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Apple's Growing Pains
Tyler Too writes "Is Apple having an unusually large number of quality control problems since its switch to Intel? Ars Technica runs down the litany of problems MacBook and MacBook Pro users have experienced since their launch. From the article: 'Is Apple's quality control slipping through the cracks with this Intel transition? Given the volume of available evidence that has appeared in such a short timeframe, it's simply impossible to say that Apple isn't having problems.'"
I do not think it is as much as an issue that Apples Quality Dropped but just the fact their entire Macintosh Product Line is now Generation 1, systems. Normally Apple Spaces out their system releases and refresh their product line in 3 year cycles. This time they did major changes internally to their entire product line. Normally the rule of thumb is to wait for Gen 2 but with all their products Gen 1 there is little to choose from. The MacBook Pros seem to get some minor fixes.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Is it that there are so many problems per capita, or just that the company is so high-profile?
To me, it's arguable that these are no different than the other problems Dell or HP/Compaq have, there's just a somewhat higher profile when it's a Mac. Granted, no transition is seamless, and I know that there are a good number of people that are having issues, but I haven't spoken or interacted with anyone who's said that any issues they are having would make them rethink their buying decision.
... then they knock you down. Dvorakitis is spreading IMHO - Ars will get a lot of page-hits (and hence ad revenue) from people wanting to read about this. Sure, Apple have had problems, but not as many as Dell, and I doubt Dell are any worse than any other random manufacturer.
:-)
Apple actually have it worse than most - to an extent they sell on style, and "shiny goodness". People are *more* vocal when something goes wrong with something they like, rather than some random notebook work gave them to use at the weekend... I'm actually surprised the vocal minority haven't been louder. Perhaps Apple ought to release the figures for their return/repair rates - I seem to recall someone saying they were well below industry norms - even *with* all this hullaballoo.
Can I also just say I bought an MBP pro, and it hasn't exhibited any of the problems mentioned in the article... because normally you never hear about it when it works fine - only when it's broken in some way. As a software developer, I knew all about that
Simon
Physicists get Hadrons!
Unlike Microsoft, which has a lot of customers that are concerned about legacy application support, Apple has a customer-base that generally uses newer software, and tends to be more forgiving to these kinds of problems. OS X updates have frequently broken all kinds of old applications, but their market share continues to go up.
By now most folks know that purchasing Revision A hardware is a gamble - to be honest I think that some of the fun that comes with living on the "bleeding edge" is the knowledge that if things work, you've really survived something.
The biggest problem I have with the apple transition was that they had a 32-bit intel architecture that now must be supported for years to come. I honestly am not quite sure why they did that, as there will undoubtably be some support headaches for apple developers for the next few years.
It's Apple's supplier that's having the quality problem's. Their CM (Contract Manufacturer) is like all other companies in the EMS industry and suffering under the demand for price concessions and supply fullfilment. Like all OEM's Apple wants their product now, perfectly built and cheap, and like all OEMs doesn't realise they can only have 2 of the proverbial 3.
Working in the industry I can tell you that as the OEM demands you meet shipments, units that should stay behind for debug or rework tend to float out the door to meet revenue/demand numbers. Apple's resurgence in popularity probably has everyone in the supply line getting every possible unit out the door to meet demand.
Yeah, as if Dell doesn't have massive quality problems. Several Optiplex models have horrendously bad motherboards that fail within 2-3 years, Dell's warranty support is a real pain to deal with, and they never acknowledge quality problems. At least with Apple, you don't have to speak to Indian tech support who really doesn't give a shit.
*shrug*
Apple is the most closely scrutinized hardware company *ever*. If my MacBook appears to make an elusive noise beyond the hearing range of the average dog, it makes the cover of Time. If my Packard Bell shitbox releases its magic smoke and dies, it doesn't even get on Digg.
It's just the story of the month, and people will get bored of it eventually. The alternative conspiracy theory, of course, is that it could keep being fuelled by Microsoft's astroturf budget.
"Be nice, veer left, and never stop thinking" Iain Banks - Walking On Glass
(See subject.)
There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
No, these are not growing pains or any other phenomenon with a common unusual cause. They are all unrelated QC issues that could've happened and do happen with all products of such complexity. The only correlation due to a common cause related to Apple the company is the fact that these are all first generation products with radically new engineering compared to the old Macs all released within a short period of time.
Most of this apparent correlation is due to the fact that the Intel macs are getting unprecidented attention. The attention and scrutany is also amplified by the fact that forums and things like flickr are more popular now then they were during the previous launches of Apple's producs such as the original iMac and iBook lines - both of which had their share of QC issues. I would argue that Apple's Intel Macs have received orders of magnitude more publicity and attention then any of their previous products, as well as their competitors. I mean when was the last time a Dell product was featured in /. WITHOUT it having to first explode or something...
So, no, ars technica - your article is a non-story about a non-issue.
PS: Not that this is suprising - /. has been featuring many of these lately...
www.tribalnetworks.org - helping tribal people around the world to own their own means of high-tech communications
As a designer I tend to question Apple's practice of prototyping and testing hardware and software.
It would seem that time constraints and secrecy overshadow the cycle of design > prototype > data collection > design (repeat).
I can't imagine they're able to get enough real world data under such a vale of secrecy. They seem to test products in the market place... which means rev 1 Apple products are almost always questionable.
"Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
I'm not saying that all the problems people are having are made up, but I'm just not seeing any of them. Then again, I custom ordered my MacBook from Apple and I did not buy one from the Apple Store.
:-)
;-)
I bought mine at the beginning of July. It arrived on the 17th. I have been using it non-stop since then for software development, and I haven't seen any problems at all. No yellowing. No heat issues. No scuff issues (although I'm not tossing it in a backpack--I have a satchel I use with all sorts of nice padding). It works fine. As a matter of fact, I love it
Does it run pretty hot? Sure. But no worse than my PowerBook (same really). Battery life? Same. Screen? Soooooo much more beautiful
My understanding from talking with one of the store guys is that they had some assembly issues at first with the MBPs in terms of heat. They were apparently leaving the plastic on the parts even when they were put together--thus blocking the vents. But that was apparently resolved.
I have seen scuttle butt around about not getting machines direct from the Apple store and getting a custom build through Apple. The idea is that they have to assemble one fresh from China for you (well, that is where they ship from--I can dig up my shipping label from around here somewhere). I guess the thinking is that there were some kinks in the assembly line/supply chain, and that "fresh" systems don't suffer as bad.
In my case, that seems to have worked--no issues here.
"Doubt your doubts and believe your beliefs." -- Switchfoot, Ode to Chin
The key here is to lower your expectations. (well, not you, but the public).
I've been a tech for years now, and for a while I was a ground-pounder (on-site service). No matter where I was, home, office, or elsewise - people ask "What's a good computer to buy?". Appearantly, when you do it for a living, people value your opinion. Even though the shop I worked for sold (relatively solid) computers, I always gave the same answer:
"Figure out what features you want, then pay the lowest price you can to get those features. Plan for the computer to have problems and don't expect any service from the retailer or the manufacturer for free."
That's it.
It saves you from paying too much or too little, and it saves you from the shock of "it's going to cost how much?!? What about the warranty?!?".
If your feature list is "I need to get onto the interweb tubes", then.. pretty much anything will work for you. If your wishlist is a Micro-UXGA TFT 1900x1200 screen and a Centrino setup, then look at those models. If your wishlist is "looks good on the coffee table and is powerful and easy to use", then there's nothing wrong with buying a Mac.
But, expect it to break, and expect to pay someone to fix it. Software, hardware, whatever. If it never has a problem, congratulations you won the lottery. They're all made from the same parts, folks*
~Wx
*the SOLE exception to this is computers with those magical letters on them - IBM. Granted, one: I haven't worked with post-Lenovo IBM, and two: IBM sells a lot less computers than dell and they cost a lot, but in my time of hands on groundpounder tech work, I never once saw an IBM thinkpad with a hardware problem. I'm sure they existed, but... those computers just wouldn't give up.
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