[rsynnott]

The trouble with reviews on that sort of product is that almost nobody has any reason to ever write a good one, because everyone writing one is buying the thing because their old one broke. Unless you have a product that _never ever fails_, reviews on spare parts are always going to be pretty awful.

[AnthonyMouse]

It does seem to have been a design defect in this case:

http://support.apple.com/kb/ts4127

[dsuth]

Which Apple is fixing with a free replacement policy. There was a similar glitch with 2010-era MacBook Pros, which was uncovered in a new OS or firmware version in 2013 - 3 years later. They fixed mine (complete replacement of the main logic board) free of charge, 2 years out of warranty.

Even their known defects make Apple come out smelling like roses. Contrast that with obvious design defects in other, cheaper PC laptops, which get ignored or refused at the 3rd party retailers they come from, and it makes Apple a pretty simple recommendation for power users and casual users both. Nobody I've recommended Apple laptops to has been disappointed.