate problems now before I've even received it, but I'm pretty sure they will be resolved with patches or repair under warranty if so. I can't think of any way you could fork out a lot of $ for a new model MacBook Pro and be stuck with sub-par performance.
I'm buying today the new MBP 1G obv. If it comes with issues typical of a 1G relase will them be covered by the warranty right? So where is the problem?
Your warranty can't cover design faults. The iMac condensation issue is a design fault. AFAIK this still hasn't been corrected through a re-design of the product. Basically all iMac owners are sitting on a time bomb.
It seems (according to one tech) that the fans in the iMac have been poorly placed to prevent this issue.
Another issue is getting Apple to admit that there's a problem in the first place. How many times have we seen Apple say there isn't a problem, only for them to backtrack under pressure and admit issues?
Yikes! I have a brand new, upgraded MacBook Pro I purchased being delivered on Thursday. I'm not sure which of these issues applies to the Pro. I understand the trackpad is an issue, but as far as the external display and determining who manufactured each particular machine's display, does this apply to the Pro too?
I don't want to anticipate problems now before I've even received it, but I'm pretty sure they will be resolved with patches or repair under warranty if so. I can't think of any way you could fork out a lot of $ for a new model MacBook Pro and be stuck with sub-par performance.
That info only pertains to the MacBook, not the MacBook Pro (or MacBook Air.) The MBP and MBA have better screens, and even if there are multiple suppliers probably have much less variation in screen quality.
That info only pertains to the MacBook, not the MacBook Pro (or MacBook Air.) The MBP and MBA have better screens, and even if there are multiple suppliers probably have much less variation in screen quality.
Okay, thanks... that's what I thought but wanted to be sure. At least I can cross that issue off the list!
Comments
can a software update actually fix these problems, or are some of them hardware oriented? Are we, the new macbook pro owners, doomed to a life of short-in-functionality notebooks?
No. I have one of those MacBook Pros and the control of the external monitor only seems to be a problem when the computer goes to doze state before the sleep light fades in and out, but after the screen saver goes out. Then the computer wakes from doze with the external monitor out but flashing occasionally. I can force the computer to sleep by closing the screen/cover and waiting for the sleep light to cycle. After it starts cycling, I can open the screen and the external monitor will work fine. I also noted that If I switch to the Nvidia 9600 module, it doesn't seem to have this problem, but it takes more power.
So, there is something awry with the way OSX relights the external screen after wake from doze. It's probably an easy fix. But since Apple has to run the fix through quality control, it takes a while to get it out.
welcome to R1.
a lot of us .always. wait for R2 or get the refurbished models much later down the road.
good luck with that.
I always wait for the R2
_____________
"Danger" is clearly not either of your middle names.
People need to realize that there is nothing wrong with getting a Rev. A of an Apple product... first, hardware and software problems have come up in EVERY MacBook/MacBook Pro revision - even up to the last gen. MacBook Pros. This is not something that only 1st Ge. products see. Second, without people buying the Rev. A products, a Rev. B would never be released!
I think you'll agree though that last gen revisions have less issues than first gen machines. If Apple didn't have such a bad track record for rushing stuff out of the door ready or not, people wouldn't hold off buying their first gen stuff (this applies to both software and hardware).
can a software update actually fix these problems, or are some of them hardware oriented? Are we, the new macbook pro owners, doomed to a life of short-in-functionality notebooks?
Yeah, like, can a software update add a FW port?
I think you'll agree though that last gen revisions have less issues than first gen machines. If Apple didn't have such a bad track record for rushing stuff out of the door ready or not, people wouldn't hold off buying their first gen stuff (this applies to both software and hardware).
Apple is certainly higher profile than other CE companies so every little hiccup gets widespread coverage, but I've seen no evidence that Apple products actually have more issues than other products. Recently there was an independent?yet limited?report from an iPhone insurer that showed that the iPhone had less issues than the others they insure.
Anecdotally speaking, this year I've purchased 5 Macs, 2 iPhones and 4 iPods and the only issues I can recall are the iPhone power socket recall, the new MB trackpad software glitch which is annoying but not unusable, and torn plastic end of a MagSafe cable plug on a 2007 MB I had that was still under warranty. Not one of my issues was major and every single one Apple has taken care of promptly. I've also had issues with other companies CE, most deal with them jsut as well as Apple.
With CE their will probably always be a certain number of DOA devices or devices that fail too quickly or never work properly, but all companies are subject to this. There is so many different parts designed in one country, then manufactured in China, while being assembled in somewhere else and then finally put together into the final unit in another place and then shipped over seas. I'm surprised the rate of failure is as low as it is. Wasn't there an issue with a Space Shuttle part that was designed using US standard units but then built using metric units which created a very expensive problem? Even NASA has these issues.
PS: Some of you here may remember when you were kids that if something didn't work right you were pretty much screwed. There was no 1 year warranty and 30 day return policies. I recall Stephen Hawking mentioning this in one of his books about a train set he purchased as a kid.
I'm curious which models their cutting back on.
From Changewave...
"Notably, the split in demand may also favor Apple's high-end notebooks. Statistics haven't been given for the higher-end systems, but about 20 percent of the 33 percent skews towards the higher-end MacBook Air and MacBook Pro systems. A relatively small 7 percent of all notebook buyers are likely to buy one variant of Apple's 13-inch MacBooks, but nearly as many at 6 percent are willing to buy Apple's lone remaining plastic model. The reason for the near-equal divide is unclear but points to the $999 price of the older design almost equaling demand for the new model."
People need to realize that there is nothing wrong with getting a Rev. A of an Apple product... first, hardware and software problems have come up in EVERY MacBook/MacBook Pro revision - even up to the last gen. MacBook Pros. This is not something that only 1st Ge. products see. Second, without people buying the Rev. A products, a Rev. B would never be released! It can be a good idea to wait for another revision... but don't knock on people for buying a Rev. A when they're the ones reporting all the issues that get fixed in the next version!
All that aside, I LOVE my new unibody MacBook. The trackpad issue is a little annoying, but a fix is coming... and I don't regret it one bit.
People need to realize that there is nothing wrong with getting a Rev. A of an Apple product... first, hardware and software problems have come up in EVERY MacBook/MacBook Pro revision - even up to the last gen. MacBook Pros. This is not something that only 1st Ge. products see. Second, without people buying the Rev. A products, a Rev. B would never be released! It can be a good idea to wait for another revision... but don't knock on people for buying a Rev. A when they're the ones reporting all the issues that get fixed in the next version!
All that aside, I LOVE my new unibody MacBook. The trackpad issue is a little annoying, but a fix is coming... and I don't regret it one bit.
HEAR! HEAR!
- i salute you and your ilk
thank you
This is purely a design fault and I cannot figure out how this wasn't spotted before they ramped up production. I highly suspect that there were pressures to finalise the design in time for the rollout and they cut corners on testing.
What is worse is that in some cases Apple is telling users that the problem is a cosmetic issue and as such is not covered by the warranty. In other cases users are taking their units into to dealt with and techs are just taking the glass off and cleaning the stains only for the problem to re-appear down the road.
I hope Apple's solution to the problem is not to put a window on future iMacs to make cleaning easier.
Here's an example of some last-gen MacBooks on how to find out the manufacturer. Everyone else agrees that the Chi Mei is the worst of the bunch... you'll have to do some more research to find out the info on the newest MacBooks, but the method to find the manufacturer is the same. I just don't know the numbers for the new machines and don't have time to find them.
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=467198
thanks for the tip!
i've got a black macbook (11/2007) with a 00009C5B model # which = the samsung ; (
the only thing is, although i squint at my screen A LOT i don't know what exactly it is i'm looking for, in terms of: "oh, yes, that's clearly wrong"
...just getting sore eyes doesn't count!
ps: i've looked at this http://homepage.mac.com/mlostracco/M...oAlbum174.html
Right now Apple has a massive issue on its hands with the screen condensation problems of the alu iMac. I hope this gets revised/cured for the next revision as this is proving to be a time bomb for users.
This is purely a design fault and I cannot figure out how this wasn't spotted before they ramped up production. I highly suspect that there were pressures to finalise the design in time for the rollout and they cut corners on testing.
What is worse is that in some cases Apple is telling users that the problem is a cosmetic issue and as such is not covered by the warranty. In other cases users are taking their units into to dealt with and techs are just taking the glass off and cleaning the stains only for the problem to re-appear down the road.
WOW i had a client with this exact same issue LAST YEAR!!!
they bought a 24" imac on my recommendation and waited for me to go over and set it up
i turned it on and went thru the setup then watched in *disbelief* as HALF THE SCREEN became covered in condensation internally : (
i called applecare immediately and they told me it was simply a "cosmetic issue" and would pass
(i thought the unit must have been improperly warehoused prior to shipping)
thanks for reading ; )
That's what people get for baring their brunts.
I hope this is done behind closed doors and not in public!
The thing is like a mirror! I have a DEC VT220 terminal from 1984 and even it has an AR coating on the screen so it reflects hardly any light at all.
It's not hard, Apple. Really.
Or they would be responsible and put out a better Rev the first time.
I was beta with Gen 1 and 3G iPhone and I'm tired of beta testing Apple's crappy hardware/software.
If you are so upset about it, stop buying their products, or at least wait. Seems like a simple solution to me. And to compare Apple's "crappy" hardware/software, just take a look at Dell as far as crappy hardware goes and no further than Vista as far as software is concerned. Three years into it, and people are still basically beta testers. I'm starting to be convinced that Vista is simply one big beta test for Windows 7, that's how crappy it truly has been.
I'm buying today the new MBP 1G obv. If it comes with issues typical of a 1G relase will them be covered by the warranty right? So where is the problem?
The problem comes from having to deal with the issues and the downtime from having to ship it off to Apple for repair if needed. Though the chances of having a major issue is slim. My new MB is working except for the trackpad annoyance, which is a bit annoying, but nothing that would prevent me from buying the machine if I could do it over again.
Apple has generally had four suppliers for MacBook displays ... LG/Philips, Samsung, Au Optronics, and Chi Mei. I've had direct experience with three of these -- the LG/Philips, the Samsung, and the Au Optronics.
The LG/Philips was superb in terms of colour reproduction (low amount of dithering).
The Samsung was horrible to the point that I'm surprised Apple even ships MacBooks with these displays (very rough, distracting dithering everywhere, even under menus, and it was dimmer).
The Au Optronics was as good or better than the LG/Philips for colour reproduction, and a touch brighter. Reports I've heard say that the Chi Mei is about the same.
So ... the "Chinese crap" actually is a decent display. In my experience, it was the Samsung that was unusable. I wrote [email protected] and they replaced my display in a hurry away from the Samsung.
I don't want to anticipate problems now before I've even received it, but I'm pretty sure they will be resolved with patches or repair under warranty if so. I can't think of any way you could fork out a lot of $ for a new model MacBook Pro and be stuck with sub-par performance.
I'm buying today the new MBP 1G obv. If it comes with issues typical of a 1G relase will them be covered by the warranty right? So where is the problem?
Your warranty can't cover design faults. The iMac condensation issue is a design fault. AFAIK this still hasn't been corrected through a re-design of the product. Basically all iMac owners are sitting on a time bomb.
It seems (according to one tech) that the fans in the iMac have been poorly placed to prevent this issue.
Another issue is getting Apple to admit that there's a problem in the first place. How many times have we seen Apple say there isn't a problem, only for them to backtrack under pressure and admit issues?
I don't want to anticipate problems now before I've even received it, but I'm pretty sure they will be resolved with patches or repair under warranty if so. I can't think of any way you could fork out a lot of $ for a new model MacBook Pro and be stuck with sub-par performance.
That info only pertains to the MacBook, not the MacBook Pro (or MacBook Air.) The MBP and MBA have better screens, and even if there are multiple suppliers probably have much less variation in screen quality.
That info only pertains to the MacBook, not the MacBook Pro (or MacBook Air.) The MBP and MBA have better screens, and even if there are multiple suppliers probably have much less variation in screen quality.
Okay, thanks... that's what I thought but wanted to be sure. At least I can cross that issue off the list!