mb vs mbp

Hey all,

Any idea if there are any differences with the build quality between the macbook and macbook pro?

okay i have got my macbook a year ago. and i can tell you this:

touchpad acting up.

display always flickering as if its going to dim then brighten up continuesly for ten or twenty times.

battery died

DVDs, new and clean ones, get stuck in the dvd drive. since there is no emergency ejecting button the only solution for this is to stick a credit card in and pull!!!

speakers are not powerful enough, barely able to hear anything. head phones are a must.

loud static noise come from the speakers whenever youtube is in the background and vidoes are paused.

loud static noise are heard whenever i'm trying to play an audio.

discoloration on the plamrest area, touchpad button, area around the display, power button

the whole buttom of the macbook turned black, upper surface has plenty of scratches on it

underboot camp, windows cant restart. if i try to restart the computer hangs up and then i start in safe mode after poweroff

I heard power adapters fail a lot, still didn't encounter that. hope i never do.

 

I've had many Macs over the years; still have a PB, MBP and MacPro. To date, the only Mac which gave me any really serious problems which weren't resolved exrtemely quickly at the Apple Store, was a MB which for eight months, I loved. That machine and its replacement were lemons. I finally gave up, returned the machine, paid the difference for a MBP and all has been fine since.

Still, if the damn machine would work as well as every other Mac I've owned, I'd rather have a MB than the MBP. I like the size, screen, color (I love the white machines), and of course, the price difference. lol

 

Wow, your MacBook is probably a defect in many ways...I've also had my MacBook for a year, battery health is still at around 95%, no issue with display, no issue with touchpad or keyboard, never had DVD drive issues, I agree the speakers could be better, but no static issues of any sort, and no discolouration.

The MBP is built better, yes, but at the same time, the hard plastic of the MacBook is probably more dent-proof than aluminum.

 

ok guys, considering that I have so many problems with my macbook, what do you recommend me to do next?
I'll be leaving home and moving to the UK this Sept. for college.

I'm hesitating between getting a new laptop or just taking this one with me.
I've always contacted Apple support about my dead battery and I've been asked to mail my battery to them in Dubai and I'll have to ship the new battery back to Kuwait.

I'm also thinking about upgrading my ram from 1 gig to 2 gig. The speakers problems can be fixed by simply connecting external speakers. touchpad issue can be solved by connecting a mouse. And finally, to hide the annoying and repulsive discoloration which really makes me feel like this macbook is dirty, i'm thinking about getting this http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...t_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance
and for the exterior hesitating between this http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...t_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance and this http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...t_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance

what do you guys suggest that I should do?

I'm feeling like this is the best thing to do as it will save me money. But since this macbook is so unrealible i'm afraid the logic board might fail on me. btw any idea if Apple covers this problem even if its not under warranty?

thanks again

 

Discolouration is going to happen with pretty much any white notebook, and especially so with a white MacBook. Thats not something Apple can do anything about, really.

But it really does seem like theres quite a bit wrong with your system. If its still under warranty, tell Apple Support and see what they can do? Otherwise, uhh, get yourself a new laptop would be my suggestion...Probably the MBP, since, as you've had a bad experience with your MB, if you got another one, you would be psychologically predisposed to think that it wasn't working properly.

There was a really nice leatherette palmrest covering for the MacBook made by Marware. I got one for my Asus and cut it down to size - I liked it quite a bit, actually.

 

I created this thread cuz I was thinking about getting a macbook pro, because I've got too attached to OSX not because its great, but because my programs now run on it and I dont have pc version for couple.
However after checking the MBP prices it doesn't feel worth it. Way over priced compared to similar specs from Lenovo for example.

And about the Marware palmrest covering, how is it? I heard some brand catch dirt really quickly and are hard to clean. Others were complaining about air bubbles getting stuck inside!

 

1. You're paying for OS X.
2. You're paying for the second best notebook pc ever made (sorry Apple, but the LG P300 really stole the show - 3.5lbs, 8600M, 3.5hr battery, sub-2k price).

I can understand about the price being a bit much though - I didn't get one, since I can't afford one. Your sig says you've ordered a T61 - looks like a decent choice, but no OS X.

 

Sorry, but OS X isn't that great! Well, at least I'm not seeing what benefit it has over Windows. Yeah sure it boots quicker, and have tiny little nice bits that are not available on Windows... But thats not worth paying 700 bucks extra (Thats what the setup in my sig cost less aprox.). Sure I love it when I download a zipped file that turns to be a virus, or when I connect a friend's flash stick and I find out its full of viruses yet nothing can hurt me... but whats really making me want another mac (after the horrible experience I'm going through with Apple service here in Kuwait) is that I have Apple programs, some I've paid for their license to work on Mac. And others are not available on PC.

Anyhow, you said MBP is the second best laptop ever made? I never heard that before! Why is it? And how was that decided?

Btw about my sig, I did order the thinkpad but then canceled the order cuz i'm still hesitating. thats why i'm making these threads over here and asking questions I was too lazy to remove the sig. but i guess i'll remove it now so no more confusion happen :/

 

I would say OS X doesn't seem that much better in everyday use, but if you've ever been in a stressed, frustrating experience involving a computer and it was Windows, you will realize how frustrating Windows can be and such. And you do mention Kuwait, so that explains it quite a bit...Apple service is (unfortunate, but true) pre-dominantly focused on Western countries like North America and the wealthier parts of Europe.

 

yeah the service sux badly over here. And I wish it was because Apple is not "focusing" at our market... they just dont give a damn.
Here is what I've encountered... My battery been dead for over a month. According to their website this is a very well known issue and I should get a battery replacement as long my laptop is less than two years old. So I contacted the two authorized service centers over here. One said they can't help me, and the other ones said it would take up to three weeks to find a replacement. It sounded cool. So I took my computer to them, they inspected it and confirmed the battery issue. But when they found out that I purchased my computer from the US and not from their shop, they told me the battery replacement will take aprox 4 months!!!! Thats FOUR months! Then they tried to sell me one of their batteries for $215 ! Crazy. I talked to their manager and he claimed that global warranties take time and there is nothing they can do. Believe it or not, the service engineer took me to the back room and showed me a shelve where they keep all the global warranty batteries. Apparently they either delay the request for battery replacement from Dubai (since they are the regional distributors and parts are brought from there) or they just order the batteries and don't notify the customers until the 4 months have passed!

anyhow, i contacted Apple Dubai and filed a complaint. I talked to the service center manager and he him self called the manager in Kuwait. And according to Dubai's regional service manager, the people in Kuwait refused to process my battery exchange..
good thing though in dubai they offered to replace my battery directly. though i'll have to send it to them through a currier. and currier apparently don't allow shipping batteries without computers! >_>

long story :/

Oh, I did file a complaint at Apple Europe, and they did forward my complaint to Apple Dubai... though not sure if they're going to do anything to those morons here in Kuwait.
Well, as I might have mentioned before.. I'll be staying in the UK for at least the next two years. The service over there probably much better, but prices are still high over there compared to the US.

 

absolutely, couldn't have said it better, if you think there may be some issues, the quickest way to get it taken care of for most people is making an appointment at the store, just make sure to make the appointment in advance with a clear explanation of your problem and a reasonable attitude and there shouldn't be any major issues.

 

read the post I made before urs :/