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Apple "Ends the Whine..." Kinda.

Swad

By Swad

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So earlier this year we decided that it simply wasn't acceptable for Apple to be releasing all these new (bitchin') portables with so many technical issues. Anecdotally, almost everyone I've met in real life and on this site (which, of course, is real life too) has had some issue with their new MB or MBP, whether it be whining, mooing, excessive heat, discoloration, etc.

 

So when we had our "End the Whine" day, we said all we wanted to do was raise awareness of the issue. We'd call Apple to let them know we thought it was poor taste... but more importantly we wanted the Mac community to know that this was a big deal. And we were successful - folks from all over the Mac web rallied to our cause.

 

Today those efforts proved successful with a one-sentence notice on their website. I present to you Apple Knowledge Base Article 303365:

If your 15-inch MacBook Pro emits a high-pitched buzzing sound, please contact AppleCare for service.

There are a few very interesting points about this KB article.

 

First, notice that it just covers the 15-inch model, despite the fact that other models exhibit the same problems.

 

Second, check out the date at the bottom of the page. It seems the problem was noticed as early as February 24, 2006 but wasn't made public until July 21, 2006. That means that Apple was aware of the issue as the first units were being shipped back in February... but didn't take the time to either 1) let the public know about it by making the KB article live or 2) working to fix the problem!

 

We held our "End the Whine" day at the end of May, almost 3 months after this KB article was "created." Yet the vast majority of our calls to Apple were answered with a "that's within spec" response, essentially telling us that there wasn't a problem. A few people had their units replaced.

 

So what does all this mean? It means that if I ever believed that Apple produced higher quality hardware than other companies in the past, that belief if quickly fading. I've heard many stories about the abuse the old iBooks would take and still work. These days, a worn-in iBook is probably in better shape than an MBP out of the box.

 

That's a shame, Apple. Fix these problems so that OS X fans actually want to buy your hardware... not force themselves to.

 

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Takuro

It's not quite a landslide victory for the end-users, but it's a step of progress... sort of. With about 20% of the current notebook computer marketshare (which is impressive), I'd have imagined that they would take care of these problems. Then again, that's a LOT of Macbooks to either repair or replace.

 

I wonder if the Core 2 Duo Macbooks will have these issues in August/September/Whenever.

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kevin_4e

Yeah, I'd say Apple could have definately handled the problem better but it is not all that bad. I personally don't have a whining MBP or MB but there has been some problems with mine. I have began to learn that technology in general is so unbelievably far from perfect that I don't expect my purchase to make me 100% satisfied. Apple has made efforts to fix this and I do appreciate it. Whether or not the could have totally ended the whining part, i'm not sure. Hopefully only a small portion of MB and MBP users have had problems.

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ampTK

That would increase size and weight dramaticly (<- understatement), not to mention the adverse effect on battery life.

And don't forget that laptops (er, notebooks) get a rougher treatments than desktops, and you don't want one of those tubes to disconnect inside your machine.

No one can consider it as an option

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pianoman

Perhaps it could be argued that Apple did not release this until now when they (presumably) have a known fix. What would posting an article saying "We are aware of the problem and are working on a solution." earlier have accomplished? It does not help the end user and would probably end up with an endless number of calls saying "Well when will the solution be?" (Oh wait... that already happened). Now everyone knows, There is probably a new board revision and affected units will receive that. It takes a while to design, construct, and test boards. Sorry, Apple isn't a miracle worker that can just say "Oh gee, we f***ed up, we'll have a new board designed, built, tested, and installed in your affected machine in a month." Things like this takes time. They've gotten there, finally. Why not be happy it's fixed?

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Swad
Perhaps it could be argued that Apple did not release this until now when they (presumably) have a known fix.

 

Well, maybe I'm old fashioned, but there's a difference between "Hmm, I'm not sure if that's a known issue" and "Nope, that's not a known issue/That's normal."

 

Apple lied here. Plain and simple. Call it what you will but they weren't honest with all the people who called in and heard "Nope, it's supposed to do that/it's not a problem we're aware of." A lot of times the techs are told from higher up not to let on like there's an issue. Either way, they were wrong.

 

It does not help the end user and would probably end up with an endless number of calls saying "Well when will the solution be?" (Oh wait... that already happened).

 

It would have helped the user because they might have realized that there was a problem before buying. Apple gets away with a lot because of their fanbase but it's not asking too much to at least be upfront.

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jgrimes80

I didn't have the whine like many did, but I did have SERIOUS overheating issues and it was resolved with no questions asked.

 

Apple has never challenged my complaints, in fact, always very friendly/reassuring etc... which amazes me because so many poeple have bad experiences.

 

BTW, I don't deal with a retailer, I go straight to Inifinite Loop 1 and shop at "the Company Store." --- maybe that's why idk.

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gottyfunkum

Dont ask.........! um the SOP with this subjext goes along the lines that there is no hardware failure. If you wish to send said item in for a repair( logic board) thats covered under apple care or hardware coverage. This repair may or may not solve the issue ......like i said dont ask. But it is your choice! ...it gets a bit more detailed but thats the SOP. ooo and please dont ask about the yellowing of the macbooks.....oooo please cause the answer u may not like :P

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Mebster

All these problems have been puttig me off buying a new MB. I'm glad they're finally dealing with it.

 

:blink: (sorry) What's the Core 2 Duo? How is it different from the Core Duo?

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