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Technology Stocks : Apple Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Zen Dollar Round who wrote (69529)	10/2/2007 1:09:58 PM
From: inaflash	Respond to of 213182

I think the heat generated by these laptops is the biggest issue for reliability, so certainly having such a thin form factor would lead to more problems in that regard. I think it's one of the major reasons Apple moved to Intel chips in the first place, lower heat output compared to the toasty PowerPCs they replaced. In any case, it is a shame Apple doesn't have better reliability with their laptops vs. the competition, even if the CR data is nearly statistically even in that regard. Apple makes world class laptops, I wish they offered the same for lower repair rates. A disappointed or angry customer is one less likely to buy from the same manufacturer next time around. Reliability isn't going to be a major differentiator going forward. There will be the cheap, less reliable notebooks and the more expensive, more reliable notebooks. You already see that in the PC world, and in the laptop manufacturing world, Apple doesn't manufacture, but design, and mainly external. The manufacturing reliability is limited by what the actual contract manufacturers can do, and any improvements will be across the board. Higher cost products can afford better components, processes and more quality control in build and test. The tradeoff is meeting the industry standard at the lower industry cost. Going beyond that will not be cost effective. What Apple has done to differentiate itself is in software, and at times, going with software enforced standards like stricter memory requirements. Some critisized Apple for forcing customers to pay for more expensive memory, but the distinction helps separate core issues from add-ons. Microsoft was always critized for being unreliable, but a vast majority of issues crossed boundaries and could be blamed on both Microsoft and a 3rd party. Apple is also facing the same issue with open standards, such as with iPhone add-on software.

To: Zen Dollar Round who wrote (69529)	10/2/2007 9:31:44 PM
From: rlev	Respond to of 213182

<In the case of Apple, I don't think reliability problems would come from using the cheapest components. I think it would have more to do with pushing the envelope in designing some of the thinnest full-featured notebooks around.> My last mac notebook had a problem that if twisted even slightly it crashed. It's hard to stiffen a notebook this thin. I'm fairly sure that the main pc board had developed hair line cracks because of this issue. I will be buying another mac notebook soon ... but I will be more careful to support it better. Rich P.S. My mac notebook lasted longer then my Dell (I'm hard on notebooks). One side of my Dell's screen became unhinged. After several fixes which didn't last, I just drilled a hole straight though the cover and bolted it on. Ugly but it worked. Soon after one of the track pad buttons broke and I retired it.