This time, it’s not me (I got my issues resolved courtesy of Apple’s repair department in sunny California). This time, it’s Liz from GigaOm. The heatsync inside the MacBook apparently expands, touching a groundwire, shorting the whole computer, and shutting it down instantly. Same problem mine had. Fortunately, I got mine fixed and it has been issue-free for about two weeks. Unfortunately, I had to wait a week and a half to get it back from Apple. No loaner, no nothing. (My wife has the same laptop, so it was really her who suffered through the repair period… I “borrowed” hers.)

In a sign that things are getting better, the Apple guy told me that this issue is now being repaired in-store, cutting the turnaround time on a new mainboard from upwards of two-weeks to about 24 hours. Better.