Unfuckingbelievable

The title of my last post — “Apple Scum” — was a half-joke. Today, it holds a little more truth…

While transferring files over to my spiffy new PowerBook, I noticed two malignant coloured pixels on the display, one green and one red. A quick Google search informed me that my new machine had dead sub-pixels on the LCD, and worse, that Apple wasn’t necessarily under any obligation to do anything about it!

Apple’s official policy on flat-screen displays is hard to pin down, although MacMerc.com contains an alarming post that up to 7 dead pixels, or 5 in close promixity of each other, are considered acceptable. The only concrete info I found on the Apple site is the rather weak argument is that LCDs would cost twice as much if we consumers made the supposedly unreasonable demand that they be perfect.

As you would expect, this didn’t sit well with someone who just forked over three thousand bucks for a brand-new laptop. Those of you who know me personally are well aware that I’m more than a little demanding when it comes to customer service. The guy who sold it to me had a day off yesterday, giving me some extra time to strategize my attack while my primal consumer rage heated to a boil. Fortunately, the store has offered to replace the screen free of charge, though it means I’ll be without my beloved PowerBook for the rest of the week.

The moral of today’s story? If an Apple vendor tells you they can’t crack open the box of a new laptop or display so you can check the LCD, either make a lowball offer on a display unit or walk out the door. When you find a screen you’re able to inspect, burn this onto a CD and bring it with you.