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Noah's Notes: MacBook Lawsuit?, Core 2 Duo MBP Next Week? Today!, More iPod Rumors

by Noah Kravitz, Reviews Editor 24 October 2006

MacBook Lawsuit?

A few weeks ago I reported on some friends of mine who were having issues with their MacBooks. One of them, the owner of a black MB, had sent his computer back to Apple twice because of what was believed to be a faulty heatsink that over-expanded, causing repated and unexpected shutdowns.

Well, he's far from alone. The MacBook Random Shutdown Site (warning, it's not the best-designed site ever) tracks the woes of some 1,489+ MacBook owners who've suffered from "RSS".

The site now includes a few detailed accounts - and some pictures - describing what may be more of a cable routing issue than a problem with the heat sink itself. Seems that some cables routed directly next to the heatsink are prone to melting insulation which then leads to crossed wires causing a shutdown-inducing short circuit.

My friend's had his MacBook back for almost two weeks now without any shutdowns. Whether or not Apple has in fact found the fix for this problem, angry MacBook owners still are making their voices heard on the Web. Does this warrant a class action lawsuit? Perhaps not, but what's an early adopter to do? It seems as the cost for new technology increasingly is a first production run full of bugs, glitches, and faulty designs. The problem certainly isn't limited to Apple, but perhaps it stings the Mac faithful a bit more since we're the sort willing to pay an extra $150 to get a laptop in black instead of white. It's a drag to shell out for a gadget you want to show off only to have to send it back to the shop over and over again.

Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro Next Week? Today!

Could this finally be it? Rumors are swirling that Apple is readying it's now rather overdue Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro for unveiling next week. One rumor site says this week, even. Honestly, it's hard for me to get too excited about this when Dell's got a 15" widescreen Core 2 Duo shipping now for $729. Granted, the new MBP is more than likely to blow the doors off of an Inspiron E1505, but I'm still more inclined to save my excitement for a Core 2 bump to the entry-level MacBook line.

Update: They dropped today! See our Home Page for details.

More iPod Rumors

The iPod turned five this week, and for its birthday we've got a slew of new rumors surrounding a possible sixth-generation music player being launched in time for the holiday shopping season. Apple recently filed some patents involving WiFi connectivity and a system by which an iPod could submit a snippet of audio to a central server to "look up" the song containing said clip. It's all vaporware for now, though.

Shop for your new MacBook Pro with Intel's Core 2 Duo processor at PCPrices/Mac: Over 2 million Mac users served.

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Noah Kravitz is the Reviews Editor for PBCentral. A writer, educator, and musician, he lives in Oakland, CA and is the author of Teaching and Learning with Technology.


 

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