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Mac's Seem to Have Poor Reputation.. WHY?!!

sukanas

sukanas

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 15, 2007
684
1
im constantly reading on these forums (esp macbookpro for updates!!!) and all i see is, hardware problems, lcd problems, HD problem, logicboard problems, etc!!!

its making me really depressed and lose a lot confident in apple. im confused how some people boast about their g3/g4 laptops are lasting forever while people's plastic macbooks are falling apart at the same time...

is it simply because this is a mac forum and people are more inclined to post problems rather than praises about their apple products? even if so... why are these issues so consistent and appear so many times?

my family has owned, dell and custom towers and i still have a lot of confidence in PCs.. (i stll LOVE osx WAY more)


i dont know.. someone just please explain the whole issue w/ "My Mac Has Problems!!!!"

with me getting ready to buy the new macbook pro (when it updates) instantly the day it comes out, these threads are slowly making me lose confidence in apple!



edit:
as for me, i have my imac and its been nothing but good stuff for me
my previous imac (aluminum) i actually did have some kernel panics.. just as much as i had bsod in the old pc days (which was actually quite rare)
but still, shouldnt macs be way more "assuring?"

i mean, esp the airport reconnecting issue w/ laptops after sleeps and etc...
 
There are quite a few consistent problems with Macs, sadly. Just realize this: on a Mac forum, most of the posts are about hardware problems. On a PC forum, most of the posts are about software and OS problems.

Macs are about the superior OS. PC's are about hardware (both price and quality, I've found).

Edit: So if you're looking at a computer, decide whether price and good hardware are more important, or the the OS is more so. Also realize that people have a lot more hardware problems with Apple's laptops than with their desktops.

Edit2: And if people don't know what the very consistent problems are with Apple laptops, let me tell you a few to start:
Excessive heat: Both MB & MBP
Graphics card failures: MBP
Case cracking: MB
Magsafe overheating and fraying: Both MB & MBP
 
Because most people aren't going to be bothered to post "everything's going great!" like clockwork every month.
 
Laptops as a general rule, suffer more problems than desktops. They live a rougher life. :p
 
Silencio said:
Because most people aren't going to be bothered to post "everything's going great!" like clockwork every month.
Click to expand...

Maybe we should start a thread called "everything's going fine" on which everyone that has had no problems during the last month posts his comment. I'm sure this would rapidly become the thread with the most posts in this forum.
 
Beric said:
You also have to cram a lot more in a small space.
Click to expand...
I was trying to keep it simple. :D

If you open one up, everything seems to be fitted with a shoe horn.
They run hot, get beaten, dropped, expected to drink coffee/soda/tea... :p

Maybe we should start a thread called "everything's going fine" on which everyone that has had no problems during the last month posts his comment. I'm sure this would rapidly become the thread with the most posts in this forum.
Click to expand...
LOL!
"Ghost Town" comes to mind, as it would be nearly deserted. :D :p
 
Macs don't have a poor reputation at all. Mac customers pay good money and demand perfection - which they sometimes don't get. You need to take into account that all those who are completely happy with their Macs do rarely post. Of those who post complaints, many wouldn't have complained about the same problem with a Dell, because that Dell would have met their lower expectations. These people would still buy a Macintosh again (and complain again), because they know they still get a better deal.

The remaining fall into three categories: People with real bad luck (with > 3 million Macs sold per quarter, there will necessarily be a few with an extraordinary amount of bad luck), people who are just not compatible with technology and treat their possessions badly, and there will be those who never owned a Mac and just find it funny to post complaints on MacRumors.
 
Even if some Macs fail, the great thing about Apple is their care. If there is something genuinly wrong, then you can rest assured Apple will fix it. If you buy Apple care, then you can almost guarantee that you will have at least 3 years of service.
Of course some people will say this isn't the case. I am talking about my experience. I was treated absolutely fantastically in buying and returning 3 Al iMacs because of the screen problem. In the end I bought a Mac Pro and 23" ACD. The compensation I received for my troubles with the iMac helped me upgrade.
I think most manufacturers of PCs would have given up on a customer like me, but not Apple. And that was why I was happy to buy another machine from them and remain a loyal Apple customer. By the way Apple software just rocks.
 
Macs have a bad rep because you spend too much time reading all of the negativity here. I would say that for the average user, 90% of them will tell you they are completely happy. And, as others have said, Apple is great at fixing things, as long as it is an actual problem. (ie dont go complaining about a single stuck pixel).

I have been using Apple products for most of my 38 years. I can't imagine owning a computer other than a mac. Contrary to some comments here, it does just work and its ease of use as well as integration (hardware/software) creates a hassle free environment.
 
This forum is the place where people come looking for help with Mac problems. They also come here to vent. But overall, this forum is an extremely small microcosm of the whole Mac population.

Independent surveys show that Apple has a much higher level of customer satisfaction than any other comp manufacturer. Some of this might be explained by the "Mac Cult" phenomenon, but most likely is in part due to the fact that another independent survey shows Apple comp's need fewer repairs than any other comp manufacturer.

I'll post the links when I have time to look them up.
 
I think the sheer numbers of members of this forum and the amount of people that read it is testament to popularity of macs. And why people love them as much as they do.

Anyway,as they say, you go to a good restaurant you tell one person. Go to a bad restaurant you tell ten!

I'm willing to bet that most people here are very happy with their macs..I know I am. :cool:
 
Let me add my 2cents to this forum. I had my iMac G5 for a bit over a year and I only had 2 major problems. The first was my fault for playing with the ram, and second i easily fixed. I agree that no one posts threads like "Everything's going great" and thats why it looks like macs have such a bad rep.
 
My MAC has an excellent reputation! It only associates with the very best class of devices. It goes to church every week and helps old ladies across the street. If you want poor reputation then go to Dell. My last one was a real tramp. Tattoos, alcohol, and, eventually, herpes.
 
I get the impression quality has gone down since the switch to Intel.
 
sukanas said:
im constantly reading on these forums (esp macbookpro for updates!!!) and all i see is, hardware problems, lcd problems, HD problem, logicboard problems, etc!!!

its making me really depressed and lose a lot confident in apple. im confused how some people boast about their g3/g4 laptops are lasting forever while people's plastic macbooks are falling apart at the same time...

is it simply because this is a mac forum and people are more inclined to post problems rather than praises about their apple products? even if so... why are these issues so consistent and appear so many times?

my family has owned, dell and custom towers and i still have a lot of confidence in PCs.. (i stll LOVE osx WAY more)


i dont know.. someone just please explain the whole issue w/ "My Mac Has Problems!!!!"

with me getting ready to buy the new macbook pro (when it updates) instantly the day it comes out, these threads are slowly making me lose confidence in apple!



edit:
as for me, i have my imac and its been nothing but good stuff for me
my previous imac (aluminum) i actually did have some kernel panics.. just as much as i had bsod in the old pc days (which was actually quite rare)
but still, shouldnt macs be way more "assuring?"

i mean, esp the airport reconnecting issue w/ laptops after sleeps and etc...
Click to expand...

I have been a Mac owner since 1988. I have owned a long list of desktop and laptop computers, starting with a Macintosh II. Out of the 13 or more computers I have owned, most have had no issues in hardware. A Quadra 800 I had had a defective HD that Apple came and fixed. One of two iBooks had keys that kept popping off. Apple sent me a box to ship for repair. Had the iBook back in 3 days.

So as you can see, not everyone has issues. I have had numerous friends who have had PCs and have done nothing but complain about hardware and software issues.
 
I love macs, but I must say that I've had a lot more problems with my mac hardware than with cheaper PC hardware. My macbook especially has had every problem in the book. And you can't say "just buy apple care" it adds a lot to the price.
 
sukanas said:
is it simply because this is a mac forum and people are more inclined to post problems rather than praises about their apple products?
Click to expand...

This is your answer right here. All computers have problems. In particular, there may be particular weaknesses in design/hardware that systematically arise, and even if it happens in 1-2% of users you'll generally hear quite an uproar from them. This has the effect of inflating the perceived number of problems occurring.

For what my anecdotal evidence is worth, I've experienced many many more problems with Dell machines in the past than with Apples.
 
Daim said:
common when u buy a new machine and a pixel is stuck u don't bring it back?? :D

i had my mbp replaced 5 (!) times and it still doesn't close right, so i'm not that happy.

and i don's see sites like http://appledefects.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page
about dell computers, although dell got a similar market share
Click to expand...

I was seriously considering making the switch from PC to Mac, but after spending the last 6 weeks on this forum, I'm not so sure. Mac's are expensive; yeah, I know, you don't have to buy Virus software and stuff. Really, that barely makes up for the extra 500 or 600 dollars you pay for a Mac over a PC.

I also realize that you have to take any forum posts, computers, cars, cell phones, etc, with a grain of salt; and yes you will rarely hear from the folks who are happy with their respective products. But, when I read exchanges on this forum saying that you have to have 5 dead pixels in order to get a replacement or repair on a $2,000 laptop... That's a BIG problem for me. IMHO when you pay that much for a computer, there shouldn't be ONE dead pixel!

I've had several PC based laptops (mostly Toshiba) and I've never experienced any of the flaws I'm reading about in this Mac forum, and they didn't cost nearly as much as the Mac's I've been looking at.

I don't mean for this post to sound mean spirited. I really want to switch to Mac for what I consider is a vastly superior operating system and feature set, but these hardware flaws and issues are making me think twice!

Sorry for the rant.

DH
 
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