iBook quality

A lot of lemons, or CDs really not designed for lots of computer use. I have found that certain CD media is of very poor quality, and CD drives of computers are especially sensitive to the CD media. While this report is quite old in many way it holds true today:

http://www.macintouch.com/cdrfailure.html

Things to watch out for on CDs:
1. Copy protection ring - forget it. These aren't true CDs.
2. Sticky labels - can easily get melted enough that pieces of the label get stuck in the drive.
3. Writing not kept clear of edges. There is a portion of the edge that actually lets light through, and if it is interfered with it could give the CD drive a headache.

I only trust media by Verbatim, Sony, Imation, and Kodak. Memorex and Maxell media I've had some very bad luck with, and generic CompUSA media as well.

I only trust media stored in jewelcases, and not media stored on spindels, since they can scratch each other on the spindels with the track side hitting the label side of the other CD when shifting in the spindel.

Software wise, if the CD isn't formatted Mac, ISO 9660, or PhotoCD, don't use it on your machine as it won't work.

both my 3 1/2 year old ibook and equally old pc laptop (compaq presario) have cd-roms in them

and when they turn, they bump and grind and make a ton of noise...they work but the sound is very disturbing to me

desktop optical drives are much smoother and quiter from my experiences

CDs...

I had a bunch of Memorex CDs that burned around the edge, (sunlight?) rendering that part both unreadable and unburnable. Still OK for 300-400 MB discs, but any more information would just not work. Moral of the story: No more Memorex.

I wish my CD player would bump and grind. ;-) That sounds like fun.

My iBook has been good with CDs/DVDs, even though I've had to reassemble the CD tray (dropped computer).

I have had to send in my iBook for a replacement motherboard (another drop incident) and order new feet (free). But not too many problems...what a tough laptop!

I've done really well using Khypermedia CD-R media. The dye is very opaque and is an excellent color for using as a long-term backup solution. I have NEVER had a bad burn with Khypermedia. Don't bother with CD-RWs. CD-Rs are so cheap it hardly makes any sense given that CD-RWs are much less stable and a huge hassle to deal with.

You dropped your iBook, broke the motherboard, and Apple is still going to replace the motherboard?

Also, I thought the rubber feet cost $15 to replace. Yes, I heard $15 because everybody has problems with the feet, and Apple said they don't cover them anymore. This was a while ago, too.

I haven't lost any feet yet though one seems a little loose. Can you glue them in or something without screwing up the finish on the ibook? I don't want to melt the plastic with glue

Why don't people just buy new feet, the kind you stick under the legs of chairs and whatever so that they don't scratch your hardwood floors when you're dragging a chair across the room? Those things would stay on forever, and would serve the purpose.

I use Maxell and KDT media CD-R (and CD-RW) without too many problems. I especially like DKT's CD-R media because the surface (non-burnable side) of the CD is completely unwritten on and has no easily noticed watermark.

Neither of them have caused problems with my computers, except for once in a while, but verification usually helps.