[im_noahselby]

Well, here is how I came to own my PB...

I was originally set on getting an iBook before Apple announced their most recent iBook and PowerBook offerings. It was an easy decision though, because for the money (Cdn), the rev C PowerBook represented the better value of the two. For example, 30 extra GB HD, twice the video ram, dvi, bluetooth, BUILT IN airport extreme, cooler form factor, etc...

In the end it came down to price and the new rev C PB was announced at a dramatically reduced price compared to the rev B model before it. It was nice to see Apple offering Canadians, PB's at prices that better reflected our dollar, as this is my greatest issue with the company.

I could finally justify the purchase of a brand new PB to replace my pixel free iMac 800 rev A.
___

A few months later.. Yes it does take us a long time to recieve Apple hardware I began my search to find a 12" 1.33 combo drive PB. Considering I never used the superdrive in my iMac, the SD PB option wasn't important to me.

The reason why I will never buy a laptop, iMac, or Apple LCD through Apple is my concern over dead pixels. I chose to purchase my PB through local retailers who offered a hassle free return policy and offered no restocking fee if I decided to return my computer after opening it.

It turns out my concerns were well founded. The first PB I bought had a real oddity. In the upper center of the screen there was a dead pixel in plain sight. Strangely enough, when I moved windows across the screen it would blink red and blue, depending of course on how close the window I was moving was to its location on the screen. Surely it could have been a display connection issue, but unless I registered the laptop with Apple they would not help me and by registering the PB I was told it would "complicate" the returning process. Also we have all heard the horrors of sending laptops back to Apple for service.... No thank you...

PowerBook # 2 I had hoped would be better, unfortunately to my dissapointment it wasn't any better than the first. Another red pixel in the dead center of the screen starring me in the face. I also had to push in some of the keys that weren't pushed in all the way, lol... Back it went.

I had no doubt in my mind that PB # 3 would be perfect. I mean, what are the odds of buying 3 laptops all with dead pixels? But to my dissapointment it too had a red dead pixel. The location of this pixel wasn't that bad as it was where Photoshop or InDesign palletes would be placed if they were set on the right side of the display. Again however, I could not take my eyes off of it. If the pixel wasn't enough, their was also a fairly large scratch on the upper right corner. Not all that noticeable with the display on, but c'mon! RETURNED...

After going through 3 PowerBooks in the course of a week I was rethinking my PB purchase alltogether. My brother had recently purchased a Compaq 15.4" laptop and of course it had a perfect, beautiful screen. Seeing me return three Apple laptops certainly left him with an impression of Apple he probbably won't soon forget.

After three bad PB's I wanted an eMac, but I wanted more features. I didn't want to have to deal with LCD's and their associated weakness's. I was lucky with my iMac; I never had a single problem in the 2.5 years I owned that machine.

I contemplated my purchase for a month, watching as my brother enjoyed using his laptop. I decided to give the PB a fourth and final buy. I somehow expected the worst even though I knew the odds were in my favour. The box as it was placed on the counter was badly scratched up and the handle was broken off (shipping?), but as long as the PB wasn't, that is all that mattered.

Sadly, PowerBook # 4 was not perfect. Dead center, you guessed it! The discovery of a dead pixel. But this time something was different. It was grey or light blue, it doesn't really matter. Although sometimes noticable, it is not nearly as irritating as the last three red dead pixels were. This light blue one blends in well in most backgrounds and you cant even really see it on black and white backdrops.

I decided to keep this machine, regardless of the dead pixel. If it ever turns red though, I'll shoot myself, lol.

As for the PowerBook, I'm typing on it right now and it's doing quite well after two days of life. No other problems other than that one dead pixel. I really do like it more than I ever liked my iMac. Everything feels solid and works the way it should. Overall the 12" PowerBook is a solid product with some minor production problems, at least in the batch I cycled through.

Recommended. Just be aware of the concequences involved when you buy directly through Apple or at an Apple Store.

[MilkmanDan]

Now that really sucks. What are the odds of that happening.

[Stelliform]

Is this a trend with LCD's? I just bought two LCD's for a client from Dell and both had bad pixels.

[unten44]

I had a similar "return" problem with my 800 mhz Powerbook(s) but in my case, I took it to the same Apple Genius at the Costa Mesa store so they would remember me. I basically told him straight from the beginning that if it couldn't be fixed, I want a new Powerbook.

To make a long story short, they made an exception from standard no exchange policy and gave me a then newer 867mhz powerbook after the 3rd complaint.

[STAT]

Remember that there is a difference between a dead pixel and a stuck pixel. A stuck pixel is one that is stuck on some color. A dead pixel is one that is black (no life). Stuck pixels can often be massaged to correction and even sometimes dead ones can be too. I've read some good write-ups on doing this over the years, but unfortunately don't have any bookmarks. Basically, you take a soft cloth, wrap it around your finger, and gently but firmly massage the stuck pixel in a circular motion. Sometimes you have to do this several times before it works. But remember that LCD is Liquid Crystal Display, so you can sometimes move that liquid around in there enough to help.

[MrForgetable]

Originally posted by STAT:
Remember that there is a difference between a dead pixel and a stuck pixel. A stuck pixel is one that is stuck on some color. A dead pixel is one that is black (no life). Stuck pixels can often be massaged to correction and even sometimes dead ones can be too. I've read some good write-ups on doing this over the years, but unfortunately don't have any bookmarks. Basically, you take a soft cloth, wrap it around your finger, and gently but firmly massage the stuck pixel in a circular motion. Sometimes you have to do this several times before it works. But remember that LCD is Liquid Crystal Display, so you can sometimes move that liquid around in there enough to help.

On my LCD, I have a line going vertically through about 3/4 of the screen in the middle a pixel in width, and it is blue. Does that mean it is stuck or dead? i've had the lcd for 4 years until it started acting up and now i've had it for 5 and it still works.

[STAT]

If it is blue, AFAIK, those are considered to be stuck pixels. Perhaps you could give it some massage and get them unstuck. It's worth a try. Shoot...it's worth several!

[SKP909]

hey is there any app that tests for bad or dead pixels?
I enquired with apple and apple store about this very prob b4 i bought my pb and of course they told me, ALL HARDWARE issues on PB's were long ago resolved. I'm in Australia.
Does ACPP cover the screen? If so im think i should upgrade mine to 3 years?
its a fair bit tho... ? whatcha rekon,.?

Thnx

[MrForgetable]

Originally posted by STAT:
If it is blue, AFAIK, those are considered to be stuck pixels. Perhaps you could give it some massage and get them unstuck. It's worth a try. Shoot...it's worth several!

is there a chance i could get more dead/stuck pixels by rubbing it?

a little scared, i've gotten used to the line so it doesn't matter much, but if i could fix it maybe i should try.

[STAT]

Originally posted by MrForgetable:
is there a chance i could get more dead/stuck pixels by rubbing it?

a little scared, i've gotten used to the line so it doesn't matter much, but if i could fix it maybe i should try.

As always, anything is possible. But if you don't apply too much pressure and don't do it for hours a day, you'll be alright. In fact, you might even fix it! Just cover your finger in one of those laptop screen cloths and use the pad of your finger tip to massage the bad/stuck/dead pixel in a circular motion. Press down about how hard you have to press to start seeing screen distortion around where you're pressing. But I wouldn't go too much harder. Just kind of work it for a while and see if it improves.

I wish to God I could find the URL of the page that spoke about this method, but it was probably two years ago or more when I found it and I can't find the bookmark. I DID however find the bookmark to this piece of software that lets you find stuck/dead pixels. It's free, check it out: http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/mac/11661

[boysss]

Originally posted by im_noahselby:
Well, here is how I came to own my PB...

Sadly, PowerBook # 4 was not perfect. Dead center, you guessed it! The discovery of a dead pixel. But this time something was different. It was grey or light blue, it doesn't really matter. Although sometimes noticable, it is not nearly as irritating as the last three red dead pixels were. This light blue one blends in well in most backgrounds and you cant even really see it on black and white backdrops.

I decided to keep this machine, regardless of the dead pixel. If it ever turns red though, I'll shoot myself, lol.

As for the PowerBook, I'm typing on it right now and it's doing quite well after two days of life. No other problems other than that one dead pixel. I really do like it more than I ever liked my iMac. Everything feels solid and works the way it should. Overall the 12" PowerBook is a solid product with some minor production problems, at least in the batch I cycled through.

Recommended. Just be aware of the concequences involved when you buy directly through Apple or at an Apple Store.

Wow, the faith was strong in that one

[alted]

Wow. After reading this thread, I thoroughly checked my PB for dead pixels. Luckily none.

One Problem I do have is that my powerbook display seems to get stuck. I cannot close the display without hearing a crack sound from the joint area/display clutch. Otherwise, there seems to be no visible problem with the hardware. Does anyone else have this problem? Do you think this is a serious problem?


Ed

[im_noahselby]

Originally posted by MrForgetable:
is there a chance i could get more dead/stuck pixels by rubbing it?

a little scared, i've gotten used to the line so it doesn't matter much, but if i could fix it maybe i should try.

I tried rubbing the red pixels on the first three laptops, but was deathly afraid of making the pixel or the screen worse than it already was. I guess I'm not familiar enough with the technology to know the limits of preasure an LCD display can handle. I always rubbed the pixels slowly and lightly, but in the end the "stuck" pixels never came back to life.

On a side note: I should be getting a bluetooth keyboard and bluetooth mouse soon for my PB Can't wait!

[im_noahselby]

Originally posted by alted:
One Problem I do have is that my powerbook display seems to get stuck. I cannot close the display without hearing a crack sound from the joint area/display clutch. Otherwise, there seems to be no visible problem with the hardware. Does anyone else have this problem? Do you think this is a serious problem?


Ed

That doesn't sound normal. I would let an Apple technician look at it, as you could slowly be causing damage to your PB's hinge. It's probbably a simple fix for them.

[waxcrash]

Originally posted by SKP909:
hey is there any app that tests for bad or dead pixels?

Screen Query - it's free and it works.

You can download it at: http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/13616

[EdipisReks]

Originally posted by MilkmanDan:
Now that really sucks. What are the odds of that happening.

1, apparently.

[higgybaby5]

Originally posted by alted:
Wow. After reading this thread, I thoroughly checked my PB for dead pixels. Luckily none.

One Problem I do have is that my powerbook display seems to get stuck. I cannot close the display without hearing a crack sound from the joint area/display clutch. Otherwise, there seems to be no visible problem with the hardware. Does anyone else have this problem? Do you think this is a serious problem?


Ed

I had a problem with the screen hinge on my 15" PB a little while ago. I called Apple and they had me send it off to be fixed. When I got it back, the problem was no longer there and the screen actually opened/closed better than it did before I had the problem. I am very satisfied. I would reccomend calling Apple and having them repair it if you are still in warrenty. Good luck!

[raiste]

Originally posted by im_noahselby:
I tried rubbing the red pixels on the first three laptops, but was deathly afraid of making the pixel or the screen worse than it already was. I guess I'm not familiar enough with the technology to know the limits of preasure an LCD display can handle. I always rubbed the pixels slowly and lightly, but in the end the "stuck" pixels never came back to life.

On a side note: I should be getting a bluetooth keyboard and bluetooth mouse soon for my PB Can't wait!

My new PB doesn't have any bad pixels, but my old Wallstreet had one or two that I was able to correct by rubbing them firmly with a soft cloth. One of them was corrected right away. the other one took 2 or 3 times before it was finally corrected.

[im_noahselby]

Just 3 quick questions:

1) Is a stuck pixel more likely to go dead (black) if left stuck? There are no concequences in just leaving it the way it is, right?

2) Is a stuck pixel (ie light blue) likely to change colours in time?

3) When using the power adapter to power my PowerBook for extended periods of time is it better for the battery to unplug it from my machine? Does this matter at all or is it recommended?

Thanks,
Noah

[im_noahselby]

double post

[STAT]

Originally posted by im_noahselby:
Just 3 quick questions:

1) Is a stuck pixel more likely to go dead (black) if left stuck? There are no concequences in just leaving it the way it is, right?

No. Correct...except that it will probably stay stuck and you might as well try to massage it out.

Originally posted by im_noahselby:
2) Is a stuck pixel (ie light blue) likely to change colours in time?

You never know. It's pretty random, but anything's possible.

Originally posted by im_noahselby:
3) When using the power adapter to power my PowerBook for extended periods of time is it better for the battery to unplug it from my machine?

Ummmmm...no, that isn't necessary. Can you use the PowerBook without the battery in it? I'm not that familiar with the new portables, but my iBook won't let you do that. Either way, it isn't something you NEED to do, no.

[im_noahselby]

I'm pretty sure I remember seeing a PB without it's battery running off of the power adapter. It was a display unit, so I'm assuming it was taken out to prevent the battery from being stolen.

On a side note, my battery has been calibrated, but for some strange reason it's saying it's fully charged, yet it only reads 99%... I hope this is normal.

Noah

[rag on a muffin]

Originally posted by Stelliform:
Is this a trend with LCD's? I just bought two LCD's for a client from Dell and both had bad pixels.

at my work, i have a coworker with a dell display, it has no DVI (even when the computer it came with had dvi standard, LOL) and 2 dead red pixels. i went to a store that had a bunch of dell laptops, and monitors on display, and i found almost all of them had dead pixels. i played asked why almost every dell had a dead pixel, while apple had almost none. he said "i believe that dells use a cheaper lcd manufacturer, with a higher chance of the monitors having dead pixels. i am pretty sure that many companies have a threshold for a number of dead pixels allowed in their display, and dell buys those reject displays." im assuming thats why most dell monitors have dead pixels.

[rag on a muffin]

Originally posted by higgybaby5:
I had a problem with the screen hinge on my 15" PB a little while ago. I called Apple and they had me send it off to be fixed. When I got it back, the problem was no longer there and the screen actually opened/closed better than it did before I had the problem. I am very satisfied. I would reccomend calling Apple and having them repair it if you are still in warrenty. Good luck!

i had this problem with my powerbook and ibook, perhaps i should send mine in as well. (i tried with the ibook, but they made it worse)

[dwood]

[rant]
ok I'll try my hardest not to be a troll here, but christ people are you really that ignorant of LCD technology? LCD display are cut out of larger wafers, and because the technology isn't 100% perfect there is alwasy the possibility of getting a dead pixel. Most companies have rules as far as pixels go. Dead pixels happen, and in most cases 1 or 2 is considered within spec. Even on apple's smallest display 1 dead pixel accounts for 1 of 786,432 possible pixels. That's pretty damn good as far as percentages go. Apple's 30" display has 4,096,000 pixels!
If every LCD manf. gauranteed perfect displays LCD prices would be through the roof.

So in short, quit being whiners, that's how LCD's are. If it's that big of a deal to you, don't buy a laptop, or wait until LCD technology gets perfected.[/rant]

[im_noahselby]

Originally posted by dwood:
[rant]
So in short, quit being whiners, that's how LCD's are. If it's that big of a deal to you, don't buy a laptop, or wait until LCD technology gets perfected.[/rant]

I'm afraid the only poster whining here is you. Secondly, your advice stinks. Telling people not to buy an apple computer just because they are bothered by dead pixels in the middle of their screen? Or waiting ten years for the technology to be perfected. This is just about the worst advice I have ever heard. Give me a break!

Ignore this posters advice. If stuck or dead pixels bother you, take your machine back. If you aren't bothered by this fact of LCD technology than keep your machine. It doesn't get more simple than this, folks.

Noah

[dwood]

Originally posted by im_noahselby:
I'm afraid the only poster whining here is you. Secondly, your advice stinks. Telling people not to buy an apple computer just because they are bothered by dead pixels in the middle of their screen? Or waiting ten years for the technology to be perfected. This is just about the worst advice I have ever heard. Give me a break!

Ignore this posters advice. If stuck or dead pixels bother you, take your machine back. If you aren't bothered by this fact of LCD technology than keep your machine. It doesn't get more simple than this, folks.

Noah

Im not telling people to not buy Apple computers, where did I ever say that? Believe it or not, more then Apple has LCD technology, in fact *gasp* any laptop manf uses LCD technology. If dead pixels bother you, and you want a mac, or any computer, don't buy a laptop.
You can certainly try to bring your computer back, but the fact of the matter is the manf. will always have a pixel policy, and 90% of those policy's allow a certain number of pixel anomolies. Some places do let you return your computer and request a new one at no cost, such as Comp USA(i believe), and http://www.overam.com/ withing the first 7 days. But for 1 lousy pixel most, not all places will not return without charging a restocking fee. Like i said in my previous post if everyone gauranteed 100% perfect LCD's, cost would be through the roof.

Apple's policy - kind of, they don't post it, but comments are made regarding it
http://www.macmerc.com/article.php?sid=1016

Dell's policy
http://support.dell.com/support/topi...t?dn=1018431#B

Hp's policy (page 5)
http://216.239.41.104/search?q=cache...l+policy&hl=en

IBM's policy
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/si...id=MIGR-4U9P53

ViewSonic's policy
http://www.viewsonic.com/support/qa....cd&question=01

[Athens]

Originally posted by dwood:
[rant]
ok I'll try my hardest not to be a troll here, but christ people are you really that ignorant of LCD technology? LCD display are cut out of larger wafers, and because the technology isn't 100% perfect there is alwasy the possibility of getting a dead pixel. Most companies have rules as far as pixels go. Dead pixels happen, and in most cases 1 or 2 is considered within spec. Even on apple's smallest display 1 dead pixel accounts for 1 of 786,432 possible pixels. That's pretty damn good as far as percentages go. Apple's 30" display has 4,096,000 pixels!
If every LCD manf. gauranteed perfect displays LCD prices would be through the roof.

So in short, quit being whiners, that's how LCD's are. If it's that big of a deal to you, don't buy a laptop, or wait until LCD technology gets perfected.[/rant]

I sell PC's for a living, to date I have only ever had a couple system sold with a Dead or Stuck Pixel out of about 70 LCDs and 30 Laptops over the years. So thats pretty pathetic on Apples part to have 4 laptops in a row with bad pixels. Every one I know with a laptop also have perfect LCD's so tell me if there is something wrong with this picture. And its not like Apple has cheap displays either. So stop your whining and go troll some where else if you have nothing constructive to add.

[dwood]

Originally posted by Athens:
I sell PC's for a living, to date I have only ever had a couple system sold with a Dead or Stuck Pixel out of about 70 LCDs and 30 Laptops over the years. So thats pretty pathetic on Apples part to have 4 laptops in a row with bad pixels. Every one I know with a laptop also have perfect LCD's so tell me if there is something wrong with this picture. And its not like Apple has cheap displays either. So stop your whining and go troll some where else if you have nothing constructive to add.

How is this not constructive? Do you define constructive as whining about pixel anomolies like everyone posting in this thread? I'm just explaining pixel anomolies happen, and the manf allows a certain # before they are defined as bad. Sorry I'm not agreeing with you, but that doesnt mean there can't be a view from the other side

I have worked repairing machines, for Dell, Compaq, HP, Sony, and Apple. And I've seen pixel anomolies on all the systems. I also happen to know a few people with pixel anomolies. Also, I've repaired far more then your 100 systems, and I've prolly sold prolly 4x what I've repaired. I agree 4 laptops in a row is ridiculous, but I've seen 10 displays in a row too with non perfect pixels, so it happens.

Beyond that point, Apple doesn't make LCD's! They sell LCD displays under their name, but they are not the ones constructing the element, same goes for IBM, Dell, etc. They do sell them tho, and are responsible for handling customer concerns.

So i got a question for everyone. If you were looking at getting a Brand New Alum Powerbook G4 15", the combo drive model $1999. How much more would you be willing to pay for a gauranteed, perfect display, 0 pixel anomolies.

[Athens]

Oh Noah ment to answer your question about the battery. If you are going to have your laptop plugged into the wall for a long time, days at a time it is best to remove the battery at 40% charge and store it in a cooler room to prolong the life of the battery. The batteries in PowerBooks have a set number of years of life which is a average of 3 years. The temperature affects the battery's life as well. So does usage. The more you use your battery and the more heat its in the more charge you will lose over time. I don't know why but everything I read says 40% charge is the best charge to store it at. Being at 100% charge for a long time will also affect how long the batter will last. So the best advice is this

- Store the battery in a cool place when not using it at 40% charge

- Every 30 charges, about once a month fully drain the battery and fully charge it to recalibrate it, otherwise it will become less accurate.

- Charge the batter more often and avoid fully discharging the battery, they don't develop memory like the older kinds of batteries.


The main reason manufactories or resellers (like me) tell ppl not to remove the batteries is because of concern about dust and moisture accumulating inside the battery casing.

A note about spare batteries, if you use your laptop A LOT and never have access to a outlet, like a lot of travel, cars, planes then get a second battery. If not DONT, batteries have a set life span, getting a spare to store incase your original dies is stupid, but it when its needed.

[Athens]

Originally posted by dwood:
How is this not constructive? Do you define constructive as whining about pixel anomolies like everyone posting in this thread? I'm just explaining pixel anomolies happen, and the manf allows a certain # before they are defined as bad. Sorry I'm not agreeing with you, but that doesnt mean there can't be a view from the other side

I have worked repairing machines, for Dell, Compaq, HP, Sony, and Apple. And I've seen pixel anomolies on all the systems. I also happen to know a few people with pixel anomolies. Also, I've repaired far more then your 100 systems, and I've prolly sold prolly 4x what I've repaired. I agree 4 laptops in a row is ridiculous, but I've seen 10 displays in a row too with non perfect pixels, so it happens.

Beyond that point, Apple doesn't make LCD's! They sell LCD displays under their name, but they are not the ones constructing the element, same goes for IBM, Dell, etc. They do sell them tho, and are responsible for handling customer concerns.

So i got a question for everyone. If you were looking at getting a Brand New Alum Powerbook G4 15", the combo drive model $1999. How much more would you be willing to pay for a gauranteed, perfect display, 0 pixel anomolies.

My issue with your post was that he was not whining, he was sharing his story about what he went through to get a perfect powerbook. My personal opinion is that it was a bad batch and that the only real thing that can be done is to wait a few months for new batch to hit the stores.

I would pay prob a max of $200.00 more to have a perfect display, for me it depends on how bad it was, if I noticed it or not. But I am also lazy if I did get a bad one I prob would live with it.

[Slayed]

Originally posted by dwood:
[rant]
ok I'll try my hardest not to be a troll here, but christ people are you really that ignorant of LCD technology? LCD display are cut out of larger wafers, and because the technology isn't 100% perfect there is alwasy the possibility of getting a dead pixel. Most companies have rules as far as pixels go. Dead pixels happen, and in most cases 1 or 2 is considered within spec. Even on apple's smallest display 1 dead pixel accounts for 1 of 786,432 possible pixels. That's pretty damn good as far as percentages go. Apple's 30" display has 4,096,000 pixels!
If every LCD manf. gauranteed perfect displays LCD prices would be through the roof.

So in short, quit being whiners, that's how LCD's are. If it's that big of a deal to you, don't buy a laptop, or wait until LCD technology gets perfected.[/rant]

It wouldn't be that big of a deal if apple posted this "policy", or at least made the purchaser aware of the policy before the purchase, so the customer can make their mind up weather they wish to take the risk.

I got my PB replaced based on this exact statement. If policy was revealed to me, it would be my problem, but since it wasn't, I won the battle.

[dwood]

agreed, they'd take so much heat off themselves if they just posted it.

[azdude]

.

[STAT]

Originally posted by dwood:
agreed, they'd take so much heat off themselves if they just posted it.

Originally posted by azdude:
Apple's Pixel Policy for 12" PBs. (It's in the service manual).

"Bright" = Always-on subpixel
"Dark" = Always-off subpixel

LOL. Owned!

[azdude]

Originally posted by STAT:
LOL. Owned!

Owned? Not really. That's not "public" information AFAIK. I 'found' the service manual somewhere.

[dwood]

Originally posted by STAT:
LOL. Owned!

ummm ya that's not for the public, whoever posted that service manual violated their NDA from apple

so take the and put it here (_|_)

[Lancer409]

Wow .. I feel lucky as a mother .. I bought using education discount from the new apple store in SF. My 12inch Rev C combo had a stuck green pixel near the center, about an inch to the left? I was able to get a new 12 after i griped. they wanted to exchange it for another laptop. open box non refurb (so they say) .. i think they called it a refreshed laptop. The Genius was real nice, the sales guy i had to negotiate with afterwards was quite adamant on the policy of no return or switch. They would charge me a restock fee to swap out. I was in the store within 20 hours of buying the laptop so i was pretty upset. now that i notice the policy .. god i'm lucky for my now perfect laptop. the funny thing is, he kept saying refreshed laptops are better than new because alot of apple techies looked it over. i was like .. look .. if i wanted a refurbed (the way i referred to his "refreshed laptop") laptop, i would have paid a refurb price. it sucks that i didnt get to see the laptop before i bought it, and i didnt know apple views this as "within tolerances". I have watched dvd's on it .. and all i see when i watch dvd's is that damn green speck because my eyes automatically focus on it. if it was a dead pixel, i wouldnt be upset, i'd just pretend it was a speck of dust on the panel, but a bright green spot on a NEW laptop blows .. and i dont think it's fair .. on hearing that, he said he'd pull one laptop out from the back, sealed in box. I would have to leave the store with one or the other, and if the new panel has more problems or whatever, tough, i'd have to leave with the one i came in with, or the one from the back room. i agreed .. long story short, the panel was perfect, and out of the box, it had better color than the old one .. (i dunno why that is) .. but i'm a happy camper. Because of this, I'll buy applecare before my 1 year is up, I have a iPOD on the way, and i recommend apple products to everyone i know. I would have bought this pbook on the spot if it ran windows xp pro. funny ... i now prefer osx to windows xp ... i love my powerbook

[incubusdaemon]

quick rundown on LCD tech:

an LCD uses different voltage levels to change the structure of a liquid crystal to let different amounts of light to pass through it.

All shades of light are made from 3 colors: red, green, blue (RGB)

Each pixel in a LCD uses 3 transistors to control voltage, and 3 elements, one for each of the RGB colors. Full voltage is dark, 0 voltage is light (for almost all LCDs)

A stuck pixel sticks when one of the 3 components breaks, and a pixel is dead when the circuit to the pixel breaks (it's highly unlikely all 3 components of a single pixel would break).

So, in a typical 1280x1024 LCD, there are 1310270 pixels, which can all either be stuck in either of the 3 colors, or dead. That gives you 5242880 chances for something to not work correctly. My Samsung lcd has one stuck red pixel that only sticks temporarily when the LCD it turned on, and then goes to normal (I think the heat expansion makes the contact solid). One stuck pixel means that the LCD is 99.99999% perfect (rounded at the last digit), which is pretty darn good.

Massaging stuck pixels works because the crystal may not move as well as it's supposed to, or some connection is loose. Since mine is stuck on, voltage has a hard time flowing through it, which massaging fixes.

[dwood]

Originally posted by Lancer409:
Wow .. I feel lucky as a mother .. I bought using education discount from the new apple store in SF. My 12inch Rev C combo had a stuck green pixel near the center, about an inch to the left? I was able to get a new 12 after i griped. they wanted to exchange it for another laptop. open box non refurb (so they say) .. i think they called it a refreshed laptop. The Genius was real nice, the sales guy i had to negotiate with afterwards was quite adamant on the policy of no return or switch. They would charge me a restock fee to swap out. I was in the store within 20 hours of buying the laptop so i was pretty upset. now that i notice the policy .. god i'm lucky for my now perfect laptop. the funny thing is, he kept saying refreshed laptops are better than new because alot of apple techies looked it over. i was like .. look .. if i wanted a refurbed (the way i referred to his "refreshed laptop") laptop, i would have paid a refurb price. it sucks that i didnt get to see the laptop before i bought it, and i didnt know apple views this as "within tolerances". I have watched dvd's on it .. and all i see when i watch dvd's is that damn green speck because my eyes automatically focus on it. if it was a dead pixel, i wouldnt be upset, i'd just pretend it was a speck of dust on the panel, but a bright green spot on a NEW laptop blows .. and i dont think it's fair .. on hearing that, he said he'd pull one laptop out from the back, sealed in box. I would have to leave the store with one or the other, and if the new panel has more problems or whatever, tough, i'd have to leave with the one i came in with, or the one from the back room. i agreed .. long story short, the panel was perfect, and out of the box, it had better color than the old one .. (i dunno why that is) .. but i'm a happy camper. Because of this, I'll buy applecare before my 1 year is up, I have a iPOD on the way, and i recommend apple products to everyone i know. I would have bought this pbook on the spot if it ran windows xp pro. funny ... i now prefer osx to windows xp ... i love my powerbook

refreshed are a better bet. refurbs have been repaired, refreshed just means they were opened previously, nothing wrong with them. Usually people return them within the 10 day return policy or the people from the store put new units on display. My cousin got a refresh, good as new, same warranty as new, and they've been looked over and if there is any defects, they are listed on the box.

[Lancer409]

Originally posted by dwood:
refreshed are a better bet. refurbs have been repaired, refreshed just means they were opened previously, nothing wrong with them. Usually people return them within the 10 day return policy or the people from the store put new units on display. My cousin got a refresh, good as new, same warranty as new, and they've been looked over and if there is any defects, they are listed on the box.

i know, but i was upset because i paid for a new one. that's why i intentionally referred to them as refurbished ... =) when u equate used (refreshed) as better than new, to someone who just paid more for a "inferior product" (assuming refreshed IS better than new, new would be inferior right?) that sale's guy is askin for a lot of emotional distress =P