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Sic said:
. i'm at the point now where i just want a laptop that works, and the extra 300 quid doesnt really bother me anymore

I think you may have hit on somthing there :confused:

Apple might have supplied us with dud 15" models to get us to upgrade to the 17" or macbookpro ;) Cunning bast**ds :D
 
got PB back the second time...

OK, so they replaced my screen this time, but the problem remains. This was after talking to a tech that says there is a new LCD and part number being put on to fix the issue. In case anyone wonders, my service sheet said the following:

646-0267 DSLB, 15.2 WXGA++, SAMSUNG,Q16C

Word for word the replacement screen info. Hope that helps someone. I certainly don't know if it is a new screen or not, as I never could get the original screen part number. Anyway, I'm not sure what else I can do, given that they actually replaced the screen this time around. Geeze.
 
drj434343 said:
OK, so they replaced my screen this time, but the problem remains. This was after talking to a tech that says there is a new LCD and part number being put on to fix the issue. In case anyone wonders, my service sheet said the following:

646-0267 DSLB, 15.2 WXGA++, SAMSUNG,Q16C

Word for word the replacement screen info. Hope that helps someone. I certainly don't know if it is a new screen or not, as I never could get the original screen part number. Anyway, I'm not sure what else I can do, given that they actually replaced the screen this time around. Geeze.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I believe the first seven numbers above are the the screen number.

From PB Fixit: the Apple part # is 661-3749

The Apple numbers are different, but the result is the same :(

(Note: the screen for sale is a used Part from a 15"HR PB)

I guess the best alternative is the 17"HR PB, while they are still available.

It does not appear now that Apple will devote any time & resources to fixing the "line or slot" problems with the Mac....Book....Pro on the scene.:mad:

When I was 17 .... dum, da, dum, dum......

DIXIE :D :D
 
MacRumorUser said:
I think you may have hit on somthing there :confused:

Apple might have supplied us with dud 15" models to get us to upgrade to the 17" or macbookpro ;) Cunning bast**ds :D

hehe, luckily for me i was going to get the 17" anyway, i just didnt have enough money at the time...well now i do!! :D i shall post back with any notes from my repair, and if it goes well....which it sounds like i'd be very lucky if it did.

to elaborate on my situation a little more (because i didnt have time last time) i'm getting a replacement screen sent to my local Apple affiliate, so that i'll only be without my PB for like an hour or something...and they gave me a number to call that would "get [me] someone who could actually deal with [my] problem". i actually spoke to an engineer who said he'd been working on the problem, and assured me that this problem didnt effect all current rev 15" powerbooks (something which i didnt accept for the entire conversation, might i add) and the replacement screen that he was going to send to my local store *would* fix the problem and there was no need to worry. hopefully there isnt. :)

shall let you all know how it goes
 
Problems with Macs...

I think, that Apple has a quality control problem with their manufacturers, being ASUSTEK and QUANTA. I saw plenty of Powerbooks with problems such as flickering screens, batterylife, etc. The described problem with the lines is typically a quality control problem. Apple should fix this on demand.

DeVizardof OZ:p
 
DeVizardofOZ said:
I think, that Apple has a quality control problem with their manufacturers, being ASUSTEK and QUANTA. I saw plenty of Powerbooks with problems such as flickering screens, batterylife, etc. The described problem with the lines is typically a quality control problem. Apple should fix this on demand.
You're wrong.
 
Returned with a Good Screen? Why not mine?

I've sent my Powerbook in THREE times now and it has been sent back as "within spec." I even included a letter this last time.

I'm a bit confused about how some folks have been getting replacement screens, good or bad, while others are getting bs.

Mine was serviced in Texas.
 
LucT said:
"A word of warning to you bait nibblers of the Mac... Book... Pro, what makes you believe the same production/quality clowns that has given the World the "China Lines" will not produce a sequel?"

Dixie :

http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=1496407#1496407

On this thread and others from apple forum, you will find posts from folks having seen MacBook pro screens at MWSF : Those are line free..

Whether you will find or not any software working smoothly with it is another story.

Could this be the reason for the 60 missing pixels in the display? Smaller resolution to fix the lines.
 
Well, my powerbook has returned from Houston a second time with a "Within spec" report. Exactly the same as before. I'm not sure where to go from here, as I can either 1) give up or 2) fight for a new macbook. I'm dubious about the quality of the new macbooks, though, so I'm not sure what the best course of action is. Now that I'm dealing with one individual product specialist at Apple, at least I don't have to go walk them through the problem again each time I call. Christ on a stick this is poor quality control.
 
Arcus said:

The form factor of the machine is different. It's a 15.4 inch screen rather than 15.2. Therefore, there was no way they were going to be able to use the same screen as before anyway.

Secondly, as I mentioned in an earlier post, my old NEC LCD1760NX has the exact same line problem. See the lines all the time and it fails on the crankycat images. The NEC has a display resolution of 1280x1024 so this has less pixels overall. It's not the fact that the res is high that is causing the line problems... it's just that they used a cheap-ass screen.
 
Nifty. In addition to (not surprisingly) ignoring any request to fix my screen, the Apple techs in Houston decided that it was a good idea to break my fan as well. This process just keeps getting better by the minute! I'll let you know how the next round turns out.
 
Fresh Illlustration of Line Problem

By the way, you can see even more strange effects if you open that desktopsplit.png in Appleworks in a 'draw' document then rotate it. A 90 degree rotation makes the line difference go away. If you use 'Free Rotate' to play around with incremental changes, you'll see odd moire patterns.


VisualForces said:
I've attached a png file to set as a desktop background that clearly shows the effect of the lines. The ONLY difference between both sides of the image is that one side is 1 pixel higher than the other. This results in one side looking a shade darker than the other.

Not. Pro.
 
audio skipping problem?

Has anyone heard their audio skipping on their new powerbooks?

I thought I was crazy and that it was just some piece of software I installed however it appears I am not crazy. (It's been happening for me since December.)

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=2086660&posted=1#post2086660

My symptoms are 4-5 seconds of audio skipping when watching video - this is random and happens in several apps: DVD player, vlc and itunes. I don't audio specific apps just video so this is how it is manifesting itself for me. For example it happened twice during a 45 minutes video clip I watched with vlc last week.

Anyone else seeing this? Or have a way to reproduce it consistently?

I guess I should take comfort in the fact that I am not crazy...
 
buttercup said:
Has anyone heard their audio skipping on their new powerbooks?

I thought I was crazy and that it was just some piece of software I installed however it appears I am not crazy. (It's been happening for me since December.)

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=2086660&posted=1#post2086660

My symptoms are 4-5 seconds of audio skipping when watching video - this is random and happens in several apps: DVD player, vlc and itunes. I don't audio specific apps just video so this is how it is manifesting itself for me. For example it happened twice during a 45 minutes video clip I watched with vlc last week.

Anyone else seeing this? Or have a way to reproduce it consistently?

I guess I should take comfort in the fact that I am not crazy...

Got that problem, too. It's more like a sound loop with big time echo. Had it very often two weeks ago, didn't occur again since then. No way to reproduce from what I know. http://powerbookdefect.info/ has more info. It's a known issue by the way, Apple recommends to use only one app that outputs audio. Pathetic.
 
Wombert said:
Got that problem, too. It's more like a sound loop with big time echo. Had it very often two weeks ago, didn't occur again since then. No way to reproduce from what I know. http://powerbookdefect.info/ has more info. It's a known issue by the way, Apple recommends to use only one app that outputs audio. Pathetic.
My first notice about this. During two months I did not appreciate this problem. Anyway It is another negative point in my personal Apple basket and at this time are three: battery issue (although Apple repair it fast), the lines problem and now the sound. By the way, in Spain, some people reported that the new remote/radio controller for the iPod only can catch pair number frequencies on the Europe set for the radio.

Unacceptable.
 
Yeah, I had the audio looping a couple of times, but nothing for the last 2 months - not sure what caused it at the time (garage band + iTunes perhaps? I was cleaning-up a skipping CD rip). No problems with iTunes in the background with Safari, Word, Powerpoint, Photoshop etc.

I also had the battery is dead problem. The new one arrived promptly and while functional, didn't recharge that well - even when doing drains to reset it, i was down to 80-90% of theoretical max capacity (4400).

However, I have to say, the battery update they released recently really works. It now routinely charges to just above its max capacity (to 4400+). It's been through 49 cycles in 3months.

luke23 said:
My first notice about this. During two months I did not appreciate this problem. Anyway It is another negative point in my personal Apple basket and at this time are three: battery issue (although Apple repair it fast), the lines problem and now the sound. By the way, in Spain, some people reported that the new remote/radio controller for the iPod only can catch pair number frequencies on the Europe set for the radio.

Unacceptable.
 

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Spectrum said:
Yeah, I had the audio looping a couple of times, but nothing for the last 2 months - not sure what caused it at the time (garage band + iTunes perhaps? I was cleaning-up a skipping CD rip). No problems with iTunes in the background with Safari, Word, Powerpoint, Photoshop etc.

I also had the battery is dead problem. The new one arrived promptly and while functional, didn't recharge that well - even when doing drains to reset it, i was down to 80-90% of theoretical max capacity (4400).

However, I have to say, the battery update they released recently really works. It now routinely charges to just above its max capacity (to 4400+). It's been through 49 cycles in 3months.
I did not benchmark my battery but I have to do it using the program shown in the screenshot (is correct 'in' or better 'on' ¿?). What I did not use either is the garage band, I never started it up.
 
marmot25 said:
I'm dubious about the quality of the new macbooks, though, so I'm not sure what the best course of action is.

I think that the quality on the new screens will be better, in that they are going to be 15.2", the standard of most of the PC 15" laptops. Arguably, the fact that 15.2" is far more widespread than 15.4" means that there will hopefully be a better, more refined product.
 
New pics / evidence

So I got spurred on by an Apple Discussions thread

Here are the pics of my screen displaying this image in Safari.

First = at top of screen
Second = one pixel down
Third = at top of screen with software from this thread running (PBLineFix)

As you can see, there is a BIG difference in the intensity of the two sides. If people don't see this, then (IMO) their screen is good. For the interested, my opinion on the software workaround is as follows: A good workaround, but NOT a fix. The required opacity of the overlaid lines depends on colorsync profile, and shade/colour of the displayed graphics. For example, I can make it so that the test image shows no intensity difference, but now I can see dark lines in other areas of the display (mostly in light shades, like the menu bar). It also doesn't work in any application that uses full screen mode, nor during expose.
 

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