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selowitch · Feb 2, 2005, 12:07 PM

I bought some WildEepz from Radtech to go with my new iBook 12". I really want to make a commitment to giving my iBook the very best care possible. But I have two questions on my mind:

Why in the world does the lid of the iBook (containing the screen), not close flat naturally when bought new?
If Apple is aware of the problem, why haven't they fixed it?
Why would there ever be a need for WildEepz to make the lid close flat?
Could WildEepz actually damage my iBook (assuming I've installed them correctly)?

This issue is keeping me up nights. Well, not really, but you know what I mean.

andrewbw · Feb 2, 2005, 01:43 PM

Well, I gotta hand it to Radtech. They've found a way to sell little urethane furniture bumpers that are 99� at any hardware store for over ten times that.

I manage dozens of end users with Apple laptops, from G3/500 iBooks up to 1.5GHz Albooks. While some have failed or been damaged for a variety of reasons, I can tell you a lack of absolute parallel alignment of the screen to the base when closed is not one of them.

-A.

selowitch · Feb 2, 2005, 03:15 PM

Originally posted by andrewbw:
Well, I gotta hand it to Radtech. They've found a way to sell little urethane furniture bumpers that are 99� at any hardware store for over ten times that.

I know. I have a little package of those 99-cent bumpers, too. But I suspect that they are at least a little different. For one thing, the WildEepz have a template for optimally placing them.

Well, it just seems to me that the two parts of the iBook ought to line up when closed. If they don't, doesn't that apply stress to the parts?

Voch · Feb 2, 2005, 03:23 PM

I found the felt ones at homedepot.com for $2.99 for a 75-pack (Internet catalog # 759600). I don't use 'em on my PowerBook G4, though (I just keep the keyboard and screen clean so the keyboard marks the screen less).

Voch

ghporter · Feb 2, 2005, 08:02 PM

I just use the foam sheet that came with my iBook to keep the keys from marking the screen-it seems that skin oils can leave marks on the covering for the LCD. And it keeps the lid from bouncing; it sort of gives it a little "spring" when you close the lid.

Why the assumption that the lid must need to be perfectly parallel to the base? What would the point in that be?

selowitch · Feb 2, 2005, 08:13 PM

Originally posted by ghporter:
Why the assumption that the lid must need to be perfectly parallel to the base? What would the point in that be?

Two reasons: If it were perfectly lined up, we could have confidence that it was designed that way on purpose. As it is, it looks like an accident. 2) More importantly, so there is no bend or warpage in the screen.

ghporter · Feb 2, 2005, 08:21 PM

The difference in lid spacing from hinge side to latch side is at most 1 1/2mm. Given the built in resistance of the hinge, this seems to be more than acceptible to me. And that lid is a lot sturdier than you seem to think. The latch and hinge are built for lots of cycles; you put much more stress on the lid when you open or close it than it will undergo just sitting there closed, with or without WildEepz.

sminch · Feb 3, 2005, 06:03 PM

I just checked my iBook, and it seems to close flat - is this only an issue with some models? Mine is new, bought a month ago, so am I lucky, or do you reckon it's about to start going bent? Also, mine has little rubbery nobs in the upper corners of the screen - are these new, stock Eepz?

Not hugely concerned, but straight has got to be better than wonky crookedness (I'd be embarrassed if my Windows-using friends noticed...)

Sminch

selowitch · Feb 3, 2005, 06:13 PM

Originally posted by ghporter:
The difference in lid spacing from hinge side to latch side is at most 1 1/2mm. Given the built in resistance of the hinge, this seems to be more than acceptible to me. And that lid is a lot sturdier than you seem to think. The latch and hinge are built for lots of cycles; you put much more stress on the lid when you open or close it than it will undergo just sitting there closed, with or without WildEepz.

So do you think the WildEepz are unnecessary?

ghporter · Feb 3, 2005, 06:15 PM

Originally posted by sminch:
I just checked my iBook, and it seems to close flat - is this only an issue with some models? Mine is new, bought a month ago, so am I lucky, or do you reckon it's about to start going bent? Also, mine has little rubbery nobs in the upper corners of the screen - are these new, stock Eepz?

Not hugely concerned, but straight has got to be better than wonky crookedness (I'd be embarrassed if my Windows-using friends noticed...)

Sminch

The iBook comes with two small bumpers to keep the lid from smacking the base when it's closed (or perhaps "while it's closed" is better).

The only reason to worry about it that I can think of is that you may have Windows friends who will point and laugh. All you need to do then is open it and show them how quickly it boots! That will silence them for quite some time! Our iBook (OK, my WIFE'S iBook) boots from off to usable in less than 30 seconds (we have 640MB of RAM, which speeds things up some), while my Dell Inspiron 8200-faster processor, faster hard drive, same RAM) takes almost two minutes! Oh yeah! "They laughed when they noticed my lid wasn't perfectly parallel, but whey I opened it and started to surf..." to misquote. And there are more bashed-up, crooked, 'won't hold the lid open properly' laptops floating around this world than you can shake a stick at...I wouldn't worry about somebody noticing it.

selowitch · Feb 3, 2005, 06:19 PM

Originally posted by ghporter:
I wouldn't worry about somebody noticing it.

Am I to take it that you believe that the alignment of the lid and base is strictly a matter of aesthetics, that it has no bearing on the mechanical health of the iBook? I just want to be sure I accurately understand your position is on this issue.

ghporter · Feb 3, 2005, 06:27 PM

Originally posted by selowitch:
Am I to take it that you believe that the alignment of the lid and base is strictly a matter of aesthetics, that it has no bearing on the mechanical health of the iBook? I just want to be sure I accurately understand your position is on this issue.

You are 100% correct. I don't think that there is any mechanical reason to worry about a millimeter or two difference in the lid-to-base gap from the hinge to the latch.

Considering that the hinge is double-articulated, I believe they had to make allowance for either half of the hinge being at some arbitrary angle, rather than at an ideal angle. You'll find that there's some variation ((less than a millimeter) in how the top of the lid aligns with the front of the base from time to time as well, probably for the same reason.