i donno what your problem is, you are blaming apple for an issue that wasnt their doing?? you are aware that they DONT make the batteries right??
they outsource them from either sony and/or other companies. its their fault that the batteries are stupid - not apples.
i do, however, agree that apple should of said "ok, your serial number isnt on the list but its clearly been effected by the problem too so we will swallow our pride and fix it for you."....
in regards to the "getting treated like an idiot" - its stupid right? i applied for a job there. i got kicked back. i was most likely the most tech savvy bunch of them all. yet they didnt want me? nooo they took the photoshop savvy people and nubs who didnt know A THING about hardware - that is why the tech support sucks
END RANT.
Forgive me but the idea that it's not Apple's fault as they don't make the part is ludicrous. They supply the part, they get the failed units back in, it's badged up as an Apple battery and that makes it their responsibility. By that logic Apple has no responsibility for ANY hardware they make as it's all outsourced (as far as I know). While they may not have made the batteries themselves it's a part in their machine and it's their responsibility to fix it.
You know, I really am surprised at the outright hostility shown by some towards any that dare criticse Apple. Have a look at the list of systematic faults on Apple laptops and iMacs over the last few years. On the Macbook Pro just off the top of my head I can think of:
* Mooing fans
* Overheating owing to massive over-application of thermal paste
* Overheating owing to under-application of thermal paste
* Swollen batteries
* Faulty Nvidia graphics chips
* Yellow-tint LED backlit panels
* Pitting cases
* Flickering screens
* High pitched squeal when the second core was idle
* Melting magsafe adaptors
* Warped cases
* Loose lid hinges
* Faulty keyboards
I'm sure there's more than that but just that sample should be enough to demonstrate there are serious quality control issues at Apple. The only way that's ever going to change is if enough people stand up and complain about it. For the money we pay we deserve better than a simple 'buy a three year guarantee and you're covered against our shoody products'. No, in some of these cases it's not Apple components that have failed (the Nvidia chips being the most obvious) but as they've used and sold the parts to us it's their responsibility to resolve the issue.
Once more, just to reiterate the point, I have no problem at all with OS X. I love Apple's ability to design user interfaces and think they're one of a VERY small number of companies that knows how to build a technical device for the non-technical. But their hardware record in the computer sector at the moment is appaling and I just can't justify spending more money on another one until they've made serious steps to rectify what's clearly a larger issue than just a few bad parts. It also rather defeats the argument someone posted above about 'buy cheap hardware and just chuck it away when it breaks because it's crap, hahah' (granted, paraphrased slightly) if Apple hardware isn't any more reliable. Put it this way - if I drop £2,000 on a laptop I expect it to be built to a high enough standard to last at least two, hopefully three, years without any serious issue. If it doesn't (and my MBP has now had two serious faults in 22 months and the first 15" machine I tried to buy was replaced three times before I switched to the 17") then why NOT buy the £500 laptop and replace it every 18 months. Get the right one and OSx86 will work perfectly as well.
