Apple: MacBooks Can't Handle GarageBand
Two Apple customer service representatives told reader Mark to blame his MacBook's four hard drive crashes on GarageBand, professional-grade software that his puny consumer-grade laptop 'can't handle.' Every MacBook comes with GarageBand pre-loaded as part of Apple's iLife suite.
Mark writes:
Hello Consumerist,Recently I went into an Apple Store with a broken hard drive on a black Macbook. This was my third hard drive crash on the machine in 18 months. Previously I had another apple notebook which had no problems in the four years I used it.
After the second hard drive crash I took the machine to the Genius bar for service and it was sent away to Apple in California. After getting it back about ten days later I was informed that they had replaced the DVD drive (?) in addition to the hard drive and was told if I had any trouble with this hard drive they would replace the machine.
This time when my hard drive crashed I took it into to be replaced again. After a few days I called Applecare and asked them whether I could request a replacement machine. They informed me I should contact my local Apple store that was doing the repair and speak to them about a replacement and if that didn't work I should speak to Customer Relations.
When I called the Apple store I was put on the phone with an Apple Genius again who told me that he wouldn't replace the machine. I asked him if it was unusual to go through four hard drives in a year and a half and he asked me what I used my machine for.
I told him I was a musician and I recorded using Garageband in addition to surfing the internet, etc. He told me that Macbooks are consumer level machines and that often they can't handle writing big files like the kind Garageband uses. He said I should use an external hard drive for recording with Garageband.
He refused to replace the machine and when I asked for the number for customer relations, he game me a number which was actually the Apple Care hotline.
After I navigated the Apple Care menu, I spoke to a tech support person who connected me to someone at customer relations. He agreed to replace the machine and was much more polite than the Genius I spoke to on the phone.
He put me on hold and called the store to cancel the repair. After that had been arranged he warned me that since they were replacing the machine if I continued to experience the same behavior with my next machine it would be my fault.
He also told me that Macbooks were consumer level machines and they weren't made to handle certain programs. I asked him if that included Garageband, which comes in the iLife suite (http://www.apple.com/ilife/) and is obviously targeted at average consumers as it comes with the operating system. He didn't address that directly, but seemed to agree with me.
I was pleased with the service I got from customer relations and also pleased with Apple agreeing to send me a replacement computer. I can't say I'm pleased with the Genius bar guy I talked to , though my previous experiences haven't been so bad and the guy I actually met at the store was nice).
I have to say I'm completely perplexed with why a black (supposedly high-end) Macbook can't run Garageband without crashing the hard drive. In all their Macbook ads online they show Garageband in the dock of the Macbooks and they include it with all their new computers. Surely it's meant to be used. Maybe just occasionally?
There's a world of difference between "can't handle" and "runs better." We expect better performance from better hardware, but Apple claims clunky old G4s can handle iLife, so it's not unreasonable to assume that it will smoothly on Apple's top-of-the-line consumer notebook. Right? Tell us in the comments if we're missing something.
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Comments:
I would love for anyone to explain to me, someone who has been a computer tech since 1989 that how writting very large files to a HDD is going to kill it. Yes, hard drives can fail at anytime and just because you had one hard drive last for four years doesn't mean the next five you own will but what they said makes me laugh.
"""He told me that Macbooks are consumer level machines and that often they can't handle writing big files like the kind Garageband uses"""
That is just to freaking funny. As I said, the system might slow down while this takes place but that is about it. What is funny as well is he used the word "often" so he is implying that somtimes they can and sometimes they cannot.
Best of luck and thanks for a laugh.
I agree.
I love the way Macs look but... realistically, they are very expensive. I've had someone tell me that I can get a Mac for the same price I paid for my computer. That is very far from the truth (I paid $350.00 for my computer) and it cost me 30 bucks to upgrade the RAM to 3GB it's the best computer I've ever had and have not had any problems with it.
I can't find a cheap Mac. The Mac Mini comes the closest and I don't' even think I can upgrade the RAM myself.
Now I have heard great stories about Customer Service from Apple but you really are paying for it.
To the original question... if Apple includes iLife on the Macbooks then it is NOT unreasonable to assume your computer can handle the program.
What Apple told the consumer is almost like ... well... you can't compare that. Apple is the only one to make their computers.
If Apple is not going to take responsibility for the program they perhaps they should create an "iLife Lite" for "consumer level machines" without that software.
On the other hand, notebooks are not desktop replacements and should never be confused as such.
Writing big file to the HDD =/= HDD failure. That doesn't make sense on so many levels. Software CANNOT break hardware. If it could you'd see many many virus writers taking advantage of a vulnerability like that. Mac Genius is an oxymoron.
Writing big file to the HDD =/= HDD failure. That doesn't make sense on so many levels. Software CANNOT break hardware.
Yeah, someone's getting odd information. And I've never had a problem with GarageBand on my mom's MacBook or my MacBook Pro. Not a hiccup.
@idip:
On the other hand, notebooks are not desktop replacements and should never be confused as such.
There are high end laptops out there that can rivial a deskotop with ease. Have you never heard of [www.falcon-nw.com]
Granted you can build a much better desktop at their site but you can also get a laptop that will smoke a lot of desktop computers with ease. A high end laptop can handel anything that a desktop can with ease.
@WNW:
Software can break hardware. Have you never heard of the Chernobyl virus which did damage the BIOS/EEPROM which is hardware. You had to replace the EEPROM because the virus would kill it.
So yes, software can kill hardware but what this idiot told him is just false.
It's quite possible if the OP has the basic Ram configuration and is using the DVD drive for burning or Vid playback, and compiling in GarageBand, and surfing, and Mail, and a few other apps "all" at the same time, the HD could be overheating. (Yes, the bottoms do get a tad warm when you max out the processor services)
If the op hasn't maxed out the ram, do so, and consider something like a heat dissipator laptop stand or pad or stand to help with the airflow at the bottom of the MacBook. If he keeps a scad load of apps open while using GB, close out a few and stick w/ the app-task at hand.
GB is a processor intensive app (but there are worse ones), and many musicians in my neck of the woods here use MacBook Pros, or MacPro desktop units. Just my observation.
I'll be the first to say a HD can go south (Maxtor's=grrrrr), but 4? I'd be looking at something he may be inadvertently doing that may be accelerating the demise of the HD's.
OP: which Apple Store did you go to?
The main question is:
How come the Apple Store Genius and the Apple software architects were not looking for the same?
I know someone who runs both Logic 8 studio and serrato (I think that the name, its a proffesional DJ program that allows you to spin records that sync to MP3's). All on a Macbook (not pro). Works fine.
I have an early 2007 model Macbook, not even as good as what he's using.
Now I haven't used Garageband to digitally record any instruments since... you know... I can't play them. But I have used Garageband on many other occasions without incident. I used it to make the entire soundtrack to a ~50 minute home movie. Fades, effects, music, the works. I've even recorded some podcasts using it.
Like I said, I haven't used it to capture my key-tar skills or anything hardcore like that, but with what I have done it's worked great. I'm certainly no "genius", but I'd say it's the computer that was at fault here... Not the software.
This genius was no genius.
Total nonsense what the tech told him.
Ridiculous...depending on which models you look at, a MacBook and MacBook Pro could very well have the exact same processor and/or hard drive. And GarageBand has been around for quite a while, so a MacBook that you buy today probably runs it better than the fastest Macs 2-3 years ago.
The only area where the MacBooks are inadequate are with graphics processing, meaning that they cannot run many games as well as a few apps like Final Cut Pro due to the integrated Intel graphics prcoessor. Furthermore, the X3100 IGP's on the newer MacBooks have horrible drivers on Mac OS X, meaning that graphics performance is absolutely atrocious - it's worse than the GMA950 Macbooks, and worse than my parents' 3-4 year-old G4 iMac and iBook.
my powermac g4 was a slug when it came to running garageband, even with juiced up ram and a mostly open hard drive.
it was a fun program to mess around with, but yeah, it crashed out my system more often than not, and I always had to ensure that nothing else was running in the background if I wanted to use that or any other programs that used a lot of system resources.
most of the problems I had with my laptop was with hard drive failure, and intermittent power issues. I think that this was due to the sheer heat that my laptop put out. I think that this was due to the fact that the machine was just not built to run some of the preloaded programs that came with it. it forced it to work overtime constantly to keep up, and eventually led to the meltdown of the motherboard in my laptop.
I think that apple stuffs so many programs on their computers that are for high-end users in an attempt to justify a bit their high cost. unfortunately, my experience has been that half of these programs never really get used anyway, but it makes the overall computer experience feel like you're using a slightly out of date computer all the time because it's always just a little bit sluggish or quirky. that sucks because they are really great machines, they just need to have their OS streamlined a bit.
They use the same SATA drives. You can even swap if you want.
The Genius just didn't know what they were talking about, or didn't want to be bothered. Rather sell new computers than work with older ones.
Google's now-famous hard disk reliability study showed that (at least for desktop drives) disk activity level had NO effect on drive longevity, other than with very young drives, where high activity seems to accelerate early infant death (drives that would have failed soon, anyway). Notebook drives are not designed for as heavy use as desktop drives, but that's still relative.
And a more relevant point: MacBooks and MacBook Pros use the same hard drives.
@idip:
The reason that you can't find a Mac for the price that you paid for your computer is that Apple doesn't compete in the low end of the computer market. One, it's not profitable, and two, low end machines don't provide the type of user experience that they want to be associated with their brand (remember when Vista was first released, and new, low-end Vista notebooks were coming with only 512 MB of RAM, when you really need four times that to run Vista?).
If you compare an Apple and a Dell notebook with the same Intel C2D processor, the same memory and hard disk options, and the same screen size, they are priced competitively. Yes, you can get a Dell notebook with a giant screen and a crummy processor for much less than the cheapest Apple notebook with a giant screen (and a better processor standard), but they aren't the same.
laptop drives should indeed survive some amount of digital audio recording, but they are far from ideal.
any laptop musician looking to get the most from their rig (be it a mac or pc) records and plays back files from an external drive. replacing the stock internal drive with a 7200rpm model would improve GB's performance but battery time would suffer.
repeated HD failure as described above sounds like an overheating issue. improper ventilation or excessive disk caching (as a result of not enough RAM) could be to blame.
as someone who worked pro audio tech support for many years, I can't help but wonder about the users recording environent and if he was totally forthcoming when talking with customer support.
I'm going to have to agree with Digitalgimpus. They probably use the exact same hard drives in both a MacBook Pro and a MacBook. Furthermore, the idea that Garage Band's "big files" and heavy writes and re-writes would damage a "consumer grade" hard drive so much is ridiculous.
Anyone who uses a low-end computer for a DVR will tell you that their hard drives often last several years, even under that heavy stress. The stress put on a hard drive by a DVR is far more than you could ever put on a hard drive with Garage Band.
What might be the case is how you treat the computer. Hard drives in laptops don't tend to last as long as hard drives in desktops. The big reason is that hard drives don't hold up well under acceleration. If you're someone who likes to carry his computer around in his backpack while it's suspended or running, that can cause issues and potentially fry a hard drive really fast. Also, if you tend to move the computer around when it's running (even just carrying it in your hands while it's running) then you'll probably go through drives faster than the average customer.
It's much more likely that the problem is a bad SATA controller or bad power supply on your computer and it's toasting the drives by itself. Lots of computer companies also replace broken parts with refurbished, sub-par parts. So you might have just had a run of bad luck.
I say, get a replacement computer, chances are, that will take care of your problem.
Good Luck!
@segfault:
WHAT?
You should never use the phrase 'priced competitively' when comparing Macs vs PCs. Even with regular pricing Dells are cheaper, plus with their promotions and coupons it gets even better.
@segfault:
Macbook Pro
2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T8300 (3MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
2GB RAM
250GB 5400RPM HDD
DVD+-RW
15.4" WXGA+ screen
Mac OSX
$2049
Dell Vostro 1510
2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 (6MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
2GB RAM
250GB 7200RPM HDD
DVD+-RW
15.4" WXGA+ screen
Windows Vista Home Premium
$1093
Definitely comparable...
Doesn't make sense. I've written whole movies to my HD and it hasn't crashed yet (Black macbook) songs are much smaller in size. I call BS. Why give this person 15 minutes of fame?
I've been using Macs since 1988 (and PCs since about 1995). I've bought 12 Macs during the course of my use of Macs (chronicled in a blog post of mine recently so I recall this pretty well). I noticed as I went back over my history that there was a distinct hardware quality degradation reflected in my use. The bottom line is that new Macs, at least at the consumer level, are full of poor quality components. This is especially true of the optical drives and hard drives. You can expect a hard disk to fail on a consumer level Mac within two years (likely earlier) of purchase. Macs went from being a machine which didn't need an extended warranty to one that really does.
I still buy and use Macs, but my expectations are rather different than they once were, and I don't think they are qualitatively so much greater than another brand. Apple still has better customer service and a far less byzantine process for dealing with problems, but it's no longer offering machines of the highest quality for the higher price.
The Genius explanation about Garage Band is essentially saying that the low end machines can't take too much use before their components fail and that's absolutely true in my (considerable) experience.
i have the low end macbook, it records garage band stuff just fine. it makes movies just fine. if the file's too large to write and i don't have the hd space, it just doesn't write it and tells me i don't have the room to do so.
@zsta2k7: minus that part where you mention vista :)
I've always had poor service when going into the apple store for tech support. I'd suggest that Mark calls up the proper apple tech support and tell him the bullshit that the "genius" was trying to sell him. Occasionally the real tech support is nice and will offer some compensation.
If the hard drives are failing, it's not the computer that's at fault, or the use of the computer. It's be freaking hard drive. Now when the tech indicates to use an external hard drive, what does that tell you?
READER MARK: go get a copy of SMARTreporter. It's free, and it'll monitor your internal hard drive's health. Even Apple trusts it. When it indicated problems on the drive in my then-new iMac a few years ago, the Apple tech stopped running through the script, and let me do a repair (out of the country, at that, and it was while I waited).
Comparisons for Apple vs PC: don't forget all of the other goodies that you get built in with an Apple, like the built in mic, camera, bluetooth, wifi. I'm not going to bother comparing "like systems" because it's like this: if I'm in the market for a Lincoln, why the hell should I be pricing Hyundais anyway? It really only matters if you're "a price conscious consumer" and then maybe you should stick with a Salvation Army computer anyway.
Genius is the most pretentious name for an associate ever. Give me a break, f'n snobs.
Genius is the most pretentious name for an associate ever.
I don't normally bash any machine/OS, but I've used Windows stuff for some time now (I'm am Amigoid, originally) mostly because I wanted to play games and a while back that's what you needed. But I've thought off and on about going to Linux or Apple, but really, it seems that Apple goes out of its way in every commercial, announcement show, and things like calling these tech guys "Genius", in some sort of odd effort to make me stay away from them. I'm not sure it's possible to sound more pretentious and dopey than they do. Why? they've got some good stuff.
Oh well, at any rate, since I know one heck of a lot more than this particular "Genius" when it comes to hard drives (and I know not much) I guess that makes smarter than genius. What would you call that? What's smarter than a Genius? Apparently any random guy at Best Buy. :)
I honestly think whatever harddrives they put in the MacBooks were just MADE to fail. They did have an issue a year or so ago with a certain firmware/version of a drive that they put in them that had a physical problem that lead to a very high percentage of them having head crashes/platter scratches.
Who knows how long that lasted or how many machines they sold around that time that had those bad drives on them.
All I know is that I see a lot of MacBooks, more so than any other, come in for drive failures.
And while that comment about GarageBand not made to run on a MacBook is absolutely retarded, they do include iDVD on MacBooks without the dvd burner in them. Straight from Apple regarding sys requirements for iLife '08:
* Mac computer with an Intel, PowerPC G5, or PowerPC G4 processor.
* iMovie requires a Mac with an Intel processor, a Power Mac G5 (dual 2.0GHz or faster), or an iMac G5 (1.9GHz or faster).
* iDVD requires a 733MHz or faster processor.
* 512MB of RAM; 1GB recommended. High-definition video requires at least 1GB of RAM.
* Mac OS X v10.4.11 or later.
* 3GB of available disk space.
* DVD drive required for installation.
* QuickTime 7.5 or later.
* Other configurations may be supported. AVCHD video and 24-bit recording have additional requirements. Visit iMovie '08 Camcorder Support for more information on AVCHD.
* 24-bit recording in GarageBand '08 requires a Mac OS X compatible audio interface with support for 24-bit audio. Please consult the owners manual or manufacturer directly for audio device specification and compatibility.
* Burning DVDs requires an Apple SuperDrive or compatible third-party DVD burner.
* iPhoto print products are available in the U.S., Canada, Japan, and select countries in Europe and Asia Pacific. Internet access required; fees and terms apply.
* iWeb requires Internet and web server access (MobileMe recommended).
* Some features in iLife require MobileMe. MobileMe is available to persons age 13 and older. Annual subscription fee and Internet access required. Terms and conditions apply.
Finally, don't let them boss you around. Apple does have a policy that on or after your third major repair [one or the other, always forget] you are eligible for a replacement computer. Always explain how unhappy or disappointed you are with them but never be rude.
The phone service is OK, and if you think they are being unfair call back and get a different person. You'll generally get better help over the phone then from a corporate store. You can always call back, but it's harder to get another person right away when you have to make an appointment.
Either way, don't expect that 100% of the people you talk to will know everything or have the right answer. Play the field. At least the phone techs are reading from a script. Sometimes the person at the store will have no idea and would rather lie to you than say that he's not sure.
Please, you simply cannot compare similarly equipped Macs and PCs on a price basis. The way MacOS (based on UNIX) runs processes and threads is so much more efficient than Windows that the same hardware goes a MUCH longer way in a Mac than on a PC. Look up some performance tests.
I feel bad for the OP and I think the Apple tech is an idiot. I have a white macbook and I'm running Logic Studio on it (the big brother of Garage Band.) There are other factors at work and it sounds like the tech was just too lazy/incompetent to deal with it.
Oh, and the thing about the store people, that;s cause a majority of their workers are part time and therefor can be unexperienced.
[GarageBand] comes with the operating systemTechnically, no. It comes with the computer. When you buy a retail (upgrade) copy of Mac OS X, it doesn't include iLife. You'll likely wind up upgrading to the newest version of the OS but not the newest version of iLife. (I know, I'm splitting hairs with regards to Mark's situation.)
FWIW (not much, since I'm not an expert), I think NoWin's explanation is the best so far.
@balthisar: The new, top-of-the-line Hyundai Genesis may well be better than any Lincoln currently available.
It's sad. My new 800 dollar 12.1" TOUCHSCREEN HP laptop (tx2510us) with an AMD Turion Ultra processor sounds like it's handling life way better. I use Guitar Pro 5 on it, no problems whatsoever.
Heck, even the cheapest or most expensive Macbook comes with a lousy Intel X3100 integrated GPU while my comes with an ATI Radeon HD 3200 gpu. I can play Crysis on it :D
Besides, people need to realize already, that Apple is a HARDWARE company that inflates its prices for the same hardware you can get in almost any generic HP. They're the Nike of computers (along with Sony). You pay more for a brand name. My friend paid $649 for an HP with the same specs as the lowest Macbook ($1049).
And don't be a dummy and say that it's because of the OS, both Leopard and Vista can be purchased for $200!
That extra $400 goes towards Steve Job's black turtle-neck collection ::shuuders::
Consumer-grade laptop or not, they need to be able to handle large files. Perhaps Apple needs to further define their "consumer-grade" laptop. In fact, they should label it "Consumer-grade", and then they should reduce the price accordingly.
If large files are a problem for a laptop, then Apple needs to make that clear to the consumer upon purchase, not 18 months and 4 hard drives later.
If this was a common issue, then Apple should have made this known, offered a refund or recall, etc. The truth is probably that this is not a very common failure or we would have heard about it on countless forums over the past 18 months.
You can replace the Ram on a macmini fairly easily.
I owned an ibook a few years back and it ran garage band just fine. The thing to note is that Macs tend to be notorious for not having enough memory out of the box.
The thing with apple is that you tend to get what you pay for. PCs may be cheaper but they come with a bunch of crapware in order to drive the price down. Also in my experience, Macs tend to last longer.
@donTHEd:
OK here we go with the top of the line stuff...both PC and Macs are overpriced.
Now what if I want a basic laptop that will do most of the tasks for a student for example. Why should I spend $1000+ to get a Macbook if I can get an Aspire laptop that will beat it in every way at half the price?
Something is fishy about this recollection of events, although I can't quite put my finger on it. Just wanted to point out a few inaccuracies, though.
"GarageBand, professional-grade software"
Nope, Garageband is consumer level software, meant for hobbyists. It is not optimized as well as the professional recording app, Logic. It works well enough if you are only using a few tracks but quickly becomes a resource hog once you've got it going with several simultaneous tracks. That all being said, you should be able to run Garageband fine on a MacBook so long as you've got plenty of RAM (as in 2GB) and are sticking with 44.1kHz/16bit recording and not trying 96kHz/24bit.
"black (supposedly high-end) Macbook": The color does not make it high-end. High-end is a MacBook Pro. The 'black' MacBook, as the owner cites twice, just means he paid more for looks.
That being said, it's difficult to know what transpired with his recollection of events. It's only said that the hard drive crashed but we don't know the symptoms. There a many ways a hard drive can fail. If it was locking up or hanging while he was trying to record, that may have simply been lack of adequate resources for what he was trying to do. The Genius would have been right in recommending he use a faster external drive for recording, especially if using Garageband for anything beyond a 'hobbyist' approach (anyone with a portable computer should have an external hard drive for backup purposes, in any case).
It's also strange that he had 3 hard drives replaced and no mention of a logic board replacement. It's usual practice to replace the logic board on the second or third repair for a repeat issue such as this. It's perfectly acceptable to replace the DVD drive on the second repair as it's on the same controller as the hard drive so could possibly cause communication issues.
For the CSR to note that any further issues after replacement may be his fault may have indicated something in his service history that is questionable. Even if not, though, these are not lemon machines using inferior hardware. It's rather uncommon to have 3 hard drives fail in a row, by his recollection, each last about 6 months, on average. It's more logical that the assumption was a hard drive each service while the real issue (probably the logic board) was not addressed. However, if he did continue to have the same issues with a different machine, then that WOULD indicate the possibility of improper use. He shouldn't take it as a perception of being blamed, which he seemed to do here. The CSR was just covering all their bases and I highly doubt they would've phrased that the fault would be his in such certain terms.
He was well within his rights to get a full machine replacement at this point though. If he was promised a replacement machine if the issue continued on his second repair, he could have prevented any runaround by making sure that person put it in writing in his service ticket. If it wasn't in the ticket, there's no way the next person he dealt with could have corroborated that promise. Oh, and he states he took it in for repair the 3rd time and then, a few days later, requested the replacement. He should've asked for the replacement right off the bat.
Oh, and by my count, he had three hard drive crashes, not four, as the article author states, although it seems he never when through with the third repair so it's not possible to know if the 3rd time was actually a hard drive issue or not. Still, after being a technical support agent for several years, I inherently don't trust any hard drive and make sure I always have a backup (and in the case of my macs, have a bootable external firewire drive for each system).
But, for those of you at home keeping score, we have two confirmed hard drive failures and one speculative hard drive failure. Still doesn't add up to four.
Would someone buy a $350 Compaq to run high-end software suites, full-time, for business functions?
Of course not.
Well, the entry-level Macbooks are essentially $350 Compaqs with a better chassis, and some other non-essential bells and whistles.
A $350 Compaq, or any other computer, can write large files without its hard drive failing. The Apple "Genius" is a dunce. Period. End of story.
I'm not a techie, but the machine itself must have been inherently defective to begin with.
Didn't have time to read all the comments, but yours stuck out. Speaking as someone who has used extensively both Macs and PCs, and a variety of laptops to boot, your boyfriend's Toshiba is a piece of junk. The innards are all the same, but every Satellite I've ever used was indistinguishable from a Dell.
Compare a Macbook to a PC laptop with good build quality, like a Sony Vaio for instance. Comparable specs, including 2gb RAM and 160gb HDD and the Sony is $1349, $150 more than the Mac. Combine that with the fact that, as you said, you pay a premium for the excellent software, and the Macbook is a steal.
Now, the Macbook Pros are certainly expensive. But I have a $2000 LG laptop that's about 3 years old and it looks and runs brand new, whereas the ubiquitous Dells my friends have are totally screwed. The mouse is soft as hell, the keyboard is shit, and you're using Vista on top of it.
Wal-Mart's meat is cheaper than Fresh Market, but if you think it's the same, you're nuts.
Tip -
Applecare does not have Genei working for them on the phone! The person you spoke to was not trained on technical issues, only really what they can read off a script and learn from osmosis.
Trained Genius employees are in stores. You won't speak to anyone near their level at Applecare until you are elevated to at least tier two. The employee who spoke implied that Garageband was not designed for Macbooks probably just misspoke (insert own excuse here...)
Take it into a store, let them put it through triage for a day or two and if it is still Kernal Panicing or straight crashing then they'll probably replace it.
But remember Kernal Panics are not always logged by the system so the evidence is not always there.
Also if you re-installed your operating system from a bad back-up the problem will be replicated as well. So when he said "if it happens again its your own fault" A paraphase i'm sure, he might be on to something, but I'm sure it was not an ultimatum
Anyway, Garageband runs perfectly well on Macbooks. When in doubt, cleansweep and install!
hah, "top of the line" and "consumer model".
two phrases that when put together, make the worlds most perfect oxymoron.
There is no such thing as "consumer level" vs "professional level" in computing. There is "working as designed" and "not working as designed".
Music software certainly isn't too demanding for a modern hard disk. Even a 192kbit/24bit channel needs just under 600 kbytes/second, while a decent hard drive can sustain over 60 megabytes/second, though some of that performance is lost through excessive seeking. You could realistically record 32 channels of such high-resolution audio, simultaneously without overtaxing the average hard drive.
The problem with Apple is the same as with any other tech support environment. It is harder to fix the actual problem, than it is to make the user go away. That's the result of hiring random underpaid schmucks instead of industry pros, combined with nonsensical management tactics and a total lack of accountability.
Garageband, and any other application, should be able to run on ANY hard drive made in the last decade - I said DECADE! If your hard drives are dying prematurely and it's more than a random fluke, you're either getting flaky hard drives (like the old IBM Deathstars), or the computer is doing something vile like under/overvolting or overheating. Hot hard drives die young.
The "Mac's cost 4000% more than any other PC" argument has been debunked so many times I can barely believe people still raise it. A simple google search will provide numerous price comparisons.
Are Mac's more expensive - probably by a small margin, search you will find many more honest comparisons.
This story also points out a few contradictions. Apple was going to repair the laptop despite the "warning" about using Garage band. Consumer relations replaced the laptop as a courtesy.
I have a MBP that I have had bad luck with, but every time they happily accept my word on problems that will cost them hundreds of dollars in parts and turn it around in a day or two. They have now even replaced one or two items that were off Apple care. This is one MBP out of a dozen or so that I know of personally and I'm the only one with hardware issues.
I would also point out that he probably got a much nicer MacBook out of this swap since an 18 month old unit would have been a crappy GMA950 video card and a much hotter CPU ( might have contributed to HD failures ).
Writing big files to the hard drive causes it to die? I've never heard of anything like that happening. Four hard drive failures in the same laptop would lead me to think it's a faulty power supply. After all, the "life" of all a computers' components essentially depends on the power supply. If the power supply is spitting out too much voltage on the hard drive cord, chances are it has the possibility to kill 4 hard drives that are put on that cord. After all, computer components are very sensitive to voltage.
..but don't listen to me. I'm only 17 and have very little official computer training.
As far as I can see it, the Apple-PC war really lines up like this:
Hardware: Roughly equal. Neither has superior hardware.
Price: Apples are much, much, much, more expensive than PCs. A comparable Apple to my BF's 17-inch Toshiba would run him $3000. He paid $800 for his Toshiba.
Software: I think everyone can agree that Apple's software is superior in usability and stability, though far from perfect.
So basically, if you buy an Apple, you're paying a huge premium for their OS and software. So it surprises me very much that they would pre-load their machines with software they were not capable of running. If I was this guy I would be very angry.