Why I'm never buying another MacBook...

[gafftapegreenia]

Yup. I said it. And here it is in the written word. I'm 99% sure I'll never buy another Macbook. And here's why.

So yesterday I got back from work and my laptop refused to turn on. It was operation and happy at lunch that day. Wonderful. Well......

I just got back from the Apple store and after speaking to the "genius" bottom-feeders at the Genius Bar, and they are convinced it's a fried logic circuit from liquid damage. Apparently they only think it terms of worst case scenario. I'll admit it, yes, over a year ago Vitamin Water was spilled on the machine. I turned it off dried it out and there wasn't a problem since, ok, I get that. That was my fault. OK, don't lecture me about that, but......

But this is what pisses me off. They won't even touch it. They looked at me and said its a $1,200 repair since the warranty doesn't cover liquid damage. Now, clearly, Apple knows that if a computer is going to be damaged, 9 times out of 10 they know its going to be from a liquid spill. So in order to rape your wallet further, they don't cover that. Now, I would think a company that prides themselves on making the "world's most reliable laptop" could find some darn way to, I don't know, encapsulate or protect the most important part of the whole freakin' machine. A part that costs more to replace than a new Dell or HP!

But this isn't the first joy of dealing with Apple I've had.

There was the first time my top case had to be replaced. That was November 07 when it was a scant 6 months old.

There was the second time my top case, and that time, my logic board needed to be replaced. That was May 2008. This time, not only did their hardware fail on me again, but Apple Mayfair (Wisconsin) straight up lied to me. They told me they could ship it off for repair and then ship it back to me in Michigan when apparently they can't. They then proceeded to lose track of my laptop as it floated from warehouse to repair center for over a month. After several attempts to track down my laptop using their "recommended" methods, that fiasco finally ended with me calling top level customer support and having them track down my laptop, getting it back to me in Michigan, and b*******g out Apple Mayfair.

So here I am now. My case looks like crap cause if you look at that thin aluminum wrong it bends. Normal backpack transport is apparently too much for that shiny case to handle. My headphone jack is nearly dead from normal use. And don't get me started on battery life.

Sure, some of these things could happen with a PC, but the point is, if I'm going to pay $2,000 for a laptop, it better work, and it straight up hasn't. It's been nothing but issue after issue. The benefit of the mac operating system fails to out weight all the ish I've had to put up with in both customer service and hardware failure.

So I'm currently pricing both repairs to my current Macbook Pro (or at least data recovery) as well as new Dell's and HP's. All I know is Mac has given me no convincing reason to buy their computing devices again.

[Van]

I'm sorry to hear of your difficulties. Computer issues always seem to be hugely, emotionally charged issues, I can live without my car for a few days, take away my computer? I'll last a day, maybe.....

Since you're used to Apple prices the on these shouldn't shock you. and you never replace a case again.....

[derekleffew]

Some people don't deserve nice things that they can't take care of. Sounds like you need a Panasonic ToughBook. Put the harddrive from your existing MacBook into an external enclosure, and someone here can talk you through creating an illegal "Hackintosh" if you care to stick with the MacOS.

Personally, I'm surprised laptop manufacturers don't include something like these:


hidden inside.

If you're not pleased with Apple's Customer Care, I can't wait to see how you fare with Dell and HP.

[gafftapegreenia]

WEll Derek, I expected as much from you. I'm not gonna argue.

This is the punching bag, I put my rant here.

[derekleffew]

Open that wound a little more while I get the kosher salt...

[gafftapegreenia]

You sadistic illegitimate amber.

[Arez]

Have you tried taking it to a different Apple store? Sometimes you get a genius that is really nice and they will look past certain issues.

As a sidenote, do not go to the Apple store at Mayfair(WI), go to the one in Madison or Milwaukee when in Wisconsin, much better service in those places, particularly Madison's genius bar, you want the older genius that is slightly balding, a little on the heavier side, bearded, glasses with black frames, and uses a fountain pen. Unfortunately, I can never remember his name.

[ruinexplorer]

My wife's new dell (less than 1 year old) we have had to replace the power supply and now the hard drive (can't even extract the data from the old one, but that's our fault for not backing it up). I was thinking about going Alienware, but I saw that Dell bought them out a year or two ago. Maybe it's about time to make my own (though I've also been eyeing the toughbook).

[soundlight]

I own a Dell laptop (now on my second one, first one lasted a good three and a half years, and served me well). I always get the worst case scenario warranty. I never have to explain anything - I tell them what's wrong with it, and I get it back shortly thereafter good as new, with whatever I said was wrong fixed. Little issue of the audio not coming out of the headphone jack right if you twist the cable? I get a whole new motherboard. They even replace rubber feet they see missing. I'm going on 6 years of owning Dell laptops, and the service that I've gotten has been nothing short of amazing on the CompleteCare warranty. Plus both laptops that I've owned have served me well and held up wonderfully considering that I heavily abuse my computer and carry it with me just about everywhere I go in my backpack in a lightly padded sleeve.

I will say though, their power adapters are absolute crap, I always use a universal power adapter and save the Dell one to send back in for repairs. The main issue is the strain reliefs - you'd think they'd figure this out, but hey, both Dell power supplies that I've had and those of many of my friends have died at the strain relief.

[KeepOnTruckin]

I as well have used the Dell Lattitude series for the past 4 years and have not been disapointed. Sure whoever you talk to on the phone sucks, but they practically replace your entire computer when something breaks.

As for the Macintosh, how do they know it is liquid damage? Does the Mac have any sort of color change indicator to show it has been wet? Go back and claim hard drive or video card failure.

Buying one in the first place: Would you buy a car with only one pedal and the steering wheel on the opposite side? (i.e. only 1 mouse button and the close/minimize buttons are on the wrong side of the window)