My Macbook is 2 years old and I have yet to see the wonders of Apple...

Question

Hello. Maybe someone can help me with my troubles here. I bought my Macbook a year and a half ago, it will be two years in June. The first night I took it out of the box, something happened to the hard drive. I took it into the genius bar and they had me reinstall the hard drive. The computer was less than 24 hours old! Needless to say, it has been downhill from there.
Now that my computer is almost two, I am somehow in the market for a new computer. I cannot believe that my mac, this alleged flawless machine, needs to be replaced so soon. Unfortunately, I have been looking at Windows PCs instead of macs. I would really hate to do this, as I love using a mac and believe that is in fact easier to use than Windows. But I can say I have never been so stressed about a computer before.
This is one of my main questions. A few months ago, my macbook developed this habit of shutting itself off whenever it felt like it, regardless of the battery charge or if it was plugged in or not. Then, when I try to turn it back on, I have to press the power button 20-30 times. I wish I was exaggerating here. I took the computer to the genius bar and explained my situation to them. Rather than the "genius" looking at my computer, I was talked down to as if I did not even deserve to own a mac. This wasn't the first time this happened either. I have received this type of treatment on my macbook before, even for my iPod. Now, from what I can tell from reading these support boards, this has happened to a number of mac users. Why isn't there a recall, or something that can just tell me where I've gone wrong??
My second question is about the applications on this computer. In an effort to clear up some space on the machine, I've been going through the applications to see what I can delete. Can anyone tell me what these applications are, and what will happen to my computer if I delete them?: Adobe Help Viewer 1.0, AppleScript, Flip 4 mac, Font Book, Image Capture, iDVD (is there a difference between that and the DVD player that launches itself?), iMovie HD, iPodDisk, iSync, iWork 06, Omni Outliner, Picture Sync, Sherlock, and Text Edit.
I am sorry this sounded so negative, but I do appreciate any help I can get with these problems!

Answer 1

asaldi wrote:
Hello. Maybe someone can help me with my troubles here. I bought my Macbook a year and a half ago, it will be two years in June. The first night I took it out of the box, something happened to the hard drive. I took it into the genius bar and they had me reinstall the hard drive. The computer was less than 24 hours old! Needless to say, it has been downhill from there.
Hard drive failures are the most distressing and misunderstood problem with computers. Apple is merely a consumer of hard drives, and there's nothing that they can directly do to make a drive more or less reliable. Hard drive failures happen because of the nature of the device. Anyone with important information needs a good backup strategy.
Now that my computer is almost two, I am somehow in the market for a new computer. I cannot believe that my mac, this alleged flawless machine, needs to be replaced so soon. Unfortunately, I have been looking at Windows PCs instead of macs. I would really hate to do this, as I love using a mac and believe that is in fact easier to use than Windows. But I can say I have never been so stressed about a computer before.
Nobody has ever said any manufacturer's equipment is flawless. Assembly defects or malfunctioning parts can come from any manufacturer.
This is one of my main questions. A few months ago, my macbook developed this habit of shutting itself off whenever it felt like it, regardless of the battery charge or if it was plugged in or not. Then, when I try to turn it back on, I have to press the power button 20-30 times. I wish I was exaggerating here. I took the computer to the genius bar and explained my situation to them. Rather than the "genius" looking at my computer, I was talked down to as if I did not even deserve to own a mac. This wasn't the first time this happened either. I have received this type of treatment on my macbook before, even for my iPod. Now, from what I can tell from reading these support boards, this has happened to a number of mac users. Why isn't there a recall, or something that can just tell me where I've gone wrong??
Sounds like they were rude to you. I'm an electrical engineer, and you can understand that I don't appreciate being talked down to by someone who might not know as much about electronics (not that I know everything) as I do.
My second question is about the applications on this computer. In an effort to clear up some space on the machine, I've been going through the applications to see what I can delete. Can anyone tell me what these applications are, and what will happen to my computer if I delete them?: Adobe Help Viewer 1.0, AppleScript, Flip 4 mac, Font Book, Image Capture, iDVD (is there a difference between that and the DVD player that launches itself?), iMovie HD, iPodDisk, iSync, iWork 06, Omni Outliner, Picture Sync, Sherlock, and Text Edit.
Flip4Mac is the plugin for QuickTime Player that allows playback of Windows Media files. Text edit is a simple editor for text file documents. I find both very useful.
I am sorry this sounded so negative, but I do appreciate any help I can get with these problems!
I'd say your's is a rant, although not as negative as some that I've seen in the past. I've never had anything terribly bad with my two iBooks and my current MacBook. The closest thing was my iBook G3 600 having wireless hanging up, as well as a grinding noise clearly coming from the hard drive (again - made by another company).
Really - if you're having this many problems with your machine, I'd suggest a hard drive upgrade to something a bit larger. A two year old MacBook is not exactly outdated, and perhaps a larger and higher performance drive upgrade can bring new life into your machine. You would have ample room for your applications and data, and perhaps the issues with your original hard drive would be resolved. It's not that expensive and relatively easy for anyone capable of using #00 Phillips and T8 Torx screwdrivers.