My PowerBook is broken yet again. The new one that I got a few months ago, replacing the one Apple broke. I put CDs/DVDs in it, and they are ejected after a few seconds, regardless of the OS I am using (even on boot). Sigh.
Sometimes I feel like a Microsoft user, that I am locked in to one vendor with no real options. At this point I would look elsewhere for a laptop if I possibly could. I can't, not without using what would be IMO a significantly inferior operating system. So I keep coming back for more abuse.
I am sure I wouldn't sound so bitter had my last experience with Apple repair not been so horrible. But now I am moving, and I was going to take my PowerBook on the drive across the country, but now I will probably have to send in the PowerBook for repairs at that time, since I can't really afford to send it in while I am working. I am seriously considering trying to send it in sooner though. It's just that the prospect of sending it in at all is so distressing, since I was without my computer for well over a month the last time.
And yet, here I am, still coming back for more: I ordered a 15GB iPod yesterday. Apple, please please please don't make me regret it.
Re:*sigh* hardware problems
pudge on 2003-05-06T16:23:35
I've been pretty lucky with waiting for the right moment to pick my hardware I suppose, but I'd still have a hard time being angry specifically at Apple over a drive that they don't themselves manufacture.
OK, then can I be mad at them for installing it and selling it to me?:)
And Apple rarely does local repairs. It is annoying. Anything significant they ship out.Re:*sigh* hardware problems
ziggy on 2003-05-06T17:10:02
I don't think Apple manufactures anything anymore. It's all outsourced to various integrators and fabs all over the place.I'd still have a hard time being angry specifically at Apple over a drive that they don't themselves manufacture.Even if they don't manufacture the disk, they still choose which disk goes into an iBook/TiBook/G4 Tower assembly. They can either choose a low-cost component with a low MTBF/rotation speed/etc., or they can choose a pricier one with a higher MTBF/rotation speed/etc. So they still are at fault here.
Unless Pudge has figured out how to use his laptop in a manner that is guaranteed to ruin every hard disk in a matter of weeks. If that's the case, then AppleCare is the best thing since sliced bread -- free replacements for 3 years!
:-)
A friend of mine purchased a reasonably high end Gateway laptop around 15 months ago. He's just sent it back for the fifth time, and that includes at least one or two full replacements. I don't know how long he's had it vs. how long something has been in the shop, but it's at least as bad as your history with your powerbook, but I think it's worse.
His previous computer is an HP Desktop that only just barely works if you do not use it as intended by the manufacturer. I don't know how much time we spent on that machine coaxing it to work after we tried to dual-boot the thing; and the OS CDs it came with it were only good for repair, not reinstalling the OS. We seriously thought about testing the gravitational constant with it instead of raising it from the dead...
I have never ordered an XServe from Apple, but I spec'ed out a Dell server a few years ago. We purchased it because we were running out of disk and CPU on a shared Solaris box, and a cheap linux box was sufficient for us to develop on. We really needed something quickly; the Dell server was a reasonably standard config, nothing too extravagant, and certainly within some manager's discretionary budget. It took three months to get that box that was supposed to be ready 10 days after purchase. We needed it immediately. After that experience, it'll be a while before I order a Dell server again...
Every hardware vendor in this industry sucks. The only difference is the kind and amount of suckage you get. In my experience, Apple certainly sucks less than most.
Re:Apple vs. Everyone Else
pudge on 2003-05-06T23:39:30
I am happy I bought Apple. But when things go wrong, as they have been doing with more frequency than usual for me, I need to let out the frustration somehow, and I have sworn off the whole shooting spree thing.
My biggest complaint is that I can't go to another vendor (because I am unwilling to part with Mac OS X). The lack of choice is distressing, even though I'd probably choose Apple even if I had the choice.
amichan, my blueberry ibook, has sung its last hurrah. It was a refurbished unit, but somehow the one my brother got is still going strong. My repair shop told me to check with the Apple store, and I will, but this is sad.
