steve looks creepy

Poor Steve the MAC user, why does he keep trying to get another one?

@stre: Aw, leave Steve alone. He's sad.

You know, I was actually considering purchasing my first ever Apple MacBook. The new $3,100 Air. I was mortified when I found out it cost that much but was still willing to spend that and give Apple a shot. Not anymore. This story made me realize I could get one hec of a Windows based laptop with top-of-the-line graphics and better support/warranty service somewhere else. Way to go Apple. Sorry Steve. Thanks for the heads up. Good luck ditching that thing...*shudders* so close...

Steve has been infinitely more patient than I would have been. The second time it tried to set my house on fire, I would have returned it and demanded a refund. Had they refused, I would have offered to plug it in in their back room :)

@stre: And yeah, he does. Kind of a ted kazinski meets adam corolla vibe.

@Meg Marco: oh i feel for the guy, he just looks creepy in this pic. hope things work out for you, steve.

@bob9: he claims he's forgoing Macs and moving onto a company "who gives a crap about their customers". where he's going to find one of those, i have no idea, but he's gonna try!

Wouldn't this fall under the category of "Potentially EXCEPTIONALLY FUCKING BAD PRESS"?

It would be highly irresponsible of him to sell a hazardous laptop on Ebay. He needs to sue Apple in small claims court for breach of contract.

Gee, with all the problems people have getting their Macs to work right, and getting then repaired when they don't, I'm so glad I use Windows.

@stre: Helpful and germane. It's always nice when you participate.

"Apple Firebook" is its own tag now?

Awesome.

Yet another reason I refuse to buy Apple products.

While I agree that it should be replaced at this point, I doubt he's ever going to get a refund. Maybe next time it starts a fire, let the thing burn for a bit so they have to replace it. (And keep a fire extinguisher handy of course.)

Is it the MacBook that is trying to set Steve's house on fire or is it sparks overflowing the bowl of his crack pipe?

Wait for the next small fire, then call the fire department. Tell them you had a small computer fire and you are worried that it may have spread to places you might not think of, you want the fireman (experts) to check the place out for you. Get your report, contact Apple, if you get no help, call the news media, on a slow day, they will air something like this.

I had a house in Florida a few years ago that was struck by lightning, left a huge hole in the roof, fried all the electronics, but by the Grace of God, didn't start a fire. We called 911 anyways and the fire department came out and inspected the entire house for us just to be sure we didn't have any smoldering flame issues.

Fireman are great citizens, we all need to help them out whenever possible.

"Apple Firebook!" I love it!

Would a Lemon Law apply here?

On the bright side, if it DOES light his house on fire he would win hands-down if he sued Apple (as long as he documented this entire battle).

I lost all sympathy for this guy when he said he would sell it on eBay.

I'll second the issue of suing them in small claims court. Is there a case for buying a lemon computer?

Another option is to buy fire insurance for your apartment and let the mother burn! Then sue apple. (Though that is particularly irrisponsible to the people in adjacent aparements.) :)

I have to wonder, how the hell is it sparking? The only way I could see it happening is through something metal making a connection thats shorting something... I could understand a frayed power cord but at the magsafe connector? There is something he's not telling us.

@Murph1908: Agreed. It's bad enough that it happend to him, but you don't make it someone else's problem. However in all fairness, he did say he would do it AFTER it was completely and finally repaired. Hopefully he meant after he got a full replacement. It sounded like he just never wanted to deal with Apple again after this.

Who knows, he might get extra if he tags it "Apple Firebook" :) Or he might get some money selling it to a TV station and they can do a special "investigation" on it, after letting it light a set on fire.

@stre:

... And by "creepy" I assume you mean "hot."

In no way is this one incident of the firebook an example that the rest of us should quarantine our macbooks. Mine has functioned perfectly fine since I bought it in July. Is it lying in wait, ready to shoot deadly fire sparks? Maybe, maybe not. But this story shouldn't be the end all to make people go "I'm never buying an apple ever!" because technology can either perform well or be crap, and defective. Looks like Steve got a defective laptop, and the problem just hasn't been fixed at all, despite his tries. It doesn't mean macbooks are all defective, he just got a bad lemon.

Consumer Products Safety Commission -- give 'em a call. That obviously is a DANGEROUS product that needs to be RECALLED. :) That might get Apple's attention.

Apple has the best computer support **if you go to an Apple Store**. Considering its hundreds and thousands of dollars to repair, if you have an Apple store within a 3-4 hour drive, its normally worth it to go in person.

Go when its crowded, and make sure you say clearly and loudly enough for store customers to hear 'I would not have bought this product had I known it was going to cause such problems and you would be so hesitant to help out a customer.'

Trust me... problem gets taken care of very quickly.

I also think theres a lesson to be learned here about keeping flammable materials next to power outlets, but thats another article in itself.

If the Apple ignition device did serious damage, is it on Steve's hands, or would Apple be liable? I know I won't trust anything that has a known risk of fire unless I know I'm not the one putting money at risk (and in the meantime I'll have a fire extinguisher on hand to protect myself).

@UpsetPanda: I've run both platforms (Mac & PC), easily spent >$100k on Macs and PCs. Also have had plenty of bad hardware on both sides of the fence. HOWEVER, I've put my PCs through far more hell (let's call it what it really is, running PCs @ 140F room temperatures = abuse) and never had one of them catch fire or spark. Plenty of components fail from the abuse, but never anything dangerous.

@bob9: I dont see why he doesnt just let it burn his house down. He's a mac user, its believable that its possible even after all these repairs. Thats some press apple would love "POS apple product burns house down!"

Or do what was suggested over the past few weeks and take them to small claims court.

@Maude Buttons: right back at you, maude. look, no one complains about your "captain pedantic" ravings or the other lovely jabs at comments, which are obviously great fun for you and yet rarely apropos to the discussion. if you've got nothing better to do than police the comments, fine, but don't pretend to be sitting on a golden throne high atop a marble pedestal. if you get to have your fun, don't rain on our parade. and if you continue reading the comments you'll see i do wish the guy luck. it's just not a great picture.

@Murph1908: would it help if he said he was listing it as a door stop? its intended use.

@Falconfire: I'm wondering too. Maybe it's a problem with the wiring in the home, not the compy? I am assuming part of the failure to repair the problem is the inability to re-create the issue. If the connector was sparking such to start a fire, surely a repair tech would be able to find a big burn mark on the side of the machine and start diagnosing there.

Steve should try a different outlet in his place, fire extinguisher at the ready just in case.

My MacBook Pro is a year and a half old as well, gets pretty warm sitting on my knees, but never sparked or created fire.

@Falconfire: And the "Consumerist Blame The Consumer" game has started!

Next up - "Best Buy employee punches customer in face for not buying and extended warranty on a toaster. Post creative ideas on how this is the customer's fault".

I think Steve's a downright handsome fella. Sorry about the runaround with Apple. It seems that generally Apple is really, really great about coming through (especially with AppleCare) but sometimes they just face plant hard. You would think they'd be a bit more proactive about fixing a 'puter with pyromaniacal tendancies.

It's either high or low tide with Apple. My iBook doesn't have the best record, but my 1st gen mac mini is still kicking as my media server and my new iMac works wonderfully.

My best to Steve. Please don't take no for an answer.

isnt there a lemon law for repairs? like... 3 major repairs for the same issue = replacement?

I'm sorry, but this story is very suspect.

I can't imagine there's enough current in the Macbook power adapter to cause sufficient amounts of metal to be blown off the power plug or receptacle. And even if there were, not enough to light a newspaper on fire and damage the table. I suspect that's 24 volts at less than 5 amps. Sure, you can create sparks with that, lots of them. But you'll spend all day trying to blow off enough metal to light something on fire. And forget about trying to use the arc as your ignition point.

I'm not about to dispute Apple computers are beyond being problems. They, like everyone else, has computers that are just lemons. But this assertion that the power adapter set that newspaper on fire and damaged his table is absurd. Maybe this computer has the famous Macbook heating problems? Is the computer heating on the exterior enough to cause newspaper to ignite? I believe that a lot more than the power adapter story.

I'm more inclined to believe this guy doesn't like his computer for whatever reason and wants Apple to give him a matte screen. Apple said no, and now he's pissed off about it.

I hope for his sake that I'm wrong and indeed the power adapter *did* do this. Fabricating these types of events didn't work out too well for NBC and the people who put a finger in Wendy's chili.

@MDSasquatch: Yes it would, There is a lemon law even on electronics, if deemed in need of a 4th repair the unit should be replaced.

@DoubleEcho:

"Best Buy employee punches customer in face for not buying and extended warranty on a toaster. Post creative ideas on how this is the customer's fault".

It he gets it back again and it still sparks, I'd consult a lawyer. It's past the point of "It's not worth my time and effort to get it repaired" and "They're giving me a refund, no if's and's or but's."

Pfft, most people would be grateful for a nice roaring fire on a cold day like this!

He's already sent the computer for repair several times, gotten it back, at which time it tried to light his house on fire again.

Fool me once... shame on you. Fool me twice... CHARGEBACK!!! :)

I've never had a computer or a peripheral attempt to kill me before, and I will second the poster above who said selling it on eBay so it can potentially set someone elses house on fire is reckless.

Anyone want to take guesses on the eBay Headline? Mine is:
"LQQK! Arsonist Mac Book! Tried to Kill me! No Reserve!"

I'd backup all my data and heave the damned thing through the door of the nearest Apple Store from outside. If it wouldn't be considered arson, I'd smear it with something flammable and light it on fire too, but that would certainly result in an arrest. But more bad press for Apple too, so maybe it's a trade-off.

@Typhoid:
[sarcasm aimed at Steve, not you]
Oh, right. The NEXT time he gets it fixed, it'll be fine, because it'll be done by someone he paid.

Only if he really plans to sell it as a farce and not as a real, dependable product will his eBaying it be acceptable.

If he's got Apple Care, how is it that he's not getting a replacement laptop? I thought that was why we all pay the $$ for Apple Care?

That being said ...

Do this happen everywhere - can Steve reproduce the sparking at in the Apple Store or anywhere else for that matter? Is it only Steve's house, at his desk, on a particular outlet?

The yellow screen thing should be enough to get a replacement ... the sparking would push me over the edge.

Memo to Steve ... do one of two things ... become a ROYAL pain in the arse by calling/visiting at least once a day asking for a new laptop. Or ... call your local TV station's "consumer action line" and sell them on the fact that you have been "wronged by a faceless corporate giant".

Sorry man - I'd have to say that you're in the small percentage of people that are having a bad experience with Apple. I'm a recent convert to a Macbook and while it hasn't been problem free, I'm happy with the service I have recieved. (I do have Apple Care as well._

He has a firewire cable there! FIRE!

Yeah, put it on Ebay. Make sure you sell it to the guy who wants you to ship it to Haiti after he sends you a money order for double the winning bid.

@zentec: 24vDC @ 5amps is more than enough to start a good fire. There's cigarette lighters out there which use 2 AA batteries (3.0v, 4A at most).

All it takes is getting a wire or solder trace to heat up to a high enough temperature to ignite something. Doesn't take much to make that happen with the small wires and traces inside laptops.

@DoubleEcho: Some people need the benefits of an ESP pounded into them? ;)

@zentec: When I plug in my Toshiba Satellite's switching power adapter, it goes "SNAP!" and I can see a blue spark in the outlet.

You'll often notice a similar thing when you plug in a desktop computer's power cord.

I'm not really sure why that happens, though, and the spark does not spray material all over the place to light fires.

Oh, and I'm talking about the mains end of the plug, not the part that goes into the laptop. Then again... I tried a Ubuntu live CD on the laptop and it warned me that the battery had been recalled and that my laptop could pose a danger.

His real problem is that he's been going through "costumer service" which, as we all know, can only help when the spangles fall off of your showgirl outfit.