Brian May's MBP rant

Oriel

I thought this was excellent.

Brian May wrote:

I have been trying to resist writing this. I have been a big Apple Mac supporter for years.

But I am really beginning to hate my new one.

They changed the mains plug, and they put a new chip in, which is supposed to be 4 times faster ..... so I went for it ...

But I'm beginning to realy HATE my MacBook Pro.

The new mains adaptor is almost twice as big, and twice as heavy as the old one ... but still gets twice as hot. That's not great for the portablility of the system.

But the computer itself is a much bigger disappointment.

The first thing I noticed was that the BATTERIES are now almost twice as big as the previous ones ... and corrrespondingly heavier. Carrying a spare battery and and a mains charger now breaks your back. Damn.

Then I noticed that all the backgrounds to my folders came up wrong as soon as I changed over to this model .... these are all coded by me, and built up over the last few years. The MacBookPro is incapable of returning the right colours .... and, worse than this .... if you try to redefine the colours, it will give you a different colour next time you open the folder. You cannot get the machine to guarantee you a colour. Utterly Dumb. This fault has wasted hours of my time .... I went through a whole system of trying to replace the folder backgrounds I use most often with JPEGS of uniform colour. But the computer them wastes loads of your precious time showing you the coloured beach ball of death while it tries to open these JPEGS before it can open your folder. Rubbish!

My old model (G4) was intelligent enough to deal decently with the battery running down. It gave me a warning ... then, when the power was low enough it closed itslef down to a sleeping position and when the charger was inserted it sprang back to life. The new one is completely unhelpful. Usually I get no warning of the low battery (and because the new mains plug pulls out easily it often happens that the thing runs down before you realise) - it just suddenly DIES. Then - no matter how quick I am .... the whole thing needs to be restarted .... it has forgotten everything I was working on .... and wastes loads of my time while I watch it reload and try to find my saved work. No brain ... no stability .... totally unhelpful and unforgiving.

The faster chip at present really gives NO discernible increase in processing speed ...even in copying large numbers of files, or processing the large images I am used to .... not impressive.

And the WORST THING? the HEAT !! The AWFUL HEAT ....

The damn heat ... As I type this the left hand part of the computer is burning my hand. It's like trying to sit over an electric bar fire. It's utter misery. I run the thing on a special well-ventilated stand, with a pharmaceutical cold pack underneath. It STILL burns my thighs ... and makes me break out in a sweat after about 20 minutes. This really sucks. I no longer get any pleasure from working on my images in Photoshop. The heat is unbearable. And yes, I DO have all the energy-saving options turned on. It does not help. This machine is really driving me out into the world looking for something better. So what are your PC's like to operate, guys ? Looks like you may have a convert soon.

I just want someone from Apple to come over and make the thing do what it is supposed to do without boiling my body.

Does anybody care ?

cheers
Bri

Oriel

Sorry,
http://www.brianmay.com/whatsnew.html

Urban Weigl

Somebody isn't an Intel fan.

Urban Weigl

I should add, though, that it's not normal for the MBP to get that warm. Mine runs quite cool, cool enough that I can use it on my lap for an extended period without discomfort.

As far as the battery, sounds like the Sony recall thing, as mine behaves properly. That _might_ also explain the heat issue. You can call Apple in Cork (a freephone number), and they'll send you out a new one. There's also an online form. My battery is fine, but I did it anyway as it was recalled, and got a new battery within days (by UPS).

Apart from Photoshop, which obviously won't run faster until early next year when Adobe release the new Intel-optimized version, the MBP shouldn't be showing those symptoms (running hot, battery not warning when it runs down). If I had that MBP, I would be demanding satisfaction.

Chardee MacDennis

well i have a macbook and its running beautifully for me but tbh from a technical stand point i am not sure if he knows what he is talking about from what i've read (ex. photoshop not a uni binary), so he may be set up incorrectly particularly on the point of his machine just shutting off.

as regards heat - i know this is a common problem and people have to realise that it is a design fault in the mb/mbps and it will be fixed at some stage...

also is the mbp battery that much bigger and how big is charger, my mb charger is the same size as my old pb charger.

Oriel

Call_me_al, the MB things are different to the MBP.

ZENER

Damn !!

Just checked and my battery is one of the affected ones.
What the outcome - legally - if I don't return the old battery.
Will they chase me for it ?
Despite the risks I like the idea of having a spare battery.
Has anyone done this already ?

ZEN

Urban Weigl

ZENER wrote:

Damn !!

Just checked and my battery is one of the affected ones.
What the outcome - legally - if I don't return the old battery.
Will they chase me for it ?
Despite the risks I like the idea of having a spare battery.
Has anyone done this already ?

ZEN

Honestly you should return it so it can be safely disposed of. It's the right thing to do. If you really want a second battery, they aren't (that) expensive.

garthv

Get a PC.

ZENER

Urban Weigl wrote:

Honestly you should return it so it can be safely disposed of. It's the right thing to do. If you really want a second battery, they aren't (that) expensive.

It hasn't causd me any problems up till now, maybe it's worth holding on to ?

GaRtH_V wrote:

Get a PC

I have one but don't find much use for it to be honest. But maybe a Dell laptop would be nice . . . no . . . maybe not they explode too !!

ZEN

uncle_sam_ie

It's not only Apple laptops that run hot. All PC laptops that have the new faster intel chips are going to be hot.

sturgo

I've a 12" G4 powerbook. I use for Live 5, Reason 3, & Photoshop. I'll be hanging onto it untill the little trooper dies. By that time the MBP problems should be ironed out.

ZENER

Filled out the online form for the battery replacement at about 1.00pm yesterday and it arrived today at 12:30 !!:eek: That's what I call service !!

ZEN

440Hz

Regarding the battery issue. My Dad and I bought upgraded our iBooks to MBPs the same week, from the same store. His battery performance was perfect and mine is more than crap. We checked the serials and ironcially his was one of the 'problem' ones. He filled out the online form and TNT were at the door the following morning with his new battery Lovely.

So his already grand battery went back to Apple (they insisted) and I am still left with one that has the staying power of a excitable teenage boy. Sigh (not that I know much about teenage boys mind you)

Someday soon I will ring Apple and give out about my 'issues' and ask for a new battery. But knowing that I will be transferred to India and put on hold for 30mins isnt exactly inspiring!

For now Ill just laugh at May's post and take comfort in the fact that I am not alone.. but I still love Apple. And I would still never buy a PC. Long live the fruit

Hugh_C

sinecurea wrote:

I thought this was excellent.

Why?

I think it's crap. That somebody with terrible hair and awful music can influence so many people is tragic, he's obviously lacking in technical nous.

Oriel

hughchal wrote:

Why?

I think it's crap. That somebody with terrible hair and awful music can influence so many people is tragic, he's obviously lacking in technical nous.

His: £56M You: 0.
I make that 1-0.

Hugh_C

sinecurea wrote:

His: £56M You: 0.
I make that 1-0.

56 million of your British pounds makes him what? Richer than me? Sure. A lot of people are. So what? He's still a twat with bad hair and writes terrible music. And has legions of fans also with bad hair and terrible taste in music...

Urban Weigl

GaRtH_V wrote:

Get a PC.

Dell are also asking for the recalled batteries back, so that won't help him get a free second battery either. On the other hand, you might just be trolling and attempting to make yourself look dumb.