The question was: is it generally low quality? People wouldn't be satisfied if the the products were of general low quality.
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Are Apple's notebooks generally of low quality?
- Thread starter dingdongbubble
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The question was: is it generally low quality? People wouldn't be satisfied if the the products were of general low quality.
No.
When my ibook first had trouble I thought it was a fluke, they took my machine and fixed it and had it back to me in two days. Why wouldn't I rate my satisfaction as high? The speed of Applecare makes a lot of people very happy.
Then I worked at an ad agency and found the same problem with most of the deployed G4 laptops. Now that i know my logic board issue wasn't uncommon, I am happy they fixed it (even if i needed a replacement each subsequent year) but not as happy with Apple.
When my ibook first had trouble I thought it was a fluke, they took my machine and fixed it and had it back to me in two days. Why wouldn't I rate my satisfaction as high? The speed of Applecare makes a lot of people very happy.
Then I worked at an ad agency and found the same problem with most of the deployed G4 laptops. Now that i know my logic board issue wasn't uncommon, I am happy they fixed it (even if i needed a replacement each subsequent year) but not as happy with Apple.
Not that the handful of anecdotal evidence around here is proof of serious QC problems to begin with.
Good grief, people. Get more critical eyes.
My ten defective macbook pros last year and my two defective SR macbook pros (plus a repair that is now resulting in a replacement -the third unit in two weeks!) tells me that Apple has some pretty serious quality problems. They were purchased at different times from different sources so it wasn't just a bad batch. Statistically, what are the chances of me having all those problems over time and place unless there were more widespread issues?
Of course, some of the issues are just poor component choices, such as the displays with grain and uneven illumination. But, there are a lot of people out there who have had issues out of the box. The 17% repair rate in the first year is really not great, even if it may be industry standard. MY personal defect rate last year was nearly 100% in that out of the box none of the units I got was defect-free. I'm sure a lot of people can't be bothered to get things fixed, or they can't afford to be without their computers while they're in repair.
Anyway, it's neither here nor there. It's where we are now in terms of quality in the computer industry. At least Apple tries to make nice products!
The three macbooks (C2D bought in Nov, Jan, and June) all have a high pitched whine where the macsafe plugs in. My friend who works for IBM-ISS has a thinkpad assigned to him (he uses a macbook at home) with similar specs but no whine. After talking to engineer we've come to accept it is a cheap capacitor. Apple stores claim it is within spec, i have to play music or run photobooth just to drown out or quiet the sound.
If you were an editor of a site or a magazine, would you write about perfect working Windows XP, or ones that blue screens and dies?
Oh, you counter, you've seen it blue screen.
Well a bunch of us on MR, many who have been here for years, are complaining about QC that has gone to hell. We've received lemons to replace lemons and are getting really tired of it.
And a much bigger bunch of Mac owners have no problems. MacRumors is not a good way to judge the QC of Apple, since most users come here because of problems, not because they have a perfect Mac.
Again, that is unsupported logic. I've already conceded that these posts about issues will always be over-represented on forums but it doesn't follow that most users don't post here because they have perfects macs. For your argument to be true you'd need the premise that all mac users know to complain on Mac Rumors when they have a problem. That premise can't be reasonably assumed.
Many of you are basing your experience on your own personal computers, many of the complainers are basing it on what they have seen with schools and businesses. I thought all my problems were a fluke until I talked to friends who ran majority mac ad/pr agencies.
I just bought a new 2.4 GHz 15 inch SR MBP after waiting in the wings for over a year. I've owned one Dell and two ThinkPad notebooks. My most recent ThinkPad is the X60, which I absolutely love. I use it for traveling since it's so small and light. None of my machines have had any hardware-related issues. My older ThinkPad is still working after five years. The ThinkPads are very solidly built, have great keyboards, and the X60 has a very bright and uniformly lit screen. And I've found Windows XP to be a solid OS, despite all of the usual jokes.
I've wanted a Mac for a long time, and I was really excited when the MBPs were introduced. But all of the problem posts about the earlier versions kept me away. I understand how forums can magnify problems, but the sheer number of complaints on the Apple forums was a big concern to me. Anyway, I decided to take a chance with the new LED backlight version. I've only had it for a couple of days, but so far so good. No crashes, it passed the hardware test, the screen doesn't appear yellow (a Toshiba LCD), it doesn't make any weird noises, it idles at about 48 to 50 degrees (10 degrees more than my X60 with a 2.0 GHz chip), and I'm having fun learning a new OS. I've had a few incidents with AirPort occasionally not associating with my router, but I'll try to solve that.
If I had to pick between my ThinkPad and my MBP, at this point I'd pick the ThinkPad. But I think the MBP will grow on me as I get more used to it and the Mac OS.
I've wanted a Mac for a long time, and I was really excited when the MBPs were introduced. But all of the problem posts about the earlier versions kept me away. I understand how forums can magnify problems, but the sheer number of complaints on the Apple forums was a big concern to me. Anyway, I decided to take a chance with the new LED backlight version. I've only had it for a couple of days, but so far so good. No crashes, it passed the hardware test, the screen doesn't appear yellow (a Toshiba LCD), it doesn't make any weird noises, it idles at about 48 to 50 degrees (10 degrees more than my X60 with a 2.0 GHz chip), and I'm having fun learning a new OS. I've had a few incidents with AirPort occasionally not associating with my router, but I'll try to solve that.
If I had to pick between my ThinkPad and my MBP, at this point I'd pick the ThinkPad. But I think the MBP will grow on me as I get more used to it and the Mac OS.
Welcome to the other side and it will grow on you. Do get Applcare, I bitch a lot about Apple but it is a fantastic deal. I'm glad you didn't get a lemon.
That's unfortunate and I feel for you. I've had problems with my rev. A MBP, purchased refurbished. Thankfully, Apple has fixed the problems and the computer has been working flawlessly now for several months, aside from the battery issues which have been corrected since Apple released Battery Update. I am curious to see a breakdown of all the issues you've experienced with all your machines.
Generally of the highest quality
The Apple hardware I've used in generally in the top 10% in terms of quality. It is an order of magnitude better than the multitude of Dell's and IBMs I've used at work. Apple laptop LCD's always seem to be a cut above the others with the closest competitor being Sony.
I'd say the top 10% consists of Apple, Asus (premium models only), and Lenovo (falling fast).
Remember that all computer vendors are basically using the same parts made by the same few companies. Laptops are generally made by the same OEM manufacturers for everyone. The only difference is really how tight the quality tolerances written into the contracts/SLA's are.
The Apple hardware I've used in generally in the top 10% in terms of quality. It is an order of magnitude better than the multitude of Dell's and IBMs I've used at work. Apple laptop LCD's always seem to be a cut above the others with the closest competitor being Sony.
I'd say the top 10% consists of Apple, Asus (premium models only), and Lenovo (falling fast).
Remember that all computer vendors are basically using the same parts made by the same few companies. Laptops are generally made by the same OEM manufacturers for everyone. The only difference is really how tight the quality tolerances written into the contracts/SLA's are.
Interesting, I haven't seen a decline in Lenovo. I thought they would (esp after they called and said they'd offer the same great products as IBM but for much less!) but Asus has been terrible. I do agree that Apple screens are usually top notch. I don't know about Asus.
That was from 2002 to mid-2006. The complainers (myself included) contend that with the switch to intel and explosive growth Apple's QC has been unable to keep up. The study is useless to refute our points unless it had a specific breakdown of how many problems Apple had at the tail end of the study.
My Lenovo X60 ThinkPad is as well-built as my IBM T23 ThinkPad, and the keyboard and screen on the X60 are even better. I don't think that Lenovo's purchase of the business from IBM has resulted in lower quality. Apple does deserve credit for what appears to be responsive service -- at least from what I can see reading this forum.
Thanks! I'm going to get AppleCare. I just wanted to see if this new MBP was a keeper.
