What issues did you decide to just LIVE WITH on your Alu MB?

a little dust under the screen... but i think EVERYONE has dust.

if you take a flashlight and shine it on the screen while it's off/dimmed, then you can see a bunch of little dust particles stuck there...

there is one that is a LITTLE noticeable on a white screen, but i don't really care because the macbook is otherwise perfect... no broken latch, no scratches. etc

VSMacOne said:

I am just curious what issues people just decide to live with (at least for the time being).
My MB makes a clicking noise when i rest my hand on the right side of the trackpad, I can hear the HDD whining all the time, battery cover is a little loose (have not yet take pliers to it to remedy) and when closed, the lid is a little off to the right from the bottom.
BUT I just decided to live with these issues. My first two Alu MBs had loose covers/VERY loud HDDs/slanted keys so they were returned. This one seems better.
What do you think? What has your experience been thus far?

PS. just for the record, i don't intend to ask for an exchange based on your answers. I am quite happy with my MB

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As my first Mac, my new 13" MacBook has been quite the computer for me! I'm loving it to pieces and I'm still learning the ins and outs of OS X.

The battery cover is an issue for me too, however mine is not really "loose" per say, it seems as though the cover is just too small for the space there is a tiny, tiny gap.

Aside from the laggy trackpad issue, you can call me a happy camper.

i got 1 dead pixel right by the battery indicator, and a speck of dust a couple inches to the right of the isight...neither really bothers me...since everything else is perfect

slanted f keys. Its not too bad and everything else is good so i fgured i would deal with it instead of taking my chances with another macbook

My first mac following a line of dells and HP business class laptops was a white macbook. I bought it slightly used (5 months warranty left) and decided I was going to give it a fair shot so I put away all my other computers and lived with the problems it had, which turned out to be a lot more than I thought I would have with a mac. It had issues with the screen being complete crap (in comparison to my HP nc8430) and the plastics all sucked on it. Either they didn't line up right or cracked where your wrists go (which was apparently common). Anyways, I fell in love with the computer and decided to go wiht a brand new Aluminum Macbook. There is NOTHING that I have to live with on this computer. Everything is up to par with my HP's and my Dells if not better. I am thrilled with the new aluminum case as well as the new Nvidia graphics. No issues with the screen and the keys are all straight. I realize this is not the case with some people but I feel as though the people who generally comment are the people that have problems and you don't hear from the ones that don't have problems. I do wish the best for everyone with the problems and I hope they don't decide they have to settle because when you do get one thats right it is absolutely wonderful.

Zero problems...

Red stuck sub-pixel... I have to live with it...

Farkum said:

My first mac following a line of dells and HP business class laptops was a white macbook. I bought it slightly used (5 months warranty left) and decided I was going to give it a fair shot so I put away all my other computers and lived with the problems it had, which turned out to be a lot more than I thought I would have with a mac. It had issues with the screen being complete crap (in comparison to my HP nc8430) and the plastics all sucked on it. Either they didn't line up right or cracked where your wrists go (which was apparently common). Anyways, I fell in love with the computer and decided to go wiht a brand new Aluminum Macbook. There is NOTHING that I have to live with on this computer. Everything is up to par with my HP's and my Dells if not better. I am thrilled with the new aluminum case as well as the new Nvidia graphics. No issues with the screen and the keys are all straight. I realize this is not the case with some people but I feel as though the people who generally comment are the people that have problems and you don't hear from the ones that don't have problems. I do wish the best for everyone with the problems and I hope they don't decide they have to settle because when you do get one thats right it is absolutely wonderful.

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The screen on the new ones are trash and the blacks especially suck. I owned a previous MacBook and the screen was better. Heck even 2 employee at the Apple store agreed. I bought the new 2.4 and traded it for the pro. I refuse to live with a garbage screen for the price I paid. Cheap dells have better screens. I know many people who like the new ones and own them, but are honest and say the screen is worse or the same as the previous MacBook. Most honest people would admit that. I guess if you own the new one you don't want to see that though. I also compared the old one to 5 new ones to make sure and same conclusion. There are numerous independent articles that say the same thing. Thank God I got rid of that subpar joke of a screen.

I am going to have to live with the fact that I dont deserve such an amazing piece of kit.
I am going to have to live with the fact that I now have trouble free computing.
I am going to have to live with the fact that Football Manager 2008 runs like a dream.
I am going to have to live with the fact that I have hard drive space again.
I am going to have to live with the fact that every day I have to leave my macbook and go to work and use my crappy office PC.

My keys are slightly slanted and I'm going the live with it since my 15 days period is finished. But my S keys is broken and I'll get it repaired, no matter what. At least, there's an Apple repair centre not to far from me.

I think i will be buying a macbook again even though i don't like the screen. However it would be the lesser of 4 evils

-I bought a MBP Classic and its GPU is already faulty
-I bought a MBA and it kernel panics anytime i try to re-install the OS AND its underpowered
-I dont see myself buying the new MBP because its bigger/heavier and beyond my budget

which leaves me with the macbook. The screen is subpar but its usable so i'll be living with it

Slanted keys and - temporarily Boot Camp Trackpad probs

I bought my 13.3. , 2.0 Ghz Alu the day after the announcement (I needed a machine I could use mac and Windows on ASAP for school - and my old PowerBook w/ Virtual PC just couldn't cut it for SAS).

Went on trip right after - took me a few days to notice slanted F keys... and then a while to catch up to the fact that it was considered a defect that people were returning for! (I thought it was just an odd design decision!).

I've kinda gotten used to them actually - not even going to try to fix them. Certainly wouldn't go through returning and setting up my laptop all over again. I can see how it would drive others crazy.

As for the trackpad problems in Boot Camp/ Windows XP - crazy making but I'm fine with a mouse as a **temporary** solution. Actually - I would still live with it to be honest, because I'm just lovin' my machine. Still, hoping they fix it soon.

Oh, I live w/ the annoyance that that they didn't put a backlit on my model machine - money was tight and I couldn't see spending the extra hundreds just for that and for the 0.4 K speed improvement. (as opposed to, say AppleCare and the copy of Windows XP I had to buy).

AlecM in RI

Alu Macbook 13.3", 2.0Ghz, 2GB Ram
Powerbook 12", 1.33 Gh
iMac 15"flat screen (1st model)
iPod 30G
iPhone Gen. 1, 8G

penfool said:

I am going to have to live with the fact that I dont deserve such an amazing piece of kit.
I am going to have to live with the fact that I now have trouble free computing.
I am going to have to live with the fact that Football Manager 2008 runs like a dream.
I am going to have to live with the fact that I have hard drive space again.
I am going to have to live with the fact that every day I have to leave my macbook and go to work and use my crappy office PC.

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Be thankful you were one of the lucky people to get a perfect product! hehe

Jpoon said:

Be thankful you were one of the lucky people to get a perfect product! hehe

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It more like 'one of majority lucky people' according to this poll -
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/593773/

silverblack said:

It more like 'one of majority lucky people' according to this poll -
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/593773/

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I wouldn't be showing that poll. Lets say those results are true for everyone (outside of this site) who bought the Macbook. No company would be proud of 30% problems on a new product. That is horrible and if that is the case then Apple should be ashamed. I know, I know, only complainers post (which isn't true because a lot of Apple apologists post also even when Apple does something wrong).

hogfaninga said:

No company would be proud of 30% problems on a new product.

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Absolutely. I wanted to make a point that he was not 'the one' lucky person who had a perfect MB. There are many, and most are indeed.

On another note... let me remind the readers of a couple past episodes of new product issues:
- white MB plastic turning yellow; and then cracks developed
- Macbook air core shut down, which flooded the MBA forum much worse than it is for the problems with the aluminum MB

They are much worse in my opinion comparing to slanted keys, loose battery covers, and not-as-good quality screens compared to MBA/MBP.

penfool said:

I am going to have to live with the fact that I dont deserve such an amazing piece of kit.
I am going to have to live with the fact that I now have trouble free computing.
I am going to have to live with the fact that Football Manager 2008 runs like a dream.
I am going to have to live with the fact that I have hard drive space again.
I am going to have to live with the fact that every day I have to leave my macbook and go to work and use my crappy office PC.

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Nice, well put.

I am not a recent convert. Been using Macs since my Apple ][e long ago. I have had as of recently a G4 PowerMac, a 12" PowerBook, a Mac Mini and now still use a 24" Aluminum iMac. I got my MacBook on Sunday and all seemed well with it, but when I looked at it last night I noticed that the battery cover was loose. I could take my fingers and slide it back and forth only about 1 mm which to me didn't seem like a real problem, since I don't know how tight they should be and if there should be any play to them at all. But when I look at it across the bottom, I can see a bit of warp to the cover and when I hold it like a tray in my hand you can see it hanging a little low on the CD side, and it taps just a bit when I press on it.

I'm not sure how big a deal this is, but I'm worried that it might get worse. Considering how much I spend on Apple products, including the price of this machine, I think I should take it back. But at the same time I have no dead pixels, the screen seems fine for what it is, and no slanted keys, so my worry is that I might exchange one problem for another, etc. My iMac from last year had 4 dead pixels originally and as a BTO I had it replaced. The replacement had 1 stuck/dead pixel 1/4 inch from the right side of the screen, half way up. So I decided that was ok. I really didn't want even one pixel this time round. So I am a bit torn on the battery cover, but like I said don't want to get worse and don't want to live with it when I don't think I should have to.

I have no problems besides keys that are slightly slanted which I'm not concerned about fixing. The battery latch is ever so slightly lose but I only hear the rattle when I set my mac down on a table (omg I'm goig to whine about that!!!). But no not concerned about that either because everything else is perfect. This is also my first apple laptop. 2.4ghz version. Yay!

No problems whatsoever. I was a bit afraid to buy a first version but then my powerbook's HD crashed. And I have to say that it is absolutely perfect and feels extremely well-built and solid.

No problems man. This thing is great. I ordered minutes after the keynote & I'm totally happy so far. I did notice that my screen is not as good as some, while watching a movie in complete darkness the blacks on-screen are not dark enough, but that is a very rare occurrance for me, so I'm good.

silverblack said:

Absolutely. I wanted to make a point that he was not 'the one' lucky person who had a perfect MB. There are many, and most are indeed.

On another note... let me remind the readers of a couple past episodes of new product issues:
- white MB plastic turning yellow; and then cracks developed
- Macbook air core shut down, which flooded the MBA forum much worse than it is for the problems with the aluminum MB

They are much worse in my opinion comparing to slanted keys, loose battery covers, and not-as-good quality screens compared to MBA/MBP.

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Cracking was mostly solved last gen.. Then again I have owned 2 and no cracks, wife's is 2 years old and she isn't as careful as me and no cracks, and 3 friends with them and no cracks. Sure there were people who had problems, but to imply the vast majority of people did isn't true ( I know the people who have cracks will say, I did, I did--no need to hash that old argument again). Besides Apple fixed them even out of warranty. Having a below average screen for the price, slanted keys and loose fitting battery covers (which rattles a little with my friends 2.0 new one) are worse than a crack which Apple fixes in 30 minutes in many cases.

Hi hogfaninga, you do like arguing with me, don't you

Here you go -
1. I never implied that most people got a crackbook. I merely list examples of problems Apple previous had with their new product, to address your statement above. That is, if it is true, Apple had many (or even most) products that they cannot be proud of.

hogfaninga said:

No company would be proud of 30% problems on a new product.

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2. I respect that you think the problems with the aluminum MB are more serious. But I think many people will not agree with this interpretation of yours on the new MB's screen. Some hate it, many think there's nothing wrong.

hogfaninga said:

Having a below average screen

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silverblack said:

Hi hogfaninga, you do like arguing with me, don't you

Here you go -
1. I never implied that most people got a crackbook. I merely list examples of problems Apple previous had with their new product, to address your statement above. That is, if it is true, Apple had many (or even most) products that they cannot be proud of.



2. I respect that you think the problems with the aluminum MB more serious. But I think many people will not agree with this interpretation of yours on the new MB -

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Argue? Nope, just like for people to see differences of opinion without all the fanboyism that is on here all the time. Funny it mostly comes from newbies to Apple who don't want any criticism of their new Macbook.

2. There are dozens of threads saying how disappointed people are in the new screens. Are you suggesting they are good? Hell, Apple has never put in decent screens in their reg Macbooks and they didn't again. I hope you aren't defending Apple for charging a premium for a laptop and putting a screen that isn't even as good as a $700 Dell or HP. That is a big weakness of ALL reg Macbooks. I thought that was common knowledge. Maybe this is your first experience with Apple or first laptop and don't know the difference.