Dear Apple…

Dear Apple,

I bought two of the latest 2.2 Ghz 15″ macbook pros (SR) — the ones with the LED backlight — and returned both of them. They both had a yellowish tint on the bottom 1/3rd of the screen. Asking friends and doing research online, it became apparent that this is a very common problem with these new machines. Some people have literally returned 10 or more machines in a row, each one having the same defect.

Why is it that when I called apple technical support, nobody acknowledged this defect? Why did Apple’s support staff have me try things like boot from CD, zap PRAM, etc. — when there are literally hundreds and hundreds of posts on various forums discussing this problem? Why did the apple product specialist I spoke to insist that the symptoms I described were limited to my computer and not shared by a great many others?

Shame on you Apple.

I have been buying Apple computers and recommending Apple computers to all my clients and friends since 1993, when I purchased a Quadra 840AV. Since then I’ve bought an Apple at least every three years.

I can’t decide which explanation is worse: That apple support is completely clueless to this wide-spread and widely-reported problem, or that Apple is deliberately ignoring a product-line defect to protect its bottom line.

- canton becker
santa fe, new mexico