Apple - Think Twice • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple - Think Twice

#101

Post by meaty » Mon, Dec 03, 2012, 4:52 PM UTC

LaGrange wrote: post #79

meaty wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ahh yes the unibody which is basically a fucking big short circuit, hence why mine caught fire. It's engineering, but it's not SOUND ENGINEERING. I stand by my expensive trinket comment. Buy a Lenovo T-series and you'll understand.

Last time I've disassembled a Lenovo laptop it still had the entire thin aluminum shield thingie inside, y'know. And desktops are made of metal instead of wood and rich corinthian leather for (a bunch of) reason(s). On the other hand, my experiences with Lenovo T-series were mostly of the "flimsy pieces of crap that only look solid" category (but maybe I was just less than lucky). Aggregated studies of customer satis…

I think your eyes must have crap in them if you think a T-series is flimsy. The big chunk of titanium in the middle makes it rock solid:

http://appel.hu/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/rollcage.jpg

Lenovo's relatively low score is because they shift out lots of low quality consumer grade laptops (g-series) which are to be honest, just junk but earn them a lot of money. They don't even assemble them themselves. If you took just ThinkPad series machines, there would be a very different result.

Re: Apple - Think Twice

#102

Post by debacle » Mon, Dec 03, 2012, 4:53 PM UTC

bugsbunnyak wrote: post #90

meaty wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ahh yes the unibody which is basically a fucking big short circuit, hence why mine caught fire. It's engineering, but it's not SOUND ENGINEERING. I stand by my expensive trinket comment. Buy a Lenovo T-series and you'll understand.

Sadly, Lenovo cannot be relied on as they once were (even for the first few years post-IBM). My W520 has been to warranty depot three times - still not fixed - for this problem that has been known for 1.5 years: http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/W-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/W520-s... I'm still using, and loving, my T61P. If only there was a way to get an i5 or i7 in that lovely reliable chassis :(

My wife had a Lenovo that basically disintegrated in ~11 months, but my mom has had hers for years and has survived several drops and grandkids.

Re: Apple - Think Twice

#103

Post by Retric » Mon, Dec 03, 2012, 4:54 PM UTC

yardie wrote: post #82

> As a loyal customer of apple for almost 11 years (iMac G4) my loyalty has been shaken. I really hate bloggers that do shit like this. Apple isn't an airline so bringing up your Apple mileage isn't helping. Really, 11 years and this one problem shakes your loyalty? Not their DRM, custom screws, custom cables, EOLing still powerful Macbooks, making free services paid (iTools), or the $1000 price bump when they introd…

The goal is to show you don't already have a problem with the company in question. So, the issue must be really annoying.

Re: Apple - Think Twice

#104

Post by gnaffle » Mon, Dec 03, 2012, 4:54 PM UTC

ssmoot wrote: post #81

msy wrote: post #10

Revision A Apple projects have had issues for as long as Apple has been making products. Second gen Macbook Air's had Logic board issues, 2007 era RevA Macbook Pros had video card issues, dodgy graphics cards on the early Mac Pros, the iPhone4 antenna, the list is endless. Often it's taken years for the issues to be resolved and Apple to pay for repairs, if at all. It's simple, if you want the shiniest tech, buy what…

Just pointing out that for anyone I've ever met, the antennagate was just media sites drumming up page-views. I never had an issue, and despite everyone at my office having iPhone4s and 4Ss, the only time any of us were ever able to affect antenna-strength was having a wet hand, and then purposefully applying a lot of pressure to attempt to attenuate the case. It could be the signal-strength display "fix" was hiding…

Antennagate was way overblown, but it was a real issue for some people. With the right combination of specific unit (varying tolerances for the antenna / radio assembly) and cell phone coverage, you would run into problems.

The iPhone 4S and 5 has a different antenna design and (i think) has some kind of coating on the metal frame to lessen the issue.

Re: Apple - Think Twice

#105

Post by mike_ivanov » Mon, Dec 03, 2012, 4:55 PM UTC

meaty wrote: post #51

astrodust wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Although you might have requirements that aren't met by Apple's products, such as wanting a removable battery, to call them "expensive trinkets" with "no engineering" is absurd. Apple's work on the unibody case is but one example of how they're pushing manufacturing technology as far as it can go today. Other vendors are content to stamp out the same old plastic clamshell, to fit in the same old motherboard and optic…

Ahh yes the unibody which is basically a fucking big short circuit, hence why mine caught fire. It's engineering, but it's not SOUND ENGINEERING. I stand by my expensive trinket comment. Buy a Lenovo T-series and you'll understand.

Ironically, I had to send my brand new Lenovo T420s back because of display issues.

Re: Apple - Think Twice

#106

Post by ksec » Mon, Dec 03, 2012, 4:55 PM UTC

I think there is two problems with Apple in this case.

1. The Services Level shown is subpar compared to what it is in US. Most of the time we see good services, free exchanges and repaired are actually stories in US. Outside US customers are treated like a second class citizen.

2. The guy bought AppleCare for Christ Sake. Why not just replace it when it is a known issues with LG display type.

Re: Apple - Think Twice

#107

Post by keeran » Mon, Dec 03, 2012, 4:55 PM UTC

I had a similar dance with Apple tech staff. I took in a 27" iMac which had a faulty video card fan which made a horrible high pitched whine at low brightness settings.

First visit they couldn't hear it (in loud store environment..), I was sent home. Second visit they agreed to take it in for testing - returned with a chipped display, scratched glass and a report that the problem didn't exist.

Finally gave up with them and called Apple USA direct (from UK), complained to anyone who would listen. Was advised to take into a 3rd party repair supplier to confirm the problem existed. I went in with an audio spectrometer to visualise the problem, had a new iMac shipped the next day.

It's hard to accept that they're no longer the specialist hardware supplier who treats every customer exceptionally well. Now we're just being farmed like any customer.

Going hackintosh/linux for all future machines.

Re: Apple - Think Twice

#108

Post by meaty » Mon, Dec 03, 2012, 4:57 PM UTC

wesleyd wrote: post #89

astrodust wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're essentially saying that any computer with a metal case, or extensive metal shielding inside could suffer the same problem. HP makes a number of metal laptops, for instance, in an effort to make them more recyclable, the same reasoning behind Apple's materials decision. Why would I buy a Lenovo T-series? It looks virtually indistinguishable from any laptop made in the late 1990s and still has that absurd red jo…

> Why would I buy a Lenovo T-series? It looks virtually indistinguishable from any laptop made in the late 1990s That's the point! Thinkpad T series laptops are what apple laptops can only dream of being.

Yes - a good side effect.

I reckon my T61 wouldn't get nicked and can quite happily use it on a train out of London even at night without being fussed.

The same could not be said for a MacBook which just has "mug me" written on it.

Re: Apple - Think Twice

#109

Post by manmal » Mon, Dec 03, 2012, 4:57 PM UTC

meaty wrote: post #87

astrodust wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're essentially saying that any computer with a metal case, or extensive metal shielding inside could suffer the same problem. HP makes a number of metal laptops, for instance, in an effort to make them more recyclable, the same reasoning behind Apple's materials decision. Why would I buy a Lenovo T-series? It looks virtually indistinguishable from any laptop made in the late 1990s and still has that absurd red jo…

No I'm not. I'm saying that there is no acceptable insulation in the device. The chassis for example uses air gap between the board and the base for insulation. Even condensation can bridge it, which is the theory why mine exploded. Regarding appearance, and? Does that really matter? Why you pick a ThinkPad: http://appel.hu/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/rollcage.jpg That and you can throw the damn thing across the…

Boards usually have a transparent coating, I doubt that it's only air separating the board from the chassis. For this very reason - laptops are thrown into the water as a test, they must not explode after that. I have never had a problem with a unibody Macbook. Please don't be ridiculous.

Re: Apple - Think Twice

#110

Post by Apocryphon » Mon, Dec 03, 2012, 4:57 PM UTC

meaty wrote: post #95

marknutter wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As anecdotal as anecdotal evidence ever was.

A fucking large pile of expensive broken shit that just packed in is not anecdotal - it's known as evidence.

It is evidence for you, personally, yes. However, in aggregate, for all consumers, it is anecdata. There are people who swear by the opposite experience, of years of bad issues with non-Apple tech until they switched over. The ultimate problem with this discussion is that yours is only one data point, when a full survey would be required to determine which manufacturer is best. At the same time, sympathies for your bad experiences and best of luck with the new tech.