My MPB Adventure - Weeks 8+12

Question

I had an experience this week with the MacBook Pro that I thought I'd share with prospective purchasers...
Let me just say at the outset that I'm a committed Apple customer, having bought a number of powerbooks over the years, most of which I've been very happy with.
As anyone reading this board will know, it's exciting when a new computer comes out, but it can also be a bit scary when you make the decision to buy it because you dread the prospect of ending up with a lemon.
The trouble is Apple's apparent policy of considering a box with a 'broken seal' to be non-returnable (or at least, so the "resellers" tell us). With the exception of certain outlets, when you buy a mac, you don't really know what you're getting until you hand over your money (usually a sum in the four digits) and then if you're not entirely satisfied, you're stuck dealing with someone over the phone at Apple, somewhere across the continent...
Here in Vancouver, only one retail chain/store that I know of offers a 2 week, full refund, no questions asked kind of arrangement on all Apple products. For some reason, I was never wise enough to take advantage of this (until this week). My own worst experience of being stuck with a bad machine (well, really, my only one) was my purchase of the rev c titanium two or three years ago (867mhz -- was that rev c?). The squeal from the fans was notoriously bad, and for someone who spends a lot of time working on their powerbook in quiet settings, this was disasterous. There was ultimately no solution, and I ended up selling the thing a few months after I bought it for about half of what I had paid for it.
I didn't intend to buy a Macbook Pro yesterday, but on Monday, I tinkered with one at the store, and was surprised by how superior it seemed to the Powerbook. When I read about the Macbook Pro, I didn't think the new features added up to much, but after trying one out, it made quite an impression on me.
The screen is beautiful, the build quality and thinness of the computer -- even though it's slight -- is really neat. The speakers are also a quantum leap above what is found the PB. But more than anything, it was the speed that won me over and made me think: yes, I want this, now. I don't care about how few applications are universal... this is awesome...
But in the store, with the ambient noise, much is concealed. I decided to buy the 1.83 at the store that offers the refund and I took it home -- feeling no sense of commitment. I discovered that it was a unit made during the 8th week of production (using the site mentioned elsewhere this board) and I was weary about the "whine" issue.
In the quiet of my home office, it was a drastically different computer -- and it was really, really unfortunate -- because I wanted to keep this computer -- I wanted very much to justify keeping it. In short, this thing isn't ready for prime time. When it is, great; I'll buy one.
First, the fan. There is a fan in the top left corner of the motherboard that whirrs and squeals like a vaccuum -- constantly. I had a headache within about 20 minutes. The fan is so loud, it cuts down the amount of sound you hear coming out of the speakers, unless you crank them right up.
Second, the screen, although it's beautiful, it has a very narrow viewing angle, almost as though it can't be seen in its entirely from any given horizontal angle (this is something I couldn't really notice until I brought it home and reclined in my comfy office chair with it). Also, the screen itself appears to be more limited in its ability to tilt back than the powerbook. But I could live with this.
What I couldn't live with, and what broke the deal for me, was the drastically loud buzzing and static sound to be heard when the computer was on battery. (This was not a 'whirring sound', or a squeal, it was a buzz, as in a wire shorting, or radio static, but suprisingly loud.) It was simply unusable on battery. There is no way it could be used in a seminar, a quiet office, or the library. I thought initially that it might have had to do with the battery needing to be calibrated, so I tried to run down the battery. After about ten or fifteen minutes, I gave up trying, because the sound was so obnoxious.
So, unhappily, I took it back to the store this morning, and got in a chat with the manager (who I was friendly with and who was exceedingly patient with me). I explained to him that on the Apple boards, there was discussion about how some of the units made after week 12 didn't have these problems. I then asked if I could take a look at his stock of MPBs -- to look at the serial numbers to see if I could find one made after week 12. (He thought it was a strange idea, and even stranger that I knew how to figure this out, but invited me to do so.)
To my utter surprise, he said, "in fact, we just got three new units in today, right here." There were three on the floor, still in the manila boxes (i.e., the plain brown boxes), cold from having come right off the delivery truck. All three of them made during week 12, (factory W8).
We opened up one up, booted it up, and unfortunately, it was the very same story. A slightly less audible fan whine (but then I was listening to it in the store), but a noticable buzz from the battery.
Fortunately, I was refunded my money. I thanked and apologized copiously to the manager, and we parted company. I left the store feeling both good and disappointed. I wanted to keep one, but at least where I'm at, it seems too risky to buy one anywhere else in town without a "buyers' remorse" arrangement.
Sorry for the long-winded story. In short, I think the MPB needs another few months before its ready for those super-picky customers like me.
Powerbook 1.67" SuperDrive HiRes   Mac OS X (10.4.5)   Video iPod
Powerbook 1.67" SuperDrive HiRes   Mac OS X (10.4.5)   Video iPod
Powerbook 1.67" SuperDrive HiRes   Mac OS X (10.4.5)   Video iPod
Powerbook 1.67" SuperDrive HiRes   Mac OS X (10.4.5)   Video iPod
Powerbook 1.67" SuperDrive HiRes   Mac OS X (10.4.5)   Video iPod
Powerbook 1.67" SuperDrive HiRes   Mac OS X (10.4.5)   Video iPod

Answer 1

serial number (written on the ouside box or found on the Apple menu about this maccclick two times on version ) :
W86XX,
Where W8 is Shangai (plant), 6 is 2006, and XX the week of production.
By the way the screen buzzing sound can be fixed by Apple. See other threads related to bad inverter and buzzing sound.