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Viemexis · Jun 24, 2007, 11:28 AM

I'm a switcher. After working with OSX at college, I've got to admit it's pretty slick. And the badness of Vista is the last straw.

The problem is the Mac hardware. Everywhere I go, there are endless complaints about broken Macbooks. Endless. It leads me to believe these aren't just flukes, but the build quality is simply poor. No matter how cool OSX is, I don't want a machine that is a piece of crap. Granted it looks pretty sexy, but that's meaningless if it breaks in five minutes.

My question is this: with the 3rd gen of macbooks (up to 2.16 Core 2 Duo), have all of these issues been resolved yet? Any of you who own a 3rd gen macbook, tell me if you have any problems. Thanks.

Hi I'm Ben · Jun 24, 2007, 11:47 AM

People don't post not-complaints.

I don't think everywhere you go people are going to post things like "HELP MY MACBOOK IS NOT BROKEN HOW DO I MAKE THE SCREEN FLICKER?"

That said, my 2nd Gen macbook is fine. My first gen was complete garbage. I can't tell you if "All the problems are fixed" given I don't know what all the problems are supposed to be.

chabig · Jun 24, 2007, 11:50 AM

I have two MacBooks (first and second generation--making one almost a year old). Neither have had any problems.

mduell · Jun 24, 2007, 12:10 PM

There have been a few systemic issues (like the plastic covering the vent holes being left on), but most issues are one-offs.

Sethro · Jun 24, 2007, 12:35 PM

Well I have a Macbook Core 2 Duo ( Generation 2 ) and a friend of mine has the newer 2.16 Ghz revision Macbook, and they both run and operate the same.

Viemexis · Jun 24, 2007, 12:43 PM

Originally Posted by Hi I'm Ben

People don't post not-complaints.

I realize that, and I'm not saying polls and such are any good way to get a percentage. But the fact remains I have read far too many complaints about broken MacBooks, and that just shouldn't be.

I can't tell you if "All the problems are fixed" given I don't know what all the problems are supposed to be.

MacBook - Appledefects
it's a disturbingly extensive list of known defects. Notice that the "unresolved" list is twice as long as the resolved list.

I'm sure the majority of macbook owners have no problems. I just want to know if any 3rd gen owners are having problems, or if Apple has resolved them with their latest revision.

chabig · Jun 24, 2007, 04:33 PM

Originally Posted by Hi I'm Ben

I think my best advice is that you don't buy a computer at all...

Great advice!

Hi I'm Ben · Jun 24, 2007, 04:33 PM

Originally Posted by Viemexis

I realize that, and I'm not saying polls and such are any good way to get a percentage. But the fact remains I have read far too many complaints about broken MacBooks, and that just shouldn't be.

MacBook - Appledefects
it's a disturbingly extensive list of known defects. Notice that the "unresolved" list is twice as long as the resolved lists.

Complaint sites exist for just about anything. If you read every one on the internet you would probably become a vegetarian, never make online payments, and live in fear for the rest of your life.
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www.oreilly-sucks.com - The Real No Spin Zone
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You just had a few people come in here and tell you they have no problems with their current Gen 2 macbooks and even a few with gen one... but I guess you seem to think that's impossible and must hear from generation 3 people. I think my best advice is that you don't buy a computer at all it seems like you're just looking for trouble.

chabig · Jun 24, 2007, 04:53 PM

Remind me never to buy an automobile as well. I hear they break sometimes. People even DIE in them!

analogika · Jun 24, 2007, 04:54 PM

That AppleDefects site is interesting, but no more.

The occasional book showing a defect does not equate to an "issue".

Yes, some MacBooks break. Well, duh.

The things that do appear to have affected a whole series of books (discoloration, sudden-shutdown) have been resolved a long time ago.

abeato6 · Jun 24, 2007, 11:06 PM

I used to look at those defects and problems site and I realized that I'd go nuts if I continued!, I'd end up not buying anything !

brettcamp · Jun 25, 2007, 12:00 AM

I think Viemexis is asking a legit question. We all know that people can overreact to posted defect reports, for all the reasons enumerated above, but it seems to me that the first-gen MacBooks suffered considerably more problems than other recent Apple laptops. Everything I've read suggests that Apple fixed most of the major systemic defects for the 2nd generation. It's pretty early to know about the newest version, and I don't have one myself, but I haven't seen anything posted on the major Mac trouble sites that would suggest they're disproportionately defective. I would have hesitated to buy the first released MacBooks; I wouldn't now. Well, I'd wait till Leopard is released in October, but that's another issue. OTOH, if you can still get an edu discount, if you buy now, you get a free iPod.

Viemexis · Jun 25, 2007, 12:50 AM

Thank you, brettcamp, for actually answering my question instead just assuming I'm a paranoid idiot.

dmgboots · Jun 25, 2007, 09:32 AM

I have a 2.16 GHz macbook. I got it last week. No problems that I've noticed.

ajprice · Jun 25, 2007, 04:35 PM

No problems with my 2.16 either.

analogika · Jun 25, 2007, 04:42 PM

No problems on my 2 GHz Black Book Core 2 Duo bought in November, either.

JonoMarshall · Jun 26, 2007, 04:17 AM

Febuary Blackbook C2D 2.0, no problems.

Buy an extended warranty and live a little..?

Jasoco · Jun 26, 2007, 08:31 PM

Brand new most recent updated MacBook here. No problems at all that I've seen yet. Though I did just buy it on Saturday.

It's a low end 2.0GHz with Combo drive and 80GB HD.

Bunit · Jun 27, 2007, 11:55 PM

My first gen had a few issues, most of them being Apples fault. The logic board died (I think that's what happened). I went to have it fixed and they gave a worse processor, I got that fixed and then they didn't get the dvd drive hooked up and the guy at the apple store thought he fixed it, after double checking he didn't so they just gave me a Generation 2 which hasn't had any problems. As long as it's under warranty and you have Apple Care you're good.

seivad · Jun 28, 2007, 03:20 AM

my thoughts on this topic;

apple software is hardware prioritised and the step from power-pc into the intel world was a big step. Of course there are going to be bugs and i've read atleast 25 posts where something has gone wrong and read that apple was happy to fix all problems, with minimum down time.

Apple have sold over a million of these bad boys, what do you expect? throwing computers on a palette and shipping them oversea's.... of course during transit problems will arise, 3/4's of the time it has nothing to do with the "group" of computers as it does to "your" computer.

the 3rd gen have no problems, it seems all kinks have been nicely removed to produce one of the best laptops on the market.