I'm perfectly happy with my notebook!

Just thought I'd share. I bought my Macbook pro in April. The shipping wasn't so great, in that they told me if I got the expedited shipping it'd be at my house in 2 days. What they didn't tell me is that they wouldn't be shipping it for a half a week, and then it had to come from China. I complained, and they refunded my money and upgraded to overnight.

OS X is a wonderful OS, and I really loathe when I have to fix my friends computers now(It wasn't so great before, but I didn't have something to compare it with). While Windows has its place(I have it installed for programming and gaming), I thoroughly enjoy having OS X as my main OS, and wouldn't think twice about getting rid of XP if I could get a good C/C++ IDE/Compiler for OSX and if I could play more games natively.


Hardware wise, this thing is great. The battery has drained a bit faster than I would have liked, (94% after 44 cycles) I keep it plugged in for the most part so I don't notice it too much. If the battery gets to low in capacity I can always get it replaced via applecare which I have full confidence in.


Anyway. There's a whole lot of posts about problems people are having, so I thought I'd post something positive. Please share your experience so far, and no trolls. If you come in to bash Apple or Macs, then you'll get a neg rep, and be reported to a mod to have your post deleted.

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I agree with you on OSX. It's great.

 

OSX is the best OS of the world!
This should be very positiv...
unfortunately, i dun have one.

 

I'm glad to hear good things about the MBP and other Apple products, but as a potential buyer, I also want to hear all the bad.

I think I probably would go with the MBP since it seems the best option for what I want. Still I would like to know how other's are going with failure rates and so forth, since Apple warranty is stingy, and I'm not going to go extended.

 

I switched one and a half week ago and I enjoyed OSX very much. I found it amazing how ILife applications work together, nothing like that in windows.
I also like the fact that everything just works and looks so pretty.

 

It's not really a bad, but I went through 3 MBPs before I got the one that I am holding now. The first two had stuck pixels one way or the other. The good thing was the Apple store let me open it there and exchange it right away if there's something wrong.

If you're picky about stuck pixel like me, I suggest you buy it from the Apple store and open it right here. They are pretty good about making the customer happy. Or at least the one in my area are

 

You really think this isn't that bad?

 

I also bought back in April and have enjoyed it very much. The one problem I did have, however, was that the computer kept freezing when I loaded up alot of apps. It got very annoying but I solved it by adding another stick of RAM.

Overall, Im satisified and cant wait until Leopard comes out.

 

Actually, you can't give negative rep anymore unless you're a mod

My experience has been similar. Slightly annoyed that Apple rolled out a new MagSafe model without advertising it whatsoever (the week after I got MBP), but not a huge deal. Same with iLife 08 - would've liked to have it, but I honestly no longer have the time to mess around with multimedia stuff these days so I uninstalled iLife to recover the 7GB or so anyway

I'm happy with the machine. I opened it expecting the worst (1st batch of SR MBP with custom HDD, etc.), but was pleasantly surprised. Apple customer service was absolutely stellar - willing to own up to mistakes if they occur and give you incentives (free shipping both ways, overnight, etc.).

I'm going to take the opposite approach as the OP though: I'm not going to dwell on how great it is because I've already posted extensively on the pros of the MBP, and Apple spends enough on its own advertisements and marketing that there's no need for me to repeat any of it. I'll just mention that I didn't encounter the problems that many people have been so vocal about. Screen was fine. Lid was fine. Battery was fine. Optical Drive was fine.

On the negatives:
It could be cooler, but at the moment I'm running it at 3k rpm with a Zalman, and the temps and noise are bearable. I wouldn't put it on my lap, but then again I never do that anyway.

Could be sturdier. I know people rave about how great the build quality of the MBP is...but honestly, my old Thinkpad was just much better, and my Latitude felt sturdier too. Maybe it's just the deceptively stylish-ness of the MBP that makes me want to baby it more, but I definitely would not trust it to survive the same hard knocks that my Thinkpad did. Of course, i went into the sale knowing in advance that the MBP will not be, and nor was it ever intended to be, as sturdy as a full business laptop.

Lack of USB ports. It's a bit annoying juggling an iPod, a USB mouse, external HDD, scanner, printer, cooler, and more with only 2 USBs. There are two solutions to this, neither of which are great - either add more hubs, or find alternate arrangements for your peripherals. I chose the latter approach (iPod alarm clock charger, replacing external HD with a firewire HD, moving USB HD to Airport Base station, new network printer hooked up to router, hub for the scanner and the rest), but both routes mean a hefty investment hundreds of $!). It would've been easier if the MBP just came with 4 USB ports.

Software-side:
For most software, I've found OSX equivalents that work nearly, just as well, or better than Windows software.

Exceptions:
DeltaView

Web Browser:
safari 3.0.3 is decently fast but lacks features I need.
firefox/minefield - abysmally slow (at scrolling and rendering images. I like my mouse scroll (VX Rev free scroll) to be instant, but with firefox, after I flick my finger across the mousewheel, it'll take almost a whole second (sometimes even 2 if the page is long) to catch up to where I want it to be. Bad integration with OSX as well.
Camino - decently fast! (as fast as firefox is on Windows!), but not as feature-rich as Firefox. I use this, but I'd prefer if it was as robust as Firefox.
Omni - costs $ for a webbrowser? Now I remember the reason I stopped using Opera for 2 years.
Opera - eh. inconsistent page renderings

On the whole though, I'd say I'm perfectly happy with my notebook!

 

Thanks for posting your Mac experience, system_159 . Now if everyone who loves their Mac posted one of these threads we'd really fill up the Apple forum .

taelrak, I agree with you on the browsers . Firefox isn't as Aqua-like, Camino lacks features, Omni costs money (why would they even think of doing that ), Opera has too strong of an Aqua look in my opinion. For me, I just use Safari now.

 

I agree with virtually everything you posted here.

For web browsers, try Shiira. It's a pretty quick little browser, with a nice interface. It has some stability issues, but it's worth a shot. I enjoyed using it.

 

If you would please quote the whole post, then you would see that it's not bad because it just meant he spent a couple of extra minutes in the store testing the machines before he settled on one he wanted. What other store do you know that would let you open up a brand new computer and then refuse it because of one stuck pixel(not even dead)?

On the comment about apple being stingy with warranty: Do you mean time wise, or feature wise? If you mean the warranty isn't that long, then yes, that's true. If you're implying they don't cover enough, or are stingy in honoring their warranty, then that's false. Apple has the best warranty department I've had the pleasure of dealing with. Only once have I seen them reject a warranty claim, and that was on a friends powerbook that he left plugged in directly to the wall during a lightning storm.

On browsers: I'm currently using Firefox. I really need to stop though. It doesn't doing anything particularly bad, just doesn't do anything particularly well either. I have OmniWeb, and it's stunningly good(worth money for some who notice little things). I just need to start using it instead of firefox. I've not noticed anything bad about Opera either. Makes for a nice 2nd or 3rd browser if you want to do something and not have other see it in history(just don't let them know you have opera installed )



and in response to taelrak and his USB device collection:
I, too, wish there were more USB 2.0 ports on the MBP. In fact I think they should move the express card slot towards the front of the machine a bit in order to fit some more in there. Wouldn't hurt to redesign the apple remote to be able to be stored in the express card slot either.

 

Second part of quote: "The good thing was the Apple store let me open it there and exchange it right away if there's something wrong."

Now I think that changes the story a bit. If Apple really wasn't considerate, they would want to just take your money and kick you out of the store, wouldn't they? Instead they made sure you were satisfied with it before thanking you for your purchase. You might think that's normal business practice, but most retailers don't give that type of service anymore.

 

I don't have to quote the whole post. I quoted the portion that I take issue with.

Having to go through three dud computers to find a good one is unacceptable. I don't care where it was done.

 

With most products, including computers, I don't feel the need to open it up before I leave the store. Since when was that a benchmark for a good product?

 

That's a benchmark for good service. Maybe you just shop at stores where they check everything before hand, but do you check books for ripped pages before you buy them? Do you (well, maybe you don't buy the groceries ) check the groceries before you buy them? Many of the times, if I decide to be like you, don't open it until I get home, I realize there's a ripped page on the book, I head back to the bookstore; "Sorry, we can't refund or exchange that for you. We have no way of proving you didn't do that yourself." So now I'm stuck with a book with missing pages.

 

My stingy with warranty comment is about cost, not about the quality of service. In Australia, to extend warranty it costs $549 for extra warranty - paying close to a quarter of the price of a machine doesn't seem worth it.

 

you probably just need to calibrate the battery. your battery health is probably *really* like 98%

@OP

 

Sucks to be in Australia .
Then again, I hear your other prices are off the roof too.

As for the warranty, I'd probably feel a bit more at ease if they had accident protection as part of it, but oh well.

 

You don't need to be so dense.

We're talking about electronics here. If I'm buying a book I don't have to break a seal to check out the pages, and I can't remember the last time a walked into a grocery store and opened up some food before purchasing it.

I don't know where you buy your electronics, but most of the stores I walk into frown upon customers breaking open the packages on their shelves.

You guys are a touchy bunch. Sorry guys, but Macs aren't perfect.

 

So you've never eaten a candy bar before you got to the check-out?

 

Nope, but if I did, and didn't like it, I wouldn't expect them to accept a return.

That's my point, though. Theses are apples to oranges comparisons, not apples to apples... so to speak.

 

I'd offer to return it if they'd accept it as-is.

 

I guess a better point would be, that I don't feel the need to open a candy bar before purchasing, for the purpose of making sure it will be OK.

 

I don't either but, then again, I'm not paying $2000 for that candy bar. Anybody that I dump that much cash into should be willing to let me test the product first. I'm not going to spend 3K on a guitar without playing it first, and I'm not spending any money on a car without having driven it first.

Please don't compare a several thousand dollar machine to a candy bar.

 

I didn't mean opening up food as in opening a can. I meant as in, don't you check the package for expiry before you buy it? Do you check oranges for the best ones or do you just grab the one on the top of the bin?

Exactly what I mean. The fact that Apple will allow you to do that is just another factor of better service. In other stores, if you bring your electronics home and realize the screen is crack, take it back and they'll blame you for it if they can. The fact that Apple will allow you to do that is an advantage.

I know that. There's lots of things I wish Apple would change in the Macs (and in iPods and the iPhone, for that matter). Macs aren't perfect at all. And nothing in the world is perfect for everyone.

I don't know about others, but I find that many times your posts don't contribute to the community in any way. How is ranting about Apple's poor quality control a contribution to this thread, when system_159 was discussing his experience with Mac? If you feel that something's wrong with Apple and would like to discuss it, please write your own thread instead of running someone else's thread off topic.

 

Sam, I just made comments based on someone else's comment in this very thread. I'm not the one who opened this thing up for debate. If you'll read my first post, you'll see that I entered this thread and made a positive comment. Actually, my first, immediately edited, comment did include a shot at Apple hardware. I thought that it didn't go along with the upbeat tone of the thread, so I removed it.

If being an Apple cheerleader was a prerequisite to posting in these forums, sorry, I wasn't aware of it.

I'm not the one who pointed out that he had to go through three MBPs to get a good one. I'm just the one who pointed out that it's not right to have to do it, which seems to be happening far too often with the current Macbooks, Pro or otherwise.

If you guys can't take it that someone points out that something wrong is going on here, you are a part of the problem. You're just allowing Apple to get away with this stuff.

I'm not saying that Apple allowing this guy to open up these MBPs, to make sure he gets a good one is bad service. On the contrary, I think it's excellent service. The Apple reps are doing their best to make people happy. I've never gotten anything but excellent service from Apple, at all levels. All I'm saying is that I don't think this guy should have to open the box to make sure he gets a good one. He should be able to know that that computer will work right out of the box. Is there really anything wrong with that?

 

I agree with that. Apple should have better quality control, I absolutely agree. And I am not taking the blame off Apple with this, but this is not an issue of just Apple; this is an issue of the industry. And the fact that Apple is taking a better stance at compensating users for the issue is a great thing. Dell had much worse quality issues; you couldn't get service like Apple's giving.

Your experience with Mac hardware has not been good, as previous posts stated, and I'm sorry to hear about it (sincerely sorry, not a sarcastic sorry), but it does not mean the majority of users has some sort of problem with their Mac.

As much as it sounds like there's a lot of people getting issues, its still a minority of users. Apple shipped 1.7 million Macs this quarter. If even 10% of users had problems with their Macs, that's 170'000 people voicing their opinions. These 170'000 people flood the forums with "I HATE APPLE. THIS MBP IS FULL OF PROBLEMS", and cause everyone to believe a huge number of people are getting problems with that Mac. You may know 10 Mac users, and truthfully say all of them have had some sort of issue with their Mac. Meanwhile, I may know 10 Mac users who have gone through generations of Macs and never had a problem.

Similarly with iPods; people say iPods are full of problems, "everyone I know had a bad iPod"; there's been over 100 million iPods sold; if even 2% of iPods are defects there's 2 million iPods that are defect. That's more than the entire sales of the Zune!

 

IMHO, I will be mad like hell after finding out that i spent $2000 on a defective machine... but till now, the positives are more than the negative from wat i read even without this thread.

 

No doubt, Apple's customer service is second to none, and I've stated this more times than I can count, on these and other forums. I've never had to deal with Dell's so I can't speak on that.

You're absolutely right, though, Apple will bend over backwards to make a customer happy. I'm just not used to having to ask for anything out of my computer manufacturers, with the exception of manufacturing the product for purchase.

I do not hate Apple. I'm a disgruntled Apple user, who's now tapping out messages on a Dell because of a Macbook horror story. I want them to get these things right.

You're right, though. I'm done with this topic in this thread. This got a bit off topic. I truly wasn't trying to thread hijack. Sometimes these things just head in the wrong direction.

Congratulations to the OP on your purchase. I really hope it serves you well. I'm just coming off of a hard breakup with my Macbook.