There was a time, not too long ago, when my trustly pal of a laptop was exactly that, a dependable, always there, mobile.  But working now in a pure Windows domain at work, I needed a mobile that ran Windows in addition to OS X.  I was elated when the Intel based Macs came out.  I wasn’t an “early abopter”, but I did manage to get the mid range MacBook when I could (and I had to sell my 12″ Powerbook G4 to boot).  Anyway,  this new MacBook got Vista loaded on it (for testing in a Windows domain envirnment) as well as Tiger, and all was good.  Well, for about 11 months that is.

The first issue that cropped up was a dead battery.  When I say “dead”, I mean exactly that.  I might as well have pulled it out completely for it to be deader.  Nothing.  No lights on the battery itself.  No battery in the system info (or device manager).  I tried all the tricks to reset it, but all failed, so off to the local shop that services Macs I went.  I used to work there, and I used to be an Apple certified tech.  The battery was still under warranty, and the guys got it replaced within the week.  Mad props to you guys and Apple warranties.

The second issue happened just yesterday, and this one is testing the limits of patients and faith.  I booted up my MacBook to do some cleanup on the drive.  I had migrated my profile and apps of the 12″ PB, which had been migrated from a Mirror Door  PowerMac G4 from a long ways back.  It had apps that were not Intel compatible and just needed a general douching.  I booted it up, heard the power-on chime, but nothing when it came up.  I didn’t realize it at first, but I did when I started cleaning out my videos folder.  None of the vids were making any sound.   Then I noticed a red light in the headphone jack (digital out led).  Checking the system info and sound settings showed no internal speakers, only digital out.  Putting a set of headphones would change the sound out to headphones, but it would return to digital when the phones were removed.  It was getting close to closing time at the shop, so I put it under arm and headed out.  Rick said he’d seen this on one other Mac lapto, and thought he’d had to send it in for a logic board replacemen to fix it.  I still had to clean it up, so he told me to bring it back in when I could be without it.  So back home I went, kind of pissed and confused as to why this would happen, especially since I never use headphones or speakers plugged into the outjack (which is usually the culprit).  If you want to research this issue, google “stuck digital out macbook”, or something along those lines.  I tried all the suggestions I found, but none worked.  I pretty much resigned myself to the fact I’d have to send it in and set it aside at home last night.

Now most folks honestly believe that computers break and stay broke, like most machines.  I hate to break it to these folks, but they don’t.  I’ve seen some weird shit in my time, so not much suprises me any more (barring the organic component).  Anyway, just before I started writing this, I booted up the MB, half wanting to do some more cleanup, half just to see if it was still broke.  Well, it wasn’t.  WTF…  Ok, so should I send it in unbroke, or wait till it fails again (probably when I need it).  I’m gonna get the AppleCare for it, real soon.

So where’s this all going?  I don’t like to depend on hardware that is problematic, and this MacBook is starting to get problematic.  I carry it with me every day, even when I don’t necessarily “need” it, just in case, and I’m starting to fear what this thing is gonna pull next.