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~ MacBook [Aluminum] Owner's Thread

Serious Trackpad Issues

Hey all,

I've been enjoying the new MacBook Alu tremendously since last Thursday until last night when my trackpad started acting as if someone was in control of it. I could actually completely remove my fingers from the trackpad and watch as my cursor skipped across the screen. It only moved horizontally along the line that I left it on, and occasionally caused my screen to display the applications I had open as if I were using three finger application browsing. When I try to take control it is impossible to accurately move my cursor, as it skips around everywhere. Has anyone else experienced this? Restart does fix the problem. I thought I was okay last night when I restarted, but I came home today and just encountered the same problem...restarted and now in business again, but this could get annoying!

Thanks.
 
jrocque said:
Hey all,

I've been enjoying the new MacBook Alu tremendously since last Thursday until last night when my trackpad started acting as if someone was in control of it. I could actually completely remove my fingers from the trackpad and watch as my cursor skipped across the screen. It only moved horizontally along the line that I left it on, and occasionally caused my screen to display the applications I had open as if I were using three finger application browsing. When I try to take control it is impossible to accurately move my cursor, as it skips around everywhere. Has anyone else experienced this? Restart does fix the problem. I thought I was okay last night when I restarted, but I came home today and just encountered the same problem...restarted and now in business again, but this could get annoying!

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Do you have an optical mouse attached, wired or wireless?
 
jrocque said:
Nothing plugged in, just power. No wireless devices either.
Click to expand...

Hmm, that sounds odd. I've had pointers wander about my screen but it was because my mouse was on a reflective surface.

I would say it is a defective touch pad, but don't they read the capacitance of your finger? If there is no finger, what has capacitance that is moving it?

I would take it back. The thing that sucks about that, is that it's intermittent and may not have the problem when you take it back.
 
jrocque said:
Hey all,

I've been enjoying the new MacBook Alu tremendously since last Thursday until last night when my trackpad started acting as if someone was in control of it. I could actually completely remove my fingers from the trackpad and watch as my cursor skipped across the screen. It only moved horizontally along the line that I left it on, and occasionally caused my screen to display the applications I had open as if I were using three finger application browsing. When I try to take control it is impossible to accurately move my cursor, as it skips around everywhere. Has anyone else experienced this? Restart does fix the problem. I thought I was okay last night when I restarted, but I came home today and just encountered the same problem...restarted and now in business again, but this could get annoying!

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear that. I have seen this before on my other Macs. Some type of electrical short circuit. If it happens a lot you better take in to a Mac Genius. My trackpad occasionally "dive bombs" (cursor lost and suddenly shows up again, usually somewhere else), but it's not a regular thing. :eek:
 
Loud humming noise from HD!!!

So today I noticed that I can definitely hear my HD running... I'm not talking about the little chirp it does when it thinks, i'm talking about a constant running sound, not TOO loud, but definitely audible in a quiet room. I don't think my hearing is THAT picky, but I'm SCARED to even THINK about taking this one back as well. This is number 4!!!!:(

So somebody please write and tell me this is normal for a 250GB HD and that i have nothing to worry about... I know for a fact it's the HD because i've taken the battery cover off and when I pressed my thumb against it, it seemed to go down a little bit.

I really don't wanna do this all over again... :( :(
 
Hey, this is my first MacBook, and I have been hearing alot of complaints about the screen. I just want to let everyone know that I have not had a problem with it; I think it looks great.
 
RRutter said:
Yes, everyone's should be perfect. I have heard about slanted keys, loose spacebars, etc.. Are people looking at the keyboards too hard?
Click to expand...

I have exchanged my macbook twice now, and they all had slanted keyboard and a loose, clicky space bar. I have to live with this now...sigh. The slanted keys maybe aren't a huge deal, but the space bar annoys the crap out of me when typing.
 
Zadiek said:
I have exchanged my macbook twice now, and they all had slanted keyboard and a loose, clicky space bar. I have to live with this now...sigh. The slanted keys maybe aren't a huge deal, but the space bar annoys the crap out of me when typing.
Click to expand...

ok so now at least im not the only crazy one!!!
its weird though cuz my cousins MBP doens't clickity like my space bar.
i might try to exchange it to see if i get any better luck!

EDIT: do you think they would change my keyboard in store? i have a BTO (4gb ram) 2.4 model. I don't want to have to send it in or wait for a new one in the mail....what do you guys think?

thanks
 
You could try to exchange it but it might be a waste of time, or you might get another one with more serious issues. Like I said...I am on my 3rd Macbook now and all of them had the issues with the slanted keys and clicky space bar.
 
I just received mine last night. 2.4 2g ram. Barely had any quality time with it, but so far so good. I'm not seeing any of the issues others have... yet (X fingers).

While the screen is different than my prior PB, I still like it. Getting used to Panther will take some time. It is much cooler, much quieter, and much more sexy than my old PB.

Since my PB was my first make I hamfistedly pushed through it all, downloading programs I didn't need, losing info since I wasn't familiar with the "Apple way". This time I'm going to keep it clean and take great pains to make sure I get it, and keep it, very organized. I'm a very basic used, Web, office apps, pictures, music ect.

They aren't cheap, but they sure are sexy.
 
So do you guys see this a winner over the macbook air? for a while I've been debating which one to get, and the only thing was I thought the screen on the air was better than the macbook. What are your thoughts?
 
goncode said:
So do you guys see this a winner over the macbook air? for a while I've been debating which one to get, and the only thing was I thought the screen on the air was better than the macbook. What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...

MBA vs. MB? No contest! The MBA loses in every category except weight. The power, silence, 250GB drive, and superior screen make the MacBook a far better choice IMHO. The MBA screen may have improved, but the prior generation was inferior to the Alu MacBook. :)
 
Don't compare the new Macbook and Air side to side if you don't want to be disappointed by the screen. I was all set to sell the Air and probably still will and replace it with the Macbook 2.4GHz that I picked up till I compared the screens side by side and it was clear that the screen on the Macbook is vastly inferior. I am now going to probably return the Macbook and pre-order the high-end new Macbook Air instead.

Y2J
 
Y2JDMBFAN said:
Don't compare the new Macbook and Air side to side if you don't want to be disappointed by the screen. I was all set to sell the Air and probably still will and replace it with the Macbook 2.4GHz that I picked up till I compared the screens side by side and it was clear that the screen on the Macbook is vastly inferior. I am now going to probably return the Macbook and pre-order the high-end new Macbook Air instead.

Y2J
Click to expand...

Glad you can live with a slow CPU, slow 120GB hard drive or expensive SSD, one USB port, and no built-in DVD drive. :)
 
ubercool said:
MBA vs. MB? No contest! The MBA loses in every category except weight. The power, silence, 250GB drive, and superior screen make the MacBook a far better choice IMHO. The MBA screen may have improved, but the prior generation was inferior to the Alu MacBook. :)
Click to expand...

I disagree with you that the new MB has a superior screen than the Air. I have both and side by side, there's a stark difference in the Air's favor. I also went outside to test gloss factor and while MB can barely be used cranked up to max, the Air is adequate at 70-80% brightness setting. The Air has much less reflections than the MB, better white and greater brightness - period.
 
ubercool said:
Glad you can live with a slow CPU, slow 120GB hard drive or expensive SSD, one USB port, and no built-in DVD drive. :)
Click to expand...

It's not my main machine...I have a custom built PC for my main use, and a Dell M1710 for work use...The Air is my play toy and PC I carry around everywhere besides home and work. I've used my Superdrive less than 10 times since I got the Air in February, I will admit that streaming video and watching movies/slingbox taxes the machine, I am hoping the new processor and video chipset will take care of those issues. I was really enticed by the new Macbook, hence why I bought one, but the screen is just not as good at all.
 
Y2JDMBFAN said:
Don't compare the new Macbook and Air side to side if you don't want to be disappointed by the screen. I was all set to sell the Air and probably still will and replace it with the Macbook 2.4GHz that I picked up till I compared the screens side by side and it was clear that the screen on the Macbook is vastly inferior. I am now going to probably return the Macbook and pre-order the high-end new Macbook Air instead.

Y2J
Click to expand...

So you'd compromise having a better a screen than better performance? I also thought that with the price difference between the macbook and the high end air you could probably get a display? is the macbook air sutuable for a day to day use? or just browsing the web?
 
BoingoBongo said:
So I found one dead pixel on my new MB.

It's not the biggest deal in the world, but I'm debating on whether I should try for an exchange. Everything else seems perfect. The dead pixel is about 3 inches from the center of the screen in the right corner.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I have no complaints... other than one stuck pixel about an inch of center on my screen. I'm going to try to work it out tonight. I'm not sure if I want to bother going through the whole return process. Arr.
 
I got mine yester-morning after calling up my store...they told me they'd just gotten new shipments so i darted there and picked up a 2.4 MB and an 8GB Nano (student promo).

Called back today just for fun and they'd run out of stock again. Anyway i'm liking the machine its the macbook i've always wanted because i wasn't a fan of the fingerprint magnet plastic of last gen

The screen is still weak compared to the MBA/MBP. I wish they'd use the Air's screen but at least its somewhat better than last gen's screen which were just plain atrocious.

Overall a thumbs up
 
Evening all. Returned my 5 day old MBP today and picked up a 2.4 MB instead. Delighted with it and very surprised by how light and compact it is. Dare I say it reminds me of my old 12" Powerbook?
 
goncode said:
So you'd compromise having a better a screen than better performance? I also thought that with the price difference between the macbook and the high end air you could probably get a display? is the macbook air sutuable for a day to day use? or just browsing the web?
Click to expand...

The thing is, I don't need a display, don't want a lug a display with to a friend's house, kind of defeats the purpose of the air. I have a feeling the performance won't be too bad with the new CPU running at 1.86 and it has more cache than the Macbook's 2.4GHz and they both have the same graphics chipset...
 
I destroyed my Whitebook and bought a Brickbook

I went on a trip and accidentally left my white 13" 2.0 Macbook on the roof of my car. It didn't fall off until I was going 45mph. The battery no longer charges and the hard drive had to be replaced. The screen is damaged with a white streak in the lower left corner.
Anyway... I wasn't planning on buying a new Macbook, but I bought a new 2.0 Brickbook. I can say that the biggest improvement I can see other than the display is the comfort when using it. On the white Macbook, the edge below the keyboard used to irritate my arms. The new Macbook is really comfortable and I can use it for hours. Oh yeah... I haven't had any heat issues either.

-Big Dave
 
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