Since we bought our first Apple machines, we have gone into the trouble of experiencing Macintosh — the other sides of it.
The Macbook has been returned already because of the noise issue. It was very hard to get a replacement refurb for this one as it is selling like hotcakes from the store. So I opted for a Macbook Pro and waiting for its delivery tommorrow.
The Macbook Pro on the other hand is showing the dreadful vertical band stripes and I cannot live with Ctrl-Shift-Eject everytime I wake up this machine from sleep. The usual method to remove this is to do a PSAR but after a while the annoying vertical bands occur again. They said this is due to the hightech LED powered displays but I guess I rather have the old LCD technology that wears out its color over time than be annoyed by these banding for the life of this product.
I called Apple today and they are going to pick this MPB on Wednesday. Hopefully, I can get a replacement by this week.
I also have bitten the apple further by going Airport. But I have to replace the Apple Extreme last weekend with a newer model with gigabit ethernet. It scales well especially my external NAS connected to its USB. I was able to stream a video that is not possible before in SuperG. The current setup now is a WIFI b/g compatible from the ADSL router and a pure N to cater the NAS and the Mac machines.
Getting a refurbished mashine will save you a lot but be very careful on observing their issues and you have 14 days to do that beginning from the receipt of the item. Also, be aware of the 10% restocking fee if ever you messed up the item too hard.