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As this article pertains to screen issues how about we discuss this a little bit rather than engaging in senseless rants? The "ghosting" issue the article high
by robomartin 14y ago
As this article pertains to screen issues how about we discuss this a little bit rather than engaging in senseless rants?
The "ghosting" issue the article highlights is a known problem with certain types of LCD screens. With a caveat I'll say that LG LCD panels are known for these kinds of issues much more so than Samsung's. The caveat is that ALL OEM LCD manufacturers have issues, all of them.
The other very important idea to understand is that Apple is just another OEM customer. Yes, they are huge. And, yes, they get stuff made to their specs. But, no, they can't alter the laws of physics or magically change the current state of the art. The same is true of the warts and issues in the various technologies they use.
For example, someone mentioned Apple notebooks flaming. Well, I fly radio controlled planes and helicopters. They use LiPo battery packs. And you can bet they are stored in a metal container within fireproof bags and away from combustibles. Yes, LiPo battery cells can self-combust. This is not a secret. This is one reason I don't own any laptops with non-removable LiPo packs.
How common are LiPo fires? How easy are they to start?
They are very rare. If you go on YouTube you'd think that every other home is going up in flames due to LiPo fires. Not so. I actually blew-up a LiPo pack on purpose just to see what it would take and how big the fire might be. It actually took a lot for this three cell pack to go.
Is Apple at fault for adopting a technology that has a minuscule probability of causing a fire? I'll leave that for someone else to answer. I am not really bothered by it. That said, I made my informed choice and simply don't buy laptops with non-removable LiPo packs.
Back to displays.
LG can have ghosting or image retention problems. Fire-up photoshop and make a pattern of black and white lines one pixel wide. Try horizontal and vertical arrangements. Try flashing that pattern on an off at different rates. This can trigger the issue depending on the underlying LCD technology. Are these tests fair? Not sure.
Also, keep in mind that the test Apple is administering might come from the OEM panel manufacturer. In other words, this is what the manufacturer agreed to deliver to Apple as a performance guarantee.
LG also has had some serious display discoloration issues. The early 23 inch aluminum Cinema display had a batch of horribly pink/magenta panels. Again, LG quality control problems.
Samsung has had discoloration problems but they tend to be pretty good about image retention issues.
An interesting fact is that an LCD pixel is able to retain a "charge" --if you will-- for a very long time. I've seen an LCD panel hold a full-color image for over a day after power was removed. This panel had been modified for this particular experiment in that all drive electronics were removed very quickly after power was removed. In other words, it was just a piece of "glass" sitting in front of a separately-powered light source. Very interesting stuff.
I am not making excuses for Apple. If you pay that much for a laptop you want it to be perfect. I get it. I also get that it just won't happen. Too many moving parts.
Here's a reality of consumer product engineering today:
Companies (not just Apple, everyone) have to move very quickly. Nobody is going to have the time to test all corner cases for every component they use. Even if they did, they can't account for all corner cases. And, if you run a supply and manufacturing pipeline like Apple's, by the time the components arrive at the factory there's almost nothing you can do about it. So, yes, 100K "defective" displays might go out the door in the blink of an eye. And, another 100K might go out before you can even start to do anything about it. Component suppliers can shaft you and, frankly, the Korean LCD manufacturers are famous for this. Just talk to anyone in the OEM display business, it's brutal.
Given that, I can only imagine that at some level it becomes a carefully considered financial decision. I hate to say it, but it isn't any different from a car manufacturer discovering that 0.01% of break pedals might be defective. They probably have a meeting with the lawyers and the accountants, review their insurance and determine what course of action to take. Sometimes that's the reality of business.
I am not saying that this is what Apple is doing. I am just speaking in terms of general scenarios. I would suggest that when dealing with a large organization like Apple patience and persistence is the key. Keep at it. I think Apple, of all companies, still cares a lot. It might be harder today due to the sheer scale of the company, but if you don't loose faith you might just get to the right person and have your problem handled.
- aespinoza 14y agoSo what is the point of paying the Apple premium if they are just the same as everybody else ? I think the fact that it is possible, it should not be the norm. As you can see in the article, the problem is not that he got a defective Monitor, is the fact that Apple is trying to avoid replacing it. If I buy the best, I expect the best. When I buy an Apple product, just like the author, I expect to get the best. If it is defective, I expect Apple to exchange it. We, humans, are not perfect. I think we all get that. But we do expect to get problems fixed and right away. Apple is the top dog right now in hardware, if not even them respond to problems in a timely fashion and in the right way, then yes, Apple is the same as the rest. I don't think that Apple is just like the rest. In fact I expect a lo more from them.
- gknoy 14y agoIn the Retina macbook's case, the premium seems worth paying because no one else has a laptop with comparable hardware. It seems like the Nexus line has similar dpi as the retina iPads, though, so hopefully this is simply a case of Apple having it first, and everyone else will have it in the next year or so.
- aespinoza 14y agoI understand, but if the monitor fails, it ends up being worse than the rest don't you think? I get the author's feelings. He spent the money on a new laptop, that is sold with the idea that just works and that if it doesn't it will made to. Also, there is a premium above the premium with a retina display. You get the same laptop than an basic MBP for 400 dlls more.
- Steko 14y ago"I get the author's feelings." No matter how good your customer service is there will always be people that feel just as aggrieved as the author because they fell just short of the standard for replacement. Maybe Apple is completely falling apart and This Would Never Happen With Steve(TM)... or maybe we've seen this movie many times before. For years it was the Guy with One Bad Pixel when the standard for replacement was two but he always swore on the forums that it was Right In the Middle.