RandomShutdownSyndrome
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New MacBook heatsinks exposed
We all know about the MacBook's Random Shutdown Syndrome and how it has made many an Apple customer angry. But what is causing all this sadness? Well, a little birdy pointed me to this Flickrstream which contains a few very interesting, and well annotated, photos that expose the truth.As this photo clearly shows (mostly thanks to the notes) the heatsinks are the culprit here. Originally Apple was replacing both the logic board and the heatsinks of ailing MacBooks, but now they only replace the heat sinks, speeding up the repairs greatly (in theory).
A tale of two random MacBook shutdown cases
I bought myself a MacBook the week they came out, since a that point I didn't own an Intel Mac. I read about the Random Shutdown Syndrome (RSS) that some people were experiencing a little smugly. My MacBook didn't shutdown randomly! That is, until it started shutting down randomly. Dave Winer is also experiencing the same problem with his MacBook, but this is where our stories diverge.My MacBook began exhibiting signs of RSS one Friday evening. After it shutdown 5 times in a row, at random, I was certain I had an ailing MacBook on my hands. I hastened to my iMac and signed up for the first available Genius Bar appointment for the next day at the Suburban Square store (10:30am). I sallied forth to Ardmore with my MacBook in tow and explained what was happening. The Genius nodded sagely, took some notes, and let me know that they had the parts in stock. I was very happy, and left my MacBook in capable hands. 2 hours later I got a call that my MacBook was all fixed. A couple of weeks later and not one non-scheduled shutdown since. Kudos to the Suburban Square store staff (that's tough to say out loud).Sadly, Dave Winer is experiencing something slightly different than I am. He has been without the use of his MacBook for almost 2 months, 9 days of which Apple has had the MacBook in their possession, and still there has been no resolution.So, dear TUAW'ers, I wonder which of us is having the more typical experience. If your MacBook suffered from RSS let us know how long it took Apple to repair it in the comments and we'll have a fun unscientific poll on our hands.
Disgruntled MacBook owners organising class action suit
AppleInsider has a story about a group of Mac users who have had enough of their faulty MacBooks, and they're not going to take it anymore. The group has set up a page at ClassAction.com and is looking for support to force Apple into a recall of the company's newest consumer notebook. AppleInsider also points to macbookrandomshutdown.com, a site dedicated to RSS (random shutdown syndrome) that already has over 1,250 reports of afflicted laptops.This shouldn't be much of a surprise. There have been reports of random MacBook shutdowns for months, and Apple even copped to the problem last month, but there's not been much movement since then.I didn't sign up at either of the petitioning sites, but I could have. I bought my fiancee a MacBook about a month after they were released and within a week it was shutting down at will. We were lucky, though. We made an appointment at Apple's main store in London and after the Genius witnessed two shutdowns in as many minutes, he said he'd give us a brand new MacBook. Things have been OK so far.Are any of you still suffering with the same problem? How has Apple handled your complaints? Sound off in comments.
