I finally gave up

[WinterMute]

After trying everything I could think of I finally capitulated today and sent my beloved 17" PowerBook back to Apple.

It just kept freezing all the time, but only on the PSU, not the battery, plus I could freeze it by picking it up. Then it stopped waking from sleep, then it started corrupting the video on a regular basis, then it simply wouldn't boot.

This was the 4th new mac I've owned, and it's the first one I've had a moments problem with (bangs head against something wooden for luck).

I'm convinced it's a hardware fault, I've been running an almost identical system on my eMac and the old 15" PBook, and never had a problem.

I guess it's my own fault for ignoring my own rule about never buying the first revision of any technology, but it's so cute I just had to have one.

So, back to the 15" for a while...

 

[jelloshotsrule]

just keep in mind that the 17" is a rev a machine... so that isn't TOO surprising

must be tough going from the 17" all the way down those 2 inches eh? heh

 

[WinterMute]

Haven't you heard, size doesn't matter?

It's not really the screen, it's the speed, the old 15" is an original 400Mhz, it doesn't even have a cd burner

I guess I'll probably cope though (sniff)

 

[jelloshotsrule]

ahh. quite a stepdown then.

but still... at least you have the backup

 

[pseudobrit]

The thing about Apples is, like any quality product (like say, BMWs and Audis), if it's going to give you grief, it'll show up almost immediately, like my iBook did with its (quite common for my model) bad CD/DVD-ROM drive two months into owning it.

 

[mattmack]

Originally posted by pseudobrit
The thing about Apples is, like any quality product (like say, BMWs and Audis), if it's going to give you grief, it'll show up almost immediately, like my iBook did with its (quite common for my model) bad CD/DVD-ROM drive two months into owning it.

And they are typically very good at fixing the major problems

 

[maradong]

Originally posted by WinterMute
Haven't you heard, size doesn't matter?

It's not really the screen, it's the speed, the old 15" is an original 400Mhz, it doesn't even have a cd burner

I guess I'll probably cope though (sniff)

is it a big big change from the 17 to the 15 in order of size ?
I know it is of topic, but i really d like to know. is the 17'' Portable ? I can imagine it is not really portable but I don t know as long as nobody gave me his feedback. ( oh i saw it and worked on it a bit in a store, but I just can t imagine taking it with me around all the time ;-) )

 

[WinterMute]

Truthfully I didn't notice the extra size of the 17 after a couple of days, it's only a pound or so heavier, and as long as you have a good bag (it actually fits into the Hacker bag I have for the 15) then transporting it isn't a problem.

I was moving it between home and the Uni office, and into studios and lecture theatres most days, and I think its fine.

I'm a big, fit bloke though, i'd imagine it might be a handful if you're on the small side, the edge of the case reaches to kidney level on my back, if you were, say, 5'6" it'd be resting on your hip bones, which would be uncomfortable.

I must say that going back to the 15 is a bit of a shock, everything feels crowded and cluttered, plus the screen on the 17 is a beauty, its much sharper than the 15 and it handles colour much better. Plus the speakers on the 17 are very nice for a laptop, the 15's sound like crap in comparison.

On the whole I can't wait for the damn thing to come back...

 

[Wardofsky]

In terms of going from a 17" to a 15", sure size may not matter.
But those speakers are just so cool...

 

[mangoman]

Been there, felt your pain

I have a rev A TiBook. The original 400MHz model. Sent that puppy back TWICE for logic board replacements. Yeeeoowch. Now she runs like a champ. An old, now sluggish champ, but haven't had any problems since...

Good luck with the 17".

 

[Abstract]

Are the speakers as good as they're hyped up to be? I don't get it. They're laptop speakers, for fark sakes. Are they so much better than iBook and other PB speakers that they deserved mention from Steve? I heard him talk about the speakers when the 17" was first introduced, but I thought he was just pushing the machine like crazy, thats all. I doubt he'd ever say, "Great screen, but the speakers are crap!!"

Are they adequate for music? Should you still get portables?

 

[scem0]

**** happens.

I hope you have better luck with the replacement.

Are they adequate for music? Should you still get portables?

Doesn't getting portable laptop speakers seem a bit over the top? I can understand sound quality being important..... but not that important.

I dunno, it just sounds over-the-top to me.

 

[mactastic]

The speakers in my 1gig tibook are great, I mean you're not getting any bass out of them, but its a laptop for petes sake. I was quite impressed with the amount of sound that comes out of them, but then again I wasn't really expecting much. Sure if you are going to do alot of music listening you'll want speakers, but get some good headphones for when you are out and about and you will be fine. I keep an old pair of speakers on the desk in my lab at school so I can play DJ for the people in my studio when I'm there. The rest of the time I use headphones.

 

[WinterMute]

The speakers in the 17 are as good a set of speakers as I have heard on any computer, let alone a laptop. They are still a bit bass light, but nowhere near as tinny as on the 15.

I can comfortably listen to iTunes or watch DVDs with the 17, wheras I always used phones or externals on the 15. They are pretty good for gaming too