Apple Macs Are Shite
I want to love Apple Macs. I really do. I want to be like Stephen Fry (in so many ways.. though not all). They look cool, and more importantly, the operating system (OS), Mac OS X, is really rather good. As a Java web developer it is brilliant – the power of unix without the need for me to get my fingers too dirty, plus great graphics support.
Sadly, as good as Apple are at design, marketing and software engineering, they are appalling at manufacturing. Whilst Microsoft’s strategy of leaving the hardware to everyone else initially caused endless problems with driver compatibility, Apple has always insisted that their OS only run on their own hardware.
With this in mind, you’d think that quality control would not be such an issue. Well it is. So much so, that there’s a web site dedicated to listing the defects with their products, and a flickr photos set showcasing one of the many issues.
Here’s my personal, miserable experience so far:
I heart my Thinkpad.
Well, we just got our 9th piece of apple hardware this week. A glorious 24inch iMac.
I think that one of the big problems with apple hardware has been the resellers. My experience has mainly been with Apple retail stores (though these are still sadly lacking in Australia) and it has been very good. I have had two batteries and an iPod replaced on the spot as a result of walking in to apple stores. Just this week I called up applecare about another battery which was 6 months out of warranty and acting up. 5 minutes later they said they would courier out a free replacement to my work which arrived yesterday.
I did have problems with the wireless on a powerbook in Australia and the authorised reseller I took it to fixed it but did a pretty shoddy repair job, scratching the case up in the process.
Obviously my experience has been better than yours and in all this time I have only been without my machines for a very few days and I have no problem recommending them to friends and family (four of which have now made the switch).
Don’t give up Howie!!! Or maybe go to a store that has a Genius Bar, instead of a reseller.
Alun. I completely agree. The resellers in Oz were awful, and GBM in Manchester are a bunch of sharks, with a bad reputation. Until recently there wer no Apple stores in Manchester, and my experience has been better.
My gripe isn’t really over Apple customer service, merely their product quality.
Agreed Apple Macbooks are crap. My girlfriend bought a Macbook in 2006
-1 month in it stopped working received a new heat sink kit
-3months after that stops working again, receives a new hard drive.
-April 2007 stops working, receives new hard drive and casing.
-December 2007 computer stop acknowledging battery, so she can only use it while plugged in.
-January 2008 main board stops working (she must pay 800 for repair).
-Only after I phoned and complained would they pay for the repair, but still refused to replace a clearly faulty shitty product.
Apple Macs are shite. I bought a Macbook after falling for all the advertising hype. It’s less than a year old, so far it’s had a new battery, and required the operating system re-installed twice.
I’ve actually spent more time hunting around on the Internet trying to find solutions to Apple problems than I ever did with a Windows product. Despite the self-proclaimed, “It just works”, I can categorically say, it doesn’t. Applications quit unexpectedly and fail to restart. It’s bollocks.