[spim]

wow ... my Macbook Pro has been going steadily for about 2 years now
even though I had a terrible accident (aka stupidity) about a year and a half ago where it dropped from about 5 feet up onto stone tile
I also have a desktop G4 from 2000 that actually went through a fire at my company (the building was totaled) ... still runs great (even though I'm STILL getting soot out of it)

[mattd313]

Wow, you should post this on FML.
I have two Macs, a MacBook and an iMac. My wife has a MacBook. Then I have a Dell for a media server.
All computers run fine, and have had very minimal problems at all, if any.

[TeaEarleGreyHot]

Wow, it must be bad for former evangelist Andy Ihnatko to be writing such! Apple better listen up, who knows, we might have a new JC Dvorak on the way.

[cbh]

I've had most generations of laptops, desktops, imagewriters and laserwriters since the first fell off the line in 84. Only one desktop unit was DOA, and the rest required nothing more than clock battery replacement. Compare that to my HP 2500 colour laser which lasted about 2 1/2 years before starting to sound like a coffee grinder. I agree with other posters here - what are you doing to those things???
Chris

[tfrogh]

Sounds like Andy is trying to be the new guest on Bash the Mac news segments. In 20 years, I have had 2 defective Macs. One was a Cube with the Powerbrick problem. The other a PowerMac G5 which no Apple Tech could figrure out it's problem. It was finally sent back to the factory and a new ones was delivered via Next Day air.
Maybe the new ones have cut a few corners. My Powerbook G4 FW800 edition is still going strong. I am debating selling it. On one side, it would be nice to cash in while it still has value, on other, it runs 100% and owes me nothing. This machine has been to europe and back several times and used as a daily workhorse for 3 years running Photoshop and Illustrator. It is about as reliable as they come.
SSS is real. That is not likely your fault. The rest of the problems...I think you need to re-examine how you use and treat your computers.
Tom

[ChrisLJ]

Yeah, besides my four Macs I also have a Dell and a gaming PC I built. I've never had any issues with them either. It sounds like the posters here have all been blessed. I read about people who have problems with the new models, but I've never known anyone personally. Kind of makes me afraid to buy anything new.

[mattd313]

I never buy anything brand new.

I always give things a few months to see how people like it, see what defects they have, and wait until those things are worked out before buying. :)

[albertw]

Hey! Thank you Andy. Funny article. Good advice.
Ya know - I think a little more attention needs to be paid here to the very helpful advice Andy dishes out (check 1 thru 8 - well maybe not that advice to watch Big Brother). I keep a similar list in my top desk drawer and knapsack (panic does things to my ability to think rationally in moments of tribulation.), but I think I'll replace my list with Andy's article. Then, when I do have a problem, it'll cheer me up to know that even The Great are born unto trouble and suffering.

[Nickos]

I had a similar sudden shutdown problems which were the cause of a faulty battery which was replaced by apple for free.
I've had macs in my family for over 20 years and never had the problems that are being quoted here.
As peope have already asked, what do you use your laptops for? Seat cushions? Door stops?
Could it also be possible that you have got some crappy data that is causing your problems and every time you copy your data over you copy your problems?

[ChrisLJ]

Good thinking. I do the same. Another thing with Apple is to buy refurbished. You get the same warranty and with a reduced price. Plus any issues have been corrected. About the only difference is the packaging. I bought an iPod Nano this way and saved some real cash.

But then again, if Apple has all this refurbished stuff to sell, doesn't that mean they are having problems with quality? I wouldn't think that all these people just changed their minds. Hmmm.

[spinoza2]

?I read about people who have problems with the new models, but I've never known anyone personally. Kind of makes me afraid to buy anything new.?

You can do a search for virtually any aspect of a Mac on the Internet, and you will find someone loudly proclaiming how Apple really messed up with poor quality or design regarding this or that thing, just like the author of this article. That's the strength and the weakness of the Internet, anyone can say anything about everything. You have to use your own intuition, experience, and judgment in deciding how much to trust about what you get from the Internet. While Macworld and other media outlets did a ?Gotchya? and loudly criticized Apple when there were some apparent problems with the rollout with MobileMe, I and countless other .mac users transitioned to MobileMe with nary a problem. I quickly put their loud criticizing into the proper context, and recognized their flaming for what it was, a way to get the attention of readers. This is not to say Apple is beyond criticism, and we all know they could be a lot better with communicating with their customers when there are problems.

What bothers me is when people with bad judgment, mediocre education, and poor writing skills get into influential positions as technology journalists. Fortunately sites like Macworld allow readers to post comments to straighten out what such journalists butcher...

[ChrisLJ]

So true. That pretty well covers anything, not just computers. I've been lucky with .Mac also, but I sure dislike the name MobileMe. Having .me in an address seems so pretentious.

[jolipoli]

About your MBP that starts up when the lid opens, you can use MacPilot, or in the Terminal ( sudo pmset lidwake 0 ), to prevent it from waking upon opening the lid. I pretty much only close the lid when I carry my MBPs out of the door and don't want to unpack a hot, drained battery, Book. You have to click on a key or two to wake up a Book set up this way.

If you again want it to wake upon opening the lid, change only the "0" to a "1" and you're back in business.


edited because the Terminal code linked to an "unauthorized" page on the web site, strange!


Also, about Macs, I've owned around 10 in the 22 years I've used Macs and most have lasted until I couldn't install the new applications I needed anymore, and replaced them. One PowerBook was replaced by AppleCare for a graphic card/ logic board issue. Far better experience than most of my PC friends- one has to replace her laptops on a regular basis, they rarely last past 6 months, and usually take all her data with them.
Message was edited by: jolipoli

[leskern]

Some kind of funky chemical reaction to that hand soap you use? I have six macs now, bought 20+ or so since they came out. How many have died? Knock on wood, none. Not even a bad pixel in the bunch. I suggest steering clear of the anti-bacterial, wearing those gloves they use to dispense Wendy burgers, and quit using it in the shower.
Come on Andy, nothing else to write about?