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Orion27 · Dec 1, 2003, 10:56 PM

The time is now and I need a Powerbook for work. Did I read somewhere that the Al 15" Powerbook is in revision A1B? That said or confirmed, I was thinking of going over to the local AppleStore against my better judgement and picking up one there. The idea of waiting for two weeks to have a powerbook delivered would be torture. How can I best be assured of getting the latest crispy revision?

hldan · Dec 2, 2003, 04:30 AM

The 15"Albook has not been revised. Apple addressed the issue about the screen pressure causing bright smudges on the screen and made sure that the current shipping models were not going to have that problem.
Revised models will usually ship with higher clock speeds or larger HD's but there have been no revisions since the 15AL was introduced in September.

C-Bear · Dec 2, 2003, 04:38 AM

Originally posted by Orion27:
The idea of waiting for two weeks to have a powerbook delivered would be torture.

How long have you been waiting thus far?

ingeniero · Dec 2, 2003, 05:43 PM

Originally posted by Orion27:
The time is now and I need a Powerbook for work. Did I read somewhere that the Al 15" Powerbook is in revision A1B? That said or confirmed, I was thinking of going over to the local AppleStore against my better judgement and picking up one there. The idea of waiting for two weeks to have a powerbook delivered would be torture. How can I best be assured of getting the latest crispy revision?

Keep your eyes peeled for Rev B on an Al 15 at the Macworld in San Fran. on January. It may be released there with a speed bump and hopefully the screen issue resolved. And better yet, it can be the "collector's edition" powerbook celebrating Mac 20th anniversary

Peabo · 08:06 PM

Originally posted by ingeniero:
Keep your eyes peeled for Rev B on an Al 15 at the Macworld in San Fran. on January. It may be released there with a speed bump and hopefully the screen issue resolved. And better yet, it can be the "collector's edition" powerbook celebrating Mac 20th anniversary

No it won't. Apple don't revise products 4 months after they are released

ingeniero · Dec 2, 2003, 07:04 PM

Originally posted by z0ne81:
No it won't. Apple don't revise products 4 montsh after they ar released

Wouldn't they do it at a major show? the next "big' one wouldn't be until June.

Maflynn · Dec 2, 2003, 07:13 PM

Originally posted by ingeniero:
Wouldn't they do it at a major show? the next "big' one wouldn't be until June.

Well if receent history teaches us anyhting then no Apple doesn't wait for a major show to release updates to there line. just look at the G4 ibook or the 20" imac.

Mike

ingeniero · Dec 3, 2003, 01:34 AM

Originally posted by Maflynn:
Well if receent history teaches us anyhting then no Apple doesn't wait for a major show to release updates to there line. just look at the G4 ibook or the 20" imac.

Mike

you have a point, however, these are not the flagship products, the powermac and powerbooks are. In the PB side, although the 17 is topshelf, it seems that the 15 is the most popular, so a release at a show? I guess we'll wait and see, if not, I hope it'll come soon after. I'm one of the procrastinators waiting on rev B.

Orion27 · Dec 3, 2003, 06:27 AM

Couldn't wait, just bought the 1.25 15". Brought it home and sat it on the kitchen table. I didn't want to open the box. Had dinner and opened the box for desert. Loaded with OS 10.3. Keep you posted...

dgbatchelor · Dec 3, 2003, 06:30 AM

The other option (if you don't want to wait for a revision for the 15" PowerBook), is the current 17" PowerBook...

Sure, it costs a little bit more... and yes it is a little bit bigger/heavier to haul around, but the larger screen is sweet.

Maflynn · Dec 3, 2003, 08:16 AM

Originally posted by ingeniero:
you have a point, however, these are not the flagship products, the powermac and powerbooks are. In the PB side, although the 17 is topshelf, it seems that the 15 is the most popular, so a release at a show? I guess we'll wait and see, if not, I hope it'll come soon after. I'm one of the procrastinators waiting on rev B.

Yes I agree the 15 is one of the most popular - I have one

but it was just released and they seemed to have just finished fixing the screen issue so I don't think they would give you a speed bump. Who knows (other then S. Jobs).

Mike

shabbasuraj · Dec 3, 2003, 08:33 AM

Speed bump will hopefully occur this Jan...if Apple wants to stay ahead, they better react FIRST...

then hopefully a 20" G5ivver PB will be ready for the next academic year...i.e. end of summer...

discussion forming below, for those who like a imaginative read...

http://forums.appleinsider.com/showt...threadid=34317

Sakino · Dec 3, 2003, 02:26 PM

All you guys can wait around till Jan. for an updated powerbook, but I must say there a slim to none change it's going to happen. Half the people who ordered within the first two weeks just started seeing their powerbooks. All the current problems with the 15 inch al pb are just getting resolved, the last thing they are going to do is update the powerbook in a month a couple of weeks. I just don't see it happening. I would be ****ing pissed to tell you the truth. I am now going on my 4th al 15" pb, yes that's the 4th one. The longest I had one of the powerbooks was 5 days.
Another reason to look at is the fact that there is still a 2-3 week build time?!?!

vcutag · Dec 3, 2003, 05:52 PM

I just bought my 15" yesterday from the Apple Store here in Richmond, and I've heard the rumours that by now the screen problems have been resolved and that you can check to see how old your computer is by checking the serial number? How does that work?

So far, I've had no problems with it, I'm a very happy first-time Mac user. This is easily the most beautiful peice of computer I've ever seen.

nagromme · Dec 4, 2003, 01:41 AM

I think it was from this forum that I saved the following note:

"check the s/n so you have a 42+ week machine. V7339... means 39th week"

I can't say if that's really true or not. Is there any PHYSICAL way to check if you have a "post-white-spot-fix" PB? Anything you can observe in the construction?

And could a 15" PowerBook bought now still be one of the original pre-fix models? I assume there are still some floating around in the supply chain. My PowerBook 1.25 is expected by the reseller on Friday, so I should get it next week. I hope I get a "new" one.

Orion27 · Dec 4, 2003, 08:54 AM

Bought My Pbook at the Apple Store in Towson, MD. Serial #73466 >>> Perfect no dead pixel screen or other issues. I was surprised no Panther disks included, only software restore and an airport extreme disks. Panther seems a llittle flakey in the Network area on this book. I have had to repair permissions twice to get the Network button to respond in the Go Menue. Otherwise I was impressed how easily the Notebook picked up a T1 line over a NT network. It also sees the server but I haven't tried to pull down any files yet. Only Mac on the Network. This should be fun! I'll be visiting the Network forum the next few days. What's fun is I have access to the server.

vcutag · Dec 4, 2003, 11:42 AM

Originally posted by nagromme:
I think it was from this forum that I saved the following note:

"check the s/n so you have a 42+ week machine. V7339... means 39th week"

I can't say if that's really true or not. Is there any PHYSICAL way to check if you have a "post-white-spot-fix" PB? Anything you can observe in the construction?

And could a 15" PowerBook bought now still be one of the original pre-fix models? I assume there are still some floating around in the supply chain. My PowerBook 1.25 is expected by the reseller on Friday, so I should get it next week. I hope I get a "new" one.

I hope that's the case, mine's V7348...

The screen does seem to be more rigid than some of the damaged ones I've heard about, it doesn't warp and I don't get any pooling putting gentle pressure on the back.

I guess my only problem that I've noticed so far is the battery life, it frankly sucks. Anyone know how to test the battery?

Also, what's the program I need to use to check for dead pixels?

Thanks in advance!

Orion27 · Dec 4, 2003, 11:52 AM

If I can't see them why do I care if they exist?

PBG4 User · Dec 4, 2003, 12:40 PM

There is a free program called PixelCheck that can help you find dead / stuck pixels. Do a search on versiontracker.com

As far as your "sucky" battery life, how many hours do you get on a charge? Did you do the battery calibration routine as stated in your "Getting Started ..." guide?

nagromme · Dec 5, 2003, 01:14 PM

Ditto... all makers of LCD products allow a few dead pixels, but if you can't see them, don't go looking!

I've considered posting a desktop picture that's the default aqua blue, but with a few fake dead pixels added (and maybe some softly airbrushed discolored spots) just to have fun with new Mac owners. I know, I'm sick.

Person Man · Dec 5, 2003, 04:06 PM

Originally posted by Orion27:
Bought My Pbook at the Apple Store in Towson, MD. Serial #73466 >>> Perfect no dead pixel screen or other issues. I was surprised no Panther disks included, only software restore and an airport extreme disks. Panther seems a llittle flakey in the Network area on this book. I have had to repair permissions twice to get the Network button to respond in the Go Menue. Otherwise I was impressed how easily the Notebook picked up a T1 line over a NT network. It also sees the server but I haven't tried to pull down any files yet. Only Mac on the Network. This should be fun! I'll be visiting the Network forum the next few days. What's fun is I have access to the server.

If Panther is preinstalled, then the Software Restore Disk should have the full Panther installer on it.

hldan · Dec 5, 2003, 04:27 PM

Originally posted by nagromme:
Ditto... all makers of LCD products allow a few dead pixels, but if you can't see them, don't go looking!

I've considered posting a desktop picture that's the default aqua blue, but with a few fake dead pixels added (and maybe some softly airbrushed discolored spots) just to have fun with new Mac owners. I know, I'm sick.

I totally agree. I don't know about anyone else but I get so scared when it's time to check for dead or stuck pixels. Sometimes I just don't want to find out but I will use pixel check but I am afraid to launch the program only for my heart to fall to the floor discovering bad pixels or a flawed screen.