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iBook Quality

K

kanpachi

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 1, 2005
148
0
Hi All,
I just bought the new iBook yesterday, and I was curious to see whether people had any input on how rugged this laptop really is. It feels very solid, but has anyone had any problems with it? I also noticed that the escape key feels like a loose tooth -- is this a common issue with the iBooks? If for some reason it falls off, can Apple replace it after the 90 day warranty period (I don't have AppleCare).

Thanks in advance for your help!
 
Let me first apologize for responding to your question with a question of my own. However I am looking at buying myself a 12 inch iBook.

Do you know what the maximum resolution that the 9550 can output to an external monitor?

If I choose the iBook over a Powerbook I'll also be able to afford the 20 inch Dell monitor that I've wanted for some time :)

*Enjoy your new purchase!

-bandit
 
kanpachi said:
Hi All,
I just bought the new iBook yesterday, and I was curious to see whether people had any input on how rugged this laptop really is. It feels very solid, but has anyone had any problems with it? I also noticed that the escape key feels like a loose tooth -- is this a common issue with the iBooks? If for some reason it falls off, can Apple replace it after the 90 day warranty period (I don't have AppleCare).

Thanks in advance for your help!
Click to expand...

I always thought their keyboards are very ummm "lucky". You either get a good one or you don't.

The warranty is 1 year. 90 days is just phone support. :)
 
banditf50 said:
Let me first apologize for responding to your question with a question of my own. However I am looking at buying myself a 12 inch iBook.

Do you know what the maximum resolution that the 9550 can output to an external monitor?

If I choose the iBook over a Powerbook I'll also be able to afford the 20 inch Dell monitor that I've wanted for some time :)

*Enjoy your new purchase!

-bandit
Click to expand...

1024x768
 
ITASOR said:
1024x768
Click to expand...
Thanks for the quick reply, even though it shoots a hole in my iBook purchase plan ;) I figured that I could easily use a 12 inch iBook because I would use it in two locations that would give me access to 20 inch monitors. However if it cannot support a higher resolution it looks like I'll have to go back to considering a Powerbook.

Thanks again

-bandit
 
iBooks can last for YEEAARRRSS if you take good care of them.

There are still some people who are using the big, colorful iBooks.
 
Overall, I think the iBook is very sturdy--I've certainly given mine a pounding in my satchel walking to and from class. I do have a few issues:

1) My iBook, when closed, has never LOOKED completely closed...if I look straight on at the front of the thing (looking at the lid release button) it looks like it's smiling at me...which is either nice or disconcerting.

2) I removed the keyboard to install more RAM...and the keyboard has never felt great since. I'm sure this is my own fault--but it was a pain to get back in...the instructions made it look like it would be very easy.

3) The paint on most of the keys that I hit with my right hand has worn off. Strangely--the left hand keys are fine. Why is this? Good thing I learned to type in grade school!
 
ITASOR said:
1024x768
Click to expand...

The iBook can only "officially" mirror the main display so you are forced to use a mirrored 1024x768 display _BUT_ there are unofficial hacks that will allow you to span the display not just mirror it, but you need to take in to account you'll lose half of the VRAM to the iBooks TFT so you are left with 16 MB for the external display.

IMHO if you want to use an Apple notebook with an external display you need a PowerBook.
 
iBook Max Resolution

Go here:
http://www.rutemoeller.com/mp/ibook/ibook_e.html

Using this allows you to do monitor spanning with your iBook and also unlocks the 1024x768 restriction. The ibook comes with 32mb vram -- plenty to power higher resolutions! I use it to power a 19" monitor at 1280x1024 and it totally rocks. I also was brave enough to open up my ibook and give it a 5400RPM 80GB HD and 8x DL Superdrive upgrade.

Anything can be done if you put your mind (and Google to it). :)

---------------------
1.25GHZ iBook
1.25 GB Ram
80GB HD
8x DL Superdrive
AX
 
Cool, thanks for all the responses! Seems like it is pretty solid physically -- did anyone ever have any issues with the screen degrading in quality or anything like that? I notice that the screen isn't very good in a sense that the bottom area of the screen looks more washed out and brighter than the top area because of the way the monitor needs to be viewed. Does anyone else notice this too? I think the iBook has the most sensitive screen I've ever used in terms of how you need to view it -- if you view it from a slightly different angle, the sharpness and clarity will change fairly dramatically. :confused:
 
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