[mbarnes]

Our son will be starting college this fall and we plan to purchase a Powerbook for him. I am concerned over the reports of white spots and display problems. Has the new version of the 15" Powerbook solved this problem? Would waiting until August vs purchasing one now be advisable? I have been using Apple products since 1982 and run my business with Macintoshs. This is the first time I have been concerned with Apple quality issues. Please advise.
Thans from loyal but concerned Mac enthusist.

[powerduck]

I have a first generation 1.25 GHz Powerbook. It has 5 white spots and unequal illumination (darker right side). Apart from that, the machine is just about the most awesome powerbook I have owned. Ever. Your son should count himself lucky to get his hands on one. What about the white spots? I understand that this problem has been fixed in the new models, but the problem with the unequal illumination persists. Until I hear of a permanent fix for all the screen problems, I just ignore them. It's annoying, but does not affect function. The crappy battery life (90 minutes to maybe a bit over 2 hours with regular use instead of the advertised 4+ hours) is a different issue, entirely. That may cause you some real trouble...

[mike one]

i just got my 15" 1.5 GHz powerbook today, the machine is flawless; screen, backlit keyboard, build quality.

I purchased it using my educational discount and saved about 200 dollars.

I just upgraded from a 12" G3 600 ibook.

Already i can tell that this is going to be one of my favorite macs, after having owned 5 or 6 over the past 9 years.


My feeling is that you should be concerned about the display issues, but only mildly so, and also you should rest assured that apple will correct any problems that you might encounter.

I don't think these issues should prevent you from buying this machine for your son.

There will not be a powerbook update between now and August, the only advantage you might have in waiting is that there might be some added deals in a few months that some online retailers may add in that aren't available now.

hope this helps.

[[APi]TheMan]

I think it's safe to say that the recent batch of 15" Powerbooks are better. My 15" 1.25 Ghz is about a month old and it's still doing awesome with regards to backlight and LCD quality. The only reason I could see for waiting until August to get a new Powerbook would be if Apple hadn't updated in a while... but they just updated the Powerbook line last week.

Go for it!