With all the problems that MacBook owners have been reporting, I thought it would be a good idea to give you the complete scoop of my new MacBook. As I’m slowly closing in on two weeks of owning a MacBook, I think I can finally say that I’ve given my MacBook enough time to show any trouble spots. For the most part I think I’ve been fairly lucky. Since I went to an Apple store the day after they received a new shipment (I called ahead of time to make sure), I received the latest build at the time (week 24), thus receiving the latest fixes for the numerous problems which have arisen.
One of the biggest issues which MacBook owners have reported are the heat issues. While my MacBook certainly does get hot, in my opinion it’s nothing out of the ordinary. My MacBook will idle around 55C and get up to 80C depending on how much processor power I require at the time. While the temperatures certainly are a little toasty, it hasn’t stopped me from using my MacBook on my lap in shorts. Sure, the first day I used it I thought it was a little uncomfortable, but since then I’ve either gotten used to the heat, or the first day damaged my skin cells so I can no longer feel pain. Either way, it works out in the end for me.
One of the other major problems with the MacBook in white has been discoloration. Fellow 9ruler Derek Punsalan has been raising awareness of the issue ever since it happened to him. In his unfortunate case, he went out of his way to cover up his MacBook to prevent discoloration, and was only rewarded with an ugly yellow finish. Due to his campaign against discoloration and the hundreds of bloggers who supported him, I can say that I don’t have the issue at all. Since Apple was made aware of the issue, they have changed the plastic to a much smoother material; one which doesn’t change with time. Since I have a later MacBook build, I have been lucky to get the new plastic and avoid the issue completely. For the unlucky MacBook owners with an ugly top case, Apple is replacing the affected portion with no questions asked, so be sure to get that done.
Out of the other well known issues, I have experienced none of them. I have yet to hear the mooing of a cow coming from the back of my MacBook, so I’m safe on that front. As far as AirPort reception goes, it couldn’t be better for me. I’ve taken my MacBook to previously thought WiFi dead zone in my house, and have been surfing with ease. I’ve also avoided power adapter humming and the ever so popular melted MagSafe. So, on the well known fronts, I’ve been good so far.
I’d wish that I could say I haven’t experienced any issues at all, but I can’t do that. I have experienced some very minor issues which aren’t that well known. One of the first issues which became apparent to me is crappy sleep times. While most of Apple’s laptop fleet can stay days in sleep while only loosing a few percentage points, my MacBook looses about 10% of its battery every eight hours. While it’s nothing that will greatly affect my battery life, since I’ll either be plugged in or shut off, it’s a minor inconvenience. Unfortunately there isn’t much I can do, as I’ve been told by the great people over at Broadband Reports that the extra 2GB of RAM installed is drawing more power than normal. Oh well.
Another minor issue which I have experienced has been insanely long Lead-Out times when burning a DVD. When burning a 2-3 minute DVD, my Lead-Out step can take as long as 6-10 minutes. That’s roughly 4x longer than it takes to burn the DVD. Luckily I’ve gotten some help from the Apple support forums and I have a few things to try for my next DVD. If I can’t resolve the issue, it’s nothing I’m going to worry about since I don’t burn DVDs that often.
In the that affects every manufacture category, my screen developed a stuck pixel a few days ago. Within minutes of noticing it I was able to successfully rub it out, only for it to reappear later that night. After seeing it a second time, I rubbed it out again, this time while playing one of the stuck pixel videos. Since then I haven’t seen it again, but if it decides to come back I feel confident that I’ll be able to take it down once again.
In the that’s freaking weird category, I’ve on occasion smelled some sort of burning chemical coming the MacBook. I initially thought it was just the MacBook’s “new car smell,” but since I don’t smell it all the time, and I still smell it almost two weeks after my purchase, I have a feeling that it’s not normal. Apparently a few other people have noticed this problem, claiming it irritates their nose and throat. It hasn’t irritated me at all; in fact, I think it smells quite good. Maybe I’m just a druggie at heart.
All in all, my MacBook has been wonderful. I’ve avoided all the well known major and minor issues, but have experience a few issues of my own. Luckily none of my issues have dramatically affected my MacBook, so it’s nothing which makes me doubt the MacBook and Apple’s quality control. If I can never find a solution to my problems, I will still love my MacBook for years to come.
So, if you’ve been reading all the issues about the MacBook Pro and the MacBook, and are thinking to yourself that every unit is broken, think again. Apple has at least one customer with a working MacBook with no complaints to file. I just think what we’ve been reading about these laptops is only the opinion of a small minority, much like Microsoft’s issues with its 360. Sure, a few people have units which are complete crap, but the majority of people’s MacBooks are working perfectly fine, giving them no reason to tell anyone about it.
18 Comments
Sounds good to me. I look forward to the new Mac Pros. I hear that they will sport a new enclosure as well. I have an older iBook, and it is still white. It is about over half a year old and so far so good. It isn’t my primary system, but I like it whenever I use it. The chem smell is weird. Can it be the smell of lithium from the battery? And the long lead-out time is weird. What did Apple suggest to do? I have burned DVDs on the iBook, it does have long lead-out but not as long you experience, but I am glad you are liking the Apple so much. I was watching some old Mac adverts and I wish I switched long ago.
You shouldn’t have too much longer to wait for the Mac Pros. They are sounding very sweet, but I can’t help but wonder about one thing - expandability. Apple’s trying to keep the OSx86 Project under wraps, but if Apple allows its real customers to start installing regular PC hardware, the OSx86 scene will benefit also. I can’t wait to see how Apple handles this.
As far as the long Lead-Out times, check the thread in the Apple forums that I linked to. Problem is now solved.
As far as the chemical smell, it seems to happen when the computer heats up, so I think something they used to coat something is burning off. I have a feeling whatever is burning off is not supposed to be there in the first place, so when it’s done burning off everything will be the way Apple intended.
I’m glad everything’s sorted out and all. I have thankfully had no problems with my MacBook Pro uptil now, other than the fact that it heats up slightly in the top left corner after hours of heavy usage. Otherwise it’s very cool (in both ways).
Gotta try out that iChat AV sometime, if you’re up for it.
Only issue I have had with my Macbook is that I have been having problems ripping some CD’s (some of which are perfectly scratch free), causing the drive to spin up/down like crazy.
I went to the Apple Store and they ordered new Superdrive for me after successfully ripping some of the CD’s on their 12-inch Powerbook used at the Genius Bar. I’m hoping sometime Friday I will get a call and I can get the drive replaced.
Other then that, this is the best purchase I have ever made.
The smell goes away!! I have had my mbp for a about four/five months now and experienced the same thing. I can’t remember exactly how long it took for the smell to finally subside but it did. I agree with you on the heat issue. At first I thought my mac was going to melt to the desk I was using it on, but, of course it didn’t and since then I have gotten use to the heat “problem.” As far as software concerns go I haven’t had any problems, hardware has been great, and the overall functionality of the my comp. as been worry free.
I am looking forward to the desktops that will be running off the intel chips. Do you think they will release them the same time they release Leopard?
That does make the most sense, however Leopard speculation is to be released by end of 2006, around the time Vista was supposed to been released. However, Steve Jobs said all Mac hardware will have Intel by end of 2007–I believe the Mac Pro is the last Mac hardware to get Intel chips. Though they are making the transition at very rapid speeds so I imagine it’s possible it will be out by the holidays. I hope so because I really want to get rid of this Windoze box stat.
I have a feeling they’ll be announced at WWDC and be shipping then or within the next month or so. That way at MacWorld in January Steve Jobs can say Apple moved to Intel faster than they anticipated.
Ron,
You think they will release the Mac Pros by end of the third quarter/early fourth quarter of this year??? That would be sweet. Though I hope the upgrade process wont fuck up my settings, even if it is Apple, I don’t trust OS updaters…Though that is because Billy G did a good job ruining that experience with me
I have never used an apple but I considered getting a MacBook when it came around that I had to get a new laptop. When I was in the shop the guy actually suggested I NOT get one (I thought huh? What kind of salesman is this guy?) I guess he figured he may as well save himself the trouble of me bringing it back to him or something.
I ended up getting a Sony Vaio FJ series instead, which I really love… but one of my major issues was heat. I didn’t want a laptop that was going to get hot because my previous laptop (a fujitsu siemens) got so hot my fingertips used to get really sore. That was one of the main reasons he turned me away from the MacBook.
The Sony doesn’t even get warm though, I’m really happy with it.
My MacBook Pro gets warm, but not nearly enough to even trouble my fingers. And I don’t play a lot of sports…
I had a little problem with the “solvent smell” with my month-old MacBook at first, but it has long since dissipated. I had some random rebooting activity, too, which was solved by wiping the hard disk, doing a complete, clean reinstall of OS and applications, and then running Software Update… the users at Apple’s support forum were actually the ones who helped me diagnose the problem and figure out a solution; the local “Geniuses” at the NYC Apple Store weren’t so helpful.
Overall, I am very very pleased with the new MacBook.
I’ve also had my MacBook for a few weeks now and have experienced absolutely zero problems (damn, I jinxed it now). Everything is working out great and, considering the fact that I recently switched from a PC, Apple has made me a lifelong Mac customer. The PC laptop I bought had to have a new motherboard put in after only a week and a half, so compared to that my MacBook is heaven. Thank you Apple.
I’m glad that you have been so fortunate with your week-24 MacBook. I also ordered a MacBook around the same time, receiving a week-24 black MacBook drop-shipped from China, with the 1GB memory option. About the time you were sighing relief that your laptop was stable, mne started showing the intermittent shut-off problem.
I’ve now sent my MacBook into AppleCare repair twice, losing the last two weeks of use completely, with another week lost before that attempting to diagnose the problem and “soldier through” it. All of the people at the local Apple Store and on the AppleCare line have been quite nice and tried to help, but Apple has tied their hands.
When my MacBook works, it is wonderful to use though not perfect. The CPU temperature range was a bit higher than yours, however - 65 degrees idle and 82 or 84 degrees maximum. I also hear the moo, but it’s very subtle, almost reassuring. WiFi generally reports a good signal but occasionally hiccups or is extremely slow.
I’m new to mac; I was a PC user for years. My Macbook has been excellent. Any problems have been my own from trying to do Pc-like things. It’s a new OS, but fairly intuitive. My main issue is the lack of documentation. Apple seems to capitalize on the accessories. “Oh, you need to use that program? Just buy the book/CD/App/whatever.” That’s just my non-Mac history talking. Other than that, this laptop is just wonderful, and it beats the heck out of my 7 year old tower… ick.
I’m not surprised that your MacBook is losing 10% battery every 8 hours or so. Bear in mind that when your laptop is sleeping the cpu and memory are still receiving power, albeit a lower level than normal. With 2GB of ram and a dual core cpu it’s no surprise that the battery will fade while in sleep mode. Is there not an option to suspend to disk? That’s a good half way house between sleep mode and power down. Considering how fast this machine boots even cold starts shouldn’t been painful at all!
Thanks for your post. It’s given my confidence to go and buy a Macbook for myself.
No problems at all w/ my MacBook 13″. I’ve had it about 3 months.
Hi,
I bought my macbook last year and had to go through a few major problems. It was the first delivery of new generation.
At first it was turning itself down without any specific reason. We found out that it was a port problem and fixed it.
Second problem was heat issue. It heats up whenever I start to play Civ.III or start to record music with Reason or Live5.2 Until now I couldn’t fix it and it still turns itself down as soon as it gets too hot.
I still believe apple is a great comp. to work with but I am gonna sell my macbook as soon as I can and buy a macbook pro-hopefully in the meantime they fixed these problems-
Thanks,
S. Tuluğ
Has anyone had any trouble with getting their cd to eject from the macbook? it makes a sick clicking sound when I try to eject. I don’t think anyone has stuffed anything into it so I ‘m guessing that it is just malfunctioning. anyone? Bueller??
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