What won't Apple employees tell you about the MacBooks when trying to sell you one?

[monkeybongo]

Firstly, they don't tell you that these are very reliable machines and there's great deals at the refurb section of the online store.

Secondly, there's a great resale market if you're looking to sell or buy used. I do it all the time and find some great Macs that 1-2 years old and barely used and without a scratch for a super price.

 

[daktar1]

I have a late 2008 MBP. I'd upgrade but it still feels brand new. My comments are not relevant to the newer models, but for me battery life isn't great (2hrs), but I'm plugged in most of the time. I'm a photographer, it struggles a bit with large RAW files in Aperture, or big movie files in iMovie, but I've learnt to just let it do one thing at a time. On the rare occasions it has locked up whilst processing a large file it is never destructive; just reboot (a pain, but again the newer models shouldn't have this issue). I had an issue with the optical drive not working (laser calibration); with a small set of screwdrivers and courtesy of iFixit I took the machine apart and cleaned the optical drive lens and it was as good as new. (I mention this as it is often quoted that Apple machines are not user serviceable; I don't bother with AppleCare and have always been able to sort out any hardware (or software) issues myself).

In short, I think I buy Apple for the long term. One $1500 dollar purchase every 4-5 years is better value than a new $500 dollar computer every year.

 

[AppleDApp]

You also have to take into account how you use your mac. A friend of mine has never an OS upgrade and stores all his files on his desktop. He's now running OS X 10.4 with 2gb of RAM. His computer is also 4 years old. If he would have done OS upgrades, his laptop could work until Apple stops supporting his hardware. His mac has been through alot he's dropped it and spilled beer on it several times. And it still runs.

 

[crzdcolombian]

First off, I DO NOT want this thread to become a battle between macs and pcs. What I would like is for people to point out the problems with macs from personal experience. As of right now I am planning on buying a new MacBook in 2012 when the design overhaul takes place. I am a student and thus the laptop would be used for typical undergrad work (but I hope it will last me through some graduate work as well).

I have heard mixed things about macs (such as overall computer running hot, pinwheel showing up a lot, and people saying OS X Lion is a lot like Vista's initial release [buggy]) and am becoming a little skeptical about spending $1000+ on a machine if it would end up becoming a high-maintenance investment.

So tell me, what issues have you had with Apple's laptops?

P.S. Feel free to tell me good things about the laptops as well. Trying a compare and contrast thread here.

Your on a mac fanboy site.... just to give you a heads up.

I buy a new macbook pro every year. Not because anything happens to the old one but because I live in Boston and can basically flip the laptop and get a new one for like 50-100 bucks more by selling mine on cragslist. My roommate and I bought our computers in freshman year in College. I got a macbook white for $1000 bucks and he got a $800 toshiba. After 6 months he wanted a mac after seeing I didn't have to update for security every 4 days at school. He barely got $350 for his pretty beef up Toshiba. I sold mine Senior year for $550 bucks and a PS3 which was about $300 bucks new at the time. Macs hold their value up pretty well, and considering I got a free printer that lasted all of college and a ipod that still works for free. I think I made at least $200 bucks off my 1st mac.

Issues I have had with Macbook pro
1. Screen lighting was weird, saw lights on bottom of my screen. Took to apple store. They gave me a new screen no questioned asked.
2. Had about 2-3 power cables rip on me because I didn't take good care of it. Went to the mac store and just gave me a new one.
3. The battery is weird. When left plugged in at all times it says 99% not 100% full. Have yet to go to apple about this.
4. Pricey but if you compare it to an actual good PC like a high end Sony Vaio then it's not that bad. You can't compare a Audi to a Corolla. You shouldn't compare a $300 Dell to a $1,200 Mac.

Issues with Macbook (white)
1. Overheating
2. ran insanely hot
3. the white plastic would break. They actually fixed that for me for free tho, which was awesome.

Good things
1. No virus, never crashed on me been a user since 2004
2. Everything just works. You plug in a printer it works, you plug in a camera it works automatically none of this look for drivers bs you do on windows.
3. Syncing with all my other apple stuff.
4. Makes you feel cool
5. doesn't run hot, fan almost never turns on unless I am watching a movie or using CS5.
6. The Mac OS >>>>>>>>>> PC
7. Simple to use, and great help features

 

[aristobrat]

Not yet. My biggest concern is my iTunes library. Do you have any recommendations?

This is probably worth a quick look:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4796

Click the 'Click here if the Mac is starting up for the first time and Mac OS X Setup Assistant appears' part of the page to see some screen shots of what the process looks like.

 

[Katotech]

There are exceptions

This.

…with temp "issues" 99% of that is usually just B.S. People don't seem to realize when you do stuff on a computer, or when its on a soft surface like a blanket it gets hot. Not to mention Apple computers are made of aluminum so it acts like a giant heat sink. If a computer truly overheated then you would see it shut itself off. I have yet to see that on this forum.

I just worked on a 12" 1.5 GHz Al Powerbook that had thermal shutdown problems. One of the threaded studs holding the heatsink onto the CPU (with spring-loaded screws) had popped loose from its mounting ring on the board, and the solder holding the other stud had thermal fatigue cracks. A minor design error; the stud should have had a single- piece nail-head design, with the head on the other side of the board to transmit the spring tension directly instead of relying on the tensile strength of solder. The result of course is that the heat sink no longer maintained firm contact with the CPU and the thermal transfer paste was cooked away. I'm surprised the CPU is still functional; the G4 design was pretty close to its thermal limits at that speed.

But that one unit is the only aluminum-body Apple product I know of that has had significant thermal issues leading to hardware failures. I run a 15" 1.5 GHz Al Powerbook sitting on an old aluminum cake pan cover to spread the heat around, and the top is barely above ambient on battery power. Certainly running any laptop right on top of a blanket or upholstery is asking for trouble. Use something like a couple of books for spacers if you have to be that comfortable.

I have worked on two different versions of Macbook Pro, and the newer one definitely gets very warm - enough so that I would warn against prolonged bare skin contact with the bottom (some people have literally cooked the skin of their thighs with laptop computers and have permanent marks there as a result). Some of the big-name made-for-Windows laptops can do this through clothing and are also notorious for thermal-related hardware failures.

 

[Fandongo]

They won't tell you how much cheaper memory can be purchased and how easy it is to install yourself, when they try to sell you on upgrading it

Exactly. They also won't mention that they are in fact stuck in sata II SSD land, which have never been discounted recently while the market prices of SSDs and especially ram have plummeted.

Still - i think that's awesome.
Pretty much all BTO sites (dell, hp, etc) rip you on ram

The extra $$$ they rake in from people that are too lazy or dumb to upgrade themselves allows them to keep the base price lower for people like us

 

[MacOSXuser]

First off, I DO NOT want this thread to become a battle between macs and pcs. What I would like is for people to point out the problems with macs from personal experience. As of right now I am planning on buying a new MacBook in 2012 when the design overhaul takes place. I am a student and thus the laptop would be used for typical undergrad work (but I hope it will last me through some graduate work as well).

I have heard mixed things about macs (such as overall computer running hot, pinwheel showing up a lot, and people saying OS X Lion is a lot like Vista's initial release [buggy]) and am becoming a little skeptical about spending $1000+ on a machine if it would end up becoming a high-maintenance investment.

So tell me, what issues have you had with Apple's laptops?

P.S. Feel free to tell me good things about the laptops as well. Trying a compare and contrast thread here.

You obviously have no clue what macs are.

I cant think of any, fact that it can run windows, solves the boundary between gaming/ms office compatibility. Basically what you get from a mac is the same as PC... but with addition of Mac OS and the design of macintosh...

i dont know why you even start this thread.

 

[LeandrodaFL]

The only thing they wont tell you is that Mac computers do not run blu-ray, at least out of the box. You may get an external drive and put windows on it.

having said that, that is not a big deal, as I dont even use DVD/CDs anymore anyways..

 

[tinman0]

What I would like is for people to point out the problems with macs from personal experience.

Problem; leaving it on a park bench. It didn't stay there long. They never told me about that.

I drummed it into my little sister that she wanted a MacBookPro 2 months ago, and to her credit she dismissed all the PC people who kept at her about a new W7PC (she was moving up from her XP box), and bought a 13" MBP - and she could not be happier.

The Apple Store people were really nice, she got an hour long tutorial after buying it (iirc), a voucher for iTunes (iirc), and even after a couple of hours she was a Macintosh convert. Even she said it unprompted during a call recently "it just works".

I had my white MacBook for 3.5 years before losing it, and the only issue it had was that the wifi was starting to die. But considering it was abused something horrible, used 8-14 hours every single day, had 1,000 charges on the battery and could still do 3 hours on a single charge, it was going as strong as the day it arrived.

And then I left it on a park bench by accident 3 months ago.

If you do get an MBP then I would suggest a clear acrylic case off Ebay (about $10). Crappy bits of plastic that protect the case. My white MacBook had one, beaten to heck, but the MacBook was absolutely pristine. Got a case for my replacement MBP as I find the ali case just a little scratchy at times, slides off the sofa a bit too easy for my liking.

 

[nickos94]

First off, I DO NOT want this thread to become a battle between macs and pcs. What I would like is for people to point out the problems with macs from personal experience. As of right now I am planning on buying a new MacBook in 2012 when the design overhaul takes place. I am a student and thus the laptop would be used for typical undergrad work (but I hope it will last me through some graduate work as well).

I have heard mixed things about macs (such as overall computer running hot, pinwheel showing up a lot, and people saying OS X Lion is a lot like Vista's initial release [buggy]) and am becoming a little skeptical about spending $1000+ on a machine if it would end up becoming a high-maintenance investment.

So tell me, what issues have you had with Apple's laptops?

P.S. Feel free to tell me good things about the laptops as well. Trying a compare and contrast thread here.

I recently bought my first mac which is a MBP 15 inch. It has a 2GHZ quad core i7 and 4gb of ram. It also has a 128 SSD and the high res anti glare screen. Highest quality laptop I've ever seen period. It was $2000, but it was well worth the money. I don't play demanding games, but the games I do play (Minecraft, CoD2) it handles flawlessly. Yes, it does get quite warm, but what can you expect out of a laptop that's under an inch thin! The 16:10 resolution is stellar, and the SSD is a great add on as well.

Before I bought it, I was also skeptical because I heard about the heating issue. It only happens when playing games and when doing a big task like blurring a huge image in PhotoShop, but as long as you tune down the setting slightly and limit the fps, it stays at a more than reasonable temperature. Other than that it stays cool, and battery life is also stellar. If you're just browsing the web/text editing, you'll easily get 7+ hours out of the battery.

So overall it is a great laptop, and there really isn't much to compare to it as far as overall quality. I don't think you'll be disappointed if you buy one.

 

[malman89]

That Apple products are just like every other product - everyone has different experiences and Apple products have issues just like every other manufacturer. I've known people who had multiple HD and logic boards fail on their Macs and I'm sure you can bring up any instance of a Windows machine not working too.

I'm still using my Late 2006 model (purchased March '07) MacBook as my main machine. I've had a pretty solid user experience in that time. My issues have been:

• Top case (wrist area) cracking, twice
• Battery swelled, replaced

All issues outside of warranty and replaced for free, but naturally I'd like to avoid those issues in the first place.

In all honesty, Lion on my work computer (iMac) is a love/hate scenario. Figuring Lion + Apple price premium - Win7 advancements (we have a Win7 station in our Mac workplace for our accountant) probably puts me in the Win7 camp when my laptop finally dies or I scrape enough money to buy a new one. In my opinion (reiterate - mine), the price premium for the user experience isn't worth it. To each their own.

 

[Kbachand]

You obviously have no clue what macs are.

I cant think of any, fact that it can run windows, solves the boundary between gaming/ms office compatibility. Basically what you get from a mac is the same as PC... but with addition of Mac OS and the design of macintosh...

i dont know why you even start this thread.

You are correct. I don't know what macs are like, which is the reason why I started this thread

 

[TheNerdyNurse]

I've been doing the mental battle with getting a mac for years now. Every time I think I've decided on one, I see PCs at a 1/4th of the cost and I just can't see spending the money.
But now I'm pretty much convinced that my next computer purchase HAS to be a mac. I'm so tired of tinkering with my computer. So much tweaking and poking in an effort to get it to run more efficiently and I usually just end up breaking it more than it was before and having to revert to it's previous state of mediocrity.
I've made the decision to start "blogging for a macbook" and by that I mean using any revenue I generate from my blog to go toward my Macbook fund. I guess that will all depend on how much work I put into my blog as to how long it takes for a shiny new macbook to find a new home in my hands.
Wish me luck!

 

[Geekbabe]

I've been doing the mental battle with getting a mac for years now. Every time I think I've decided on one, I see PCs at a 1/4th of the cost and I just can't see spending the money.
But now I'm pretty much convinced that my next computer purchase HAS to be a mac. I'm so tired of tinkering with my computer. So much tweaking and poking in an effort to get it to run more efficiently and I usually just end up breaking it more than it was before and having to revert to it's previous state of mediocrity.
I've made the decision to start "blogging for a macbook" and by that I mean using any revenue I generate from my blog to go toward my Macbook fund. I guess that will all depend on how much work I put into my blog as to how long it takes for a shiny new macbook to find a new home in my hands.
Wish me luck!

ROTFLMAO! Hey lady, I know you

 

[radio893fm]

You obviously have no clue what macs are.

I cant think of any, fact that it can run windows, solves the boundary between gaming/ms office compatibility. Basically what you get from a mac is the same as PC... but with addition of Mac OS and the design of macintosh...

i dont know why you even start this thread.

They don't tell you that fanboys like this can be quite annoying and an actual turn-off to the brand.

I moved from a VAIO machine (which I still consider a lot better design-wise) just because OSX works better for me on what I do. But like others said, HDD and RAM can be updgraded for cheaper prices.

 

[Wrathwitch]

Firstly, take responsibility by knowing exactly what you are looking for and what you want it to do. This way you won't be snowed by anyone.

Secondly, on a MacRumours forum you will find two types of posters. People who are having problems with their machines and people who just like to keep up with the latest in the world of Mac (fans and fanatics). Very seldom will you find your average content user.

Never rely on an employee to sell you a product. Know what you need. If you are concerned about compatability software issues or what equivalent programs work with Mac compared to the PC software you are used to, ask. In this they should be able to show you and answer your questions.

For me, I have Lion on my 2010 MacAir. It works well enough, no huge issues, but my trackpad has always felt slightly buggy and unresponsive especially when I boot into Windows (via bootcamp). I suppose I could have taken this in to address but it isn't that big of a deal for me.

As far as my 27" Quad core 2008 iMac. Works like a charm. Had an issue with screen getting smudgy after 2 years. Applecare had a local tech come to my home and they replaced the LCD at my house.

Compared to some stores etc, if you have issues with it not working as you wish, you can easily get them addressed or refund the machine.

Take the leap, you won't regret it.

WW