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MacBook Users Fix Trackpad Problem with Origami Paper 291

Posted by CowboyNeal from the unfolding-answers dept.
yonnage writes "Some Apple MacBook owners are plagued with what seems to be a defective trackpad button. The button, when pushed, seems "squishy" and sometimes even unresponsive. While these MacBook owners are getting turned away at the Apple Genius Bars, they have come up with a custom and unique solution to the problem. A piece of paper, placed strategically under the battery pack where the trackpad is located, seems to fix this problem for most users."
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MacBook Users Fix Trackpad Problem with Origami Paper More

MacBook Users Fix Trackpad Problem with Origami Paper

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  • Could work, but for how long? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by IntelliAdmin ( 941633 ) * on Friday June 30, 2006 @01:37AM (#15634323) Homepage
    Looks like the solution is to fold up a piece of paper, and put it under the actual mouse button. This might work for a little while, but it is a laptop. I can see this paper falling in some other part of the laptop, like say a fan or a hot battery - and you will have a more interesting problem of fire, or CPU death.

    Disable USB Drives - Remotely [digg.com]

  • you COULD do that, (Score:5, Funny)

    by killa62 ( 828317 ) on Friday June 30, 2006 @01:37AM (#15634325)
    or you could just buy a malfunctional battery (one the buldges) and it'll just work just as well

  • Paper Over Hot Battery? (Score:5, Informative)

    by PRC Banker ( 970188 ) on Friday June 30, 2006 @01:39AM (#15634329)
    Paper over hot battery? Fire risk?

  • Sounds like a decent way to burn your house down (Score:4, Funny)

    by onlysolution ( 941392 ) on Friday June 30, 2006 @01:39AM (#15634332)
    Are these the same batteries we saw pictures of heating up and warping a few days ago? Are these Mac users trying to make their own exploding Japanese Dells?

  • stupid Macbook tricks make frontpage? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Doppler00 ( 534739 ) on Friday June 30, 2006 @01:45AM (#15634350) Homepage Journal
    Why is it that a silly trick like this makes front page of slashdot? If I submitted a blog article of how I used a toothpick to fix the mousebutton on a generic ACME brand laptop would anyone give a care?

    Same thing with this whole "discoloration" thing about the palm rests. People, laptops are machines, they wear out, they have flaws. It's like some people get so emotionally attached to their computer that if they see one flaw with it they have to write an article about it.

    • Agreed. There's a certain romantic aspect of fixing a 21st century computer with an ancient japanese folding trick, but the solution itself is a stretch. There are loads of other springy, resilient objects that would solve the problem more effectively.

      Why is this on Slashdot?

      • because the mac fanboys always claim apple has the best hardware out there, but from here it looks like apple is just as bad, if not worse than the average PC maker.
        • Well I think think it is above average. My not be the best but defiantly better then most. Even if it was the best it doesn't mean that it is flawless. Just sucks less then the rest.
        • because the mac fanboys always claim apple has the best hardware out there, but from here it looks like apple is just as bad, if not worse than the average PC maker.

          What do you mean? Do you mean the quality of the hardware components chip for chip, USB plug for USB plug etc.... it would surprise me if Apple hardware turned up better in such a comparison since Apple sources these components from the same manufacturers as everybody else. Mac fanboys, such as myself, claim Apple makes better computers for othe
          • hmmm, all i got out of that was macs are better than pc because they look cooler, have up-to-date wifi cards, and good tech support. Well, the Nintendo Wii looks pretty cool, has an up-to-date wifi card, and I can't even remember a time i need Nintendo's tech support. Screw laptops, buy a Wii! And as an added bonus, you can play games on it without Bootcamping to Windows!
          • Do you mean the quality of the hardware components chip for chip, USB plug for USB plug etc.... it would surprise me if Apple hardware turned up better in such a comparison since Apple sources these components from the same manufacturers as everybody else.

            This truism is always brought up in this (and similar) conversations, but I don't buy it.

            No manufacturing process has a 0% failure rate. As such, you can "buy" quality by negotiating a price with smaller failure tolerances:

            $x per unit with failure toleranc

          • Sigh... you're trolling, but I'll bite:

            Mac fanboys, such as myself, claim Apple makes better computers for other reasons. One example is that when you compare a PowerBook or a MacBook to the average PC laptop the PC looks like a concrete sidewalk paving-slab.

            This is one of the huge problems I have with fanboys... I respect when a machine can look good, but it's hardly something I value very high. Sure, Mom and Dad don't want an ugly machine... but how does the case make a mac a better computer? If toting

      • Re:stupid Macbook tricks make frontpage? (Score:4, Interesting)

        by Baricom ( 763970 ) on Friday June 30, 2006 @01:59AM (#15634402)
        The story isn't the solution; the story is that there's yet another defect with Apple portables. The somewhat recent changes to Apple's hardware quality are surprising considering the past obsessiveness with getting the design right. That's why these stories keep coming up.

        • Re:stupid Macbook tricks make frontpage? (Score:5, Insightful)

          by ArbitraryConstant ( 763964 ) on Friday June 30, 2006 @02:50AM (#15634552) Homepage
          "The somewhat recent changes to Apple's hardware quality are surprising considering the past obsessiveness with getting the design right."

          Tell that to my G3 iBook and its 6 logic boards.
        • While I don't disagree with your analysis, the other side of the coin, there is another reason why this is news. It is because the MacBook series is actually pretty frickin' awesome, with machinations to be competitive on price with other Intel-based products. This of course leads to the point MacBooks can run Windows XP (for people afraid of change). Its a great laptop for geeks if they can lay down the pretty penny and get a solid build. Also a serious contender for company-issued laptops.. while Wind

        • Duh. Mac systems have always been known to be extremely dodgy as far as rev1 is concerned, which is why veterans whose live doesn't require to immediately upgrade usually wait for rev2 of any hardware Apple produces.

          iMacs, iBooks and PowerBooks always suffered high defect rates for rev1s, the difference is that since Apple had much less popularity, there were less switchers and we had fewer internets on the web, it was noticeably less publicized.

          Apple's extremely bad record with rev1s is the reason why I'm still waiting before buying a mac. That, and the Core2 being released by the end of the year that seem to literally spank the Core (and AMD chips) perfs-wise.

        • I've got a MacBook Pro (the "G" rev, which supposedly has most problems fixed), and it's a piece of shit. It gets so hot you can't hold it. The screen constantly flickers at you even if you disable the idiotic auto-brightness-adjustment. It makes an annoying buzzing sound about 3/4 of the time it's turned on. It blows through the battery in no time flat. The trackpad is installed incorrectly, and there are visible gaps and misalignments all over the casing. All this for $2,600? Luckily it's a work ma
    • It's because with other companies such as IBM, they actually give a damn. Their Hardware Maintenance Manuals havent really had much of a record of being sued over regarding access. They absolutely, positively make sure the machine is fixed when they are done. If you're out of warranty, the HMM gives you a second out on fixing things from internal speakers to screen replacement(If you've ever disassembled a T series, it's known that you're going to be spending quite a while with all the wires even if you *do
    • "It's like some people get so emotionally attached to their computer that if they see one flaw with it they have to write an article about it."

      My computer is my girlfriend and I am VERY emotionally attached to her -- anyone who really loves their computer will learn to embrace any flaws as just what makes their computer special. Like my computer's sex... I mean floppy drive is all sticky inside for some reason, but it doesn't make me love my computer any less.

  • Or anything resilient.

  • Useless tricks become useful (Score:3, Funny)

    by freemywrld ( 821105 ) on Friday June 30, 2006 @01:52AM (#15634379) Homepage
    Woo! I knew all that origami that I learned while bored doing tech support would come in handy some day!

  • Same problem... (Score:5, Informative)

    by shadowmatter ( 734276 ) on Friday June 30, 2006 @01:52AM (#15634380)
    I purchased a MacBook two weeks ago. At first, it was slightly irritating me. I like that responsive, affirming click when I press the mouse button. But then I realized that only the left and right sides of the button are squishy. The middle of the button doesn't have this problem, so train yourself to push it there. It becomes second nature quickly. (Perhaps YMMV.)

    Or go into the system preferences and set it so that tapping the trackpad clicks. (Tapping it with two fingers to 'right-click' is nice too...)

    - sm
    • Tapping it with two fingers to 'right-click' is nice too...

      Wouldn't it more intuitive if right-click was done by tapping with the pinky, and two fingers would give you middle click (think Emulate3Buttons)?

      I know, when I'm confronted with a touchscreen, and feel the need to rightclick (to open contextual menues or whatever), I spontaneously use the pinky. Well, obviously it doesn't work (with most touchscreens anyways...), but it would indeed be a nice intuitive feature if they somehow found a way to impl

    • That might work but the next question is why is the button so wide if the only place it pushes properly is in the middle? Doesn't sound like good design to me.

  • One thing all these MacBook problems have shown me (Score:4, Interesting)

    by opusman ( 33143 ) on Friday June 30, 2006 @01:57AM (#15634396) Homepage
    ... as a non-Mac user, is that Apple's after-sales service seems to suck. Sure there seem to be lots of hardware problems, but that's not really uncommon these days. However I would have expected reports of better service given Apple's reputation for "quality products" and the cult-worship it seems to get from it's fans. It's like it's giving a big "fuck you" to its users while at the same time expecting them to whoop and holler everytime Steve Jobs farts out something new.
    • To provide a bit of balance - my Powerbook was delivered with what turned out to be a faulty PSU. One call led to the machine being collected the next day (at my request) and replaced. Since then I've had no problems whatsoever. More importantly, I'm enjoying using the best user OS out there, since I didn't take one dodgy machine to mean that all Apples are now completely unreliable.

      And before someone feverishly responds "What does one data point prove?", I only mention this episode because someone is extra

    • All about the Apple Care problem (Score:5, Insightful)

      by ModernGeek ( 601932 ) on Friday June 30, 2006 @03:20AM (#15634611)
      I've had excellent results when dealing with apple, however there seems to be a problem with their system. If you call to an operator and say, "I'd like to make a warranty claim", they will make the claim as long as you emphasize that it is for a faulty part. Otherwise, if you say, "My computer randomly shuts off" they will say you need phone support, because in essence, they are helping you diagnose a problem. I talked to one lady at AppleCare telling her I needed to make a warranty claim, and she said that I would need to purchase the three year plan so that I can get the one year of phone support. I asked her how to make a direct warranty claim, and she said I can't do that, I have to go though her, and purchase the agreement with the phone support. She told me I needed to pay $49/hr if I took the machine to a Genius Bar for them to diagnose and send it off. She spread FUD. Their purpose isn't to help people, it is to get those plans sold and extended. They are going about the whole thing the wrong way. "AppleCare sales are low, push them!" The applecare system needs to be revised. It used to be that the Genius Bar provided free help, and that you shouldn't have a problem with getting defective things fixed. I can see charging tech support over the phone to a certain extent (maybe each call gets a free 30 min, or everyone gets 30min/week for free based on your phone #/appleID), but this is just ridiculous. I'd be a much happier apple customer if they would simply help people without all this garbage. I feel like I'm taking an HP laptop to the GeekSquad whenever I talk to Apple. Like they are trying to make a buck off my problem with their product!
    • I'm a recently-converted mac fanboy (used to be a linux zealot until about 1.5 years ago). It seems to me most of the problems are with the latest rev of laptops, which I'm happily naive to. I only have a mac mini (actually it's my girlfriend's), and we haven't had any problems in hardware or software.

      The other thing is that I know quite a few people with macbooks and none has yet had any problems as those mentioned on slashdot. My guess is that many mac users tend to be more active online than other l

    • As long as you're within AppleCare, Apple's service is phenomenal. It's more like an insurance than a guarantee. Apple will replace your stuff if there's a problem, no matter what exactly the cause is. My brother got his iPod replaced after he actually fell on it and destroyed the screen. A friend of mine got his iBook replaced after he broke the screen in a skateboarding accident, and another friend got his iBook replaced after it fell out of a train (don't ask).

      I myself did destroy a PowerBook when I stu

  • Why all the blogging? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Pliep ( 880962 ) on Friday June 30, 2006 @02:01AM (#15634411) Homepage
    Someone must explain something to me. I am a European (Netherlands) so possibly it's to do with consumer laws or something.

    When I buy a new computer / household device that does not live up to my expectations, I return it to the store and demand a refund or a new one that works properly. I always get what I want, including from vendors such as Apple.

    Now why does no-one in the blogosphere think of that? Why start fiddling around with pieces of paper, toothpicks, reinstalling software, "trying this and that because a friend told me". Why? WHY?

    GO BACK TO THE STORE AND DEMAND A PROPER PRODUCT!
    • People come to the platform expecting Apple to have the same shit service as companies like Dell and Toshiba, so they don't even bother trying. If they ever did, they might be pleasantly surprised; on the occasions I've had to send a computer back to Apple, they've paid for shipping both ways, and turnaround time has never been more than two days (not even during the dark Sculley-Spindler-Amelio interregnum).

    • Re:Why all the blogging? (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      > GO BACK TO THE STORE AND DEMAND A PROPER PRODUCT!

      That works at many stores in the US, but it does not at the Apple Store. They charge a 10% restocking fee. December 2004 when I bought a new 17" PowerBook, it had a broken keyboard out of the box. Apple wanted a 10% restocking fee to replace it. That would have cost me almost $300. My other option was to send it in for repair, but Apple was out of the backlit keyboards so it would have taken over six weeks to get it repaired. After fighting with th

      • Re:Why all the blogging? (Score:4, Informative)

        by ArsenneLupin ( 766289 ) on Friday June 30, 2006 @04:17AM (#15634745)
        That's why it is smarter to always pay expensive hardware purchases with your credit card. If the vendor gets silly, just let your credit card provider fight on your behalf.
      • I think that is very strange. Isn't there a law that protects customers in the US? In the Netherlands, you may return and request a refund within 7 days after purchase, no need to give a reason. How can they sell you something that is broken and then charge to have it replaced?

    • I could never understand that, either (Score:4, Insightful)

      by melted ( 227442 ) on Friday June 30, 2006 @03:25AM (#15634624) Homepage
      I bought a Mac mini a few months ago and experienced wireless issues. I took it to the store and had it back in three days with wireless seeing some access points in the vicinity that I wasn't even previously aware of.

      But you should see the GIGANTIC thread about this issue in Apple forums. Folks try everything except for the right thing - take it to the store and have it repaired or replaced. Some folks have been posting into that thread for MONTHS.
    • I think it's a geek thing. Geeks take pride in fixing things for themselves. Geeks take pride in never having to go back to a shop and ask for help.
    • ***Someone must explain something to me. I am a European (Netherlands) so possibly it's to do with consumer laws or something.***

      It has to do with Americans prefering cheap goods that don't always work to more expensive products that don't always work. For the most part, we don't actually have the option of buying quality products backed by reliable manufacturers. Competent customer service was eradicated by a mysterious plauge apparently inadvertantly imported from Communist Eastern Europe in the early

  • Not sure what it means (Score:5, Insightful)

    by eyrieowl ( 881195 ) on Friday June 30, 2006 @02:05AM (#15634426)
    but the volume of posts I see on Slashdot and Digg about fixes for various MacBook problems both astound and amuse me. I could write it off as very poor quality control on Apple's part...and there may be something to that, but I wonder to what degree the Apple users are being more picky than the average bear.... I, for one, can't imagine buying, say, a Dell laptop and getting at all exercised about the clicky-ness of its buttons. But here we have evidence that not only has it bothered many MacBook owners, but one of them was so concerned that he gave it the thought to come up with a completely unusual solution to the problem. So...was the quality control really THAT bad? or are people just being very sensitive?

  • First Generation (Score:4, Interesting)

    by rramdin ( 857005 ) on Friday June 30, 2006 @02:24AM (#15634484)
    You see problems like this all the time with first generation models, especially from Apple. Almost half of the Apple first-gen hardware that my friends and I have purchased over the years have been completely replaced by Apple within a year of purchase. Don't get me wrong, I swear by my PowerBook, but I'll never buy a new product before the kinks can be worked out.
    • Weird, there were no first generation kinks with my Dell Inspiron.

      I'm not trolling, and I know I'll get modded down for this, but I can't help but enjoy seeing so many problems with Apple's products. We all know someone who looks down their nose at non-Apple PCs, and each one of these stories knocks these people down a peg.

      eg "Did you hear about the recent root-my-mac-mini competition? Apparently there are loads of critical undisclosed vulnerabilities in OS X."
      "Really? But OS X is UNIX [so how could
  • Wow! This may not be great news for Apple and Apple owners, but it gives yet another use for an Origami Rock! [origamirock.com] I expect these high tech devices to find their way into the drawers of true Apple owners everywhere!

  • That's the evidence (Score:5, Funny)

    by Advocadus Diaboli ( 323784 ) on Friday June 30, 2006 @02:55AM (#15634564)
    that even with computers you will never have a "paperless office". :-)

  • FUD tag (Score:3, Insightful)

    by skinfitz ( 564041 ) on Friday June 30, 2006 @02:58AM (#15634569) Journal


    Cue FUD tag on this story in 3...2..1..

    • Yep, this story got a FUD tag. Why is that? FUD is supposed to mean "fear, uncertainty, and doubt". It's used as an attack on change. For example:

      "We can't allow the construction of wind generator turbines. They will chop our precious bald eagles to pieces!" - American Association of Snake Oil Salesmen

      This story is not an attack on MacBooks, it's somebody who's sensitive to tactile details suggesting a workaround. Lots of similar stories on Slashdot are getting tagged as FUD. Why?

      Maybe some peo

      • It seems that *every* story that mentions *anything at all* about Apple that is not overly positive gets a FUD tag.

        This one was interesting as there was no FUD tag when I posted that, then immediately after I posted it there was one, then it vanished for a while, then came back.

        It seems on /. that Apple is destined to be synonymous with FUD.

  • Other MacBook problems (Score:3, Informative)

    by otisg ( 92803 ) on Friday June 30, 2006 @03:55AM (#15634684) Homepage Journal
    For what it's worth, I just spent a few hours reading MacBook reviews, researching whether I should buy one or go with a regular Wintel laptop.
    Here are the MacBook problems people wrote about:
    1. the bottom gets very hot (one person compared it to a vulcano), not suitable for laptop work
    2. plastic around the screen likes to come off
    3. the white MacBooks get "stained" where people rest their hands. These stains cannot be cleaned with any kind of a cleaning agent.
    4. trackpad problems like this one.

    Guess which type of a laptop I'm now leaning towards? :(
    • Consider a tablet PC, the brand doesn't matter I suppose. Sure, they sound gimicky and cost ~$300 more, but you can get a 12 or 14" screen that can at any time become essentially an ultraportable. It's very handy for airplane trips, car rides, and even if you occasionally use your laptop in bed. Not needed as much if you can stand the small screens of ultraportables. I'm pretty happy with my Fujitsu t4010, but there are a bunch of other great brands, and even some linux tablets.
    • I've had a macbook for a few weeks now (1.8 w/1 Gig ram). I use mine on my lap, the top left corner can get pretty warm (but not a lot worse than other intel based notebooks I've owned, and I've had 5 in the last 4 years) if it's plugged in but it's not skin burning. I haven't had any problems with mine.
      I think it's people overreacting for the most part.
    • Seems like you've made up your mind, but you might seriously want to consider the ACTUAL frequency of these problems, or whether it's just a few noisy bloggers. That said, go with the solution you truly think would be happiest, instead of being swayed by bloggers eitherway. Better than living in a world of buyer's remorse.

    • Re:Other MacBook problems (Score:4, Insightful)

      by node 3 ( 115640 ) on Friday June 30, 2006 @04:36AM (#15634806)
      1. the bottom gets very hot (one person compared it to a vulcano), not suitable for laptop work
      All fast Intel notebooks get hot. Apple users are used to the cooler running G3's and G4's. That said, there were a number of units that ran exceptionally hot. Every report I've read where someone with that problem actually tried to have it replaced got a new one.

      2. plastic around the screen likes to come off
      Never heard this one. As long as you didn't abuse it, I'd expect Apple would replace it.

      3. the white MacBooks get "stained" where people rest their hands. These stains cannot be cleaned with any kind of a cleaning agent.
      Actually, nail polish remover (non-acetone, non-isopropyl alcohol kind) does the trick. Also, this happens to a small number of people. Perhaps if you just have unlucky skin chemistry?

      4. trackpad problems like this one.
      Test one out at the Apple Store.

      In fact, I suggest looking at all of those issues at the Apple Store. I tested the heat on the MacBooks/MacBook Pros, which are all running full-time on power, and while they were all warm, they were not "OMFG BBQ!" hot.

      In the end, pick the computer you think will serve you best. If you do decide to get a MacBook, you're already ahead of the game by being aware of the problems others are having, and can quickly take it to Apple for replacement. I would definitely check out the heat and the trackpad on the display models so at least you'll have reasonable expectations.
      • Comment removed based on user account deletion

        • My non-Mac laptops don't get hot enough to burn my hands.

          And neither do properly operating MacBooks/MacBook Pros. There are confirmed reports of ones which significantly overheat, and have been replaced by Apple.

          There are two issues here. One is a legitimate product failure, the other is just Mac users finding out that the Intel Core Duo/Solo runs hotter than G3's and G4's.

          This is still a annoyance. Plus it's interesting how people who owned previous iBooks, and Powerbooks who never had this problem, now ha

    • Now would be a great time to buy one of the older PPC based Apple notebooks. Then in three or four years when you're ready to upgrade they'll have all the bugs ironed out of the intel hardware. The 12" aluminum powerbook is reasonably quick, never gets more than warm, is a solidly designed piece of machinery and has a battery life of 3-4 hours under normal usage. It's also small enough that you can use it in coach. And it's OSX, which is pretty sweet and useful right out of the box -- just take it out, turn
  • Return the thing for a replacement or refund. Or a class action lawsuit if you feel that strongly. These things are only a month old and people are resorting to potentially warranty invalidating hacks to fix overheating, CPU whine, case yellowing and now squidgy button issues when they should be kicking Apple for releasing a lemon.

  • Steps: (Score:3, Funny)

    by kahei ( 466208 ) on Friday June 30, 2006 @04:26AM (#15634770) Homepage

    1 -- Buy hardware from a company whose business model consists of selling brand hardware with particularly high margins.
    2 -- High margins != high price. High margins > high price. High margins = high price + low costs.
    3 -- ???
    4 -- Profit! For Apple!

    This is my first time ever with the 'Profit!' cliche and I promise it will probably be my last.

  • WOW... (Score:3, Informative)

    by atarione ( 601740 ) on Friday June 30, 2006 @04:54AM (#15634854)
    i'm not at all trying to bait y'all mac people... but if i paid as much as the macbook costs for a laptop... i'm expect the thing to work... without me having to fold up little pieces of paper and cram them in the battery compartment. i'm just wondering... kinda makes u wish you run osx on commodity x86 hardware???? seriously i swear i've never had to cram little pieces of paper into my thinkpad.

  • Should be a sign: Early Adopters beware! (Score:3, Insightful)

    by ducomputergeek ( 595742 ) on Friday June 30, 2006 @05:12AM (#15634901)
    Anyone that has followed Apple products over the years knows not to purchase the first generation of any Apple redesign. I did buy the 1st generation snow white iBook (the ones with all the Logic Board problems) and I had reservations from the git go, but timing was the big issue. (I was leaving the country for a year and needed a new laptop, fortunatly I was back home before the problems began) I had a friend that is an Apple Early adopter. He had about a 1-yr old PowerBook (1.25Ghz, 2GB RAM, all the other fixings) the he sold to me for a going rate below Ebay so he could get one of the brand new MacBookPro's. So far he's happy, although the week after he bought it he realized there wasn't any software available and he had to run everything through rosetta. This PowerBook should last me a couple years at least into Law School at which point all the major software applications (office, PS, Pro Tools, etc.) will be converted and any design flaws caught and fixed (hopefully). The lesson here is: (and goes for any technology really) Early Adpotors beware!

  • Some perspective here folks! (Score:4, Interesting)

    by mubes ( 115026 ) on Friday June 30, 2006 @05:43AM (#15634978) Homepage
    It's not very often I can be bothered to login to reply to something, but on this occasion I think we need a little perspective...

    Let's start off with an admission - I use Apple products. There, I've said it. I find OS X to be the best OS for what I do, full stop. OK, my servers are all Linux and _occasionally_ I have to use 'doze, but OS X is my bread and butter OS. My Macbook is one very capable machine.

    Now, I don't think you'll find many people who've used it who don't rate OS X. It's a _very_ capable and compelling system which has most of the advantages of a real OS with most of the advantages of a windowing interface - it wins. It ain't perfect, but it's pretty fine. OK OK..enough already. Let's not get into the relative merits of all that...suffice to say, for joe user, it's pretty good. Two of the primary reasons for it's stability are it's compartmentalization of legacy/back compatibility issues (Rosetta and prior to that the mechanisms for OS 9 and 68K compatibility) and the fact that it only has to work on a limited, well defined, set of hardware...these are both big bonuses.

    Apple hardware, on the other hand, is slightly less slick, in my experience. QC and design quality are both slightly lacking, resulting in products that don't Quite Work Right. Now, Apple deliberately set themselves up as some kind of centre of design excellence so they are (and should be) judged against higher metrics than your bucket-pc-producer and, against those metrics, their hardware just ain't so good at the moment. Go google the issues on the MB and the MBP or pretty much any of the machines over the past few years and you'll see issues.

    Now, my point is, we need to keep this in some sort of perspective - can you imagine Dell taking a machine back because it has a soft trackpad button, or the screen doesn't lie flat against the base of the machine? No, nor can I.

    So, Apple isn't perfect, it needs to improve its hardware QC and QA (especially on rev 1 kit), but the only real reason they get such a lot of headlines on these issues is because they've set themselves up as Something Better.....live by the sword, you'll die by it too.

    Please, take all these reports with a pinch of salt. Out of the set of compromises you always make when buying a new machine, don't let a few hardware imperfections skew your decision unnecessarily harshly, just 'cos some people are reporting them with the aid of a megaphone...perhaps OS X isn't the best choice for you, but there's a fairly good chance that it might be.

    DAVE

    • The parent's take on things is well said. Whether or not one wishes to bash $OS or $COMPUTER_MODEL is beside the point. Taking a few minutes out to look at the bigger picture often gives one a clearer perspective.

      I use most of the major OSs and have used/now use most major brand manufacturer's computers, so I don't have a particular slant for/against anything (just give me chips, disks, display, and input devices). I must say that the 1.0 of a product (one that is a radical departure in design or manufact

  • 1 out of 6 squishy so far (Score:3, Interesting)

    by engagebot ( 941678 ) on Friday June 30, 2006 @08:51AM (#15635496)
    In case anyone cares, I'm a network admin for a place thats mostly all mac. I've ordered 6 of the new Macbooks so far (5 white, 1 black). The most recent white one that we recieved is definitely 'squishy'. You have to move your whole hand to really bare down and push the button.

  • i'm not surprised (Score:3, Interesting)

    by b17bmbr ( 608864 ) on Friday June 30, 2006 @10:27AM (#15636034)
    my G4 ibook has had repeated problems with the trackpad. it went back two times and even thoguh I have a few months left on the extended warranty, i just use a usb mouse. in fact, the trackpad problem is exactly why I haven't bought a new MacBook. I am unsure whether I want to go through the hassles again. I am really pissed at apple, I expect to pay a little more, but I expect to get better quality hardware. hell, if I wanted a cheap Dell, I'd buy one and run ubuntu. this doesn't bode well for apple as they've had all these recent problems with the macbooks and MB pro's. I think I'll wait before I buy another apple.

  • New Apple Products (Score:3, Funny)

    by vjmurphy ( 190266 ) on Friday June 30, 2006 @01:52PM (#15637741) Homepage
    I hear the Apple Store will start selling "Apple Trackpad Origami Paper" soon so that we can all have an Apple Origami folding experience. You'll be able to choose either a plain white piece of paper or pay $30 more for the black paper. Either way, you'll be able to customize the paper with your choice of engravings (up to three lines, 160 characters)*.

    * Price/availability of engravings dependent on what printer the store has.

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