Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > My final thoughts of my 15 inch powerbook, before I send it back.

My final thoughts of my 15 inch powerbook, before I send it back.
Thread Tools
Sakino
Senior User
Join Date: Jan 2003
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 1, 2003, 09:52 PM
 
After having my powerbook for 5 days I would post my thoughts about it.
Let me start off by saying this is my first mac, and I have been waiting to get this thing since Jan 03. Well it arrived last Friday and I must say I skipped class all day to play with my new too. I ran the dead pixel program to check if anything was dead, and there was nothing. Well when Monday rolled around I was in the library typing in office and I noticed 3 large white spots around the center of the monitor. THEY ARE CLEARLY SEEN at all times when the laptop is on.
Flaw #2 Another flaw started happening also, I would get these quite ticking sounds coming from the hard drive when I am not doing anything that would require me to write to the hd. It would click for 5 seconds, stop, and repeat for a while. Now this happens every once in awhile.
Flaw #3 The battery life is horrible! I have probably collaborated my battery like 8 times since I have had it, and the life will not get past 1 hour and 45 minutes running 10.2.7 with max battery life. I think this is ridiculous knowing the fact that others have reported almost double that with their powerbooks. My basic usage was airport, aim, and word; when I was getting under 2 hours of battery life. I had the brightness set to 1/3 with battery life set at max battery life.
As of yesterday my roommate installed the latest version of 10.3 on this 15� ti 1gig hz and he was averaging 4.5 hours with heavy usage, this is no joke there is a thread somewhere on this forum about this. (Heavy usage as in airport, msn, movies, and safari)
Well I figured today I would give it a try, since he seen an increase of well over 50-80% in battery life on his ti pb.
After installing it this morning and running it most of the day it ran quite smooth. I decided to see how the battery life would add up when I go to the library.
Here is a little over view of what I was doing and exactly what the read outs where.
This was with the battery life set at automatic.
6:00 pm(100%. 2:20): Brightness: 1/3, Airport: ON, Programs used: Mail, Aol IM, and Safari.
7:00 pm(50%. 1:19): Brightness: 1/3, Airport: ON, Programs used: Aol IM, I-tunes and Safari(for like 10 minutes.
7:30 pm(31%. 0:43): Brightness: 1/3, Airport: ON, Programs used: Aol IM, I-tunes and word.
7:50 pm(19%): Sleep Mode
8:10 pm(15%): Out of Sleep Mode
823 pm(3%): Brightness: 1/3, Airport: ON, Programs used: Word

That was about 2 hours of usage with Panther installed, which is a little more then what I got out of 10.2.7.
I have seen a number of read outs from the latest 17 inch and 12 inch powerbooks, they seem to get a lot more battery life then the 15s.

Tomorrow I plan on calling apple and demanding that I receive a new powerbook instead of having this one repaired taking the fact that there are 3 major problems with my powerbook. I�m a college student and the last thing I need to be worrying about is some piece of **** product shipped out by apple. I personally felt they could have done 100x better then this. Don�t even get me started on the battery life of my Bluetooth mouse, which is well under a week. I will fight it tomorrow, and I mean fight it. I will sit on the phone calling all day until they replace this powerbook.


There is my little spiel about what I thought was going to be a solid product from apple.
     
AssassyN
Professional Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: WV, USA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 1, 2003, 10:07 PM
 
Don't freak dude, the spots on the screen will probably warrant a new unit anyway...I feel your pain, but approaching it like that will get you nowhere. Call them and *calmly* explain your issues w/ it and see what happens. Definitely stress the white spots on the screen.
5G 60GB video iPod
512MB iPod Shuffle
Westone UM1 Canalphones
     
nobitacu
Mac Elite
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 1, 2003, 10:07 PM
 
Hmmm... well, there seems to have a lot of problems with the new All 15inch Powerbooks, maybe they rush it out too fast? But I guess that's not Apple's fault since the people who were waiting on it were the ones rushing Apple to hurry up and come out with a 15 Al book.

Ming
A Proud Mac User Since: 03/24/03
Apple Computer: MacBook 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 3 GB Memory, 120 GB HD
     
Sakino  (op)
Senior User
Join Date: Jan 2003
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 1, 2003, 10:09 PM
 
Originally posted by AssassyN:
Don't freak dude, the spots on the screen will probably warrant a new unit anyway...I feel your pain, but approaching it like that will get you nowhere. Call them and *calmly* explain your issues w/ it and see what happens. Definitely stress the white spots on the screen.
Actually I talked with a tech today, he said that they would not replace the unit. The would only replace the faulty parts on the system. It would take 3-7 business days for them to do it, and then ship it back to me. Sorry I don't have 3-7 business days. Personally I fell they would replace the unit with a new one over night.
     
Sakino  (op)
Senior User
Join Date: Jan 2003
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 1, 2003, 10:12 PM
 
Originally posted by nobitacu:
Hmmm... well, there seems to have a lot of problems with the new All 15inch Powerbooks, maybe they rush it out too fast? But I guess that's not Apple's fault since the people who were waiting on it were the ones rushing Apple to hurry up and come out with a 15 Al book.

Ming
Sorry you got it all wrong, the 15 inch pb was long over do for an update therefore it wasn't the people rushing it out the door. Anyways apple could probably careless about what the people are saying.
     
sjake2
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Sep 2003
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 1, 2003, 10:17 PM
 
My Al15 is great. The only thing that is annoying is the battery life. Which is annoying. Very. 1:40 at the most. Well, apple got themselves a battery sale I guess...picking up an extra soon.
     
AssassyN
Professional Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: WV, USA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 1, 2003, 10:19 PM
 
Realistically, you can't expect them to ship you a new machine overnight to replace your faulty one...if you buy a brand new BMW, and one of the tires are out of balance and seperating, do you expect a new car to replace it?

Of course it sucks that it's messed up, but the best you can hope for is a quick turn-around from their repair center. If they'll only replace faulty parts, you'll get a new LCD, and a new battery at least. Possibly even a new hard drive. All for free, it just takes time for these repairs to be made.
5G 60GB video iPod
512MB iPod Shuffle
Westone UM1 Canalphones
     
Sakino  (op)
Senior User
Join Date: Jan 2003
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 1, 2003, 10:23 PM
 
Originally posted by AssassyN:
Realistically, you can't expect them to ship you a new machine overnight to replace your faulty one...if you buy a brand new BMW, and one of the tires are out of balance and seperating, do you expect a new car to replace it?

Of course it sucks that it's messed up, but the best you can hope for is a quick turn-around from their repair center. If they'll only replace faulty parts, you'll get a new LCD, and a new battery at least. Possibly even a new hard drive. All for free, it just takes time for these repairs to be made.
I dont see the point of them repairing it, i personally feel they should send me a new one. If id idn't bto I could have just went to the local apple store and picked up a new one right when I seen the problem. But I had to go with the 5400 rpm hd.
     
Yodas Scrotum
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: A Swamp Planet in the Dagobah System
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 1, 2003, 10:34 PM
 
Originally posted by Sakino:
blah
You're the most illiterate college student evar.

"When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not."
     
Sakino  (op)
Senior User
Join Date: Jan 2003
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 1, 2003, 10:36 PM
 
Originally posted by Yodas Scrotum:
You're the most illiterate college student evar.
Thanks Im currently on 2 hours of sleep in the past 40 hours so I could actually careless about how I am typing.
     
Nephron
Forum Regular
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 1, 2003, 10:42 PM
 
Yup,

Been playing with my new 15". The battery life is pretty lousy. That's my only complaint. Otherwise it is a dream machine.
Cheers
     
schk
Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: Jan 2003
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 1, 2003, 11:11 PM
 
Originally posted by Sakino:
I dont see the point of them repairing it, i personally feel they should send me a new one. If id idn't bto I could have just went to the local apple store and picked up a new one right when I seen the problem. But I had to go with the 5400 rpm hd.
I managed to get a rep to send out a new iPod the day I called to complain about a minor problem - broken holdswitch, so anything is possible if you are polite. I did call up Applecare first to see if they would replace it and they said no, so I called up the order line (pretty much every time I call Applecare it's some guy who is arrogant and annoying). The sales reps I usually get are female and very friendly. They are not supposed to send out replacement iPods without having to inspect the returned one and verify it as DOA. My unit was really only supposed to be repaired or I would have to pay a restocking fee if I wanted to get a new one. My returned iPod was received yesterday so I called up today to ask about the replacement order and the guy who answered was surpised, "Oh, this was already mailed out two days ago, that's strange." (the day I called to complain LOL).

Your complaints are valid and the white spots are documented as problems in Apple's internal knowledgebase. On top of that it's 7 times more expensive than my iPod was. Be firm, but polite. And if they do refuse you, I believe talking to Customer Relations has actually gotten some people to get BTO orders replaced with new ones in the past.
     
Sandbaggins
Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Los Angeles
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 1, 2003, 11:17 PM
 
Sakino,

I agree with you about getting a replacement. Do not accept repairs.
15" 1.25/512/80/5400/SD/AE Aluminum Powerbook
     
machem
Forum Regular
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Great Central Valley
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 1, 2003, 11:25 PM
 
Originally posted by Yodas Scrotum:
You're the most illiterate college student evar.
Perhaps you meant of limited vocabulary.

..as someone who teaches college/university students all day, I'd say both of you are par for the course.
     
Sakino  (op)
Senior User
Join Date: Jan 2003
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 1, 2003, 11:32 PM
 
Originally posted by machem:
Perhaps you meant of limited vocabulary.

..as someone who teaches college/university students all day, I'd say both of you are par for the course.
This topic is not about ****ing English. Tihs theard is aobut why my porewoobk scuks.
     
iDaver
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Colorado
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 1, 2003, 11:43 PM
 
Originally posted by Sakino:
This topic is not about ****ing English. Tihs theard is aobut why my porewoobk scuks.
Excuses, excuses.

Sorry to hear about the problems with your new machine.
     
redJag
Senior User
Join Date: Dec 2002
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 1, 2003, 11:59 PM
 
Originally posted by Sakino:
..I noticed 3 large white spots around the center of the monitor.
That's definitely a valid issue, I would be pissed off. However, it's often best not to let your mood translate over the phone. Politeness begets politeness.


Flaw #2 Another flaw started happening also, I would get these quite ticking sounds coming from the hard drive when I am not doing anything that would require me to write to the hd. It would click for 5 seconds, stop, and repeat for a while. Now this happens every once in awhile.
Depending on how loud the "ticking" is, it could be a bad harddrive. Definitely get it replaced while your powerbook is in the shop, anyway. Remember to back up (if you did anything productive in 5 days )


Flaw #3 The battery life is horrible! I have probably collaborated my battery like 8 times since I have had it, and the life will not get past 1 hour and 45 minutes
I used an iBook from our university and it had poor battery life as well. I don't know, the PowerBooks are probably supposed to be better. I think it had similar lifetime to 1hr45min.


Thanks Im currently on 2 hours of sleep in the past 40 hours so I could actually careless about how I am typing.
I never understood why people say "I could care less" (even though you said careless, we knew what you meant), when they actually mean "I could NOT care less." Eh, just a thing I have. I wouldn't describe you as illiterate, though. You write just fine, and seem to read others' replies fine, too.


I dont see the point of them repairing it, i personally feel they should send me a new one. If id idn't bto I could have just went to the local apple store and picked up a new one right when I seen the problem. But I had to go with the 5400 rpm hd.
So, this sounds like there is no point in getting it repaired since you had to go with the 5400RPM? Makes absolutely no sense.
--

Anyway, definitely send it in for repairs if you can't convince them to send you a new one. It's not the total end of the world, just one step closer. Use campus or friend's computers until it comes back to ya. Good luck.
( Last edited by redJag; Oct 2, 2003 at 01:26 AM. )
Travis Sanderson
     
vancenase
Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: Jul 2003
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 2, 2003, 12:00 AM
 
did you try microwaving it?
     
pptiger
Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Austin, TX
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 2, 2003, 12:14 AM
 
I freak out every time when I read a negative feedback of the 15" alboook. Mine is on the way!
     
nuraoar
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Sep 2003
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 2, 2003, 12:39 AM
 
I am not sure why everyone is so bent up on getting a new replacement unit. You have no garauntee that the new one won't have the same problem or worse have dead pixels that are in Apples tolerence range.

Replacing an LCD with another is not that big of a deal. It's a electronic part after all. In fact, I would prefer a repair because some one is going to inspect the thing before they send it out. You aren't garaunteed quality on a new one.

My cars transmission was noise when I first got it, I went throught the same conundrum. They replaced it within the first month and now after 60000 miles it is still fine. It's just psychological that a new Item shouldn't be flawed, reparing it makes it less new and therefore a new one makes it all better.
     
DaBeav
Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Hollywood, CA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 2, 2003, 12:41 AM
 
Wow. sounds more and more like the new 15" PowerBook is a lemon (not quite 53xx series, but close).

Sounds like you'd be better off with a Centrino. Hate to say it, but well...

Reading some of the logic board problems over in the iBook forum is worrysome as well.

I would love to replace my iMac with a laptop, but it sounds like Apple's quality control has gone way down hill. With past complaints about the TiBooks, I wonder if the vendor they use to assemble the new hardware just isn't cutting it?
( Last edited by DaBeav; Oct 2, 2003 at 12:58 AM. )
     
sorkinesque
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Sep 2003
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 2, 2003, 01:15 AM
 
about the BWM analogy, if a dealership sold you a defective car they would have to fix it under the terms of the state's lemon law about 1/2 of the states allow for attorney fees if the consumer sues and wins. another thing to note, most places if a car is out of service for more than 30 days it's a lemon...i wonder under that definition how many lemons apple has? especially if they keep using airborne...
     
arekkusu
Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Jul 2002
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 2, 2003, 01:57 AM
 
Can't comment on battery life, but I just sent my 15"AlBook back today because of the white spots and 8 stuck pixels. At first Apple told me they would repair it, four days later they changed their mind and now they are replacing the whole machine.

Personally, I'd rather that they just repair it (by swapping the display) since then I at least feel somewhat sure that the tech doing the repair will take a good look at the results before shipping it back. Now, I'm gambling on another machine, total luck again.
     
Porco
Junior Member
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Yay Area
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 2, 2003, 02:52 AM
 
My 15" doesn't have all the issues reported up to now, except two. The first is the battery. The claim is that it will be 4.5 hours. I have never seen more the 2:10 on mine. That sucks. There is nothing anyone can say to tell me that is not false advertising. I know that 4.5 isn't realistic, but I did get over 3 with my TiBook. This is not what I expected.

Now, for the latest issue. Seems that my AC adapter is on the fritz. I have my PB set up to run a 20"display and is paired with a bluetooth keyboard. The AC adapter keeps stopping for no reason, so I end up on battery power again. The only way to reset it is to unplug the adapter and plug it back in. This has only happened since I paired the bluetooth keyboard, mind you.

Stuff like this is crazy. Tomorrow I am going to have to call Apple about both issues.
     
slider
Mac Elite
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: No frelling idea
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 2, 2003, 03:38 AM
 
Originally posted by nobitacu:
Hmmm... well, there seems to have a lot of problems with the new All 15inch Powerbooks, maybe they rush it out too fast? But I guess that's not Apple's fault since the people who were waiting on it were the ones rushing Apple to hurry up and come out with a 15 Al book.

Ming
That is ridiculous.
     
slider
Mac Elite
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: No frelling idea
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 2, 2003, 03:43 AM
 
Hmm, well, my PowerBook had it's ship date pushed back 9 days, hopefully it's to resolve these issues or at least better QA.
     
sanity assassin
Mac Elite
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: In a gadda da vida.
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 2, 2003, 03:55 AM
 
ONe thing to note about the HD, the ticking noise could be the heads parking, or-recalibrating. I bought a new IBM Travelstar recently and every so often I hear a ticking sound, I got in touch with Hitachi (now the makers of them), and they said it was normal, it doesn't happen often though.
Rockstar Games - better than reality.
     
Sakino  (op)
Senior User
Join Date: Jan 2003
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 2, 2003, 09:16 AM
 
Originally posted by slider:
Hmm, well, my PowerBook had it's ship date pushed back 9 days, hopefully it's to resolve these issues or at least better QA.
Was this a new order or a replacement?

If its a new order maybe they are attempting to fix the problems. If thats the case I am calling today demanding that a new one be built and sent to the local apple store where I can replace it when it is built.
     
amazing
Professional Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 2, 2003, 02:10 PM
 
Never buy a first generation model. It takes at least 6 months to work out the kinks, in the meantime the early adopters are the guinea pigs of the tech world.

Since you've got the white spots and can return it, why not wait until it's shipping with Panther? Or, if you can get a refund now, return it and tough it out till then.

PS: Never a good idea to post on little sleep.
     
Sakino  (op)
Senior User
Join Date: Jan 2003
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 2, 2003, 05:44 PM
 
OMG im on the phone with a tech at apple right now, he said they probably will not fix the white spot problems.
WHAT THE ****!?!?!
This is some major bullshit, im with in the 10 day period can I just send it back to them and get a refund?
     
s0litude
Forum Regular
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Chicago, IL
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 2, 2003, 06:13 PM
 
Sakino, i really feel for you buddy. That isn't cool at all. Keep fighting, but be calm. Man, it seems like you've got the worst case scenario in terms of getting the pb. Let us know how it turns out and good luck.
Hi!
     
slider
Mac Elite
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: No frelling idea
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 2, 2003, 06:43 PM
 
Originally posted by Sakino:
Was this a new order or a replacement?

If its a new order maybe they are attempting to fix the problems. If thats the case I am calling today demanding that a new one be built and sent to the local apple store where I can replace it when it is built.
New order.
     
amazing
Professional Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 2, 2003, 06:55 PM
 
Listen: People have gotten different responses from different people on the SOS line, call back and very politely ask to talk to a supervisor. Politely and firmly tell them that the PB is defective and you will HAVE to return it. Just remember that Apple sets the policies: If you don't kill the messenger they frequently will bend the policies to help you.

Also, are you close to an Apple Store? They're more likely to take it back there and give you a refund. Or exchange it (even for a 12'".)

Did you buy it with a credit card? You've got a defective laptop, the credit card will allow you to do a charge back. You've already done your best to return it as defective by contacting Apple. The credit card company will HOPEFULLY back you up on this.
     
Sakino  (op)
Senior User
Join Date: Jan 2003
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 2, 2003, 07:17 PM
 
Originally posted by amazing:
Listen: People have gotten different responses from different people on the SOS line, call back and very politely ask to talk to a supervisor. Politely and firmly tell them that the PB is defective and you will HAVE to return it. Just remember that Apple sets the policies: If you don't kill the messenger they frequently will bend the policies to help you.

Also, are you close to an Apple Store? They're more likely to take it back there and give you a refund. Or exchange it (even for a 12'".)

Did you buy it with a credit card? You've got a defective laptop, the credit card will allow you to do a charge back. You've already done your best to return it as defective by contacting Apple. The credit card company will HOPEFULLY back you up on this.
I got off the phone with apple, they will only attempt to fix the product. I'm sorry this powerbook is not worth fixing with the amount of problems I have. The tech I was talking to didnt even know what the ADC Hardware purchase program was.
After about 3 differetn transfers and over an hour and have on the phone they told me to email devprograms to solve my problem.
Lets hope they can work something out.
I dont think they will allow me to exchane it being the fact that my order is bto.
     
Podolsky
Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Oct 1999
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 2, 2003, 08:12 PM
 
You should have bought the second revision of the 17" I did. When you BTO the 15 with a single stick of ram you are almost there cost wise and with the 17 you get SO MUCH MORE. So, if you do return it get the 17 rev 2. You'll love it.
     
Sakino  (op)
Senior User
Join Date: Jan 2003
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 2, 2003, 08:28 PM
 
Originally posted by Podolsky:
You should have bought the second revision of the 17" I did. When you BTO the 15 with a single stick of ram you are almost there cost wise and with the 17 you get SO MUCH MORE. So, if you do return it get the 17 rev 2. You'll love it.
\

Personally I think its to big. I went thru adc so it was really cheap for me. The bto was a faster hd. I dont konw what im going to do. Im debating on going with a rev b 12 incher
     
KeriVit
Professional Poster
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: In the South
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 2, 2003, 10:02 PM
 
I say hold tight.

First of all- the arguing here isn't necessary.

We all must realize that when we order a brand new product, it is right off the shelf and we are Beta testes. Believe me, I have learned this on $200K pieces of equipment, not just $3k.

But by no means is that en excuse for Apple to put out a shotty product. This white spot problem seems too prevalent to just be discovered now. They should have seen it in Alpha. There's no excuse for that.

However, if it is just a fix that they know that they can fix with repair, we should let them. To replace every unit for a $50 part would be ridiculous. I (hope) trust that they know where the problem lies and that they will fix it.

Until then, have faith. I have been in your shoes (including angry and demanding) but it all worked out in the end. So have faith and let us know if it doesn't work out.

Yes, the wait may seem long. But really- we shouldn't order order a computer and not anticipate an adjustment period. I never put myself in a position where my new technilogy is all I have. I leave a month transition. My dual G4 sat at work and was loaded and transitioned in over a 6 week period. In that time, we installed the OS twice, talked to Apple, installed new stuff. etc. It's no different from any other product.

Bottom line- changes take time, it will all come together, just have faith.
     
PowerTower Fan
Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: California
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 2, 2003, 10:16 PM
 
Originally posted by Sakino:
\

Personally I think its to big. I went thru adc so it was really cheap for me. The bto was a faster hd. I dont konw what im going to do. Im debating on going with a rev b 12 incher
I'd say if you absolutely can't live without a computer for about a week and the problems of a Rev. A computer really bug you, I'd get a refurb'ed 15" TiBook rather than a 12". Be warned though, I don't know what returning a product would do for your ADC status, ie you could still by another computer later on. I really feel for what your going through, but unfortunately this isn't a case where you get a replacement computer. You're just seeing some of the issues of a Rev. A computer, stuff that Apple couldn't find out without extensive real world tests.
     
Sakino  (op)
Senior User
Join Date: Jan 2003
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 3, 2003, 01:55 PM
 
Does anyone know how long it would take [email protected] to reply to an email? I sent one in yesterday afternoon and they havnt gotten back to me yet.
Should I maybe call the adc department again to see whats up?
     
kentuckyfried
Senior User
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Bay Area, CA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 3, 2003, 03:35 PM
 
speaking of flaws, does anybody else who owns an Al 15" have any problems with noise? Like I've mentioned on a different thread, whenever I move my mouse, I can hear a high-pitched sound emanating from the laptop. It's very faint, I just want to find out if this is normal since it's under warranty right now and I can get it fixed if it's a problem.
Now I know, and knowing is half the battle!
     
jasong
Mac Elite
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Allston, MA, USA
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 3, 2003, 03:52 PM
 
Sakino, are you sure you are really hearing what the person on the phone is saying? "they told me to email devprograms to solve my problem." That makes no sense whatsoever. I've fortunately only needed to have 2 Apple products ever repaired (soundcard in my Pismo went bad, and the battery in my iPod wouldn't hold a charge (although it was really the firmware, not the hardware)), and they have been wonderful both times. Fast responses, and fast turnaround (Pismo was picked up on Thursday, back first thing Monday morning).

-- Jason

PS to the guy who says to get a Centrino, that is great advice, because I have *never* seen a PC with a problem. Really. I mean it.
     
bgordon
Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Manhattan, NY
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 3, 2003, 04:08 PM
 
I did it. I canceled my 15-in. AlBook order.

Based on the reports I've read here, and especially considering I was getting a BTO model, I was not willing to risk the apparent 30-40 percent possibility of getting a laptop with white screen spots, dead pixels, etc. I'm just not thrilled with the prospect of possible hours on the phone with Apple Support, followed by sending the thing back to Taiwan to get fixed.

I jumped on one of the brand-new WindTunnel PowerMacs when they first came out last year, and I had to spend an extra $300 on a Verax kit to make it acceptably quiet. You would think I would have learned my lesson by now on buying new models. (And I disagree with the guy who says we're all beta testers; we shouldn't be for this kind of money, and especially not with this particular model, not after the time they had to develop it.)

Sigh. I think I may have to get an IceBook; much less power, and not what I wanted, but hopefully no kinks. (Except these reports of logic board problems I'm seeing.....)

- bgordon
     
Sakino  (op)
Senior User
Join Date: Jan 2003
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 3, 2003, 04:37 PM
 
Originally posted by jasong:
Sakino, are you sure you are really hearing what the person on the phone is saying? "they told me to email devprograms to solve my problem." That makes no sense whatsoever. I've fortunately only needed to have 2 Apple products ever repaired (soundcard in my Pismo went bad, and the battery in my iPod wouldn't hold a charge (although it was really the firmware, not the hardware)), and they have been wonderful both times. Fast responses, and fast turnaround (Pismo was picked up on Thursday, back first thing Monday morning).

-- Jason

PS to the guy who says to get a Centrino, that is great advice, because I have *never* seen a PC with a problem. Really. I mean it.
The person at adc said I would have to email that email adress because he couldn't do anything for me other then send out a repair box. This isn't what I want. Is this normal to have me email that adress to see if they would
agree with wha tI wanted to do?
     
nuraoar
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Sep 2003
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 3, 2003, 05:27 PM
 
Ok, even though I had the bright spots on the screen, I think everybody is over reacting.

LCDs do have issues, just search on google. It's not like I had to spend hours with apple before they decided to repair it. Replacement was my intial response but it didn't make sense after some thought, too many unknowns versus 1 (LCD).

Computers are made of parts, Parts come from various vendors and each of those vendors has quality control issues and a rate of problematic components shipped.

Hard disks and LCDs are noutorious for a high rate of bad components in production.These things happen and are not too hard to fix. Just replace the HD or LCD it is not like all components in the system have to have the same "age".

As for the heat and lid not closing snug enough (not the latch issue). I think that is how it was designed, a colleague's 17 inch also has the same lid design.

The heat is not abnormal.You have a 1.25ghz cpu, a high end graphics card with DDR ram and two sticks of DDR memory and these things generate heat. Apple uses the Aluminum in the chasis to its advantage and uses it as a heat sink (Read the manual). Would you rather apple made the laptop thicker and added 2 noisy fans like the Dells?

The battery life could be better but then again with all those high end devices like DDR, Radeon and harddisk it's hard to get 4 hours with a small battery The centrino based systems use the intel PRO 802.11b (11 mbps) wireless card to get battery life, put in another card and I don't think you can get 4 hrs of battery life.The Centrino brand name for is the Pentium-M + the intel wireless card, laptops using only the pentium M can't use the centrino logo.

And many of the centrino laptops don't have as good a graphics card with 64 MB VRAM. They also are a lot heavier becuase of the big batteries. I think the IBM T40 is an exception but it too uses a radeon 7500 16-32 megs of ram. Since OS X uses more of the graphics cards 3D functions, I wouldn't be surprised to find that the radeon is consuming quiet a lot more power on a powerbook than an equivalent x86 laptop running XP.


That said, I think every individual has the right to make their purchase decisions but please don't use the forums as an indicator of a products reliabulity. Most people who have problems are more vocal than those who are happy.

Cheers
( Last edited by nuraoar; Oct 3, 2003 at 05:34 PM. )
     
macxtal
Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2003
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 3, 2003, 05:51 PM
 
Based on the reports I've read here, and especially considering I was getting a BTO model, I was not willing to risk the apparent 30-40 percent possibility of getting a laptop with white screen spots, dead pixels, etc. I'm just not thrilled with the prospect of possible hours on the phone with Apple Support, followed by sending the thing back to Taiwan to get fixed.
You are being very ignorant.

The only people who post here are those who are either perfectionists, or got a notebook with a problem. It is not a scientific sample in any way shape or form. Only apple knows the real figures, and they're likely quite low. 30-40%, indeed.

Apple has shipped thousands and thousands of these notebooks at this point. You would have likely recieved a unit in good operating condition.

Apple has issues with customer support. This is a valid point, and a good one to stop your order on. Like my Honda - great product, but dealer service has a very bad track record.

But 30-40%, come on, get real.

My Al 15" is flawless, just like I imagine the vast majority of them are.
     
bgordon
Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Manhattan, NY
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 3, 2003, 06:59 PM
 
[QUOTE]Originally posted by macxtal:
[B]You are being very ignorant.

Hmmmm. . . your opinion, but since I have a shred of self-esteem, forgive me if I disagree.

Okay, maybe the figure isn't 40 percent, but there are enough posters on here with problems to give me credible pause. I've been reading these forums a long time, and when, say, the original iBooks came out, no LCD problems were reported. It's obvious Sakino ain't the only one with a problem.

I think my decision was an intelligent one, based on what I'm reading in here and in various other online forums. Odds may have been in my favor that I would have received a perfect model, but with enough rumblings out there from plenty of various sources about white spots, and the difficulty of returning BTO models, I don't think the odds are to the point where I'm comfortable with them. How can you call my decision ignorant, aside from gratuitous name-calling?
     
Sakino  (op)
Senior User
Join Date: Jan 2003
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 3, 2003, 07:42 PM
 
Originally posted by nuraoar:

The battery life could be better but then again with all those high end devices like DDR, Radeon and harddisk it's hard to get 4 hours with a small battery The centrino based systems use the intel PRO 802.11b (11 mbps) wireless card to get battery life, put in another card and I don't think you can get 4 hrs of battery life.The Centrino brand name for is the Pentium-M + the intel wireless card, laptops using only the pentium M can't use the centrino logo.
Cheers
Well with my situation I cannot even an hour and 30 minutes with airport, surfing, itunes, and 2 bar brightness. Thats not normal
     
nuraoar
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Sep 2003
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 3, 2003, 07:53 PM
 
Did you run Xcharge or Xbattery and look atclock it with wall time?

With 10.2.8 the MacOS X battery meter was giving me an estimate of 1:40 minutes. But the real life was 2.5 hours average.
     
gradlife79
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Oct 2003
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 8, 2003, 10:36 PM
 
I had a 867 mhz 12" that got stolen (replaced with a new 1 ghz) and it came with a warped keyboard and a piece of hair in the little apple on the backside of the lid. My replacement 12" also arrived with a slight warp (wobbles on some surfaces), a single raised foot, and a gap in the casing (near the latch). The company in Taiwan that Apple uses to manufacture its laptops undoubtedly has some problems.

This being said, the first 12" worked great after a repair at my local service provider (I gave up calling Apple for a replacement). My advice is to see who your local apple care provider (not Apple store) is and bring it to him/her. The guy who fixed my previous powerbook is wonderful and I trust him a lot more than some faceless technician at Apple. He switched out my keyboard while I watched and offered to change my LCD as well (I declined because it worked fine apart from the hair). He got me new feet for free when Apple told me I had to pay $6. As for the slight warp in my new 12", I think I can live with it as long as it gets me through my remaining 2-2.5 years of graduate school. It works great otherwise, seems to run cooler than the previous 12", and I get about 3 hrs out of the battery with the LCD set at 2/3.
     
nate_02
Senior User
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Milwaukee
Status: Offline
Reply With Quote
Oct 8, 2003, 11:43 PM
 
Originally posted by Sakino:
I got off the phone with apple, they will only attempt to fix the product. I'm sorry this powerbook is not worth fixing with the amount of problems I have. The tech I was talking to didnt even know what the ADC Hardware purchase program was.
After about 3 differetn transfers and over an hour and have on the phone they told me to email devprograms to solve my problem.
Lets hope they can work something out.
I dont think they will allow me to exchane it being the fact that my order is bto.
When I went through 4 cinema displays, I finally got mad and told them I was sick of getting the run around and asked to speak to the person's manager. I finally got what a wanted.

Not sure this will work every time.
-nate
     
 
Thread Tools
 
Forum Links
Forum Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Top
Privacy Policy
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 07:19 AM.
All contents of these forums © 1995-2017 MacNN. All rights reserved.
Branding + Design: www.gesamtbild.com
vBulletin v.3.8.8 © 2000-2017, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.,