Now THAT'S incredibly unlucky. From passive reading, it sounds like a lot of people are having various issues with the 17" model. Here's hoping the fourth time's a charm for you.
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Trying to get a "perfect" MBP...
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Now THAT'S incredibly unlucky. From passive reading, it sounds like a lot of people are having various issues with the 17" model. Here's hoping the fourth time's a charm for you.
Sorry you've been so disappointed. If I might offer some perspective on the situation...
If you look for little imperfections, you'll probably find them on any machine, whether it's made by Apple, HP, Dell etc. These computers are mass produced in factories halfway around the world, packaged, shipped all over the place and most of them arrive in flawless condition, which in my opinion is a miracle in and of itself. That's not to say that you should be willing to accept something with a significant defect, but rather that you have to understand that not every unit will be perfect in every conceivable way. LCDs are a great example of this. Because of the complexity of their construction, a few bad pixels are considered to be acceptable industry wide. To reject panels with one or two bad pixels would mean scrapping a significant portion of those produced, which in turn would drive up the price. So, the tradeoff for cheap and readily available LCD panels is that you may have to learn to live with a few imperfections.
Ultimately, I think it's all about expectations. I think if you adjust yours a bit, you'll be happier in the long run.
If you look for little imperfections, you'll probably find them on any machine, whether it's made by Apple, HP, Dell etc. These computers are mass produced in factories halfway around the world, packaged, shipped all over the place and most of them arrive in flawless condition, which in my opinion is a miracle in and of itself. That's not to say that you should be willing to accept something with a significant defect, but rather that you have to understand that not every unit will be perfect in every conceivable way. LCDs are a great example of this. Because of the complexity of their construction, a few bad pixels are considered to be acceptable industry wide. To reject panels with one or two bad pixels would mean scrapping a significant portion of those produced, which in turn would drive up the price. So, the tradeoff for cheap and readily available LCD panels is that you may have to learn to live with a few imperfections.
Ultimately, I think it's all about expectations. I think if you adjust yours a bit, you'll be happier in the long run.
What a waste of time...
You exchanged your MBP because of a tiny mark? And then you are enduring all this..? I agree that the backlighting issues are annoying and should be fixed, but a scratch on the top casing.. come on!
My MacBook Pro has a minor scratch, very small, on the top casing. I don't give a heck, it's barely noticeable and I don't look at the top casing when I use my MBP.
You exchanged your MBP because of a tiny mark? And then you are enduring all this..? I agree that the backlighting issues are annoying and should be fixed, but a scratch on the top casing.. come on!
My MacBook Pro has a minor scratch, very small, on the top casing. I don't give a heck, it's barely noticeable and I don't look at the top casing when I use my MBP.
OK, I'll weigh in here .......
5 years now using Macs exclusively, NEVER had an issue.
You have had the Perfect Laptop in your hands and seem incapable of recognizing that fact.
Go to Best Buy - purchase an HP / COMPAQ / DELL / SONY Laptop - look at them and then look back at your MBP.
My worse condition Powerbook, ( one I bought used ) was better than the best Consumer Windows Laptop.
I'm not being sarcastic, I am serious.
I worked in IT for year where we were able to purchase good Windows Notebooks - they were " network certified " and the consumers could not purchase them through the normal sources. ( retailers ). After I retired out of IT I went to purchase a new notebook for personal use. All I saw was garbage in the retail chains. The salesperson showed me a G4 Powerbook and I was sold on, fit and finish, alone.
Aluminum is a soft metal and will scratch/nick easily when struck.
Perhaps your expectations are too high.
5 years now using Macs exclusively, NEVER had an issue.
You have had the Perfect Laptop in your hands and seem incapable of recognizing that fact.
Go to Best Buy - purchase an HP / COMPAQ / DELL / SONY Laptop - look at them and then look back at your MBP.
My worse condition Powerbook, ( one I bought used ) was better than the best Consumer Windows Laptop.
I'm not being sarcastic, I am serious.
I worked in IT for year where we were able to purchase good Windows Notebooks - they were " network certified " and the consumers could not purchase them through the normal sources. ( retailers ). After I retired out of IT I went to purchase a new notebook for personal use. All I saw was garbage in the retail chains. The salesperson showed me a G4 Powerbook and I was sold on, fit and finish, alone.
Aluminum is a soft metal and will scratch/nick easily when struck.
Perhaps your expectations are too high.
whats worse is that our MacBooks & MacBook Pros are assembled in Foxconn's facilities, the same place where they assemble the Dell & HP laptops! basically there is no such thing as "apple quality control" nor a "pay attention to detail" inspector, so our MacBooks & MacBook Pros are assembled & treated just like a Dell or HP!
Hi core2duo, I definitely understand what you're saying, and my expectations are admittedly high. I can only put this into the context that I am coming from two less expensive laptops that had no such problems and I certainly did inspect them. For a premium product that markets its aesthetics so heavily, I am a bit disappointed. Regardless, after going through this whole lottery process, I am more willing to accept certain flaws.
Regarding dead pixels, I know that at least Asus has a zero dead pixel policy. But I get your point. Personally, I have never been a huge fan of LCD technology for the reason that there are so many things that can go wrong with them and they are considered acceptable by the industry.
I'm not sure if that's entirely true. I don't know how it works at Foxconn, but I've seen several different levels of quality coming out of the same factory for different brands. Factories do not necessarily treat all contracts the same. From my experience, it really does depend on how much resources you are willing to allocate to quality control. You certainly can have your own people overseeing this.
well quality control at foxconn would allow:
-uneven backlighting of the lcd or light bleed
-scratches or dents
-dust under glass
-warping
-lid gaps
-dead pixels
-anything not related to technical problems
my 17" dell and my 15" powerbook also came from a foxconn factory, treated the same, both have light bleed on the lcd, and dead pixels....
-uneven backlighting of the lcd or light bleed
-scratches or dents
-dust under glass
-warping
-lid gaps
-dead pixels
-anything not related to technical problems
my 17" dell and my 15" powerbook also came from a foxconn factory, treated the same, both have light bleed on the lcd, and dead pixels....
Looks like it's the end of the line for me. Apple insists that the loose hinge is a feature (why would anyone wants this as a feature?) and they don't want to offer a fix or replacement. I'm still disappointed, but I guess it could have been worse.
Fair enough. Perhaps I have just been very lucky with my PC laptops. I'm just saying that a factory is certainly capable of a higher standard of QC for one brand over another. I see this constantly.