BIG OUTCH – MacBook Falls From Hammock

I bought my first MacBook Pro last September to get started on my Mac journey. The whole family on the side of my wife had been fully Mac’edized and I figured I wanted to give it a chance as well, after having had a small Laptop provided by the company I work for. Also shortly before that time Apple had released the SDK and iPhone OS 2.0 enabling third party apps. So I justified the expense to myself by needing a Mac to be able to develop for the iPhone.

I had been one of the first Austrians with an iPhone 2G and when iPhone 3G became the first official iPhone in Austria I jumped at the chance of upgrading. My then girlfriend (now wife) inherited the 2G and I started developing for my 3G in September 2008.

Shortly thereafter Apple released a new generation of MacBooks in the famous aluminum unibody case. As usual when you purchase Mac hardware you soon feel a minor regret because usually 1-2 months after such a purchase something new arrives to be lusted after. But an upgrade 2 months after having purchased my Mac was out of the question, I was still amortizing the first one.

Then came the WWDC and my mind was blown once more. Apple dangled the Mac carrot even closer in front of my nose by reducing prices, adding a SecureDigital slot, and a great new battery which promises 5 hours of wireless work. And at the same time announcing the release date of the next update to OSX, dubbed Snow Leopard coming in September.

The crack in my heart started to get a little bit wider. Outwardly I told myself that I cannot buy more than one Mac Laptop per year, that I preferred the silver keyboard to the black ones anyway and that the glossy screen is useless. But unknowingly I had already ordered from the universe the circumstances that would make upgrading irrefutable.

When grabbing a couple of things in our Wintergarten the smooth Mac slipped and dropped onto the stone floor. The lower backside corner got dented and I was somewhat wrecked. I researched my options and found that I had cancelled the only insurance which would have covered it 2 years ago. The bottom case would cost $200 and another $200 at an authorized Mac support center to get it installed. Essentially the bottom case is the frame where all parts are mounted inside. So it takes long time to take it all apart.

I found the bottom case for around $50 with shipping on ebay and figured that I would just pay a handy friend to replace it for me. When I received the lower case I figured I’ll wait with replacing it so that I could get a new Mac first in a couple of months and then, after having moved all my development tools to the new one, could refurbish the device and put it on ebay. Or keep it as emergency Mac.

I thought so until today. After a nice day I wanted to climb into my hammock in the same Wintergarten I mentioned before. But when I pulled myself up to the hammock the MacBook felt like exiting it and heading for a second encounter with stone. OMG. F*CK.

The drop this time was more than twice the height, but still it survived… technically. Not aestethically. I had to bend the frame above the Maglock power connector  back, but apart from this the Mac performs as if nothing had happened. This serves as proof of the superior build quality and sturdiness of the MacBook Pro design. So I can tell you from my own experience: Macs bend, they don’t break.

Looks to me as now I don’t have much of a choice to get a new unibody MacBook Pro next month. Incidently it’s my birthday then and I am getting my income tax refund so there now is really no way around it.

Donations for AntiCrack and My App Sales are now being saved to offset the cost of new hardware.

Categories: Mac