I got the 12inch Super Drive. The problem is short battery life. Another thing is it is TOO loud when you have it on for extended periods and the fan kicks in. Once it kicks in, it seems to be always on untill you put it to sleep, then, it gets cooler and quieter. That really bugs me. Other wise, I have no problem with the latch or screen. Performance is so-so, but could be cause it only has 256 RAM. I do get lots of beach balls especially opening iApps.
Heat and battery life (1.2.8 r2 fixed the estimated time remaining) have not been a problem for me, the latch was fine. However, I did have the dreaded white spots.
The computer was sent to Apple yesterday (5-7 business days to repair). Getting them to do a repair was no hastle at all, I called up tech support and they made me mess with open firmware for a few minutes, and then issued a return. They overnighted me a box with return tags attached, I packed up the notebook and off it went. Total time spent: <20 minutes.
I'm a little frustrated that a brand new and very expensive computer has to be repaired so shortly after purchasing it. However, I can find no fault with Apple's tech support, and I can forgive that they missed the flaw when it shipped, because I didn't notice myself for several days. Eventually it got bad enough that I had to have it fixed.
Hopefully this issue is solved now, and any new purchasers will not have this problem.
I'll be certain to post here again when I recieve the repaired machine, and let everyone know the result.
I'm one of the happy 15" 1.25 GHz owners. I just want to second that the 10.2.8 update helped my battery life. I get about 2.3 to over 3 hours depending mostly on the brightness of the screen (darker ambient lighting helps). It's good to follow the instructions to set your battery levels (fully charge, drain until sleep, fully charge) after the update.
I have no issues with the screen or latch. I also find it very quite.
Worked with the powerbook on my lap yesterday for a couple of hours. I had justed burned a DVD and only after a couple of hours did the heat at the bottom become uncomfortable. Generally, I have no issues wth the temperature.
I put multiple because 145 degrees is TOO hot to be sitting on my lap. It just isn't very comfortable to have it sitting there while I'm rendering things. Plus better life of ~3hours isn't doing it for me either. Nothing TOO bad but I am not pleased with those. But I don't think I'd return it for a 12" or anything!
Wow. This survey doesn't bode well for powerbooks. Looks like I won't be buying one. From my informal observations of Dells, the incidence of problems is much lower. From my own experiences as well, I've never had one lick of trouble with it. I was prepared to just assume that manufacturers had worked the problems down to the 10 percentile range.
Wow. This survey doesn't bode well for powerbooks. Looks like I won't be buying one. From my informal observations of Dells, the incidence of problems is much lower. From my own experiences as well, I've never had one lick of trouble with it. I was prepared to just assume that manufacturers had worked the problems down to the 10 percentile range.
Of the many people I know who own Dell laptops a significant number of them have had problems. One has to remove his battery and cd-rom drive to prevent it from overheating and crashing. Obviously, without the battery, a laptop isn't nearly as useful as a portable machine.
I'm one of those who had the white spot problem (see above post) and I'm still not unhappy about my PowerBook purchase. It is all around a fantastic notebook, and a very higher quality machine. It will ultimately last much longer then a throw away Dell. Yes, unfortunately it had a minor manufacturing defect from the start, but Apple was quick to offer a repair. I say it was a minor defect because the notebook was perfectly useable, many people might never notice the spots.
If you want to run Windows, then my all means buy a Dell. But do not buy a Dell because you think they have less manufacturing defects then an Apple! Particularly, do not put a great deal of stock in this highly unscientific poll.
If you are very concerned with the screen issue wait a few months for Apple to improve their process, I doubt machines that come off the assembly line now still exhibit this problem. Also, I haven't heard of such problems with the updated 12" and 17" models, so you might consider those. Or even the iBook, which has also been available in its current form for a long time now.
Wow. This survey doesn't bode well for powerbooks. Looks like I won't be buying one. From my informal observations of Dells, the incidence of problems is much lower. From my own experiences as well, I've never had one lick of trouble with it. I was prepared to just assume that manufacturers had worked the problems down to the 10 percentile range.
Wait a week or two to see if suckers like me have had a successful repair. I'll post my experiences. If the spots come back, wait a little while, etc.
I'm hoping it is done, and I mean done.
It is actually out for delivery, which makes me extremely happy. From Houston to the Central Valley in about 15 hours. Not bad (though you now I am chagined to congratulate Airborne...).
Wow. This survey doesn't bode well for powerbooks. Looks like I won't be buying one. From my informal observations of Dells, the incidence of problems is much lower. From my own experiences as well, I've never had one lick of trouble with it. I was prepared to just assume that manufacturers had worked the problems down to the 10 percentile range.
I've purchased many a DELL notebook (Inspirons/Latitudes) and they have their share of problems as well: DVD stuttering, watermarks on the LCD, sound static, etc. etc. I used to frequent DELLTALK, Dell's official forum, and you would not believe how many problems there were.
But so what? EVERY notebook manufacturer has quality-control issues: IBM, HP, APPLE, DELL, Gateway, etc. The difference is how the manufacturer deals with the problems. I give DELL credit because their Reps did a pretty good job of getting the gear replaced, quickly. Ditto for IBM, and terrible for Gateway and HP.
Apple's PB woes are nothing new and should be 'expected' given the volume of units they are selling. While APPLE doesn't have the sales volume of a DELL (thousands of notebook sales daily) they use the same components as everyone else and the same company to assemble them (Wistron, Compal, etc.).
The point is that APPLE, hopefully, is addressing these QC issues and appropriately repairing/replacing them.
My 12" PB gets a little warm and it wobbles a bit. Otherwise, it's fast, quiet, portable, and well designed. I do wish the screen was a little brighter.
BTW, anyone have any ideas on fixing the wobble? I don't really want to have to keep sticking a post-it or two underneath this high-tech machine...
i can almost promise you that any laptop that's busy rendering will get both hot and have a short battery life.
lower the brightness on your display to help your battery life, and turn off Airport if you aren't using it.
Battery life doesn't reflect while I'm rendering...I'm not crazy enough to render while I am using battery power, I would drain my battery life like crazy.
I am just saying...when I am using it at it's most crazy speed settings, 145 degrees is a bit warm when I'm using it on my lap...guess I should normally have it on a desk or something when I'm plugged in.
I voted for heat, though it's not too bad. usualy keep the laptop on a thick notebook or piece of cardboard. It only becomes unusable when runnig the hard drive continuously and intensively for long periods, like during HD maintenance.
No, my biggest problem with my 12" PB has been the little rubber feet. They keep falling off! I think I finally got them all superglued in place well, but we'll see.
I'd be curious to see this kind of poll directed specifically at the new Alu 15"s, where the majority of first-run problems seem to be cropping up.
The RevB 12"s and 17"s appear to be pretty solid.
i also wonder if the majority of the people saying they have no problems are not owners of the alu 15".
btw, re: all the heat complaints-- i keep the powerbook on my lap a lot and if doesnt feel that hot to me. my previous portable was a RevA wallstreet, and that got hot enough to boil tea. so by comparison, the heat here doesnt bother me one bit, and it feels good now that the weather has gotten colder. (think of it as a very expensive electric blanket! )
It has one stuck blue pixel which I NEVER notice unless the screen is completely black.
Otherwise it is flawless.
I was planning to buy a 15" Al but all these problems scared me off.. Instead I bought a 17" and couldn't be happier.
In fact I went and took a look at the 15" again today and thought it looked too small!!
The "size" of the 17" is a non-issue in portability for me (and I take it to work everyday) - and the more time I spend with it the more I don't think I could live without it!
Hope that helps, but if you listen to me - BUY THE 17" -its fantatsic.
Comments
Originally posted by taliesin
Just curious to see what the percentage of problems are for the new AlBooks
dude thanx for posting this poll... i wanted to, but couldnt figure out how...LOL.
i am (pleasantly) surprised there are that many flawless units out there. from the quality control thread, it sounded like they were all lemons.
Aside from the unethical, does anyone know where you can get PowerBook feets for cheap?
Originally posted by Stoo
I voted "none", but I have lost one of the feet.
Aside from the unethical, does anyone know where you can get PowerBook feets for cheap?
Used to be Apple would just send them to you if you asked. It is worth a try, after all it is still under warranty
The computer was sent to Apple yesterday (5-7 business days to repair). Getting them to do a repair was no hastle at all, I called up tech support and they made me mess with open firmware for a few minutes, and then issued a return. They overnighted me a box with return tags attached, I packed up the notebook and off it went. Total time spent: <20 minutes.
I'm a little frustrated that a brand new and very expensive computer has to be repaired so shortly after purchasing it. However, I can find no fault with Apple's tech support, and I can forgive that they missed the flaw when it shipped, because I didn't notice myself for several days. Eventually it got bad enough that I had to have it fixed.
Hopefully this issue is solved now, and any new purchasers will not have this problem.
I'll be certain to post here again when I recieve the repaired machine, and let everyone know the result.
-Spyky
I have no issues with the screen or latch. I also find it very quite.
Worked with the powerbook on my lap yesterday for a couple of hours. I had justed burned a DVD and only after a couple of hours did the heat at the bottom become uncomfortable. Generally, I have no issues wth the temperature.
I'm a happy camper, they are not all lemons.
lower the brightness on your display to help your battery life, and turn off Airport if you aren't using it.
Originally posted by Jukebox Hero
Wow. This survey doesn't bode well for powerbooks. Looks like I won't be buying one. From my informal observations of Dells, the incidence of problems is much lower. From my own experiences as well, I've never had one lick of trouble with it. I was prepared to just assume that manufacturers had worked the problems down to the 10 percentile range.
Of the many people I know who own Dell laptops a significant number of them have had problems. One has to remove his battery and cd-rom drive to prevent it from overheating and crashing. Obviously, without the battery, a laptop isn't nearly as useful as a portable machine.
I'm one of those who had the white spot problem (see above post) and I'm still not unhappy about my PowerBook purchase. It is all around a fantastic notebook, and a very higher quality machine. It will ultimately last much longer then a throw away Dell. Yes, unfortunately it had a minor manufacturing defect from the start, but Apple was quick to offer a repair. I say it was a minor defect because the notebook was perfectly useable, many people might never notice the spots.
If you want to run Windows, then my all means buy a Dell. But do not buy a Dell because you think they have less manufacturing defects then an Apple! Particularly, do not put a great deal of stock in this highly unscientific poll.
If you are very concerned with the screen issue wait a few months for Apple to improve their process, I doubt machines that come off the assembly line now still exhibit this problem. Also, I haven't heard of such problems with the updated 12" and 17" models, so you might consider those. Or even the iBook, which has also been available in its current form for a long time now.
-Spyky
Originally posted by Jukebox Hero
Wow. This survey doesn't bode well for powerbooks. Looks like I won't be buying one. From my informal observations of Dells, the incidence of problems is much lower. From my own experiences as well, I've never had one lick of trouble with it. I was prepared to just assume that manufacturers had worked the problems down to the 10 percentile range.
Wait a week or two to see if suckers like me have had a successful repair. I'll post my experiences. If the spots come back, wait a little while, etc.
I'm hoping it is done, and I mean done.
It is actually out for delivery, which makes me extremely happy. From Houston to the Central Valley in about 15 hours. Not bad (though you now I am chagined to congratulate Airborne...).
Originally posted by Jukebox Hero
Wow. This survey doesn't bode well for powerbooks. Looks like I won't be buying one. From my informal observations of Dells, the incidence of problems is much lower. From my own experiences as well, I've never had one lick of trouble with it. I was prepared to just assume that manufacturers had worked the problems down to the 10 percentile range.
I've purchased many a DELL notebook (Inspirons/Latitudes) and they have their share of problems as well: DVD stuttering, watermarks on the LCD, sound static, etc. etc. I used to frequent DELLTALK, Dell's official forum, and you would not believe how many problems there were.
But so what? EVERY notebook manufacturer has quality-control issues: IBM, HP, APPLE, DELL, Gateway, etc. The difference is how the manufacturer deals with the problems. I give DELL credit because their Reps did a pretty good job of getting the gear replaced, quickly. Ditto for IBM, and terrible for Gateway and HP.
Apple's PB woes are nothing new and should be 'expected' given the volume of units they are selling. While APPLE doesn't have the sales volume of a DELL (thousands of notebook sales daily) they use the same components as everyone else and the same company to assemble them (Wistron, Compal, etc.).
The point is that APPLE, hopefully, is addressing these QC issues and appropriately repairing/replacing them.
BTW, anyone have any ideas on fixing the wobble? I don't really want to have to keep sticking a post-it or two underneath this high-tech machine...
Originally posted by alcimedes
i can almost promise you that any laptop that's busy rendering will get both hot and have a short battery life.
lower the brightness on your display to help your battery life, and turn off Airport if you aren't using it.
Battery life doesn't reflect while I'm rendering...I'm not crazy enough to render while I am using battery power, I would drain my battery life like crazy.
I am just saying...when I am using it at it's most crazy speed settings, 145 degrees is a bit warm when I'm using it on my lap...guess I should normally have it on a desk or something when I'm plugged in.
The RevB 12"s and 17"s appear to be pretty solid.
No, my biggest problem with my 12" PB has been the little rubber feet. They keep falling off! I think I finally got them all superglued in place well, but we'll see.
Originally posted by C-Bear
I'd be curious to see this kind of poll directed specifically at the new Alu 15"s, where the majority of first-run problems seem to be cropping up.
The RevB 12"s and 17"s appear to be pretty solid.
i also wonder if the majority of the people saying they have no problems are not owners of the alu 15".
btw, re: all the heat complaints-- i keep the powerbook on my lap a lot and if doesnt feel that hot to me. my previous portable was a RevA wallstreet, and that got hot enough to boil tea. so by comparison, the heat here doesnt bother me one bit, and it feels good now that the weather has gotten colder. (think of it as a very expensive electric blanket!
It has one stuck blue pixel which I NEVER notice unless the screen is completely black.
Otherwise it is flawless.
I was planning to buy a 15" Al but all these problems scared me off.. Instead I bought a 17" and couldn't be happier.
In fact I went and took a look at the 15" again today and thought it looked too small!!
The "size" of the 17" is a non-issue in portability for me (and I take it to work everyday) - and the more time I spend with it the more I don't think I could live without it!
Hope that helps, but if you listen to me - BUY THE 17" -its fantatsic.