Any chance of some work?
"When I agreed to the upgrade as my compensation I thought my experience of a melted MagSafe was uncommon. But a quick check in flickr shows a different story, as do reports on AppleDefects.com.
Had I known this while talking to executive relations I would have pushed the issue of health and safety much further. Instead, I've asked Apple why there hasn't been a product recall and what it takes to agree to one. They have said...well, nothing.
So, I'll say this. Until there is a product recall, do not charge up your MacBooks unattended and never near flammable materials"
Apple, I believe should have done a product recall BUT I think the following is worth pointing out:
If Emily had gone through Appledefects.com a bit more carefully, she would have seen that it reported in February that Apple had introduced a new type of magsafe, as O’Grady’s Power Page reported a month earlier. Looking at the photo, she posted, it looks like she had the first-generation magsafe. Although this doesn’t mean there should’t be a recall, there is nothing in the story to reflect that this problem affects a component that is no longer being supplied by Apple - maybe for as long as seven months.
I don’t believe that there is any evidence that the problem is not “uncommon”. Given just how well the MacBooks have sold, I would have expected far more reports to have emerged. I’m not trying to underplay the seriousness of the problem that Emily and others have encountered, but given that Appledefects have had just two reports in the last five months, I don’t think it professional for Emily to suggest a cursory inspection of that site and flickr is all the evidence she needs.
Incidentally, if you check Mac tech sites like Macintouch and Macfixit (these two are great for coverage of all sorts of Mac problems, big and small), you’ll note that the magsafe problem has received very little coverage; I have no reason to suspect that this is anything other to do than the number of reports they have received.
Incidentally, Macintouch did a reader survey at the end of last year that covered about 3,000 Apple laptops, all using magsafes; there were six reports of unsafe magsafe. Personally, I feel that was six cases too many, but as Macintouch pointed out, it had been expecting far more reports if the magsafe was as unsafe as was being suggested by some forum posters.
Speaking as someone who has works now and then as a journalist, I think Emily should have taken a deep breath, step back and did a bit more research first. Certainly, the magsafe issue deserves a serious article, but I’m afraid this wasn’t it and I was put in mind of more than one forum poster than a pro.