Had this happen to my Retina MacBook Pro too. Went to the Apple store and after some pleading was able to get them to place an order for a new one. Two weeks of glazing over staring at ghosts later I go to pick it up. They upgraded the replacement to the largest size SSD for free! It was all down hill after that.
I had to transfer my data from the lemon. The Geniuses on staff were clearly unfamiliar with some of the quirks of Migration Assistant. I offered to do the migration myself if they gave me a Thunderbolt cable. That ends up forcing me to spend another hour in the store, which of course I use to check for signs of ghosting on the new machine.
Like the lemon, the new one is an LG panel as well. Word on the forums is that only the LG panels have the ghosting issue. I ask the Genius if I can swap once more before leaving the store. He says no. I head home anxiously, hoping my screen is pure.
Nope. While it is still one of the best computers I have ever used, it is just unacceptable to be gambling $4000 for hardware I rely on. I will be trying for another exchange soon because there is really no other option, but the standards for "it just works" have noticeably slipped across the company.
I don't want this question to sound loaded and threaded with negative connotations for/against apple but why would you label the computer as "one of the best I have ever used" if one of the primary interfaces to the user is repeatedly faulty?
I'm not a Mac user. My work and personal desires drive me towards Windows/Linux and I would have foregone any manufacturer that pulled that type of behavior on me (as I have with numerous retailers already). Sort of a "fool me once" type scenario as I see it.
> I don't want this question to sound loaded and threaded with negative connotations for/against apple but why would you label the computer as "one of the best I have ever used" if one of the primary interfaces to the user is repeatedly faulty?
Because mac users tend to put the weight and thinness of the machine over anything else and since the rMBP is the thinnest and lightest 15" laptop it makes it the "best". Hell, Apple is doing the "thin/small and light" thing even with their "desktop" machines like the iMac and Mac Mini.
Mac and PC users just have different set of priorities. I used to own macs but I fully went back to the PC because being able to handle repairs myself in a timely manner is much more important than the niceties of OS X for me, particularly with desktop machines. The mac mini is not good enough for me, and the iMac is exactly what I don't want, if anything fails in the computer I want to be able to replace the part in five minutes and be done with it. That and the fact that the screen tends to outlive my computers in usefulness, I replace them less often than the parts of my desktop PC so buying a computer attached to the screen feels offensive to me.
The Mac Pro could've been an alternative but.. 2600 euros for a computer that is outdated in every single way out of the box is not attractive. Its GPU used to be a mid-range gamer card, used to, because it's not even mid-range in 2012, it's low end. If you build your own computer a GPU with that kind of performance will cost about ~100 to 150 euros, which is not acceptable for a 2600 eur computer. The rest (cpu, ram) is decent but still doesn't really warrant the price tag. It was good when it first launched.. that's about it.
Good question - it is something I regularly wrestle with myself as I evaluate the various hardware and software options out there. In the end though, it always is a matter of tradeoffs based on your personal value system.
For the past few years, the most valuable property that I have tried to maximize when pitting multiple hardware offerings against each other is time. For other people it may be money, gaming performance, or other intrinsic values such as freedom.
For me, buying the latest Apple hardware as default has become the easiest way to maximize time: I do not need to perform exhaustive research across the market, the shopping experience is smooth, support is same day and local, the resale value is high and selling is easy, the hardware supports the tools I have built my current workflow around (a UNIX command line, emacs shortcuts system-wide, Xcode for iOS development, Photoshop, etc.), and configuration and backup is simple (iTunes, Migration Assistant, Time Machine, and iCloud for a limited scope of data).
Now obviously a lot of this is a result of vendor lock-in, which I try to remain vigilant about. How did I get fooled into being locked in?
It is simply a result of a string of great experiences early on in my dealings with the company. All companies provide varying levels of experience across their lineup of products and services. In my opinion, Apple manages to have more peaks in more fields that matter to me. The early positive experiences in areas that resonate deeply with me, built a great deal of respect and trust in the people who create things at Apple, earning them the spot as my default hardware
Regarding the Retina MacBook Pro product specifically: it is still "one of the best [computers] I have ever used" because it hits peaks in many right spots. The performance, portability, keyboard and trackpad, how it fits in my backpack and on my desk, design, ecosystem, and OS X are all positives for me. What I believe to be low points (Wi-Fi issues, video card performance in certain situations, Mission Control, the annoying MagSafe 2 adapter, iPhoto woes, etc.), are tradeoffs I am willing to make.
The "ghosting" is the one point I cannot concede. I work with pixels and color too much to let it slide. Thus far, Apple has offered me one replacement, with a free SSD update thrown in. I consider that great support, but poor quality control.
This is an interesting tradeoff because of how the two fields are closely related. Poor quality control necessitates good support. Whether that support is good enough (or the quality control poor enough) for me to continue leaving Apple's hardware as my default depends on whether they offer me another replacement, and whether that one is satisfactory.
Times change though. Open hardware and software is more important to me than ever. We must all be able to tune the properties of our hardware and software to our liking, without sacrificing the state of the art.
I had to transfer my data from the lemon. The Geniuses on staff were clearly unfamiliar with some of the quirks of Migration Assistant. I offered to do the migration myself if they gave me a Thunderbolt cable. That ends up forcing me to spend another hour in the store, which of course I use to check for signs of ghosting on the new machine.
I run the following command:
Like the lemon, the new one is an LG panel as well. Word on the forums is that only the LG panels have the ghosting issue. I ask the Genius if I can swap once more before leaving the store. He says no. I head home anxiously, hoping my screen is pure.Nope. While it is still one of the best computers I have ever used, it is just unacceptable to be gambling $4000 for hardware I rely on. I will be trying for another exchange soon because there is really no other option, but the standards for "it just works" have noticeably slipped across the company.