12" PowerBook Wobble? 158
RedWingsSuck asks: "I recently purchased a 12" PowerBook from ADC. I absolutely love it, but I have noticed an interesting little issue. As it warms up, other users have said the case gets as hot as 120 degree F, it develops a wobble on a flat surface, like a table or something. As it gets warmer, the wobble gets worse. When I first noticed it, I thought I had lost a rubber peg from the bottom, but apparently my problem is not that simple. While on spring break, in San Diego, I went to the Apple Store there, and I was told that a few other people have had this problem, and that if I had purchased the PowerBook from there, they would have replaced it with a new one. Then I called Apple Care, and they told me that they were just informed of this problem. Has anybody else had this problem, if so, what did Apple say about it?"
nasty (Score:4, Interesting)
Just wait until the rubber feet fall off (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm a Sucker (Score:5, Interesting)
Okay, this is a real long comment, but since you brought it up, here is my 12" Powerbook story.
I support an open-source network management product, and a friend of mine turned me onto OS X (which is one of the operating systems we run on). I was just about to buy his iBook when the new Powerbooks came out. I fell in love with their styling, and I "switched" big time (loaded Powerbook, iPod, Soundsticks, warranty, etc.)
It took a month to arrive, and everything about the packaging, the look of the machine, etc., was pure Apple. If I were to ever buy a new Mercedes, this is the feeling I would hope to have (only more so).
But the honeymoon didn't last long. While it worked great on my lap, when I put it on the desk it would wobble. Cold or hot (and it does get hot), there was an obvious wobble.
Then I noticed that whenever I pressed down with my right hand, there would be a "click". Closer examinination found that the "palm rest" on the right side of the mouse was actually bent. You could see it and definitely feel it when you ran your finger along the ridge between the mouse and the keyboard. If you close the unit, the little rubber pad on the left side of the screen met nicely with the rest of the laptop, but there was an obvious gap on the right side. Finally, if I put the spare battery in place of the original (which goes in on the right side) it seemed to require a lot more effort than it should to get it in.
Conclusion: Bent laptop.
Having purchased the warranty, I called Apple, and they told me that, yes, they knew about the wobble (they also told me it was worse on 17" Powerbooks) but that they didn't know what they were going to do about it yet. As far as the bent palm rest, they told me to take it to the Apple Store and have them send it in.
At the Apple Store I dealt with some rather nice people, but became very worried when one said "oh, they'll say this is abuse."
Abuse? I hadn't had the thing long, I normally take care of my laptops very well (I travel a whole lot, so they have to work) and I have taken even better care of this unit. Luckily, that never became an issue.
So I sent it off, and they kept it for over a month. I would call in weekly and hear things like they were waiting for parts (one time I heard the word "mainboard") but eventually it arrived back on my doorstep.
It was the same laptop I had sent out, with the same wobble issue, but someone had spent a lot of time getting everything to fit the best they could. The bend is gone, but you can still see that things don't quite fit well on the right side, the screen still has the gap, and if you look under the keys in front of the mouse, there is some sort of plastic film that is buckled - as if it doesn't quite fit.
But these things are too minor to do without my laptop for another month. I took a razor and trimmed one of the rubber feet down to fix the wobble, and I'll just live with the other problems.
The downside for Apple is that I will be hesitant to buy another product from them. For much less than the $3500 I shelled out, I could have gotten a small Linux laptop that would function to meet my needs. The reason I bought an Apple was for the "fit and finish" and quality I used to associate with them, and I am very disappointed. I still like my iPod, though.
My name is Tarus. I'm a consultant. And I'm a sucker.
Materials? (Score:5, Interesting)
I don't own a PowerBook (only a G4 Cube), but from what you describe, it sounds like the different expansion rates of the materials that make up the case are great enough to cause the bends, much like how a bimetallic strip bends at different temperatures. If the laptop were out of warranty, I'd suggest that you loosened the screws that hold its case together, and turn the computer on. If the case stays straight that way after it has warmed up, tighten the case back up immediately, and you should be OK. If it still wobbles, you might have to loosen the PC board inside.
Get an old ThinkPad (Score:1, Interesting)
I've been coveting a Powerbook (pretty much every geek friend I've got has drank the Apple KoolAid) but just haven't been able to get past that impending feeling of buyer's remorse. All I really need is a decently fast Unix-ish laptop with 802.11b. And after hearing the friends with TiBooks complain about the finish coming off, heat, the case cracking, etc, I decided that I can handle using a slower x86 laptop. Having to make payments on a computer which has obvious defects is not something I'd take too well. I don't get a "cool" OS, but I've got two grand more cash in the bank than I'd otherwise have.
If I were you, I'd think very seriously about selling your Apple while you can still recover most your losses.
-B
Re:Get an old ThinkPad (Score:5, Interesting)
For me, I don't really see too much appeal for the price in a PowerBook. I mean, yes, they're incredibly machines, but I am perfectly happy with my 500 MHz 12" iBook. I've had no problems with it for the two years I've owned it, and it was pretty darn cheap to boot. I can safely say that this is the best computer I've ever owned.
And I still end up without much of a dent in the wallet, along with the side effect of getting a very nice, tiny, fast enough machine (naturally, the newer 0.9-1 GHz iBooks are faster) that does everything I need to do well. Having come from Linux/x86 prior to this, I also get a bost in productivity in a number of areas.
Besides, who in their right mind buys computers with a loan? Maybe I'm just safe with my money, but I never buy anything that I can't afford with real money, a house or car excluded. (and I have no car, thank the lawd)
Another story... (Score:2, Interesting)
That said, I still love this thing. It's my first Mac since the Classic II, and it's an amazing little box. It gets warm, but certainly never 120 degrees F. Also, Apple was amazing getting it back to me both times I sent it in. They not only got it back to me in less than 72 hours (that is, I gave it to Airborne on Monday at 3 pm and got it back Wednesday at 11 am), but fixed several things I didn't complain about (a scratched lcd housing which was my own fault and the latching mechanism which came from the factory withh a little play in it). I'd still spend the $1900 on it without a second thought.
Re:Yes, I definitely have this problem. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Get an old ThinkPad (Score:5, Interesting)
Maybe they ought to stick with plastic (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:I'm a Sucker (Score:5, Interesting)
I have a second generation 15" powerbook (known as the DVI) that fixed several of the problems with the first gen. I think some of the major diffs are the paint, less titanium in the hinges (less brittle), and the heat sink and main board designs.
I checked the same things when I got my car (first rev was 99/00, second rev that fixed problems was 01/02, I have an 02). Of course this is no good if you need a computer right away and can't just wait around for apple to fix the known problems with the hardware. I'm not sure what I'm going to do when I'm ready to upgrade this one and the only notebook shipping is a brand new model.
Overall though, apple's generally really good about eventually admiting a problem and making it right for the owners. IBM may be the only other OEM that comes close, but they still have problems sometimes. The good thing about apple is they're under a microscope, would you see an article like this about an IBM or a Toshiba on slashdot? Maybe, but I doubt it. At least you know that others have problems and not just you.
*shrug*
Re:See here (Score:5, Interesting)
How strange (Score:5, Interesting)
I guess there is something to be said for the plastic casing on my iBook. Totally unrelated, I heard that the iBook casing is bulletproof. Is that true?
Re:Get an old ThinkPad (Score:3, Interesting)
How about one of these [apple.com]?
Mine's like a tank. I take it everywhere, use it heavily every day and it still looks and feels as good as the day I bought it.
Bonus feature, the Airport antenna is in the screen, and there are no other bits, doors, levers or switches poking out.
It also doesn't cook my lap, like my friend's 15" powerbook did while I was playing Medal of Honour. heh.
A note to "Early Adopters" (Score:3, Interesting)
Apple is an early adopter:
Cube - lots of complaints about "scratches" and manufacturing issues.
TiBook - manufacturing issues.
AiBook - manufacturing issues.
Consumer computer hardware mass-produced on a pretty quick turnaround to market might impact QC a little. The fact that they have a relatively low market share doesn't help matters.
But that is the Apple way. There are dozens of instances where Apple has looked at the market and said decided that they wanted something cool that wasn't out there. So they build some "new thing" (insert your favorite cool Apple thing here).
We all know what happens next:
1. "mainstream" computer media sniggers, predicts Apple's pending demise (I think Dvorak popped a prolapse when he found out the iMacs were floppy-less).
2. Wintel Intelligencia (oxymoron?) nod their heads in agreement.
3. 18 months later it's a BTO option on the Dell site.
4. Some asshat goes on about this "new thing" being the reason why Wintel is superior to the Macintosh (I actually heard someone say this about QuickTime in a company annual meeting)...
5. Approximately 6 months after that, it's supported in the latest Linux kernel. Sort of. FreeBSD support comes sometime later.
I was an early adopter on the TiBook as well. My rubber feet fell off. Apple put them back on. 3 dead pixels? LCDs have dead pixels on occasion. Sorry, but you won the bad pixel lottery. They happen.
I've had nothing but good service from Apple over the last 15+ years and 5-6 boxes I've purchased ( I've gone through at least 2X as many PeeCees - glad they're so much cheaper...).
Too much of your post sounds like a troll, but I figure I may be wrong and my blood sugar's a bit low, so I bit. HAving said that, I have a real problem believing that you have a warped case and they won't fix it/swap it out/ etc.
I've never had the kind of issues you've had with Apple Support. I *did* have a lemon DP G4 that went back about a half-dozen times: they replaced it and they took really good care of me on the trade up. When I got the feet replaced on my laptop, they took care of a bunch of other minor cosmetic stuff, one of which was replacing the lid on my Tibook. If you're going to buy a laptop from Apple, buy the extended warranty. It's always paid off for me. Whether or not I've had the extended warranty, I've never had the kinds of poor quality problems your talking about, nor have I seen them in the hundreds of Macs I've worked on or around.
It sounds like you'll be a lot happier on a Linux laptop.
Re:I'm a Sucker (Score:3, Interesting)
Check out www.powermax.com. They sell new, refurbished, and used macs of all kinds. Many times in the past, they've still had a stock of new previous gen macs while the newest ones are being sold along side them. One company I did contract work for outfitted almost an entire office with previous gen quicksilvers that they purchased from powermax.com and wouldn't stop recommending them to me. The next time I'm looking to buy myself (or anyone else, really) a Mac, I'll definitely be checking out powermax.com first.
And no, I don't work for powermax and have no financial interest in them whatsoever. It is nice, however, to come across a Mac reseller that has great customer service AND such a huge selection of models and price ranges.
This is an aluminum issue. (Score:3, Interesting)
My 12" PowerBook is nearly perfect (Score:2, Interesting)
initially i was worried about the heat the palm rest was generating while it was recharging, but the 10.2.5 update took care of the excessive heat. and it now gets warm when plugged in and just slightly tepid while on battery. certainly tolerable.
i also had a problem with my airport card dropping reception. but i reseated the card and reset my basestation. one or the combo of both fixed my problems.
i keep looking for a wobble or warping or feet coming off or uneven track pads buttons or faulty displays or some other problems that i've read about. but nothing has shown up in two months of constant use.
i don't know if i'm the exception or that only people with bad exeriences post. the latter seems more likely. obviously people that are having problems are going to complain while those of us who are happy are just gonna keep using their machines.
the moral is, if you are considering a 12" powerbook but are discouraged by all the bad reports consider that some people (the majority?) are perfectly happy with their 12" g4s.