A defensive look at the MacBook Air battery
The new MacBook Air laptop has one killer feature, the non-removable battery. Killer as in deal-killer. As in why would anybody use a laptop that has to be shipped back to the vendor to replace the battery? It boggles the mind. Here's why.
Have any sensitive files on your computer? Files you'd rather other people not see. Many of us do. Do you like the idea of your sensitive files sitting in a package on a UPS truck? Or being in the hands of a company Apple sub-contracted repairs to? Of course not.
Remembering to remove all the sensitive files from a MacBook Air before mailing it is only the first problem. Problem two is not making a mistake and missing a couple files.
Speaking of a UPS truck, laptop computers are fragile. And, computers disappear during shipping. Defensively speaking, I'd make a disk image backup of the hard disk before mailing back a MacBook Air.
(Credit: Malabooboo)What if your perfectly working MacBook Air gets damaged on its way to Apple? According to the company:
"Service may not be available if your MacBook Air has been damaged due to accident or abuse. Please review Apple's Repair Terms and Conditions for further details."
But suppose all goes well. The MacBook Air gets shipped to Apple for a battery replacement and arrives in perfect condition with all sensitive files removed. You can still get screwed. On their battery replacement FAQ page Apple says:
"Will the data on my MacBook Air be preserved?
Don't rely on it being preserved. Many repairs require Apple to replace or reformat the hard disk, which will result in the loss of your data ... Apple and its AASPs are not responsible for any damage to or loss of any applications, data, or other information stored on your MacBook Air while performing service."
To me this means you not only need a disk image backup before sending a MacBook Air back for a new battery, you also need a backup of the backup.
Apple now charges $129 in the U.S. to replace the battery on the MacBook Air. Who cares? No one needs a battery replaced now. The question is, what will Apple be charging in two years when the first Air users need a replacement? Apple may decide to charge whatever the market will bear, which could well be more than $129. Air owners will have no leverage, they'll have to pay whatever Apple feels like charging in their time of need.
Some people use their computers for a long time. Will Apple still offer to replace the battery in 6 or 7 years?
While the battery is being replaced, you have no laptop computer.
Finally, there is the obvious.
The whole idea of a 3-pound laptop computer is to use it while traveling and this often means computing for hours away from electrical outlets. Many people carry an extra battery. Fellow CNET blogger, Gordon Haff recently wrote that he carries two extra batteries when he travels with his ultra-portable laptop. As a Seinfeld fan, let me put it this way: no spare battery for you, MacBook Air owners.
All in all, the non-replaceable battery seems like a really bad idea.
Update. January 24, 2008. I left out another drawback. There are times when a laptop computer gets so screwed up that the only way to reset it is to remove the battery. No can do with the Air.
Update. January 21, 2008. A fellow CNET blogger, one who refuses to provide his/her name had this to say about the battery in the Air:
Let's face it: Apple's done letting you get a new battery when the stock one won't hold a charge anymore and having you milk your device. Their philosophy is that you should be turning these suckers over every two years or so, partially because that's the rate of significant advancement for components. In two years, it's going to be out of date. You may not like that philosophy, but the Macalope's found it fits his personal buying pattern anyway so no big whoop.
Wow. Talk about drinking the Kool-Aide.
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I suppose it could be argued that replacing a battery is an extra shipment the other replaceable battery notebooks don't have to undergo, and any shipment adds danger. However, if you talk to Apple aficionados they might reply that a battery is about the only time an Apple owner would need to send it in, if they're not near an Apple store. (OK, only 172 in the entire USA? so, where are the Lenovo, HP, Compaq stores?)
Note: I am an Apple enthusiast since 1982. Never owned a PC, nor do I even know how to use one with Windows.
The screwdriver sounds good to me, though. Let's hope Apple actually sells those batteries in retail...
In either case, if the authors FUD situation was valid (and it is not, due to the aformentioned three minute end-user battery swap procedure) then it swould not be an issue for most users until the middle of next year.
Considering that there will be demand from people to have a spare battery on hand for periods of long usage without charge, by the time replacement batteries are required, the market is likely to have them available.
a. We don't live near an Apple store
b. Not everybody is as 'fortunate' as you are
c. Therefore, because of all this, we can't just walk out with our new fanboy appliance in hand
So now we're back to square one: Shipping
Any questions?
If it's true the case can be opened with a screwdriver and that Apple stores can carry out the replacement, there's less of a problem. I'm sure there's nothing proprietary about the Air's internal battery; third-party makers will offer them, as they do for iPods today. But even so, it's an issue, and potential buyers will have to decide whether it's too big an issue.
See my blog post over on Speeds & Feeds for a pointer to a MacBook Air-compatible external battery:
http://blogs.cnet.com/8301-13512_1-9851584-23.html
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How hard is that to figure out? Jeez.
Sensitive data has far too many windows for compromise on a laptop. Shoulder password hacking is much easier in a coffee shop than a cubicle, more accidents with a portable and more opporunity thefts due to conceabilty means that the data is not very secure. Sensitive data should be kept on a desktop. Only rarely use the laptop for that information.
It should be backed up to a secure device and then removed from the laptop regularly. So this entire argument about secure data and data retension is rather moot. If they are using proper data security techniques for laptops in the first place these issues don't matter at all. The issues with possibly having sensitive info looked at by Apple employees is false based on that alone, as is losing that data. Heck, if you really want to be fair, you can leave your data on the machine rather safely. System prefs, security, turn on file vault and make sure you use a password. You better not have auto-login and a good password for your account. Make another account and don't let it be admin. Have it auto-login. Now apple employees can use the machine and your data is safe unless they really REALLY want it. The fact that you can have a "Time Capsule" to back up your entire drive means your permise on data loss is pretty much a wash.
Feel free to refute anything I just said.
It sounds like the whole article is arguing against the opening paragraph.
My girlfriend owns a Macbook Pro.
My laptop has been in to the "shop" (which was INCREDIBLY hard to track down) a total of five times under warranty, and twice after warranty and counting.
Hers, not once.
Simple rules, folks: if you don't like it, don't buy one. I, for one, do like it. I'm typing this on mine now. I bought mine not because:
- I have posters of Steve Jobs on my bedroom wall
but because:
- I use Windows all day at work (I support it), and when I get home I don't want to have to support my own machine. My Mac(s) do(es) "just work". Honestly. I don't miss having to find that elusive sound card driver if I reinstall my OS (which I don't do either, because it doesn't screw up). I don't miss having to watch out for malware or whatnot, or having to impose draconian security measures on my home network for fear of infection. I don't miss the flat-out awful user interface.
- I carry this thing around a lot. Lightweight is therefore good, but not at the expense of a tiny keyboard (Lenovo X61, for example). Or a decent screen.
- I'm a normal person who does normal things with their computer. Every now and then I plug in my iPhone, using the 1 USB port. I never install software from DVD (who the hell does?). I never have multiple USB devices attached.
- I use my laptops for a few years then get a new one. I've never ever bought a replacement battery for any of my (exclusively Mac) laptops.
- It's very robust.
- It's beautiful.
So, surprise surprise, an Air user who isn't checking the future price of replacement Air batteries or worrying about how they're going to install that software without a pesky optical drive or fumbling around with a desk full of USB accessories. Shock! Who'd have thought?
I suppose what's most telling is that these posts are full of Windows users knocking the Mac. Why are you so interested?... Why are you even reading these posts?...