MacBook Pro Vertical Striping Issue

[g00k]

sure.. there is no perfect company...
but would u say apple is a a-class company?
several month of issue problems and not even a word from apple...
great service i would say.
and as i said... if they continue their road of selfishness they will be gone in 6-7 years.
when ms xbox had issues and they lost a heck of money noone even tried to blame the chinese manufracture ... all blamed ms and said served them right...
if apple have issues noone point his finger at apple... thats interesting...

 

[kabunaru]

Apple is greedy company too. All they want is people's money these days and they don't care that much about anything else.

 

[Tosser]

It's easy to search the internet and surmise that Apple has major problems with their laptops or any product in general, as generally it's those people affected that complain on forum message boards. Rarely do people start threads espousing my screen works great; my mac doesn't randomly shut down etc.

But of course. But that doesn't mean you can conclude it's something to ignore. And especially not when it becomes more and more widespread. With your argument 99 percent of their computers could be bugridden, and you would still surmise that "it's only those with bugs that post about them".
It's a effed up fallacy.

Whilst I'm in no way denying it doesn't suck for those affected- I think people need to see it in a balanced light. My first Mac arrived D.O.A and Apple sent an engineer out and it was replaced. Had no problems with it ever since in 8yrs

Ah, yes. Notice we say that QC is dwindling? Notice we say that the quality of their products are falling?
Well, that's what we say. Not that Apple _never_ made a quality product.

Apple isn't a perfect company. Everybody has problems in one way or another.

Ah, yes, and by extension no company can be worse than the next.

In the same way, there is no difference between Dells different lines, Lenovo Thinkpads, Apple, iRiver or any of the rest out there.

By your logic, there is no difference in quality between a sea ray, bayliner, Grand Banks and Nautor Swan either, just as there are no difference in quality between different house builders.


Btw, I forgot to say earlier in this thread, that I do in fact have problems with my MBP, despite me saying it's working. But I am certain these problems must be OS-related. The thing is, the computer freezes. And it's as if it eases into it. First the touchpad freezes (as in "can't move the curser". If I'm really quick (and lucky) I can close safari but otherwise it freezes entirely, forcing me to do hard reboot.

It's not fr the example's sake I mention Safari/omniweb (same webkit), as that is the culprit, or at least it's never when I don't have either of them open. It sometimes happen several times a day, sometimes with ten minutes intervals. Other times I can go days without a problem. I have tried resetting everything, clean install and everything else. But the problem is only occuring with leopard. And I don't know why, but it seems the webkit is somehow interacting with something else, screwing the whole thing up in the process.

Yes, that last bit was a bit off-topic with regards to this post, but it shows a pattern. Besides, I forgot to write it earlier on.

 

[RoDe]

I've seen this problem on my MBP 2.6 as well. Now for this one when I put 4GB ram in my MBP it gets kernel panics. But when I put 2GB in my MBP all is fine.

They really need to change the MBP's design and internal design. I think heat is a major problem.

Heat and computers don't mix well.

 

[RoDe]

sure.. there is no perfect company...
but would u say apple is a a-class company?
several month of issue problems and not even a word from apple...
great service i would say.
and as i said... if they continue their road of selfishness they will be gone in 6-7 years.
when ms xbox had issues and they lost a heck of money noone even tried to blame the chinese manufracture ... all blamed ms and said served them right...
if apple have issues noone point his finger at apple... thats interesting...

Every single manufacturer will give you the same response.

 

[digitalbiker]

So does this have anything to do with the 6 bit dithered color display rather than a full 8 bit display.

I guess Apple settled out of court in the class action law suit about Apple's false advertising claim of millions of colors when in fact they were using 6 bit displays not capable of delivering millions of colors on the display without dithering.

Why does Apple always try to get away with putting cheap displays or lessor graphics cards in their top of the line computers when they could easily do better and people would still pay for the quality?

I love OS X and I love Apple products but frankly I haven't owned one Powerbook, MacBook, or Macbook Pro that lasted more than 4 years for me. All of them have had backlights that died, Logic boards that went kerput, or displays that started failing long before they should have.

I have an old Toshiba laptop from 1994 and the thing still runs and the color display is amazingly still fully operational.

I don't own one Apple product that is still operational after 5 years and I have bought Apple products since the Apple IIe came out.

 

[Tosser]

So does this have anything to do with the 6 bit dithered color display rather than a full 8 bit display.

No, not really. It's mostly about striped screens, screen bugs and dwindling quality in general. But nonetheless, I never heard about them dithering the displays until this thread, so I'm glad you (amongst others) mentioned it.

Why does Apple always try to get away with putting cheap displays or lessor graphics cards in their top of the line computers when they could easily do better and people would still pay for the quality?

The simple explanation is: Greed mixed with the search for the lowest common denominator in order to maximize the profit and then we're back to the greed and the circle continues.

I love Safari and I love Apple products but frankly I haven't owned one Powerbook, MacBook, or Macbook Pro that lasted more than 4 years for me. All of them have had backlights that died, Logic boards that went kerput, or displays that started failing long before they should have.

I have an old Toshiba laptop from 1994 and the thing still runs and the color display is amazingly still fully operational.

I don't own one Apple product that is still operational after 5 years and I have bought Apple products since the Apple IIe came out.

Personally I gave up on iPods a few years back, after getting one screwed up after another, after having to deal with Apple Ewwrope time and time again. The last one I simply tossed in the bin, woving to never buy a HDD-based Apple-player again. Then the touch came out, but fortunately for me I decided against it because it has no disk mode. Lucky, because it too have/had big issues (plus the tie-ins to iTunes )

 

[JeffDM]

Apple isn't a perfect company. Everybody has problems in one way or another.

Ah, yes, and by extension no company can be worse than the next.

In the same way, there is no difference between Dells different lines, Lenovo Thinkpads, Apple, iRiver or any of the rest out there.

By your logic, there is no difference in quality between a sea ray, bayliner, Grand Banks and Nautor Swan either, just as there are no difference in quality between different house builders.

It is your logic that is flawed here. kabunaru didn't say that the problems would necessarily be the same kind or degree. Interestingly enough, the second sentence even suggests that. A basic fact of it is that no product is immune to problems.

 

[JeffDM]

Obviously most parts in any Mac are manufactured in various countries, but didn't most Apple computers actually say on the back label at one time...

"Assembled in California" ?

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, I really DON'T want to have to dig out the Apple ][GS or the Mac LC!

Does anyone actually KNOW the very LAST MAC ASSEMBLED IN CALIFORNIA?

Power Mac G5s were assembled in the US. My Mac Pro has a label saying it was assembled in the US.

 

[JeffDM]

If the problem goes away when you open/close the lid or similar actions, then the problem is either firmware or software related.

That means replacing the logic board or the display or the backlight will not fix it, really.

I don't think it's possible to diagnose it that way. It could be a faulty oscillator or something like that, restarting oscillators sometimes kicks them out of a mode that it somehow got stuck in. If it was a CCFL backlight, it would be more understandable, ballasts seem to get stuck like that sometimes.

Front page news? Wow.

I guess it happens, but I don't have any of these issues.

The likelihood of any given user having it is probably low. Let's say probably no more 10%, which would be a huge failure rate, probably enough to make it into newspapers.

 

[Tosser]

It is your logic that is flawed here. kabunaru didn't say that the problems would necessarily be the same kind or degree.
Interestingly enough, the second sentence even suggests that.

Actually, the overall statement insinuates that the degree is around the same, that it's just a matter of what kind of problems.
Besides, it wouldn't make any more sense to post that "They all have different kinds of problems to different degrees" when he's posting in a thread about the dwindling quality of Apple products, and he's obviously here to pretend Apple's QC is good (enough).

A basic fact of it is that no product is immune to problems.

Yes, but noone can use that as a defence for a crap product or dwindling quality. It's simply nonsense to state that, as first of all its a given, secondly we're talking how often problems occur, how widespread they are, how serious they are and how fast (if ever) the company responds to them. Therefore you and his statements are nonsense at best. And especially when you claim that the essense of the statement is that they can have bugs of different kinds and different degrees. Hello!? It's the kind and degrees we're talking about to begin with.

 

[StopComplaining]

I'm a Genius at an Apple Store. I have not seen a single MacBook Pro with this problem. It would be great if you guys took into account the fact that just because 500 people post in an Apple discussions thread about a problem does not mean it is plaguing every new computer Apple makes. To be honest the types of people who post here are the ones that are never happy. You are the people who spend your whole appointment telling me how much you love Apple and how you've been using them forever and then take the next person's appointment complaining that I won't give you a new MacBook Pro because I can't see the imaginary yellow tint your SR MacBook Pro has (hint: you've convinced yourself it has this tint because you read online that it is a big problem).

Try to keep in mind that Apple's top priority is customer satisfaction. Believe it or not they do everything in their power to help you out.

Edit: I will elaborate on my yellow SR comment. I'm not saying that wasn't a problem with a few of them. However, someone brought one in reporting the yellow tint and I couldn't see it despite the white background with gray boxes on the top and bottom (the only way he could see the problem). I went ahead and replaced the LCD for him anyways. The day after it was replaced he came back saying he could see a yellow tint. I could not see it again (and this time checked with several other people in the store, none of which could see it) and would not replace the display. He convinced himself he had this problem because he had read that it was common. That was the first and only time I ever saw anyone reporting that problem.

 

[fuziwuzi]

i've had this problem about 6-7 times, and nothing a reboot didn't fix.

i am far more annoyed and concerned about the trouble i have with wireless, despite a replacement airport card.

 

[fuziwuzi]

You are the people who spend your whole appointment telling me how much you love Apple and how you've been using them forever and then take the next person's appointment complaining that I won't give you a new MacBook Pro because I can't see the imaginary yellow tint your SR MacBook Pro has (hint: you've convinced yourself it has this tint because you read online that it is a big problem).

my MBP had a slightly yellow colour (i never read it online), so i changed the colour profile from LCD to adobe rgb, and now it's a little more blue, but i prefer that. i think u just need to properly cailbrate the screen with something like spyder and you'ld be set

 

[Tosser]

First of all, you're not setting any records whatsoever "straight". On the contrary you just reenforce many people's (mine included) perception of how Apple acts: Completely denying there is a problem, all the while acting arrogant and ignorant to real problems, and when confronted with this, the fanboy/corporate response is - as usual - if you're dissatisfied, buy another brand.

 

[StopComplaining]

First of all, you're not setting any records whatsoever "straight". On the contrary you just reenforce many people's (mine included) perception of how Apple acts: Completely denying there is a problem, all the while acting arrogant and ignorant to real problems, and when confronted with this, the fanboy/corporate response is - as usual - if you're dissatisfied, buy another brand.

That's just the thing, Apple doesn't deny problems. While Apple doesn't make a habit of sending out a press release to acknowledge problems, their knowledge base (what you search on the Apple support website) has many internal articles that acknowledge emerging issues. These are the things you see forum posts about. They investigate and fix these issues as quickly as possible and give us fixes in the mean time.

Furthermore when Apple has very widespread problems (for example MacBook batteries or iMac G5 power supplies) they take care of the problems even outside the regular warranty period. These are known as repair extension programs and are common when a major flaw is discovered.

 

[Tosser]

That's just the thing, Apple doesn't deny problems.

They do. And the moment you come here and talk on behalf of apple, going "we" whe you talk about Apple, saying it's a "supposed" problem, that it's "imaginary" and whatnot, that is indeed denying there is any problems.

While Apple doesn't make a habit of sending out a press release to acknowledge problems, their knowledge base (what you search on the Apple support website) has many internal articles that acknowledge emerging issues. These are the things you see forum posts about. They investigate and fix these issues as quickly as possible and give us fixes in the mean time.

Sure. That's why Apple has a history of denying problems and not fixing them for months on end

Furthermore when Apple has very widespread problems (for example MacBook batteries or iMac G5 power supplies) they take care of the problems even outside the regular warranty period.

Well, they were forced to do that with regards to the batteries as the battery manufacturer went public. Up until then Apple denied there were any problems.

These are known as repair extension programs and are common when a major flaw is discovered.

Ah yes, but you seem to forget that if people like you got their way, people should just shut up, and people on the internet shouldn't be counted, as there are no widespread problems. You simply fail to realise that unless people complain and tell it how it is, nothing will be fixed.

 

[JeffDM]

Downplaying how widespread it is

How widespread is it then? Just saying it's widespread doesn't mean it is.

insinuating that because the net have a "bullhorn effect" it cannot be widespread doesn't do anyone any good either. On the contrary.

Again, I didn't say that. You're stretching what I said too far.

 

[Tosser]

How widespread is it then? Just saying it's widespread doesn't mean it is.

No, it doesn't mean that. But the thing is, I'm quite certain that my problem where Safari /webkit freezes my MBP isn't widespread at all. This stripy issue have been posted by many people. Thus many users must be affected by it. And, no, you cannot just claim that is the bullhorn effect and then dismiss it.
Let's just say it's affecting 3 percent of users. That's a lot, and that is certainly "widespread". Especially considering all the rest of the problems with their hardware.

Again, I didn't say that. You're stretching it too far.

I am by no means stretching anything, that is your argument in its essense.

 

[StopComplaining]

Ah yes, but you seem to forget that if people like you got their way, people should just shut up, and people on the internet shouldn't be counted, as there are no widespread problems. You simply fail to realise that unless people complain and tell it how it is, nothing will be fixed.

I'm not saying people shouldn't report their problems online. The thing that bothers me is that when there is even a minor problem it always seems to become some sort of scandal. I mean putting this story on the front page of MacRumors seems ridiculous to me (it shouldn't even have made page 2). It is a small problem that people are experiencing. Apple will fix it in time. In the meantime take it to an Apple store and see what they say. I think a vast majority of you will be pleasantly surprised with the results.

 

[JeffDM]

I am by no means stretching anything, that is your argument in its essense.

No. You're trying to take my gray and spin it as black.

I'm not dismissing the problem. What I was saying is that the Internet Bullhorn Effect *can* make a small problem seem big, a less common problem seem more widespread than it is. The people that have problems are more likely to visit half a dozen sites to complain about the problem, those that don't have the problem might say so once if they come across such a discussion.

A couple dozen pictures from different people really doesn't prove it's widespread. It only proves that there are a couple dozen with defective screens, multiply that by a generous thousand for those that don't bother to post about it online and it's maybe as high as 25,000, when Apple sells maybe a million of that model over its 9 month life. In the mean time, there's 975,000 users that don't have the problem. As such, we really don't know for sure. Yes, a hypothetical 3% is a terrible failure rate if it were that high, but there's no way to know.

 

[Tosser]

I'm not saying people shouldn't report their problems online. The thing that bothers me is that when there is even a minor problem it always seems to become some sort of scandal.

I consider that a freudian slip.
This would never be considered a "scandal" by anyone but fanboys who think nothing Apple ever makes kan be flawed, defending Apple at every turn, always insinuating that because of the bullhorn effect, there propably aren't any problems.

I mean putting this story on the front page of MacRumors seems ridiculous to me (it shouldn't even have made page 2). It is a small problem that people are experiencing.

There you go downplaying again.
I don't consider this a "small problem" if you need your screen to behave. On the other hand, one problem seldomly comes alone - when a problem surface in more than in single isolated cases, it shows there is some underlying problem.

Apple will fix it in time.

Really? How long have it taken so far? Besides, it's really quite the ironic statement coming from someone who utterly denies apple have a problem.

In the meantime take it to an Apple store and see what they say. I think a vast majority of you will be pleasantly surprised with the results.

You obviously have never dealt with Apple Europe

No. You're trying to take my gray and spin it as black.

I'm not dismissing the problem. What I was saying is that the Internet Bullhorn Effect *can* make a small problem seem big, a less common problem seem more widespread than it is.

When you state that in a thread where many people seem to affected, and where numerous postings like this is linked to, that is indeed dismissing the problem, no matter if that is your intention or not.

The people that have problems are more likely to visit half a dozen sites to complain about the problem, those that don't have the problem might say so once if they come across such a discussion.

Yes, but that doesn't change the fact that many people feel the urge to post these things: They wouldn't have if the problem was isolated, if there weren't any problems like this, now would they.

Several dozen pictures really doesn't prove it's widespread. We really don't know for sure. Yes, a hypothetical 3% is a terrible failure rate if it were that high, but there's no way to know.

No, we won't know for sure. We will never know how high a failure rate the batteries had either.
The thing is, downplaying problems at every corner won't help the customers and it will only make Apple ignore it for even more months or years or denying it entirely.

 

[Mekgek]

I have had this issue for a few months now, it's very annoying. I am very disappointed that Apple has not yet been able to provide any kind of solution. Hope there will be a software/firmware fix soon.

Btw if you read the apple discussion fora, you will notice that several people have had their laptop replaced (sometimes even several times) and still got the same issue on their replacements. This makes me think it is actually a pretty common problem.

 

[Mackan]

I have had this issue for a few months now, it's very annoying. I am very disappointed that Apple has not yet been able to provide any kind of solution. Hope there will be a software/firmware fix soon.

Btw if you read the apple discussion fora, you will notice that several people have had their laptop replaced (sometimes even several times) and still got the same issue on their replacements. This makes me think it is actually a pretty common problem.

As is the MacBook case cracking problem. Apple only replaces the case if lucky, nothing else. The problem has been there since 2006...

 

[ntrigue]

Perfect Napa-Merom 15.4" 2.33C2D going on 16 months.