[Brit Ben]

Hi all,

I'm not religious about how I treat my Laptop, and I'm not here for flames that I didnt always use white cotton gloves, etc etc...

That having been said, I've had my TiPB for 9 months now. Used every workday, about 8 hours a day, carried around sometimes in my hand to meeting rooms, sometimes in a nice padded laptop case when I'm travelling.

Here are my problems:

3 dead pixels, random locations on the screen. Tried all the advice on other threads, they're going to stay dead, trust me.

The keyboard magnets on the right hand side no longer hold properly, so the keyboard flexes quite a bit as I type. (may have something to do with the next bit)

An Apple Authorised service center replaced the slot load DVD drive. The one I had when the unit was shipped was defective, and sounded like it was scratching against the CD when the drive spun up. Never damaged any discs, but sounded bloody awful all the same. (Apple know this problem, quite a few people had it)

They did a lousy job. The drive protrudes above the supports internally (under the keyboard) and they scratched the top of the drive, and bent the support to make it all fit. - I'd have to take a pic to show you, but theres a bit of soft black plastic under the keyboard, under the keyboard ribbon cable, on top of the drive, all scratched.

I took the laptop on a long trip with me, and when I tried to use the drive, It actually mangled a CD. (half loaded, got stuck, spat out, with a lovely scratch on the bottom across the CD)

Lost two rubber feet at the back. Crummy glue ?

Battery is loose now, so that a little flex on the PB (e.g. whilst typing on your lap) can cause the system to powerdown. (Apple know about this, they have shims available for batteries. Not sure how they work).

The little rubber pads either side of the trackpad that hold the screen when the Ti is closed are wearing out. (almost dissolving slightly - they leave grey goo on the metal edge of the screen.

I hope some of this is fixed with the next revision, because this is a mighty fine machine otherwise !

Now I have to find a different apple repairer in Ottawa to have a look at the DVD drive again, and see if they can fix some of the other stuff while they're at it.

Ben.

[mrtew]

Originally posted by Brit Ben:
<STRONG> I'm not religious about how I treat my Laptop, and I'm not here for flames that I didnt always use white cotton gloves, etc etc... </STRONG>

You should have used white cotton gloves... but I don't think that would have helped any of your problems. Makes me apprectiate how lucky I am though... no problems with two Ti's in almost a year now... unless you count that time the speakers went out and they replaced the motherboard.

[KellyHogan]

I agree. I am on my second TiBook. There are soe faults. The slot loading drive can damage disks. The paint wears off the white trim. The rubber feet underneath can come off. You can however make new feet out of grey rubber and glue them in.

There are ways to protect yourself. A good bag, careful use and so on. At home use a USB keyboard and external monitor, etc.

Regarding the magnets under the keyboard, you can buy cheap strips of magnetic material and replace them. It might turn out better becuase you can put as many as you need.

Scratches? This one is the one thing I really look after my laptop. If it was plastic I wouldnt mind but a scratch in the Ti metal doesnt look good.

Those dead pixels are the worst thing that can happen. Apple tends to use bad quality TFT that is also not very bright.

Loose battery? Get some velcro and stick it along the insides. That should make the battery fit tighter. Get the kinf of velcro that looks professional though.

[PBG4 User]

Call Apple right away. That service center shouldn't have touched your laptop. The only place authorized (in the USA) to fix a TiBook is the service center in Texas. I had to send mine back because of the DVD issue (purchased at CompUSA in Feb) but it's been right as rain ever since.

No dead pixels either, though I almost had a heart attack when one stuck on red about a week after I bought it. Some ginger massaging and it went away.

I can't say enough about how much I love the screen! It makes me want to use it more.

[ 12-14-2001: Message edited by: PBG4 User ]

[Brit Ben]

Originally posted by PBG4 User:
<STRONG>Call Apple right away. That service center shouldn't have touched your laptop. The only place authorized (in the USA) to fix a TiBook is the service center in Texas. I had to send mine back because of the DVD issue (purchased at CompUSA in Feb) but it's been right as rain ever since.
</STRONG>

What about Canada ?

Ben.

[jules]

Same routine in Canada. You call Apple Canada, they send a box (usually overnight), you send the laptop to the Apple service centre in Mississauga (I believe..anyway, it's in Ontario) they fix it and send it back...very fast..very friendly...

[Parsec_kadet]

My roommate's iBook is proof that even the best screw up big sometimes. He sent it in to Apple because there was line noise on the sound card. Turns out it was the hard drive making tons of interference. When he got it back, he discovered the mouse clicker had been mangled, the thin metal near the Airport card was bent/warped, and the bottom case would seperate slightly from the top case. The worst though was when he discovered a rather powerful magnet UNDERNEITH the keyboard, causing it to sit improperly. Apparently, this magnet was a spare part from somewhere else because it wouldn't go to sleep when you closed it. He sent it back to Apple the next day, and now it's been waiting for a part for about a week. Since he bought the thing, he's had the iBook for five days, and Apple has had it for around 15. Big blunder by Apple.

[Danni]

I wasn't aware that there was an apple repair center in Mississauga. Last time I sent in my daughter's iBook to be repaired, they shipped it to Texas. We had wonderful service. We sent it out on Monday, got it back on Friday. They even repaired things that we hadn't mentionned as well as doubling the size of the drive. I was very happy with my repair experience with Apple although I know not everyone has the same type of experience.

Danni