Chrispy said:
Just curious, but how did you manage to talk Apple into swapping over a dead pixel? From what I've read, they are very unyielding on this issue unless there are several.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Just received new 15" Rev. D Powerbook
- Thread starter Chrispy
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Just curious, but how did you manage to talk Apple into swapping over a dead pixel? From what I've read, they are very unyielding on this issue unless there are several.
jaromski
macrumors regular
i bought a 12" in april/04. but now i am upgrading to the 15". my bro wanted a new laptop for college and i wanted to get a bigger screen. so i gave him a deal and now am waiting to get my new 15". the apple store says it will be here on 2/8 or sooner. i was hoping to get it by tomorrow, but next week will work just fine. i ordered it on 2/1 1:44pm.
i am stoked and once i start using it i will post back my observations on the differences. the thing i really liked about the 12" is the battery life was really pretty decent (just under 4 hours) and it was easy to lug around. i just wish the stuff was better in the 12". the video card is a bit dated on the 12" and a few other choice components.
-jaromski
i am stoked and once i start using it i will post back my observations on the differences. the thing i really liked about the 12" is the battery life was really pretty decent (just under 4 hours) and it was easy to lug around. i just wish the stuff was better in the 12". the video card is a bit dated on the 12" and a few other choice components.
-jaromski
Chrispy said:
I did a search and just found the thread! Good for you! Persistance does pay off sometimes!
Converted2Truth
macrumors 6502a
You can always buy a higher capacity battery from some reselller like OWC. I hear they're alot better anyway. never used one though.
On my Ti800, i would only get 2-3 hours battery life. Gaming i would get 1.5 hours on a full charge. There's no such thing as a pc laptop that runs for 4 hours, even with a centrino. Perhaps if you were just reading in notepad or something... but dang.. i've never seen better than 2.5 on a PC. I friends for an XPS laptop, and he only gets 30minutes to 1.5 hours. lol that's got no centrino chip however.
On my Ti800, i would only get 2-3 hours battery life. Gaming i would get 1.5 hours on a full charge. There's no such thing as a pc laptop that runs for 4 hours, even with a centrino. Perhaps if you were just reading in notepad or something... but dang.. i've never seen better than 2.5 on a PC. I friends for an XPS laptop, and he only gets 30minutes to 1.5 hours. lol that's got no centrino chip however.
Those Dell Inspiron XPS laptops are a complete and utter ripoff, even battery aside.
$2599 when it's not on sale. Only 15 inches. Even disregarding that it's XP Home, a 15" combodrive PowerBook with a gig of RAM will only put you out $2149. The difference is a good chunk of the way towards a relatively decent Dell desktop, even by gaming standards, and you get a real laptop out of the deal.
$2599 when it's not on sale. Only 15 inches. Even disregarding that it's XP Home, a 15" combodrive PowerBook with a gig of RAM will only put you out $2149. The difference is a good chunk of the way towards a relatively decent Dell desktop, even by gaming standards, and you get a real laptop out of the deal.
Congratulations Chrispy, and well done getting Apple to replace the PB with a dead pixel.
When you run on battery power, will you (or did you already) change the Energy Saver settings to run on reduced power?
From what I have read, the 'Automatic' setting equates to full power, but as I don't have the setting on my aging iBook G3 I can't be sure.
When you run on battery power, will you (or did you already) change the Energy Saver settings to run on reduced power?
From what I have read, the 'Automatic' setting equates to full power, but as I don't have the setting on my aging iBook G3 I can't be sure.
Ok sorry for the very long delay in getting back on the bettery time. I got sick over the weekend and I didn't get to it. I calibrated the batter and then ran it down to see how long I would get. The final number was 3 hours and 25 mins with the screen brightness up at 50% and iTunes and word running. I know if I had turned down the brightness and I was not using iTunes I could have gotten a little more time out of it, but I wanted to run the powerbook like I would really be running it day to day.
Also, I noticed something that is bothering me. The upper left part of my LCD screen is slightly darker than the other part of the screen. Has anyone else noticed this in their powerbooks? If so is there anything I can do about it? It seems like it may be getting slightly worse. I do not think it was like that for the first few days I had it. Any thoughts would help. Thanks!
Also, I noticed something that is bothering me. The upper left part of my LCD screen is slightly darker than the other part of the screen. Has anyone else noticed this in their powerbooks? If so is there anything I can do about it? It seems like it may be getting slightly worse. I do not think it was like that for the first few days I had it. Any thoughts would help. Thanks!
That doesn't sound good... that's what was happening to the Cinema displays. Could be something else, I'm no LCD expert.
I have a quick question for you, Chrispy... the older 15" PB had a lot of keyboard issues. Is the keyboard sticky at all?
I have a quick question for you, Chrispy... the older 15" PB had a lot of keyboard issues. Is the keyboard sticky at all?
puckhead193
macrumors G3
Don't know if this was mentioned yet but are there any hacks for the update scroll feature on the trackpad..?
What would be really useful would be a hack to make two-finger tapping the same as a right mouse-click.
That would be a two-button mouse on a mac powerbook ... heresy! 😛
That would be a two-button mouse on a mac powerbook ... heresy! 😛
Congratulations, I have a new 15" powerbook as well, and love it! [It's my first Mac too].
Today I callibrated the battery, and although it is still re-charging I can say I got at least 3 hours of battery life. One thing I've noticed is the 15" is a bit big, but I wouldn't trade it for a 12" powerbook, too small of screen resolution and this backlit keyboard rocks 😀.
Today I callibrated the battery, and although it is still re-charging I can say I got at least 3 hours of battery life. One thing I've noticed is the 15" is a bit big, but I wouldn't trade it for a 12" powerbook, too small of screen resolution and this backlit keyboard rocks 😀.
Fantastic, thanks for the feedback. That's more in line with what I expected; the battery life on the powerbook is frequently underestimated by people who simply take the battery "time remaining" indicator at face value rather than performing the necessary calibration to get an accurate reading.Chrispy said:
Was airport or bluetooth enabled when you were timing the battery life?
-kev
jackieonasses
macrumors 6502a
Saying goodbye to macs for awhile...
Well, it saddens me to say this but I have contacted apple and I will be returning my powerbook for a refund and not an exchange. After having been through 2 12" powerbooks with bad pixels, 2 15" powerbooks with bad pixels and now a 15" powerbook with a fast growing display problem, I am going to say goodbye to apple products for now. I may just be unlucky with apple notebooks, but regardless, I must say of all the computer companies I have purchased computers from, apple by far makes the worst quality laptop computer of them all. They do, however, make the BEST operating system I have ever used. For that reason, I can say this will not be a permanent goodbye, as I will almost certainly own another apple product in the future. But, for now I will be using my Dell (eeeeeek!) desktop until I can decide what to do. I have owned an iBook in the past and it was just fine so maybe I will consider just doing that again (it is the lack of clamshell mode and DVI that holds me back). Powerbooks have just proven to be far to shotty for me to purchase another anytime soon. Maybe I will just get a powermac or Mac mini to use with my 19" dell flat panel.... if you all have any suggestions let me know 🙂 Everyone on this site has been great and very helpful during my Mac dilemmas so I will still be a regular here.. just without a Mac for now 🙁
Well, it saddens me to say this but I have contacted apple and I will be returning my powerbook for a refund and not an exchange. After having been through 2 12" powerbooks with bad pixels, 2 15" powerbooks with bad pixels and now a 15" powerbook with a fast growing display problem, I am going to say goodbye to apple products for now. I may just be unlucky with apple notebooks, but regardless, I must say of all the computer companies I have purchased computers from, apple by far makes the worst quality laptop computer of them all. They do, however, make the BEST operating system I have ever used. For that reason, I can say this will not be a permanent goodbye, as I will almost certainly own another apple product in the future. But, for now I will be using my Dell (eeeeeek!) desktop until I can decide what to do. I have owned an iBook in the past and it was just fine so maybe I will consider just doing that again (it is the lack of clamshell mode and DVI that holds me back). Powerbooks have just proven to be far to shotty for me to purchase another anytime soon. Maybe I will just get a powermac or Mac mini to use with my 19" dell flat panel.... if you all have any suggestions let me know 🙂 Everyone on this site has been great and very helpful during my Mac dilemmas so I will still be a regular here.. just without a Mac for now 🙁
mcgarry
macrumors 6502a
I know it might sounds crazy to you at this point, but you are probably just unlucky. There are plenty of people on these boards, of course, who have had no problems whatsoever with their PBs.
It reminds me of the ordeal I have had with my Canon iP4000 printer, I'm currently on my 4th after all manner of problems (long story). And yet this model is super popular, has won awards, etc. I know this wouldn't be the case if all iP4000s had the paper feeding and image quality issues mine have had; as unlikely as it seems, I am the exception in this case just as you are the exception with the PB. I'm not saying you're the only person with a problem-- Apple and every other company have their share-- but I am saying that most people aren't nearly as unlucky as you have been.
What's my point? I'm still giving Canon another chance ... it just might be worth a try in your case as well, although I can imagine how sick of the process you are at this point. Your first one should have just worked, and it sucks that it didn't. The best thing a company can do in this case, in my opinion, is to try to make it right by the consumer. Apple still might be able to do that.
It reminds me of the ordeal I have had with my Canon iP4000 printer, I'm currently on my 4th after all manner of problems (long story). And yet this model is super popular, has won awards, etc. I know this wouldn't be the case if all iP4000s had the paper feeding and image quality issues mine have had; as unlikely as it seems, I am the exception in this case just as you are the exception with the PB. I'm not saying you're the only person with a problem-- Apple and every other company have their share-- but I am saying that most people aren't nearly as unlucky as you have been.
What's my point? I'm still giving Canon another chance ... it just might be worth a try in your case as well, although I can imagine how sick of the process you are at this point. Your first one should have just worked, and it sucks that it didn't. The best thing a company can do in this case, in my opinion, is to try to make it right by the consumer. Apple still might be able to do that.
Sorry to hear of your latest woes Chrispy. I hope everything works out fine for you.
Thanks for all the info on your short-lived time with the latest PB. It was very helpful.
Thanks for all the info on your short-lived time with the latest PB. It was very helpful.
Chrispy said:
I just received my new 15" powerbook yesterday and, although pixel perfect, I did notice when I first booted it, that the bottom right corner was just a bit dark. However, it becomes less noticeable after using it for a while. In fact, I really can't even see it at this point...it's very slight to begin with. Since I purchased it at Amazon, I have 30 days to exchange or return it so I am trying to decide what to do. I read where it takes an hour for the powerbook screens to properly warm up so perhaps this is within normal operating parameters and I'm reading more into it than there is (with a new machine, I do tend to be on high alert for things). After all, it's pixel perfect and I'd hate to give that up that for no good reason.
On another note, we've had one iBook, three Powerbooks (including this one), an iMac, and a PowerMac G4 with 17" display...all pixel perfect and functioning great except I did have to send in the iBook once for a hard drive replacement. I do think you've had an exceptional run of bad luck...hope it gets better and you give Apple another chance down the road!
A bad experience made even worse by apple
Well, today I called apple to make the return official and things got much worse. Apple reply to my problem was "well that indeed may be a defect but you will still have to pay a restocking fee." At this point I was extremely angry and fed up with the situation completely. I told them I would take legal action if they did not accept my return free of a restocking fee given it was only 6 days since I received it. They then proceeded to say what they did depended on the law for returns in my state and then I was put on hold for about 15 mins. Finally, after much arguing pursued, they agreed to take the laptop back free of a restocking fee.
Bottom line!
Apple should stop making consumers have to be worried that their computer may have a defect like a dead pixel or bad screen and start having better quality control. And, if there is a defect, they should own up to it and give you a replacement free of any argument. This is the kind of customer service I am afraid I just cannot tolerate. I had always used PCs up until a year ago and now I am using one again. Will I ever use apple products again?.... I am sure I will... but it will take some time for me to regain trust in the company. Overall, my experience with apple has just gone from bad to worse. For everyone who has been problem free, be very thankful because my experience has been nothing but a pain.
Worst of all, I am a shareholder for Apple Computer
Well, today I called apple to make the return official and things got much worse. Apple reply to my problem was "well that indeed may be a defect but you will still have to pay a restocking fee." At this point I was extremely angry and fed up with the situation completely. I told them I would take legal action if they did not accept my return free of a restocking fee given it was only 6 days since I received it. They then proceeded to say what they did depended on the law for returns in my state and then I was put on hold for about 15 mins. Finally, after much arguing pursued, they agreed to take the laptop back free of a restocking fee.
Bottom line!
Apple should stop making consumers have to be worried that their computer may have a defect like a dead pixel or bad screen and start having better quality control. And, if there is a defect, they should own up to it and give you a replacement free of any argument. This is the kind of customer service I am afraid I just cannot tolerate. I had always used PCs up until a year ago and now I am using one again. Will I ever use apple products again?.... I am sure I will... but it will take some time for me to regain trust in the company. Overall, my experience with apple has just gone from bad to worse. For everyone who has been problem free, be very thankful because my experience has been nothing but a pain.
Worst of all, I am a shareholder for Apple Computer