Horizontal Lines in New Powerbooks

[Seasought]

I was in an Apple store last weekend (prior to reading anything about this line issue) and was working in Photoshop for about thirty minutes without any headaches, eye strain or vision problems.

I didn't notice any lines whatsoever...good to keep it in mind though for purchase time.

 

[tribe3]

haha good to hear...as a photographer, i take my screen as serious as one can...and honest to god all 3 looked fine.

Mizzi, as a photographer you also must know that if you look hard enough and shoot enough brick walls and test charts you end up finding soft areas and focusing problems on 85% of your lenses... and dust in your sensor, and if you blow your photos to 400% you're going to see moire, Purple fringe and so on and so on...
Just trust what you saw today and enjoy that beautiful machine that you just purchased!

Peace

 

[mizzi]

Mizzi, as a photographer you also must know that if you look hard enough and shoot enough brick walls and test charts you end up finding soft areas and focusing problems on 85% of your lenses... and dust in your sensor, and if you blow your photos to 400% you're going to see moire, Purple fringe and so on and so on...
Just trust what you saw today and enjoy that beautiful machine that you just purchased!

Peace

brilliantly stated...and i'm quite frightened to test my lenses for softness or back focussing...and so on. no clients have complained and everything looks good to me. thanks for the supportive words, i'm far happier now than i was this morning!

 

[hopejr]

I emailed one of the lecturers at my university and asked him how his new rev e 15" powerbook is. I didn't mention lines or anything (didn't want to spoil it for him), and he said that he loves it. He did just get rid of an old 14" iBook G3 though .

I think I'll still get one of these, but I'll check it out at the shop first. I doubt it would bother me, coz I've used LCD's with these lines on before (as I mentioned earlier) and had no issues.

 

[kingstontown]

Wait a second! At the beginning also mine looked fine, you tend to overlook such things.
But after a while your eyes get used to it and you see the crappy quality - yes CRAPPY quality - everywhere on your screen! No, it wasn't the background that I didn't like, it was the pictures, they _all_ looked muddy because of this "feature".

... and I'am not ready to accept this on a $2000 '05 highend laptop! Apple should be ashamed of this!

well here's my story, take it for what you will.

after reading everyone's story, i was ready to walk into my local apple store and stare into these god awful lines on the new 15"...the 15" i just ordered over the weekend. i fought through the crowd and saw 3 different 15" powerbooks. i thought this was too good to be true, i'll look at all 3...and i did.

i must have looked like a real goon staring at the display all squinty eyes from 3 inches away...but after looking at all 3 displays for god only knows how long..the only place i could see the lines was on the blue desktop/background (new to mac, dont know what you guys call that ) i was relieved beyond words. i did see the lines though...but i opened pictures, i opened CS2, i opened espn.com...on all of these. this is something i would be incredibly anal about and i absolutely would notice this type of problem immediately.

i had a friend with me as well, who stared with me...same deal. only on the background did we see these lines. stood it up side by side on the 17" too...did the same thing on that one.

in conclusion, i walked out of the apple store with very little to almost no concern that my powerbook will be fine. maybe i'm not as affected by the lines, but we had 2 sets of eyes, both of which came to the same conclusion. looked good to us.

i hope this puts the people in my same position at ease...at least somewhat. best of luck to those waiting for theirs in the mail, just like me.

 

[Gokhan]

k

well mine shipped today

how long does it take to get from apple to me ?

the guy said friday but i would be shocked i ordered on saturday
but at the moment with the edu discount+egg card discount its not even worth me considering a refurb cause it only works out about £80 cheaper than a new one !!!!!

will let you guys know how i get on !!!

 

[fps]

Serial Number?

Hi

Anyone out there with a new 15" Powerbook with S/N: W8546 (Shangai, 2005, week 46) that has the line problem?

 

[Melkor]

Comforting news mizzi. Mine should be waiting for me when I get home, so I'll post pics as soon as I can.

 

[QCassidy352]

I ordered one that will be here soon, but through amazon.com... now I'm worried that I shouldn't have done that. Maybe I should have gone directly through apple because they have the latest ones off the production line, least likely to have this problem?

Edit: Ok, I feel like a total idiot. I didn't look at this thread or know about this issue, and now my order is shipping and I can't cancel it. I'm so mad at myself!

But there do seem to be some people who don't have the isse, it's not 100%, so maybe I'll get lucky. Here's reeeeally hoping.

Should I even open the box? If I just send it back unopened I at least won't pay the restocking fee... or is there actually a (substantial) chance that my screen will be fine?

 

[MacAri]

I ordered one that will be here soon, but through amazon.com... now I'm worried that I shouldn't have done that. Maybe I should have gone directly through apple because they have the latest ones off the production line, least likely to have this problem?

Barely a week ago I ordered one from the Apple EPP (directly from Apple). It came in with the horizontal lines problem. Normally EPP purchases are NOT refundable but Apple made an exception to policy based on the problem. While they are not necessarily admitting to a widespread problem they have been quite accommodating...at least for me. I am now back to a 1.5 GHz 12" Powerbook.

 

[Seasought]

I think I'll still get one of these, but I'll check it out at the shop first. I doubt it would bother me, coz I've used LCD's with these lines on before (as I mentioned earlier) and had no issues.

I spent a good chunk of time last night reading through this thread and some of the threads on Apple's site, my fear and irritation growing...then I saw some of the 'pictures' of the problem and thought 'Man, these don't really look that bad to me at all...' If I have to have my face smashed against the screen to notice them, or these lines don't give me headaches or destroy my eye sight I don't think it'll be that big of a deal to me.

I'll have to take a look at them in person of course...I wonder if the ones I looked at earlier (prior to reading this thread) don't have the problem. We shall see.

 

[mizzi]

Wait a second! At the beginning also mine looked fine, you tend to overlook such things.
But after a while your eyes get used to it and you see the crappy quality - yes CRAPPY quality - everywhere on your screen! No, it wasn't the background that I didn't like, it was the pictures, they _all_ looked muddy because of this "feature".

... and I'am not ready to accept this on a $2000 '05 highend laptop! Apple should be ashamed of this!

then i'm guessing, as states throughout the thread, the severity of this issue is different for some. as for the 3 i spent a ridiculous ammount of time looking at, i have no real complaints...i'm sorry your screen is awful, and you can believe my report or not, but we'll see how mine goes. mine ships today...

 

[QCassidy352]

then i'm guessing, as states throughout the thread, the severity of this issue is different for some. as for the 3 i spent a ridiculous ammount of time looking at, i have no real complaints...i'm sorry your screen is awful, and you can believe my report or not, but we'll see how mine goes. mine ships today...

wait, so even on the 3 you saw, there was some of this issue present? Just not enough that it was problematic?

I'm freaking out about my order now... I wish I'd seen this thread a few hours earlier and been able to cancel!

 

[mizzi]

wait, so even on the 3 you saw, there was some of this issue present? Just not enough that it was problematic?

I'm freaking out about my order now... I wish I'd seen this thread a few hours earlier and been able to cancel!

haha i was freaking out too, i really was...bugging the hell out of all my friends asking what i should do. honestly, the only place i saw any problem on all 3 powerbooks was on the desktop...go to the previous page and read my post. honest, i'm not nearly as concerned as i was.

 

[MacTruck]

wait, so even on the 3 you saw, there was some of this issue present? Just not enough that it was problematic?

I'm freaking out about my order now... I wish I'd seen this thread a few hours earlier and been able to cancel!

YOu can still cancel, just call apple and tell them you want to return it and they will send you a fedex return label and refund your money when it comes back or just refuse shipment when it gets there, but call apple first.

 

[maxcom29]

Hi

Anyone out there with a new 15" Powerbook with S/N: W8546 (Shangai, 2005, week 46) that has the line problem?

Yep, I got mine yesterday. It's of the 46 variety, and *does* display the infamous lines as well as the interference issue, when viewing the crankycat image. Otherwise, it seems all right ... knock on wood.
I will likely call snapple to complain sometime within the next few days, but I won't send it back unless something else goes wrong. This is my first mac since I switched to a self built desktop PC, P4 3.2EE with 2GB RAM, about two years ago, from which I learned a lot, both good and bad. I've experienced too many windows issues, and have less and less time to deal with them ... thus I now have a much greater appreciation for the ol' mac, with or without lines.
I hope to use the laptop for general tasks, as well as some web programming when I'm away from the desktop.

 

[QCassidy352]

YOu can still cancel, just call apple and tell them you want to return it and they will send you a fedex return label and refund your money when it comes back or just refuse shipment when it gets there, but call apple first.

unfortunately, I ordered through amazon.com to take advantage of their $200 rebate, and I'm not sure what their policies are, nor is there a number I can call.

 

[mizzi]

i cant safely say that your computer will be fine (obviously, i mean...look at this thread) but i can tell you i overreacted to this big time. if you have an apple store near by, i suggest you take a look at the 15" displays they have......displayed.

 

[DSL Steve]

...nor is there a number I can call.

Amazon Customer Service [thanks Google ]
1-800-201-7575

 

[PDE]

unfortunately, I ordered through amazon.com to take advantage of their $200 rebate, and I'm not sure what their policies are, nor is there a number I can call.

First, here's Amazon's customer service information:

Phone: (800) 201-7575
Fax: (206) 266-2950


Second, you're lucky because Amazon has one of the best return policies available anywhere: if you're not satisfied just return it within 30 days for a full refund. If it's defective they'll pay return shipping. If you just don't like it, you pay shipping. It's as hasslefree as anything can get and they make the whole process very easy by allowing you to process your return automatically online and then sending you a link where you can print out the free return label.

Third, during the holiday season, they extend their return period for things purchased after November 1 two additional months, until the end of January! I'm pretty sure this applies to computers as well, but you might want to check.

So: take it easy, open it up, check it out, use it for a few days and see if the lines bother you (maybe you won't have them...) and then take some more time and decide if you want to return it. This is the way things SHOULD be everywhere - but of course the small companies can't absorb the cost associated with these kind of liberal return policies the way amazon can.

I've always had excellent experiene with amazon and hesitate to buy elsewhere.

Good luck!

PDE

 

[Melkor]

Okay guys mine finally came.

Ill post pics as soon as I find the lead to connect my camera to the computer.

My desktop does seen to have lines in it BUT they are absolutly tiny. I canbarly make them out. They are not significant as far as I'm concerened.

HOWERVER when I open up a drop down menu of any sort (e.g. if I click the apple logo in the top left corner of the screen) I do see horizontal lines very distinctly. I am new to apple so I don't even know if they are part of the menu design or what, so could someone tell me if they are normal.

Other than those types of menus, the screen seems great. Like this website screen I am typing on now is absolutly crystal clear.


My conclusion is, yes, my computer is affected with this problem, but only very slightly. As far as I'm concerned, it's perfect and the lines aren't noticable enough to bother me. ( I am assuming in this case that the lines I am seeing in the drop down menus are normal, because if they aren't, I will seriously have to rething my situation )

 

[Wombert]

Okay guys mine finally came.

Ill post pics as soon as I find the lead to connect my camera to the computer.

My desktop does seen to have lines in it BUT they are absolutly tiny. I canbarly make them out. They are not significant as far as I'm concerened.

HOWERVER when I open up a drop down menu of any sort (e.g. if I click the apple logo in the top left corner of the screen) I do see horizontal lines very distinctly. I am new to apple so I don't even know if they are part of the menu design or what, so could someone tell me if they are normal.

Other than those types of menus, the screen seems great. Like this website screen I am typing on now is absolutly crystal clear.


My conclusion is, yes, my computer is affected with this problem, but only very slightly. As far as I'm concerned, it's perfect and the lines aren't noticable enough to bother me. ( I am assuming in this case that the lines I am seeing in the drop down menus are normal, because if they aren't, I will seriously have to rething my situation )

easiest way to find out: make a screenshot and magnify it

but seriously: yes, there are subtle lines in dropdown menus. this is normal.

 

[nesbitt_a]

Okay guys mine finally came.

Ill post pics as soon as I find the lead to connect my camera to the computer.

My desktop does seen to have lines in it BUT they are absolutly tiny. I canbarly make them out. They are not significant as far as I'm concerened.

HOWERVER when I open up a drop down menu of any sort (e.g. if I click the apple logo in the top left corner of the screen) I do see horizontal lines very distinctly. I am new to apple so I don't even know if they are part of the menu design or what, so could someone tell me if they are normal.

Other than those types of menus, the screen seems great. Like this website screen I am typing on now is absolutly crystal clear.


My conclusion is, yes, my computer is affected with this problem, but only very slightly. As far as I'm concerned, it's perfect and the lines aren't noticable enough to bother me. ( I am assuming in this case that the lines I am seeing in the drop down menus are normal, because if they aren't, I will seriously have to rething my situation )

Hey melkor - please post as many pics as you can, the horizontal lines issue, and the new higher resolution in general usage.

 

[Melkor]

Hey melkor - please post as many pics as you can, the horizontal lines issue, and the new higher resolution in general usage.

Ok Im in the process of taking photos. If you could tell me exactly the best way to take them and what to take them of, that would be handy.

 

[Melkor]

I seem to be having trouble hosting the pics on image shack. The uploading it taking forever and it keeps says the file is too big. It's saved as a jpg. Should I save it as something different?