Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

jasonsRX7 · Apr 28, 2005, 01:16 PM

Originally Posted by urrl78

Point taken. I find it just as bizarre riding around as a passenger for 5 to 10 minutes while the driver orbits the parking lot to get the ultimate park 10 feet from the store, when I could have been inside shopping after a brisk walk from my usual parking location.

I HATE it when people do that! That is one of my pet peeves. I just park in whatever spot presents itself when I turn down a lane. You're exactly right, you can just park wherever and get inside faster than you can drive around and look for the closest spot.

driven · Apr 28, 2005, 01:48 PM

Funny this topic comes up today.

I had some woman "tailing" me in the parking lot as I walked out to my car. (Kinda made me nervous). When I got far enough out that it was obvious that my car was not in a premium spot (I had actually walked from across the street) she start screaming at me out the window "Why the F- don't you f-in tell people that you parked all the way the f- out there so we don't waste our time." (she had two children in the car, nice, heh?) I just kinda looked at her with this bizare stare because I didn't know what to say. I obviously missed the part where it became my obligation to inform passing cars of my intentions in a parking lot. After she starred back at me for a bit, she floored it and when flying diagnonal across the parking lot. (Another pet peeve of mine).

It was odd.

urrl78 · 04:00 PM

LOL! You really got a chuckle out of me there Driven!

osxisfun · Apr 28, 2005, 03:51 PM

Originally Posted by driven

Funny this topic comes up today.

I had some woman "tailing" me in the parking lot as I walked out to my car. (Kinda made me nervous). When I got far enough out that it was obvious that my car was not in a premium spot (I had actually walked from across the street) she start screaming at me out the window "Why the F- don't you f-in tell people that you parked all the way the f- out there so we don't waste our time." (she had two children in the car, nice, heh?) I just kinda looked at her with this bizare stare because I didn't know what to say. I obviously missed the part where it became my obligation to inform passing cars of my intentions in a parking lot. After she starred back at me for a bit, she floored it and when flying diagnonal across the parking lot. (Another pet peeve of mine).

It was odd.

i feel so sorry for the kids.

urrl78 · Apr 28, 2005, 04:00 PM

Situations like that can leave a person stunned, being so utterly Bizarre it can leave you at a loss for words. Makes me wonder what could have been said in the way of a reply...

But yeah, I shouldn't have laughed, I guess the kids were stunned also. Road rage can reach into the parking lot. Good thing she at least didn't try to run you over...

fleaplus · Apr 28, 2005, 04:19 PM

Parking has been crazy at my apartment complex also. People will make 5-10 laps around the apartments just so they don't have to walk from the expanded parking on the north side of the complex that is about 500ft away.

paulcp · May 13, 2005, 06:28 AM

fleaplus, props for keeping your head through this whole thing. Your apparent patience with the damage, the repairs, and the people in this forum is commendable. People have blamed you, Al, your friend, and Apple, and you haven't had an inflammatory or sarcastic reaction to any of it. Am I still reading the in-ter-net?

threestain · May 13, 2005, 07:04 AM

Try to imagine what it's like at a busy District General Hospital that doesn't even have enough space for the night staff, let alone day staff AND patients (heaven forbid they actually try and treat people!). Oh and of course, London being London, to get there is 3 times quicker by car than by tube and bus and foot!

analogika · May 13, 2005, 07:55 AM

Originally Posted by teknopimp

they could take knocks better but prone to scratches, scuffs, chips. early models chipped really bad on the hinges and frame. tibooks seemed much more structurally sound from my experience (i've owned two) but i always babied them and they were perfect when i sold them.

broken screen hinges on thousands of tiBooks tell a different story.

romeosc · May 13, 2005, 01:32 PM

Originally Posted by analogika

broken screen hinges on thousands of tiBooks tell a different story.

Last durable PowerBook was the Pismo!

I wish they would make a G5 Pismo (more room for heat and a second battery etc)

driven · May 13, 2005, 01:35 PM

How heavy was the Pismo with a 2nd battery?

I love how light my 15" Powerbook is. :-)

romeosc · May 13, 2005, 02:16 PM

About 6 pounds.... not light by todays standards but great for those who don't won't to worry about every scratch etc, when a coworker slides across board table!

driven · May 13, 2005, 02:31 PM

Well, most equivalent PC laptops are usually quite a bit heavier. My last Dell was nearly 12 lbs with a 15" display and 2 batteries. With a single battery it was 8.5 lbs.

EDIT: (Didn't finish my thought)
(So even 6 lbs with 2 batteries isn't bad!)

vcutag · May 13, 2005, 04:59 PM

Originally Posted by SpeedRacer

The AlBooks definitely dent easy. Frankly, I don't think I've seen a single model over a year old that DOESN'T have some form of denting.

In that case, I give you exhibits A-C:

http://www.shadesofblack.org/lj/pbook1.jpg
http://www.shadesofblack.org/lj/pbook2.jpg

and

http://www.shadesofblack.org/lj/pbook3.jpg , which is the only cosmetic damage to my 18-month old 1.25 GHz Albook (I'm assuming it's corrosion.)

I've beaten the hell out of this laptop since I've had it (accidentally, of course), bouncing it around in my messenger bag and my camera bag. It's been kicked, dropped and jerked around. I typically carry it to class and work in a Timbuk2 messenger bag, but my camera bag doesn't have a padded compartment, and it's outside the padded body of the bag (which houses my cameras, flash and lenses.)

No dents, no scratches, no problems. Maybe some Albooks are made from a thinner skin than others, I dunno, but this one's been a real trooper during the past year and a half, I'd estimate I use it an average of 4 hours a day (including weekends and days off, a typical workday has me putting 8-12 hours on it.)

wuzup101 · May 13, 2005, 07:03 PM

I do like the looks of the aluminum very much, but I too long for a more durable powerbook. I mean the aluminum looks pretty good until it starts to degrade (I have some small pitting on my left palm rest that is black in color - no I don't wear a watch and never have while owning my powerbook). I have also managed to drop it once and bump it against something once. First time was while taking it out of my messenger bag (still in a neoprene sleve case btw). I dropped onto the floor 6 to 9 INCHES below and sustained a nice dent to the CD drive/lower right corner. The second time I bumped it against a desk edge while putting it into my sleeve case (with very very little force might I add). Even through the sleeve case it got dented in the left side by the fan grate. Other than that the aluminum has been great, and I managed to bend out most of the dents with some of the stuff on my Swiss Army Knife. No internal components were damaged in any way due to these accidents, and I'm generally very careful with my notebook. I do have safeware insurance but felt no need to have them cover these things. If something down the road happens where I get a large dent I'll have them look at it. I will say however, that a few friends of mine have various newer T series IBMs (T42 and T43 models) and there would be no way in hell that they would be dammaged by such things. I'd much rather see apple go to a less flashy but more functional design with the newer powerbooks. At very least, they should take care to reinforce areas where a tiny bit of stress can cause major damages (such as around the corners of the notebook and around the screen area).

On another note, I don't see why parking far away in 2 spots is being a prick as long as there are plenty of other spots for people. It's just good sense. While I never have parked in two spaces, I often park farther away, often next to a grass area on one side. Why? Partially because I'm too lazy to drive around looking for a space and would rather just walk, something that i'm very accustomed to doing at a large university where I usually walk 4-5 miles a day between classes and my apartment. It's only prickish if someone is doing this in the middle of a parking lot and taking up spaces that the masses like. I do however hate those people who speed around parking lots and deem it a good idea to drive across spaces on a diagonal like there are no traffic laws...

MrForgetable · May 13, 2005, 07:33 PM

yeah i hate aluminum too. i hate the way it looks so pretty and distracts me from my work.

ASIMO · May 13, 2005, 09:37 PM

Aluminum too slippery. Need to be ribbed so I can do without rubber gloves.

Podolsky · May 14, 2005, 07:36 AM

The next generation of PBs are going to be fabricated from carbon fiber and while I couldn't tell you how they will handle the accident you experienced, I gotta think it will be better than AL. Don't take this wrong, but I think the ding you got looks pretty cool. I had no choice but replace my case ($600) because the dent kept CDs from loading. I would just leave it and wait for the carbon fiber G5 Powerbooks

analogika · May 14, 2005, 01:19 PM

Originally Posted by Podolsky

The next generation of PBs are going to be fabricated from carbon fiber

I would be interested in hearing where you got that info, and what makes it reliable enough to be spouted here as fact.

driven · May 15, 2005, 01:47 AM

Originally Posted by ASIMO

Aluminum too slippery. Need to be ribbed so I can do without rubber gloves.

Ribs for her pleasure.

MilkmanDan · May 15, 2005, 03:06 AM

Dude, right on with the Pismo talk. No dents, and two batteries!

Burke · May 15, 2005, 03:11 AM

True, with the AlBook, I can't just grab it by one edge and go like I could with my old ThinkPads or crappy Compaq black plastic jobbies.

Link · May 15, 2005, 05:40 AM

I dunno, maybe it's because my machine's only 3 days old but this is one of the most solid laptops I've ever used/owned, and that's saying a lot. Obviously you don't want to grab it by the left 1" of it (there's a proper "laptop grab" involving using your 4 big fingers to support as much as the bottom of the machine as possible and the thumb to 'grab' it), if you know what I'm talking about.. and that it handles nicely. The 17"er on the other hand, that I couldn't bring myself to move without 2 hands.

urrl78 · May 15, 2005, 08:41 AM

Regarding its strength, I can pick my 17" up with one hand horizontally with no problem whatsoever at ANY corner, although due to its weight I would not recomend it done by the physically challenged. Aluminum has not let me down thru two models, as long as I give reasonable care to the laptop; granted it is somewhat slippery depending on whether your hands are greasy, etc. I do not think Apple will change the material for quite some time. They may anodize it in different colors in the future however, IMHO.

StonedRose · May 15, 2005, 10:10 AM

Alum seems just fine too me. My 17 feels strong...just when I pick up the 17 in the back with 1 hand. I can feel the alum kinda give in to the weight of the book. Really, what is the perfect metal/platic to use for portables?
2cents
Aloha.

noreturn · May 15, 2005, 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by rsgeek

Don't forget that nifty "paint cancer" on the trim around the top deck! I'm still "driving" my 667 Mhz TiBook, luckily I got AppleCare with it (my 3 years runs out in a few months; just got it back with a new / non-bubbled top deck).

The "paint cancer" is the worst.

I'm not surprised that hammering out the dent caused it to work again. One time, I thought I'd be smart and leave a slip of paper inside the RAM area under the AP Express card in my iBook. The thing wouldn't even boot.

I have to hand it to you for your guts and your level of civility in dealing with this. I would basically have crucified my friend if he'd done that to me.

Oh, and to add to the debate over plastic's durability, I've dropped a master combination lock from 4 ft up on the sucker with not a scuff mark to show for it. The lock did bounce suprisingly high, though.

driven · May 15, 2005, 10:58 PM

Originally Posted by noreturn

The "paint cancer" is the worst.

I'm not surprised that hammering out the dent caused it to work again. One time, I thought I'd be smart and leave a slip of paper inside the RAM area under the AP Express card in my iBook. The thing wouldn't even boot.

I have to hand it to you for your guts and your level of civility in dealing with this. I would basically have crucified my friend if he'd done that to me.

Oh, and to add to the debate over plastic's durability, I've dropped a master combination lock from 4 ft up on the sucker with not a scuff mark to show for it. The lock did bounce suprisingly high, though.

Do it again, and take a video. We'd love to see that! <smile>

jasonsRX7 · May 15, 2005, 11:20 PM

I'd be happiest if Apple left the PowerBook line like it is and came out with a "WorkBook" or something that was basically just a PowerBook reskinned in plastic instead of the aluminum. It would be nice to have a more durable laptop to use in the types of places laptops are commonly needed. And I don't mean in the desert or a swamp. I mean crouched down behind a server rack in a mess of cables, or in a dirty wiring closet somewhere. I hate using my PowerBook in places like that for fear of denting or scratching it. I am not counting on that happening, though...