I just went to my local Apple reseller (iStudio in Bangkok, Thailand) to buy the new rev. C... I had one on reserve for about two weeks now. When I get there, I was really hoping that this whole grey line business was a bunch of people being picky... and I had no idea how I was going to spot these grey lines...
So, before I handed my credit card over, I had them commit to a unit with no grey lines or hot/dead pixels. They have a policy of opening up 2-3 units to make the customer happy, so it was not a big deal. If there are bad pixels, they usually drop $100-200 off depending on the circumstances.
They very meticulously opened the box and I booted the machine... Right after I chose English in the setup, I saw just below the toolbar, under the Apple logo in the top left corner on the leopard stock background, grey lines! Clearly visible from normal sitting distance too. My girlfriend and a friend both standing next to me saw it instantly. A couple employees standing on the sidelines saw it too!
It's definitely not 4 inches away. On the regular background without anything loaded, you can see it. It was definitely very visible over darker areas. If I were to do any photography work (I use my Rev A as a light computer in the field to load photos) or watch movies when I travel. It is very distracting. Both are the same 9C90 display (I have updated the thread already).
Anyhow, they ran (yes physically ran) to one of their other branches to bring another one. Same exact issue. Just as bad. Didn't get a single employee disagreeing with me. I was kind of half expecting someone to say they do not see it or say it is not so bad... but they looked at it, put it back in the box. Their tech guys were kinda stumped. I spoke to the owner (or manager.. hard to tell) and he explained to me his purchasing process as a retailer and said that it is cost-prohibitive for him to ship these things back to Singapore. Instead, he usually sells blemished or scratched stuff AS-IS second-hand with a huge hit.... In all honesty, he was a very nice guy and seemed like a good business man (which is quite refreshing for buying computers or electronics in Thailand).
In any case, I'm in queue for another one on the next shipment due next week. I'll let you guys know then. If it does not work, I may be forced to buy something else since I need something faster than my Rev A... and I really do NOT want any other Apple portable right now (have a MacBook Pro 17" as my desktop for now).
I'll let you guys know next week.
So, before I handed my credit card over, I had them commit to a unit with no grey lines or hot/dead pixels. They have a policy of opening up 2-3 units to make the customer happy, so it was not a big deal. If there are bad pixels, they usually drop $100-200 off depending on the circumstances.
They very meticulously opened the box and I booted the machine... Right after I chose English in the setup, I saw just below the toolbar, under the Apple logo in the top left corner on the leopard stock background, grey lines! Clearly visible from normal sitting distance too. My girlfriend and a friend both standing next to me saw it instantly. A couple employees standing on the sidelines saw it too!
It's definitely not 4 inches away. On the regular background without anything loaded, you can see it. It was definitely very visible over darker areas. If I were to do any photography work (I use my Rev A as a light computer in the field to load photos) or watch movies when I travel. It is very distracting. Both are the same 9C90 display (I have updated the thread already).
Anyhow, they ran (yes physically ran) to one of their other branches to bring another one. Same exact issue. Just as bad. Didn't get a single employee disagreeing with me. I was kind of half expecting someone to say they do not see it or say it is not so bad... but they looked at it, put it back in the box. Their tech guys were kinda stumped. I spoke to the owner (or manager.. hard to tell) and he explained to me his purchasing process as a retailer and said that it is cost-prohibitive for him to ship these things back to Singapore. Instead, he usually sells blemished or scratched stuff AS-IS second-hand with a huge hit.... In all honesty, he was a very nice guy and seemed like a good business man (which is quite refreshing for buying computers or electronics in Thailand).
In any case, I'm in queue for another one on the next shipment due next week. I'll let you guys know then. If it does not work, I may be forced to buy something else since I need something faster than my Rev A... and I really do NOT want any other Apple portable right now (have a MacBook Pro 17" as my desktop for now).
I'll let you guys know next week.