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CAUTION: New 17" PowerBook Problems

It's really not that bad guys, this thread is blowing it out of proportion.

I have a new 17" with 1.5GB RAM and the screen issue. I have gone a few days without seeing the screen jump, and when it does, it's only for a split second. I have yet to experience this AirPort problem and I routinely go over 1GB used.
 
anthonys said:
For 95,000 yen I can buy a Mac Mini with pretty comparable specs (assuming it's the updated one) to the 15" PB, the PB sells for 240,000 yen. The biggest difference is the PB comes with a screen, but who would want to pay 145,000 yen for it! :eek: I can get a decent Samsung LCD for 1/3 the price and it will be brighter and evenly illuminated.. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

No offense, but this is just silly. First, they don't have the same specs at all. Processor, RAM, GPU, you name it, the powerbook is better.

Second, and far more importantly, are you going to take that mini and samsung LCD with you to the library, the coffee shop, the park, and on a plane? You get more for less money with desktops - always have, always will. Yeah, the powerbooks need some help, but I think it makes a lot more sense to point out how similar the ibooks are rather than making a comparison to a desktop...
 
RHMMMM said:
It's really not that bad guys, this thread is blowing it out of proportion.

I have a new 17" with 1.5GB RAM and the screen issue. I have gone a few days without seeing the screen jump, and when it does, it's only for a split second. I have yet to experience this AirPort problem and I routinely go over 1GB used.
Click to expand...

I agree it doesn't make the machine unusable or anything, but then again the impact is that some pretty simple things just don't work.

For example, you can't order an iPhoto book using Airport if you have over 1GB installed. On my new 15"PB it takes the connection down a minute or so into the upload every time, because kernel_task rises steadily from the moment the upload starts and eventually kills the airport connection. You have to reboot before you can connect to airport again. This will happen from a cold boot and with no other applications open. I can think of plenty of other basic tasks that won't be achievable due to this problem.

It's a pretty serious flaw in my opinion, and needs to be fixed quickly.
 
QCassidy352 said:
No offense, but this is just silly. First, they don't have the same specs at all. Processor, RAM, GPU, you name it, the powerbook is better.

Second, and far more importantly, are you going to take that mini and samsung LCD with you to the library, the coffee shop, the park, and on a plane? You get more for less money with desktops - always have, always will. Yeah, the powerbooks need some help, but I think it makes a lot more sense to point out how similar the ibooks are rather than making a comparison to a desktop...
Click to expand...

Sure, the iBook has a pretty shocking screen too. That's why I was comparing to the Mini. They are all G4, all small form factor, I didn't say that had the same specs, just pretty similar. The performance is going to be pretty much the same at the end of the day. It's not like the difference between an iMac and Powerbook.

My main point is I'd much rather a computer that works, has a decent screen (no flickering, even illumination and no horizontal lines) and is half the cost than one that I can work on outside.

As much as I'd love to get another an Apple notebook it just doesn't make sense given the poor screens and over inflated price compared to a Mini and LCD.
 
anthonys said:
I don't know why Apple doesn't have a stricter quality control. They run their production by design so that they can control everything; the way the OS runs through to hardware config, so they are in a perfect position to ensure everything works when it leaves the factory -but they don't ever seem too. :mad: And it's not like you're getting the hardware cheaply, it should be built in to the price they charge.
Click to expand...

Steve Jobs wants his yacht for christmas :mad:
 
so these uneven brightness issues affect only the latest (10/2005) powerbooks? it's pretty discouraging as I wanted to upgrade as well...
 
anthonys said:
My main point is I'd much rather a computer that works, has a decent screen (no flickering, even illumination and no horizontal lines) and is half the cost than one that I can work on outside.
Click to expand...

Well for the price of the 15" PB you could get a mac mini AND an iBook. ;)

I do sympathise though. I was about to order a PB but I'm hesitating now. I really don't want to buy something that has to be not quite right until Apple admit to the problem and fix it.
 
Chrispy said:
The uneven backlighting issue exists in the 15" model as well. Where is your screen noticeably darker? Mine was in the upper left corner.
Click to expand...

It has two horizontal bars end to end on the top 1/3 and bottom 1/3 of the screen.

It's a mess.
 
BWhaler said:
It has two horizontal bars end to end on the top 1/3 and bottom 1/3 of the screen.
Click to expand...
Can you send a screenshot please??? ;)

But seriously... I find the lately QA problems with Apple products majorly disturbing!

For the price they are calling for their products I would expect better than that... :mad:

I ordered a Quad G5, but I am thinking about canceling my order and waiting for first reviews of other users if there are some issues with this machine... The last thing I can use is a buggy machine when I need to earn money with it...

groovebuster
 
RHMMMM said:
It's really not that bad guys, this thread is blowing it out of proportion.

I have a new 17" with 1.5GB RAM and the screen issue. I have gone a few days without seeing the screen jump, and when it does, it's only for a split second. I have yet to experience this AirPort problem and I routinely go over 1GB used.
Click to expand...

As the original poster, I agree with your sentiment.

I started this to make people aware of some issues Apple was having in a subset of the computers shipping. It doesn't mean that every single laptop, or even the majority, are having issues. Just some.

I think we need to reign this thread in a bit. It was not intended to tell people not to buy a laptop, but just to share my issues and let folks know others are experiencing the same problems.

But the silent majority are not experiencing problems, and folks need to remember that.

And of course, Apple handled my problems with class. I'm getting a new Mac in a few days, so no worries...
 
These ARE serious quality issues!

I still think the issues are serious. My laptop is only usable with one of my SODIMMS disabled and the screen jump/distortion is very annoying. Given that even the G5 freeze issue has not been solved (see g5freeze.com); I wonder if I should try to get a refund instead of waiting in hope for fixes that may never come. Not a very good switching experience so far.

BWhaler: since it appears that the two issues you stated in your first post are software issues, how will a new Mac help? Is the new Mac not a PowerBook RevE?

BWhaler said:
As the original poster, I agree with your sentiment.

I started this to make people aware of some issues Apple was having in a subset of the computers shipping. It doesn't mean that every single laptop, or even the majority, are having issues. Just some.

I think we need to reign this thread in a bit. It was not intended to tell people not to buy a laptop, but just to share my issues and let folks know others are experiencing the same problems.

But the silent majority are not experiencing problems, and folks need to remember that.

And of course, Apple handled my problems with class. I'm getting a new Mac in a few days, so no worries...
Click to expand...
 
mactim said:
BWhaler: since it appears that the two issues you stated in your first post are software issues, how will a new Mac help? Is the new Mac not a PowerBook RevE?
Click to expand...

I basically just want the backlight fixed. I will drop down to 1gig of memory and turn off the ambient lighting setting which should fix the other two issues.

Is this optimal? No. Are these serious issues? Yes.

But will it suit my needs and be better than the Rev. B 17" I currently use?

Yes.

And I really hope Apple gets their act together too. Something is definitely rotten in the state of Denmark with Apple quality of late...
 
Im having a odd popping sound under the keyboard when my system gets warm "playing wow, rendering, video editing" After sometime of the system running warm I will get glithes in the video for a very shrot time. The apple will run fine and all I will just have video gliches now and then and that popping sound is not the sticky tape under the keyboard either. I ran tests and passed. Does anyone know if this is a software fix or think something is losing contact ?GPU? Causing this. The fans run fine aswell. I have fixed other powerbooks but they where 17" never alum 12 or 15 and there heat sink runs across the back on the GPU and Proc and tacs on the back making it one big heat sink if you will. I really dont want to take this system to the apple store to get it shipped since its new. Is any new 15" owner having this problem? plus this above 1G mem crap is scaring me. I have 2 512 one apple and one mushkin and I want to buy a 1G stick from mushkin so I have above a gig so my editing runs smoother and better.(15" powerbook 1GB 1.67Mhz)
 
Tiger quality.... in general

I had a backlight flickering issue which the ambient lighting setting allowed me to fix. However the occasional quick screen distortion during heavy cpu load remains (usually happens when playing movies / ichat).
It annoys me when some Mac fans laugh about Windows being unstable; because Tiger is far buggier than Windows XP SP2 is.
It's also technically light years ahead of XP and far more fun to use; which is what attracted me to Mac. But Tiger has serious quality issues for many people. We must not be complacent and must push Apple to try harder.

BWhaler said:
I basically just want the backlight fixed. I will drop down to 1gig of memory and turn off the ambient lighting setting which should fix the other two issues.

Is this optimal? No. Are these serious issues? Yes.

But will it suit my needs and be better than the Rev. B 17" I currently use?

Yes.

And I really hope Apple gets their act together too. Something is definitely rotten in the state of Denmark with Apple quality of late...
Click to expand...
 
OK, I take back my post from before. I have experienced the LookupD Airport drop/computer lag problem three times tonight and I'm pissed. Yeah, I'm ready to sue with you guys.

The good news is that with the 10.4.3 update, I have yet to see the screen flicker/jump problem - it might be fixed or I might not have seen it yet. The memory problem bothers me a LOT more than the screen jump though.
 
a temporary fix

check out this article for a temporary hack that works pretty well at handling the airport problem. It, by high end deep root cosmogougic voodoo, limits the ram your machine allows itself to use, or something like that. I've tried it out, and it does work at pushing the problem out of the way, tho not completely irradicating it. User reports indicate that the fix works on both iBook and pBooks.

Still, aside from there BEING a problem, it would be rad for apple to at least ACKNOWLEDGE that there is one...

But I guess that seems too much to ask.
 
Well this aint cool. I'm looking at buying a 15" PB with 2GB of ram, but it doesn't do me any good if the ram isn't usable. Is this a problem on EVERY PB with more than a gig of ram, or just flawed machines?
 
I'm kind of glad I didn't wait for the new powerbook. I've got 1.5GB ram, airport that works faultlessly and a screen I don't have to squint at to read. ;)

Admittedly it cost me £300 more than if I'd waited and may yet still suffer the memory slot failure of doom...
 
anthonys said:
I can get a decent Samsung LCD for 1/3 the price and it will be brighter and evenly illuminated.. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Lol, and what makes you 100% sure the Samsung LCD won't have any issues? Of course we hear about Apple problems all the time since this is an Apple forum. But this does not mean other electronic companys do not have any problems. Ok, we know about the screen issue of the pbs now, but you can't be sure nou to get a dud if you buy a Samsung, Sony or whatever something. Unfortunately that's the way it is. 100% quality control is simply to expensive for companys, no matter if it's Apple, Sony, Dell,....
 
Was this airport dropping problem an issue with the older DDR333 Powerbooks? Or, is it new just with the DDR2 ones?
 
Can someone try the new Airport update and see if that fixes our problems with the iBooks and Powerbooks with respect to the >1GB RAM issue?
 
chaosbunny said:
Lol, and what makes you 100% sure the Samsung LCD won't have any issues? Of course we hear about Apple problems all the time since this is an Apple forum. But this does not mean other electronic companys do not have any problems. Ok, we know about the screen issue of the pbs now, but you can't be sure nou to get a dud if you buy a Samsung, Sony or whatever something. Unfortunately that's the way it is. 100% quality control is simply to expensive for companys, no matter if it's Apple, Sony, Dell,....
Click to expand...

Nothing, but I've read a lot of reviews praising how good they are and out of all the electronic devices I bought over the past few years every Apple product has broken (4) but none of the Sony, JVC, Samsung stuff has.

I can see the screens are better quality in the stores. Plus if they do go wrong Samsung gives you a three year warranty on site (included in the price), and if I do need to go without the screen I still have a computer to use .. :cool:
 
RHMMMM said:
Can someone try the new Airport update and see if that fixes our problems with the iBooks and Powerbooks with respect to the >1GB RAM issue?
Click to expand...

I, too, am curious about this. My 1GB extra RAM (bringing total to 1.5) is supposed to arrive tomorrow and I want to know what to expect.
 
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