Scared to buy a Mac

[student_trap]

these threads are heavily biased, although i have to say that i dont remember this amount of problems being spoken of before the intel switch, infact, my old powerbook is living proof of that: it had a bottle of coke spilled in it, and is dented to hell, yet still...runs...perfectly.

Today though, things really aren't all that bad, and when things do go wrong, apple are pretty good at sorting them (assuming you have applecare of course!). In general though, I have owned a mb, mbp and imac (of the intel variety), and think that the macbook has been the most sturdy and reliable of them all

 

[squeeks]

Just browsing all of these threads makes me tremble.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/436401/

 

[queshy]

Just browsing all of these threads makes me tremble. I am a student and have finally made the decision to get my first Mac, but from what I've read there's a much greater chance of me getting a lemon notebook from Apple then from a Windows based company. My biggest fear is being stuck without a computer for a few days/weeks while Apple fixes their problem. Am I just worrying, or is this something I actually need to think about?

You have a good reason to be scared...truth is I bet most people join MR to find a solution to their problem. But go look on a dell forum, or an HP forum, or a lenovo forum, etc., and you'll find hundreds of threads regarding problem-notebooks.

I've had my bad experiences with apple products in the past, but usually things end positively - apple is usually pretty pleasant to deal with. They have above average tech support. I don't recommend you buy from the apple store because if you think there's a problem with the computer you need to "prove it" to them, and they won't let down easily sometimes. Buy it from a store that doesn't charge restocking fees if you don't like it.

 

[squeeks]

...truth is I bet most people join MR to find a solution to their problem.

umm, i joined to get help learning how to use OSX, learn about new hardware and help people... not to complain about problems

 

[147798]

umm, i joined to get help learning how to use OSX, learn about new hardware and help people... not to complain about problems

Queshy didn't say people join to complain about problems. He said they join to find answers to their problems. So, they post a thread that starts with "I'm having a problem" and the OP is reading all these and getting worried. I think Queshy's point is valid.

 

[comb]

I'd just like to say something... YOU GUYS ROCK

Thanks for all the replies. My fears are gone, and I have just placed an order for a 2.2GHz, 2GB (4GB on order from macsales.com) MacBook Pro.

Thanks!

ps: i agree that a stickied thread polling people on how little trouble they've had would be very helpful for people like me.

 

[squeeks]

Queshy didn't say people join to complain about problems. He said they join to find answers to their problems. So, they post a thread that starts with "I'm having a problem" and the OP is reading all these and getting worried. I think Queshy's point is valid.

thats what i said, queshy implies the only reason people use these forums is to get help with their problems, i'm saying no, i and im sure MANY others joined just to be a part of this mac community...tech support just happens to be a small part of it

 

[AndyK]

I got my first mac just after Christmas, my best friend has been using macs since forever & has been raving to be about them for about 3 years.

I took the plunge and got a macbook, I had the same fears as you had as a new mac user, but everything was a great experience receiving, unpacking & setting up the mac.

All just, worked, such a refreshing change from windows.

Incidentally, I had my first play with Bootcamp today (running Windows on a mac) and my mac ran XP faster than my desktop did (which has a far superior hardware spec than my macbook does

Very positive experience from my point of view. I'm on my third year on a Music degree and a lot of people in my industry use macs, I know of 8-9 people who have invested in macs of various types over the past year and non have had any problems at all.

Cast your fears aside and dive in!

 

[147798]

I'd just like to say something... YOU GUYS ROCK

Thanks for all the replies. My fears are gone, and I have just placed an order for a 2.2GHz, 2GB (4GB on order from macsales.com) MacBook Pro.

Thanks!

ps: i agree that a stickied thread polling people on how little trouble they've had would be very helpful for people like me.

Great to hear. Good luck on everything. Just keep an open mind. There's a learning curve and things are different on the Mac side vs. PC side, but the upside is pretty high. If you have questions, keep with the forums, or google the questions, or check support.apple.com/discussions. I have yet to find a question that I couldn't get an answer from in the larger mac community. What I mean is, at some point you'll say "I could do this on a PC, but can I do it on a Mac?" Someone you know will say "Macs don't do that" but don't believe it. Search and ask around the community, and you'll find the answer.

 

[kwong2006]

To be honest, I have never had any problems with any of my Macs (iBook, MacBook Pro, iMac Core 2 Duo). However, I am not going to post those stories because, frankly, you don't troubleshoot when you don't need troubleshooting. These are troubleshooting forums.

Glad to know you have bought a Mac. You will not regret this decision. I swear by it.

 

[doctor pangloss]

Macs seem pretty reliable.
The one problem I had was resolved early during the life of my PB.
Initial quality and subsequent customer service seem quite good.

And this isn't even mentioning the complete lack of issues with the OS.

PCs seem to have continuous issues with windows.

You aren't going to hear the thousands of satisfied chime in with comment about perfectly functioning machines.
Very often people come on to these forum looking for solutions to a problem.

That said I bought a new MB 5 months ago. The only hiccup was during the initial set up in trying to get windows to work properly.
The new machine is brilliant.

 

[zelet]

I switched to Macs in college before it was cool (about 5 years ago). I've had a 500mhz iBook, 2 12" Powerbooks, an Intel Mac Mini, a 17" MBP, and a MacPro quad-core 2Ghz. I've never once had a problem with any of these machines that I didn't cause myself.

I'm about to buy another Mac laptop and I was reading these threads and I was getting freaked out too and I should know better.

 

[HLdan]

I'd just like to say something... YOU GUYS ROCK

Thanks for all the replies. My fears are gone, and I have just placed an order for a 2.2GHz, 2GB (4GB on order from macsales.com) MacBook Pro.

Thanks!

ps: i agree that a stickied thread polling people on how little trouble they've had would be very helpful for people like me.

Awesome!!! Good for you for posting this thread so you can get feedback from people having good experiences with Macs. For the record same here, my new iMac has been wonderful and again Apple has very good support so you will be fine.

 

[APPLEFAN8]

YEAH RIGHT! You have to get a mac the OS is sooo amazing plus I have .mac and thats cool because I have had it for 6 months and I am just using it now. lol like adding photos and stuff its pretty cool

 

[xraydoc]

See sig... s'all good.

 

[queshy]

Queshy didn't say people join to complain about problems. He said they join to find answers to their problems. So, they post a thread that starts with "I'm having a problem" and the OP is reading all these and getting worried. I think Queshy's point is valid.

Haha, thanks for backing me up!

thats what i said, queshy implies the only reason people use these forums is to get help with their problems, i'm saying no, i and im sure MANY others joined just to be a part of this mac community...tech support just happens to be a small part of it

Well, I didn't say all. I joined a long time ago because I was debating between a dell and a powerbook G4 and wanted some advice. But I see tons of threads about people who need answers and their status is "newbie" and they only have a few posts, so I think it's valid to say at least that many of users here joined because they needed answers. MR Is a great place to get answers, but it's also a fantastic community.

 

[wildlywicked]

I have bought 1st gen products ever since the transition to Intel and have had no problems whatsoever. But then again I don't go installing all those crazy apps a lot of people do..

Best rule in my book is not to install apps that are of dubious distinction.

As golden rules go, this has to be numero uno. Don't come crying "My Mac has stuffed up" after installing god knows what from www.downloadspyware.com. If it looks dodgy then it probably is. You don't have to download every app in the universe just because u can. Shareware? Beware!

 

[Mackan]

I still get the impression that the MacBooks are having more problems than they should, with discoloring, screen flickering and case cracking as memorable issues.

 

[squeeks]

Well, I didn't say all. I joined a long time ago because I was debating between a dell and a powerbook G4 and wanted some advice. But I see tons of threads about people who need answers and their status is "newbie" and they only have a few posts, so I think it's valid to say at least that many of users here joined because they needed answers. MR Is a great place to get answers, but it's also a fantastic community.

agreed