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MacBook Pro Stage Light Fault: Apple's Design Turns $6 Fix Into a $600 Nightmare (9to5mac.com)
An anonymous reader shares a report: Some MacBook Pro owners have complained of a 'stage light' effect, where they see uneven backlighting at the bottom of the display. For some, the symptom is only the first stage, with the backlight failing altogether. iFixit says that it has identified the cause -- and the way in which Apple changed the design of the Touch Bar generation for the MacBook Pro turns what would otherwise be a $6 fix into a $600 nightmare. The problem, says the company, is caused by Apple using much thinner ribbon cables instead of the thicker wires used in previous generation MacBook Pro models.
Don't be stupid, they don't just dump circuit boards like that!!! They have valuable metals in them. You burn them in a smoking heap, and when you can get close enough without hacking your lungs up, you recover the valuable bits. Then you dump it somewhere.
This is why I use a Thinkpad T4X0 series (T450, T460, T470, T480). If the keyboard breaks or gets too dirty, it's not a $600 and take it to the shop problem. It's a $50 problem easily solved by unscrewing two screws and popping in a new keyboard, which, for the record, is a lot easier to type on than these new "butterfly" keyboards (typing on those is like having sex with a condom--there is just no feeling when using them, and, of course, no MacBook has that nipple/clitoris knob to play with. Apologies to any #MeToo snowflakes who haven't realized the best way to stop objectification is by only having sex in a lifetime monogamous commitment). The screen can also be replaced without taking it to the shop (and I have a couple $50 spares on hand just in case I drop the computer or what not). The memory can be upgraded all the way up to 32gb after the fact for about $300 (I have done this), using readily available memory modules at Crucial or whoever. The SSD can be upgraded all the way up to 4tb (for well under $1000), or even 8tb using high-cost specialty parts.
The battery, which lasts 6-8 hours, can be easily popped out and replaced with a fresh one, even on a flight (now, whether the TSA allows me to carry a second battery in my carry-on is another matter).
I have had this Thinkpad for years, and see no reason to replace it any time soon. I wouldn't be able to say the same thing if I owned a MacBook pro.
I believe in the quest for a thinner screen they moved the driver board from the screen to the body with some too short cables bridging the gap instead. This can lead to back light failure if you open the screen out too far.
I like my old macbook pro but I dislike intensely their recent design choices over the last 5 years or so.
Mag safe a reliable keyboard upgradeable ram ssd / hdd sd card slot all gone and replaced with junk.
If only you could buy a modern mainboard that would fit in a macbook pro chassis.
That way keep what is good and upgrade to something more powerful.
Blarney Quality Restaurant, Plants
The Quest for Thinner and Lighter, is actually causing a lot of problems in general. Remember the Note 7 catching fire. That is because they made the device too thin, and jammed the battery in too tight that it didn't allow for the battery expansion.
Being that the displays with the computing force behind it, is thinner, then the plastic bevel covering the glass CRT from my first Computer. We are in general (not just Apple) is sacrificing too many features for thin and light, where most of the devices are already not too heavy or too thick to be practical.
Me I don't care that I lost my headphone jack on my iPhone, but a lot of people do, and I understand why they do mind. The reason for waterproofing, and giving extra space for the battery and keeping it thin and light, we are at a point where thin and light means feature sacrifice, perhaps we should temporarily step away from that goal.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
This.
I know so many people who use macs for work rather than media consumption, and the have been feeling increasingly abandoned. I would even be happy if they started some kind of official 3rd party system builder program that could still run OSX but had other companies trying to fill the market gaps.