Anodization wearing off. Im done with apple

[CrackedButter]

I will have to go back and read what you meant by addressing each of your points...to be honest I didn't pay that close of attention as when someone is ranting and being a jerk I tend to gloss over it as it bugs me.

I wasn't ranting, if you think I was then thats you interpreting it as me ranting.

I did notice however you claimed I needed to keep a certian poster "on my side"...this and other "popularity" and "internet royalty" nonsense is laughable. Be nice and people will like you...rant and rave in all caps because someone doesn't agree with your "opinion" then some won't...easy peasy. I have read good stuff from you and MacMod and I am not someone who is so childish as to "hate" someone and get that bent out of shape over disagreeing.

I am merely saying MacModMachine is a good guy.

I am also not the kind of person who would want or need to say "I told you so"...that is really, really pathetic.

I meant in the sense that it would bring a resolution to this discussion, not in the way you're thinking.

The only reason anyone is throwing a fit against the OP is because he said "I am done with Apple". Some people take it so personally if someone insults their "brand" and just can't let it go and allow someone to be upset about their personal issue.

Nobody took it personally, they probably interpreted it as stupidity.

The Mona Lisa isn't being rubbed by thumbs eight hours a day.

You missed my point even after I explained it, well done. Go back and read it because what you're trying to say is agreeing what I implied but you didn't need to go into all that detail. We know.

 

[student_trap]

my arguments for a trend towards worse quality control

My computers (in order of purchase):

12" powerbook: now 5 years old, runs like a dream despite having a bottle of coke spilled in it (not by me I might add) and being dropped

intel imac: bought one that had significant backlight bleed so returned it

Macbook pro: coming up to 3 years old now, and has had 2 failed DVD drives, the screen would not always tirn on, and 2 days ago it gave up on me totally.

Mac Pro: actually had trouble getting one that worked in the first place...the first and second models had failed power supplies, while the third one (which was a good unit), has now gone in to apple after a year and a half as it has become incredibly slow, a dodgy graphics card and problematic superdrive.

Macbook: over the summer I went through 5 faulty macbooks in a row before giving up and getting my money back.


The macs of my friends and family include:


3 macbooks: 1 has had a failed speaker, 1 has failed altogether, and one has been (minor a dead battery) fine

3 macbook pros: 2 have had failed dvd drives, the other failed altogether

1 imac: had to go back to apple after around a year of use



There are a lot of problems here, and all of them contribute to my opinion that apple QC has fallen off in the last few years. This is confirmed in my head by the number of older G3's that I have come into possession of recently that are still working marvelously.

I have considered switching to another OS, but I think that the reality of such an action would be more frustration rather than less.

 

[pacmania1982]

Mine did the same, but then again it was 2.5 years old.

Its not gonna stay perfect forever

pac

 

[uberamd]

My computers (in order of purchase):

12" powerbook: now 5 years old, runs like a dream despite having a bottle of coke spilled in it (not by me I might add) and being dropped

intel imac: bought one that had significant backlight bleed so returned it

Macbook pro: coming up to 3 years old now, and has had 2 failed DVD drives, the screen would not always tirn on, and 2 days ago it gave up on me totally.

Mac Pro: actually had trouble getting one that worked in the first place...the first and second models had failed power supplies, while the third one (which was a good unit), has now gone in to apple after a year and a half as it has become incredibly slow, a dodgy graphics card and problematic superdrive.

Macbook: over the summer I went through 5 faulty macbooks in a row before giving up and getting my money back.


The macs of my friends and family include:


3 macbooks: 1 has had a failed speaker, 1 has failed altogether, and one has been (minor a dead battery) fine

3 macbook pros: 2 have had failed dvd drives, the other failed altogether

1 imac: had to go back to apple after around a year of use



There are a lot of problems here, and all of them contribute to my opinion that apple QC has fallen off in the last few years. This is confirmed in my head by the number of older G3's that I have come into possession of recently that are still working marvelously.

I have considered switching to another OS, but I think that the reality of such an action would be more frustration rather than less.

There are always exceptions to any rule.

Power Mac G3 - Original parts, works flawlessly

2 Power Mac G5's - Original parts, works flawlessly

Power Mac G5 - Flaky logic board as of 2 weeks ago

White MacBook - Works great, only a free battery replacement by Apple

2 15" early 2008 MacBook Pro's - Works flawlessly

Refurbished MacBook Air - Flaky screen, replaced by Apple free of charge in under 24 hours Door to Door.

Refurbished 17" Unibody MacBook Pro - Bad left fan, entire system replaced by Apple with a new current model with significantly better specs, free of charge

2 Mac Mini's - Current gen, original parts, working great.

2 20" Cinema Displays - Working perfectly

Mac Mini - G4 processor, original parts, working perfectly

12" PowerBook G4 - Original parts, working perfectly

15" PowerBook G4 (TiBook) - Original Parts, working perfectly

iPhone 2G - Worked perfectly

iPhone 3G - Worked perfectly

iPhone 3GS - Works perfectly

iPod Touch 1G, iPod Touch 2G, iPod Nano 1st gen, iPod Nano 2nd Gen, iPod Nano 3rd Gen, iPod 5th Gen, i - Working perfectly

Quality slippage? I think not. Look at all the Apple products I have at home/work. Sure I have run into a few problems, but Apple has ALWAYS fixed them for free with the exception of the well out of warranty G5. Don't even get me started on the failure rate of the PC's I have owned and worked with.

 

[elmateo487]

Over two years of laptop use and he is complaining about the anodization coming off.

Done with apple? Good. Good riddance.

 

[scottness]

Anyone who just posted "clearly, you're a good shooter!!!" in the context you did should maybe reconsider posting about being shot-at-dawn.

And I agree with the others that your post was waaay over the top nasty. Chill, dude.

(BTW, I initially read your screen name as "ass-itis" and thought, oh so that's why he's so cranky...)

lmao... Pure entertainment.

 

[harperjones99]

Wow the magically deleted post syndrome. That's never one sided

 

[student_trap]

There are always exceptions to any rule.

Power Mac G3 - Original parts, works flawlessly

2 Power Mac G5's - Original parts, works flawlessly

Power Mac G5 - Flaky logic board as of 2 weeks ago

White MacBook - Works great, only a free battery replacement by Apple

2 15" early 2008 MacBook Pro's - Works flawlessly

Refurbished MacBook Air - Flaky screen, replaced by Apple free of charge in under 24 hours Door to Door.

Refurbished 17" Unibody MacBook Pro - Bad left fan, entire system replaced by Apple with a new current model with significantly better specs, free of charge

2 Mac Mini's - Current gen, original parts, working great.

2 20" Cinema Displays - Working perfectly

Mac Mini - G4 processor, original parts, working perfectly

12" PowerBook G4 - Original parts, working perfectly

15" PowerBook G4 (TiBook) - Original Parts, working perfectly

iPhone 2G - Worked perfectly

iPhone 3G - Worked perfectly

iPhone 3GS - Works perfectly

iPod Touch 1G, iPod Touch 2G, iPod Nano 1st gen, iPod Nano 2nd Gen, iPod Nano 3rd Gen, iPod 5th Gen, i - Working perfectly

Quality slippage? I think not. Look at all the Apple products I have at home/work. Sure I have run into a few problems, but Apple has ALWAYS fixed them for free with the exception of the well out of warranty G5. Don't even get me started on the failure rate of the PC's I have owned and worked with.

Im sure that they are not all bad, far from it in-fact. Moreover, I am talking exclusively about apple computers rather than ipods/iphones etc. In my experience (and of others I know with macs), it seems like since the intel switch, and the opening up of new revenue streams, the quality control on their computers has slipped.

I should add that I am not commenting upon apple's service, for which I can confirm is very good (with only one exception imo).

The simple truth is that I currently own 10 macs, and have owned a total of 18. out of this sample of 18 (UK) macs, 11 of these have been intel, the remaining 7 have had PPC architecture. Of the intel machines, 10 have failed while all of the PPC models are still working as new.

therefore in my personal experience:

90% of my intel macs have had faults
0% of my PPC macs have had faults

My conclusions are drawn from my experience

 

[scottness]

My conclusions are drawn from my experience

Your experience sucks... I mean it sucks to have your experience.

I'm glad my experience has been much better.

 

[HBOC]

i have a early 08' model that i bought in October of last year. By March, it had signs of the finish wearing on the sides, not even near where i rest my palms. I use a mouse most of the time.

While I was at Apple at the genius bar, i showed one of the genius's, and they said it was cosmetic, and that it wasn't covered. He said that it was a reaction from the oils in my skin... whatever. I mean it sucks because there is wear, an OEM bottom case is like $180, and it adds character to the machine . It doesn't affect the performance of the computer...

 

[student_trap]

Your experience sucks... I mean it sucks to have your experience.

I'm glad my experience has been much better.

yeah it really does, but I still go back. Every now and then I wonder whether I should get a PC, but I never go through with it

 

[harperjones99]

i have a early 08' model that i bought in October of last year. By March, it had signs of the finish wearing on the sides, not even near where i rest my palms. I use a mouse most of the time.

While I was at Apple at the genius bar, i showed one of the genius's, and they said it was cosmetic, and that it wasn't covered. He said that it was a reaction from the oils in my skin... whatever. I mean it sucks because there is wear, an OEM bottom case is like $180, and it adds character to the machine . It doesn't affect the performance of the computer...

Character is what people call damage so they can stomach it. See how much someone else is willing to pay for that "character" if you ever sell it. If the coatings they use cannot stand up to normal skin oils on a machine designed to be constantly exposed to them then they are defective.

 

[zgh1999]

Even the Mona Lisa is falling apart...

There are other, more important things in the world to be concerned about, you should value what the machine can do, not how it looks after 2 years of use.

What we own, end up owning us.

 

[ttopp]

no longer an apple issue

any one else notice this has turned into a "tit 4 tat" discussion between crackedbutter and harperjones99.

the original poster obviously doesn't care for his discussion as he hasn't even posted a response to any suggestions lol

ok im gonna b on crackedbutters side only because of his name.

(DISCLAIMER: i have not read fully the discussion and have chosen a side based only on preferred name, any insult felt by any parties due to this, I sincerely apologise to).

 

[CrackedButter]

any one else notice this has turned into a "tit 4 tat" discussion between crackedbutter and harperjones99.

the original poster obviously doesn't care for his discussion as he hasn't even posted a response to any suggestions lol

ok im gonna b on crackedbutters side only because of his name.

(DISCLAIMER: i have not read fully the discussion and have chosen a side based only on preferred name, any insult felt by any parties due to this, I sincerely apologise to).

The "tit 4 tat" that went on, went on for actually a little longer until the mods cleaned up. Don't take my side because of my name, take a side based on higher principles please.

The original poster doesn't want to come back probably because the majority of us didn't agree with what he was talking about.

What we own, end up owning us.

You just made my day, cheers for that. Somebody else acknowledged my point at least.

 

[macrem]

Independent report after report gives Apple the highest customer satisfaction ranking in several product categories including laptops. I have owned multiple Apple products including several generations of PowerBooks/MBPs. There have been few hardware issues & then Apple took good care of me.

Right now I am installing a webapp on a Dell Latitude laptop.

The Dell's charger is a humongous brick compared to the MBP's. The Dell does not have a magsafe power connector, which I am mentioning because someone accidentally kicked my Mac's power connector which would have damaged the Dell causing expensive to repair damages, but nothing happened to the MBP.

As I mentioned before, the ~1 year old Dell's rubber feet are coming off & the plastic is discolored where stickers were. The entire bottom panel is a collage of cheap (legalese) labels. There is no backlit keyboard. There are redundant distracting LED lights that blink. You still need a (rather large) latch to hold the screen down. The Dell just had to have its battery replaced. The Dell has gaps around the screen and rather large gaps around the keyboard where stuff can fall in. The rather large lid hinges, cd tray, tiny trackpad surrounded by mechanical buttons, rubber bits around the screen & (15-pin video) connectors look like a flash from the past compared to uMBP. The MBP is much thinner, quieter, sleeker, appealing. There is a good quality built-in camera. The speakers sound way better. The multi-touch trackpad is something I can no longer live without. & then there is OS X: enough said

I find similar issues when looking at new PC laptops in stores, so as you can imagine I cannot relate to being done with Apple over a relatively minor issue that probably Apple would help to fix. Although in the OPs photo, it looks like the anodization is wearing off along a scratch.

 

[harperjones99]

The original poster doesn't want to come back probably because the majority of us didn't agree with what he was talking about.

You don't know why the OP hasn't come back but it fits your case great to claim that is why. Maybe he got it dealt with and doesn't care about a bunch of rude "Apple is the best you suck and are stupid" kind of posts?

It takes a certain character to go insult and argue with someone who is clearly having a rough time and just wants to vent. Sadly the internet is swarming with people like that.

 

[317342]

What ever happened to ppl who spent more time using their computer than glossing over every, single, little, minute, asymmetrical, quirk or detail?

This condition has a name....it's called OCD

 

[Rampant.A.I.]

Unless you're referring to your Powerbook being the Titanium Powerbook, then yes, it's painted but the aluminum Powerbooks are not, and are anodized the same way as the unibody's.

The Powerbook G4 series aluminum laptops, like the OP has, were painted in that area and not annodized.

You would think it would be annodized and not painted, but that was not the case.

If you guys would spend a little more time reading posts instead of shouting past eachother, you'd realize we are talking about the paint on a metal surface wearing off due to use, NOT annodization wearing off.

I had one, it had the same wear problem, though not as severe as the OP's. Mine began to wear over time from cleaning dust out of that crevice area with iKlear on a microfiber towel. Pretty ridiculous for the laptop to show signs of wear from cleaning, if you ask me. Apple replaced my top case after deciding it was anything but "normal wear and tear."

It's ridiculous for any part of the laptop to be worn bare after two years of use. It's sad that anyone is willing to accept parts of a $2500.00 laptop being worn down to bare metal after two years as "standard wear and tear" after two years of use.

Almost as sad as screaming at and berating the OP for being genuinely upset over something that should not happen on a premium laptop.

And as far as I'm concerned, the kind of "It's OLD already! Throw it away and get a new one!" attitude ITT reeks of materialistic trust-fund baby tears. The kind that pour out of screaming adult children who want the best, but have never had to pay for anything in their lives except in minutes lost whining to mommy and daddy to buy them a new toy.

 

[Music_Producer]

I think most people should realize that quality control for *all* brands has been going downhill - you're worried about laptops? Look at automobiles - some of the best names in the industry (toyota for reliability) have been showing problems - some of them involving fatal accidents.

I work in recording studios most of the time and I see the brand spanking new consoles which cost $25,000+ fail pretty frequently - while the old 1970s consoles chug along just fine. Everything nowadays has a more 'plastic' feel to it - no solid quality anymore.

 

[w00t951]

I really don't see how you can compare a laptop to a car... One of them (laptop) is a tool that you constantly rub and touch, and the other one (car) is something that you drive around in... Unless you want to compare weak anodization on a computer to the hardened, metallic, and polymerized finish on a car, this comparison isn't going to work.

Second, this kind of wear is quite normal- unless you want a plastic cover on your computer, metallic finishes that are not weather-proofed tend to rub off. For example: My Firelight external hard drive. It's big, made of metal, and heavy enough to knock someone out with it. It has an "anodized" finish (looks more like paint) but when you rub it with cloth, the finished dulls seems to rub off. It's the same thing happening here, so unless you want to pick a fight with Apple for something cosmetic that happened under normal wear, I would just ignore it and move on with my life.

 

[317342]

I think most of you have brought up some very valid points.

Personally, I think there is a thin line between what is worth getting worried and/or upset about, and what is not worth our time. There have been more than a few times I've brought something to my wife's attn to see if it looks as bad as it looks to me--usually it doesn't, and I forget about it. When I got my new MBP a few months ago (prev. gen), it had a stuck blue pixel in the screen. I wasn't upset and it didn't bother me, so I left it alone. When my battery died (defective), I had brought it back to the store and showed the repair tech. When he replaced the battery, he noticed the dead pixel and said "That would drive me nuts....let's see if we can't replace your notebook since it's so new"....and he did. I was hesitant at first but the tech insisted since I'll get "a new battery...and a new screen w/out the dead pixel." In the end, it was resolved, and I wasn't even all that concerned by it.

I know that would drive some people on this board crazy to have a stuck blue pixel in the middle of the screen, but it was such a small thing--if I had driven all the way back to the store and made a fuss, it would've cost me more in time and gas than I was willing to deal with. I waited until something was wrong w/ the computer (ie. battery wouldn't hold a charge) before I brought it in.

You see, all the time spent obsessing over the "little stuff"...my wife's computer is probably the most 'worked' white Macbook you've ever seen. Apple had to replace the cracked plastic on it a few months ago, and now the plastic is cracking again. We're planning on sending it in while we're both off for Christmas break. The only other problem she's had is the backlight became very dim and they needed to replace the LCD about 6mo ago. She uses the thing every single day....literally, and it gets bumped and scratched...everything, and it still hasn't missed a beat. She loves it.

Yesterday we were at Best Buy picking up a gift for someone and we took a walk by the notebooks (PCs and Macs). The only PC notebooks that even remotely looked well built were the Sony Vaios. The Macs are just far more "solid" than any of the HPs and Dells they had on display. This brings up my favorite arguement--Apple's product quality doesn't have nearly as much to do w/ how good their products are then it does to how poor it's competition is.

I'm no apologist for Apple, but I will say you could do a lot worse in the PC market. The only competition I've seen for them in notebook hardware is Sony, and their Vaios. The Vaios do not have keyboard flex, light bleed, or creaking frames or chassis. Software wise, you're beholden to the antivirus software cartel known as Norton, McAfee, Microsoft (OneCare), NOD32, etc.etc.

When ppl say, "I'm not buying another Mac....this is crap....bad product quality...etc.etc." Ok, that's your choice, and have at it but don't look for sympathy on a message board (esp. an Apple one). For every one of 'you', there are many o' many others who have had the opposite (or complete opposite) experience you've had. My advice to you is to buck up, call AppleCare, and see what they will do for you should it interfere with the operation of the machine. Getting a shiny spot on an aluminum case is hardly cause for alarm--it's going to get 'used' and if you want it to look as good as it did on Day #1, leave it in the box and never use it.

 

[MacModMachine]

The Powerbook G4 series aluminum laptops, like the OP has, were painted in that area and not annodized.

You would think it would be annodized and not painted, but that was not the case.

If you guys would spend a little more time reading posts instead of shouting past eachother, you'd realize we are talking about the paint on a metal surface wearing off due to use, NOT annodization wearing off.

I had one, it had the same wear problem, though not as severe as the OP's. Mine began to wear over time from cleaning dust out of that crevice area with iKlear on a microfiber towel. Pretty ridiculous for the laptop to show signs of wear from cleaning, if you ask me. Apple replaced my top case after deciding it was anything but "normal wear and tear."

It's ridiculous for any part of the laptop to be worn bare after two years of use. It's sad that anyone is willing to accept parts of a $2500.00 laptop being worn down to bare metal after two years as "standard wear and tear" after two years of use.

Almost as sad as screaming at and berating the OP for being genuinely upset over something that should not happen on a premium laptop.

And as far as I'm concerned, the kind of "It's OLD already! Throw it away and get a new one!" attitude ITT reeks of materialistic trust-fund baby tears. The kind that pour out of screaming adult children who want the best, but have never had to pay for anything in their lives except in minutes lost whining to mommy and daddy to buy them a new toy.

im sure yours wore, and im sure apple replaced it....

i smashed my laptop on the ground, apple replaced it because it was wear and tear....right?

laptops fall on the ground all the time....and people rub the crap out of the laptops all the time too,

take your OCD rubbing syndrome elsewhere

back to fantasy land.....

 

[CrackedButter]

You don't know why the OP hasn't come back but it fits your case great to claim that is why. Maybe he got it dealt with and doesn't care about a bunch of rude "Apple is the best you suck and are stupid" kind of posts?

It takes a certain character to go insult and argue with someone who is clearly having a rough time and just wants to vent. Sadly the internet is swarming with people like that.

The original poster doesn't want to come back probably because the majority of us didn't agree with what he was talking about.

See what I did there Harperjones99?

It's ridiculous for any part of the laptop to be worn bare after two years of use. It's sad that anyone is willing to accept parts of a $2500.00 laptop being worn down to bare metal after two years as "standard wear and tear" after two years of use.

What are you comparing this against? What doesn't wear down after 2 years of use?

And as far as I'm concerned, the kind of "It's OLD already! Throw it away and get a new one!" attitude ITT reeks of materialistic trust-fund baby tears. The kind that pour out of screaming adult children who want the best, but have never had to pay for anything in their lives except in minutes lost whining to mommy and daddy to buy them a new toy.

I hope your next contribution isn't as off base as the comment above, I'm telling you now that I can't take you seriously at this point, so think about what you're going to say when you reply.

 

[feelthefire]

What are you comparing this against? What doesn't wear down after 2 years of use?

I don't know. All I know is I'm going to write a really angry letter to Vans cause my sneakers that I've been wearing every day for two years have holes in them. The NERVE! I could have bought walmart sneakers if I wanted something to wear out right away! I'm never spending $60 on shoes again!

Seriously. This whole thing is ridiculous. Don't use it if you don't want it to wear out. I'm going to go have a fit over my shiny black macbook trackpad now. Clearly it's a defect