<strong>hah baby book, thats what we call them at work. There are alot of small scratches all on the bottom kinda like if you were using it on cement and moved it with out picking it up. top has some of the same scratches on the round edges and some reg scratches all around the apple. The sides have all sorts of nicks in it, and then the worst, its got like 3 round deep scrapes on the side, where you see the raw aluminum with a horizontal grain from the scrape. i have the same type of scratches on my aluminum mountain bike, but that from falling on trees and rocks n crap. These arent marks that you have to look for, it just looks f$#ked up <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[oyvey]" /> </strong><hr></blockquote>
if you wanna see scratches...just go and look at any 12" display models in stores. Everyone I have been to have either dents, scratches, missing screw on the bottom-left-corner of the screen, or all of the above.
I am very curious to know why that it is always the same screw that is missing on the LCD display...
The anodized finish does pick up grime/sweat/prints very quickly though, eating and drinking around the book doesn't help, but a soft slightly damp terry cloth wipes everything away with minimal effort. I've cleaned up the baby book twice in this way and each time it comes off looking brand spanky new.
...might be worthwhile taking a look at a product which is made by a highly respected player in the marine accessory industry, Rupp Marine's Aluma-Guard, a protectant which 'restores and preserves aluminum and other metals including stainless steel, brass and chrome...forms a protective coating on surfaces...prevents penetration of harmful substances and restores a lasting shine....and guards against pitting and corrosion caused by the harsh effects of marine use (saltwater).'
I've used this stuff with great success on anodized aluminum and stainless surfaces for years in an offshore fishing environment and have never found it lacking. A wee spritz of this semi-gel material on a terry cloth wipe should do the trick with the single caveat being that one should use discretion in applying it on the underside of any metallic case that is sitting atop a smooth surface because the treated metal surface will be somewhat slippery for a while.
Well, I've had my 800 DVI TiBook since Nov. 02 and bought it used on E-bay in almost new condition. No visible blemishes when purchased. I can now say after 4 months of use that this Book "looks" very used! Now I have not scratched it up and have been careful not to do so but the lighter band of paint on the carbon fiber rim is "checking" and flaking in the flat areas where the outer heal of my hands rest on the edge of the "deck" area on either side of the track pad. None of the dark silver on the titanium deck plate around the keys on the logo panel, screen bezel, or bottom cover plate are worn in any substantial way. I am fairly certain that should this continue the plastic rim of the main chassis of this "rig" will be completely exposed at the corners on the latch side of the key deck! Now, I do not have particularly sweaty palms, and in fact, during winter they are quite dry. Additionaly, I never thought that any substance eminating from hands would be "caustic" enough to "F" up industrial paint coatings on consumer goods like a $3000 notebook! Our family has 2 Vtech cordless hand sets made from black plastic and painted with some sort of silver coating and are handled daily with sweat, food substances, and many perilous occurances during the 2 years we've had the phones. The only place the silver paint is worn to expose the black plastic is a small spot on the corner of one from several nasty drops on concrete!!!! Nowhere are there places where fingers have "worn" through or otherwise adulterated the silver coatings on these $75 hand sets. I think this one comparative fact alone illustrates Apple's inferior execution of an otherwise notable and worthy design.
BUT, BUT, BUT, there are many more complaints I have about the tactile attributes of the TiBook:
(1) The smooth metal with handsome matte sheen paint, while ever so "cool" looking make the TiBook one of the clumsiest consumer items I have ever handled, despite it's light weight and ultra thin profile. "One hand" this thing closed with a "sandwich" grip and you must squeeze it so damned hard as to flex the logo surface behind the screen to "uncomfortable" degrees to maintain grip on the unit. Put on a thin leather glove and repeat the same exercise and no problem! You barely have to grip the unit to feel secure in the fact that you won't drop it. For you physics majors this would be due to the "coefficient of friction" of the glove vs. your bare finger skin against the smooth painted surface. To me this is UNACCEPTABLE and "BAD" design and ergonomics, period! One need only handle the smooth "grippy" plastic of the Apple pro mouse to understand the loyalty of iBook owners.
(2) Open the TiBook and one hand the unit "serving tray" style, particularly on the CD drive corner and after a few severe squeezes (necessary to maintain grip) and you will find the bonding agent that adheres the titainium deck panel to the carbon fiber (light silver) rim start to break and separate at the seam. This really PISSED ME OFF!
How can 5.3 pounds of unit cause you to break the case by simply carrying it in a natural way???? The chassis should be able to withstand one's griping the notebook with one hand anywhere on the base portion of the chassis. To it's credit I have had it open and with thumb and forefinger gripped it at the "crook" of the hinge and carried it around! You might ask why I don't close her up "sleep" and reopen? Because I have had sleep issues with this machine from day one and so did the previous owner (a pro photographer BTW), especially closing the lid and getting a kernal panic and black or gray screen lockup. So when I'm online around the house it's just easier to carry it open so I don't risk having to reboot. Once again UNACCEPTABLE ergonomics and software performance issues!!! I needed a notebook that boots in 9 as well so thats one reason I got it.
(3) This thing gets very hot when placed on certain surfaces!!! I'm sure prolonged heating cycles with fan operating at full speed or not can't be to good for component "service" life! I'd make a gentlemans bet that heat is one of the main culprits as hardware warranty issues cropped up over the life cycle of the TiBook design.
(4) Airport range still sucks after all these years!
(5) The battery life specs. claimed by Apple are total bullshit. I do graphics work and I'd bet that 70% of the people who own these "Pro" Books do just as processor intensive work as I do. I'm lucky to get 1.5 hours out of a battery (I have 2) And you can't charge the batteries with a charging base since there isn't one! You have to charge the batts. while in the computer; this is really dumb! I may drop $400-$500 on a full 6-8 hour outboard battery! I need that flexability. But see I counted on Apple to tell me the truth! Also due to sleep issues after closing, hot swaps are a "coin toss".
(6) I like to keep my $h!4 NICE! It is sometimes a great distraction to have to not sit the thing down on the wrong spot or bump the lid into the wrong thing or not brush it against metal garment fixtures such as snaps rivets & zippers, ad nauseum!! So to take care of it and have the paint just mysteriously sluf off insults my effort to keep it nice. So I've resigned myself to the fact that my TiBook will be a "war worn" unit and just use the sucker up like all the other garbage I use and disgard.
Needless to say I love the way the thing runs (fast) and always have been a Mac loyalist so the last thing this machine has taken out of my Macsperience as opposed to the other Macs I've owned is "pride of ownership"! It is demoralizing to have owned almost flawless desktop Macs for 12 years and to have waited until almost the final "iteration" of Apple's "best effort" (as of Sept. 2002) in Notebooks to have such difficulty and frustration with a machine that is supposed to offer the utmost in power, freedom, and flexability in all of the laptop PCs on the planet!!! I cannot brag to my friends about hardware when it only looks good, runs fast and has OSX. That the above problems exist for me and others subtracts greatly from the "cut above" feeling I had using my other Macintoshes!
Yeah, the non-paint thing is a plus, as I already mentioned I accidentally scratched some lighter silver paint off my hinge in an attempt to adjust the closure gap (on the left side it's too low -- when shut you can see the metal bending). I think I might try a silver paint marker instead of getting the TiPaint (which I've heard is a scam). All I need is something to hide the flaw from my eyes so they aren't drawn there while I'm working (and I know it doesn't matter at all, but it's right there -- on the hinge!!).
Or I might go down to Hobby Lobby and match the silver on the bezel with a model-paint metallic enamel.
Yeah, so you Aluminum-toters be glad and blessed by your pieces of industrial integrity...I might take a dive into that if a 970 makes it there before year's end, heh.
1) This is subjective, but I simply don't find the TiBook that slippery.
2) Never happened with any of the TiBooks I've had, but you should simply get it fixed under AppleCare--they are replacing bezels now. You do have AppleCare for your laptop, I hope?
3)Each Ti rev has been cooler, in my experience, and the 800 DVI's are especially cool compared to the earlier revs. If you require a laptop that does not exude any heat, a low-end iBook might work...but that edition TiBook should never get more than unpleasantly warm, and that would be under duress. If yours is, it may be related to your kernal panics...again, an AppleCare issue.
4)Airport range isn't as good as it should be--that said, I have no problems in real life--i am still able to connect to every network I try to use an d know is there. It crops up when I try to wardrive or work on networks that I discover.
5)There is a company that makes a Ti battery recharger--madsonline.com is where you want to go. Your batteries are way to low if 1.5 is their max rating, so recondition the batteries and then talk to Apple on your AppleCare if they don't recover.
6)It can be tiring keeping it from getting scratched--I agree.
I got the 12" PB a month ago (or maybe longer actually).
I use it at home, and in the Lab, writing up experiments, Doing my thesis. (its very cute to see it nestled in between massive amounts of Lab equipment).
I also have started bringing it out to a club that i DJ at weekly, where it looks extremely cool with its lovely glowing apple logo.
As of yet, not a single scratch, Ding, dent, bend or scuff. Its in prime nick, I'm more than happy with it!
Comments
<strong>hah baby book, thats what we call them at work. There are alot of small scratches all on the bottom kinda like if you were using it on cement and moved it with out picking it up. top has some of the same scratches on the round edges and some reg scratches all around the apple. The sides have all sorts of nicks in it, and then the worst, its got like 3 round deep scrapes on the side, where you see the raw aluminum with a horizontal grain from the scrape. i have the same type of scratches on my aluminum mountain bike, but that from falling on trees and rocks n crap. These arent marks that you have to look for, it just looks f$#ked up <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[oyvey]" /> </strong><hr></blockquote>
Can you take a pic for us???
:eek:
I am very curious to know why that it is always the same screw that is missing on the LCD display...
Originally posted by Matsu
The anodized finish does pick up grime/sweat/prints very quickly though, eating and drinking around the book doesn't help, but a soft slightly damp terry cloth wipes everything away with minimal effort. I've cleaned up the baby book twice in this way and each time it comes off looking brand spanky new.
...might be worthwhile taking a look at a product which is made by a highly respected player in the marine accessory industry, Rupp Marine's Aluma-Guard, a protectant which 'restores and preserves aluminum and other metals including stainless steel, brass and chrome...forms a protective coating on surfaces...prevents penetration of harmful substances and restores a lasting shine....and guards against pitting and corrosion caused by the harsh effects of marine use (saltwater).'
I've used this stuff with great success on anodized aluminum and stainless surfaces for years in an offshore fishing environment and have never found it lacking. A wee spritz of this semi-gel material on a terry cloth wipe should do the trick with the single caveat being that one should use discretion in applying it on the underside of any metallic case that is sitting atop a smooth surface because the treated metal surface will be somewhat slippery for a while.
Originally posted by critterdoc
because the treated metal surface will be somewhat slippery for a while.
hahaha woops, as my powerbook flys out the window.
BUT, BUT, BUT, there are many more complaints I have about the tactile attributes of the TiBook:
(1) The smooth metal with handsome matte sheen paint, while ever so "cool" looking make the TiBook one of the clumsiest consumer items I have ever handled, despite it's light weight and ultra thin profile. "One hand" this thing closed with a "sandwich" grip and you must squeeze it so damned hard as to flex the logo surface behind the screen to "uncomfortable" degrees to maintain grip on the unit. Put on a thin leather glove and repeat the same exercise and no problem! You barely have to grip the unit to feel secure in the fact that you won't drop it. For you physics majors this would be due to the "coefficient of friction" of the glove vs. your bare finger skin against the smooth painted surface. To me this is UNACCEPTABLE and "BAD" design and ergonomics, period! One need only handle the smooth "grippy" plastic of the Apple pro mouse to understand the loyalty of iBook owners.
(2) Open the TiBook and one hand the unit "serving tray" style, particularly on the CD drive corner and after a few severe squeezes (necessary to maintain grip) and you will find the bonding agent that adheres the titainium deck panel to the carbon fiber (light silver) rim start to break and separate at the seam. This really PISSED ME OFF!
How can 5.3 pounds of unit cause you to break the case by simply carrying it in a natural way???? The chassis should be able to withstand one's griping the notebook with one hand anywhere on the base portion of the chassis. To it's credit I have had it open and with thumb and forefinger gripped it at the "crook" of the hinge and carried it around! You might ask why I don't close her up "sleep" and reopen? Because I have had sleep issues with this machine from day one and so did the previous owner (a pro photographer BTW), especially closing the lid and getting a kernal panic and black or gray screen lockup. So when I'm online around the house it's just easier to carry it open so I don't risk having to reboot. Once again UNACCEPTABLE ergonomics and software performance issues!!! I needed a notebook that boots in 9 as well so thats one reason I got it.
(3) This thing gets very hot when placed on certain surfaces!!! I'm sure prolonged heating cycles with fan operating at full speed or not can't be to good for component "service" life! I'd make a gentlemans bet that heat is one of the main culprits as hardware warranty issues cropped up over the life cycle of the TiBook design.
(4) Airport range still sucks after all these years!
(5) The battery life specs. claimed by Apple are total bullshit. I do graphics work and I'd bet that 70% of the people who own these "Pro" Books do just as processor intensive work as I do. I'm lucky to get 1.5 hours out of a battery (I have 2) And you can't charge the batteries with a charging base since there isn't one! You have to charge the batts. while in the computer; this is really dumb! I may drop $400-$500 on a full 6-8 hour outboard battery! I need that flexability. But see I counted on Apple to tell me the truth! Also due to sleep issues after closing, hot swaps are a "coin toss".
(6) I like to keep my $h!4 NICE! It is sometimes a great distraction to have to not sit the thing down on the wrong spot or bump the lid into the wrong thing or not brush it against metal garment fixtures such as snaps rivets & zippers, ad nauseum!! So to take care of it and have the paint just mysteriously sluf off insults my effort to keep it nice. So I've resigned myself to the fact that my TiBook will be a "war worn" unit and just use the sucker up like all the other garbage I use and disgard.
Needless to say I love the way the thing runs (fast) and always have been a Mac loyalist so the last thing this machine has taken out of my Macsperience as opposed to the other Macs I've owned is "pride of ownership"! It is demoralizing to have owned almost flawless desktop Macs for 12 years and to have waited until almost the final "iteration" of Apple's "best effort" (as of Sept. 2002) in Notebooks to have such difficulty and frustration with a machine that is supposed to offer the utmost in power, freedom, and flexability in all of the laptop PCs on the planet!!! I cannot brag to my friends about hardware when it only looks good, runs fast and has OSX. That the above problems exist for me and others subtracts greatly from the "cut above" feeling I had using my other Macintoshes!
Not mine though.
Or I might go down to Hobby Lobby and match the silver on the bezel with a model-paint metallic enamel.
Yeah, so you Aluminum-toters be glad and blessed by your pieces of industrial integrity...I might take a dive into that if a 970 makes it there before year's end, heh.
1) This is subjective, but I simply don't find the TiBook that slippery.
2) Never happened with any of the TiBooks I've had, but you should simply get it fixed under AppleCare--they are replacing bezels now. You do have AppleCare for your laptop, I hope?
3)Each Ti rev has been cooler, in my experience, and the 800 DVI's are especially cool compared to the earlier revs. If you require a laptop that does not exude any heat, a low-end iBook might work...but that edition TiBook should never get more than unpleasantly warm, and that would be under duress. If yours is, it may be related to your kernal panics...again, an AppleCare issue.
4)Airport range isn't as good as it should be--that said, I have no problems in real life--i am still able to connect to every network I try to use an d know is there. It crops up when I try to wardrive or work on networks that I discover.
5)There is a company that makes a Ti battery recharger--madsonline.com is where you want to go. Your batteries are way to low if 1.5 is their max rating, so recondition the batteries and then talk to Apple on your AppleCare if they don't recover.
6)It can be tiring keeping it from getting scratched--I agree.
I use it at home, and in the Lab, writing up experiments, Doing my thesis. (its very cute to see it nestled in between massive amounts of Lab equipment).
I also have started bringing it out to a club that i DJ at weekly, where it looks extremely cool with its lovely glowing apple logo.
As of yet, not a single scratch, Ding, dent, bend or scuff. Its in prime nick, I'm more than happy with it!