A replacement for defective iBook is on the way but I am notsure...

Z

zimanet

maybe I should buy a Windows laptop again? I sold a Sony Vaio laptop with
Windows XP when I bought my iBook (14.1 LCD 32 VRAM) last March. Since then
I had to send it for repairs three times, and now after it went south for
the fourth time Apple is replacing it with a brand new unit. Total downtime
is about two months, which is not kosher
:(

Today Apple has finally admitted the problem with this model, and responded
to my fellow iBook owners concerns:

http://www.apple.com/support/ibook/faq/

I was thinking of selling my brand new 933MHz PowerPC G4 as soon as it
arrives but now I am not so sure...

Apart from the above, I had another problem with the Apple laptop - fuzzy
text in OSX. In Windows XP it is exceptionally crisp - even when I run
Windows on the iBook using Virtual PC.

Which non-Apple laptop would people recommend? I want something light with
an LCD of at least 14' and battery life of 5+ hours (like the iBook's). I
will mainly use it for web browsing, reading and light work in bed and/or
during short trips away from my office.

Please don¹t reply to the address above ‹ it¹s a spam trap. If you want to
send me a message you can do it via any of my sites below.
--
Vadim Zima
ATA Certified Russian/Ukrainian Translator/Court Certified Conference
Interpreter
Work & Fun: http://zima.net Forum: http://www.zima.net/phpBB2/index.php
Personal pages: http://homepage.mac.com/zimanet
 
M

Mac Geek

Vadim

I am somewhat surprised that you feel the way that you do. I would be
hard pressed to find a Wintel notebook manufacturer that would take the
steps that Apple has to finally identify the problem and then offer its
customers a three year warantee - along with replacement. It seems to
me that Apple is bending over backwards to address the problem in a
forthwright manner.
Actually I had somewhat similar experience with Sony and was met with
derision from corportate in regards to repair and replacement. I ended
up returning the product and purchasing something else. Sony ended up
souring me on the Brand with one phone call and one conversation with an
extremely rude customer service rep.

unfortunately iBook can and does report the longest battery life of
anything currently available - the Powerbooks clock in second with a 5
hour expectancy. That said, a company called Transmeta is working on
technology that will extend battery life by making processor chips
(Efficeon CPUs) that will be more efficent in the way they use power so
you may see some improvements in other laptops in the days ahead.

Also look for the first generation of notebooks powered by fuel cells by
the end of the year or perhaps beginning of next - promising 15 hours of
juice on a single charge.

Finally - if you must give up your iBook then look at the Fujitsu P
series notebooks - specifically the P5000 ($1549) It is an
ultraportable that can accept a second battery in a modular bay. The
IBM X31 series also accepts a second battery and the company claims 10
hours on two batteries. - actually both have screensizes less than 12.1
inches - I just saw something new in the Fujitsu line that might be
larger. I didn't quite catch more than a passing glance at it tho.
 
Z

zimanet

Also look for the first generation of notebooks powered by fuel cells by
the end of the year or perhaps beginning of next - promising 15 hours of
juice on a single charge.
Click to expand...
I guess they are using the same type of cells in this Sony laptop claiming
13 1/2 hours battery life.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=34-115-086&catalog
=32&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=0

This model looks pretty decent too.

Please don¹t reply to the address above ‹ it¹s a spam trap. If you want to
send me a message you can do it via any of my sites below.
--
Vadim Zima
ATA Certified Russian/Ukrainian Translator/Court Certified Conference
Interpreter
Work & Fun: http://zima.net Forum: http://www.zima.net/phpBB2/index.php
Personal pages: http://homepage.mac.com/zimanet
 
J

Joe Davis

I'm pretty entrenched in the PC world of laptops, but I got my daughter a
12" iBook at Christmas and I have to admit I am impressed. I think it's a
lot of bang for the buck. She drives it pretty hard and loves it. With
software activation getting more prominent, there is less value to sticking
with one OS over time--you pretty much have to buy a new Office suite, etc.
for a new machine, anyway. The software makes it much easier to share files
back and forth than it used to be. So, unless you have some particular
software that only comes in one OS flavor, it's not such a big deal.
 
M

Mac Geek

Nope - it just has two battery packs - much like the old Pismo
Powerbooks made by Apple 5 years ago. (Is it interesting how Apple is 3
to 5 years ahead of the game - the Pismo was also one of the first
Firewire notebooks).

There is also a Sony Z1 VAP 1 that has one battery that lists a 6.5
battery life. Usually these spec sheets fudge a little on the battery
life so expect 5 to 6 (your iBook will see 6 hours as well).

The Sony Z1VAP1 actually looks like the Wintel machine that you are
dreaming of - should spec out like the iBook for only a grand more. But
then they toss in PhotoShop Elements into the package so that will take
some of the sting out of it. Oh it also comes Bluetooth enabled like
the Powerbook line. -- you won't find that in the iBook.

Only downside is that it runs Windows instead of Panther. But then
Longhorn is only two years away and this machine will run that then.

Sorry but can you tell I STILL think the iBook is a better machine at
half the price. Especially given that Apple is doing a generous
extended warantee on the logic board issue. I really doubt that Sony
would do that.
 
C

Cosmin N.

Mac said:
Only downside is that it runs Windows instead of Panther. But then
Longhorn is only two years away and this machine will run that then.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't hold my breath over Longhorn. In two years many things can
happen, not the least of which would be new releases of MacOS or even
Linux. Not to mention that the difference between running any software
and running it well is quite noticeable.

When purchasing a new computer, NEVER buy based on your long term future
needs. At the rate everything is moving, I'd say even one year is a long
time to look ahead.

Cosmin
 
M

Mac Geek

Cosmin N. said:
I wouldn't hold my breath over Longhorn. In two years many things can
happen, not the least of which would be new releases of MacOS or even
Linux. Not to mention that the difference between running any software
and running it well is quite noticeable.

When purchasing a new computer, NEVER buy based on your long term future
needs. At the rate everything is moving, I'd say even one year is a long
time to look ahead.

Cosmin
Click to expand...

Exactly my point (in a round about way) --- Why wait for a robust OS
that you can have today/

The original poster was thinking about tossing his iBook simply over a
bad logic board that Apple was offering to replace for free. He was
miffed that it was taking so long to sort out the problem.

For my money I would rather have a laptop with a problem that Apple was
willing to fix than a laptop that had a problematic OS that was going to
be fixed some two years down the road. THAT is unproductivity at its
highest.
 
Z

zimanet

There is also a Sony Z1 VAP 1 that has one battery that lists a 6.5
battery life. Usually these spec sheets fudge a little on the battery
life so expect 5 to 6 (your iBook will see 6 hours as well).
Click to expand...
Yes, I loved my iBook on flights between Dallas, TX and Sea-Tac. But it
won't run for 6 hours if you watch DVDs with a bright enough screen.
The Sony Z1VAP1 actually looks like the Wintel machine that you are
dreaming of - should spec out like the iBook for only a grand more. But
then they toss in PhotoShop Elements into the package so that will take
some of the sting out of it. Oh it also comes Bluetooth enabled like
the Powerbook line. -- you won't find that in the iBook.
Click to expand...
A $35.00 USB Bluetooth adapter + T-Mobile Nokia phone = I am on the web from
ANYWHERE. I don't need the PhotoShop Elements, it was part of the Software
package I got with my new Canon scanner LiDE 80, which works like a charm by
the way. On both mac and win machines. (A bit faster in Windows with USB
2.0).
Only downside is that it runs Windows instead of Panther. But then
Longhorn is only two years away and this machine will run that then.
Click to expand...
I did not quite understand why you dislike Windows XP so much? In my
experience/opinion it is a very stable OS (I have dozens of programs and
processes running at a time), snappy and crisp compared to Panther and very
compatible to most everything on Internet. I guess your main complaint is
security... Here I am very happy with Panther. Fewer security updates! (Only
problem - local networking was totally ****ed-up. I wonder when it will be
fixed???).
Sorry but can you tell I STILL think the iBook is a better machine at
half the price. Especially given that Apple is doing a generous
extended warantee on the logic board issue. I really doubt that Sony
would do that.
Click to expand...
I guess you've convinced me to stay with iBook. Especially, since it's going
to be a new model with a better processor, and hopefully better logic board
design. Besides, I don't have to pay anything for it. I will max out the DDR
memory and this baby will satisfy all my laptop computing needs till
something REAL new, like a breakthrough in technology/concept/design comes
out from Steve Jobs.


Please don¹t reply to the address above ‹ it¹s a spam trap. If you want to
send me a message you can do it via any of my sites below.
--
Vadim Zima
ATA Certified Russian/Ukrainian Translator/Court Certified Conference
Interpreter
Work & Fun: http://zima.net Forum: http://www.zima.net/phpBB2/index.php
Personal pages: http://homepage.mac.com/zimanet
 
A

Adam Knight

zimanet said:
I guess you've convinced me to stay with iBook. Especially, since it's going
to be a new model with a better processor, and hopefully better logic board
design. Besides, I don't have to pay anything for it. I will max out the DDR
memory and this baby will satisfy all my laptop computing needs till
something REAL new, like a breakthrough in technology/concept/design comes
out from Steve Jobs.
Click to expand...

I received an iBook G4 as a replacement for a repeatedly-sucky iBook G3
as well. It's been pure bliss in comparison. Just make sure you get it
up to 640MB or 1.1GB of RAM or else the slow hard drive will kill the
performance. After I got to 640MB, this thing flew.
 
Z

zimanet

I received an iBook G4 as a replacement for a repeatedly-sucky iBook G3
as well. It's been pure bliss in comparison. Just make sure you get it
up to 640MB or 1.1GB of RAM or else the slow hard drive will kill the
performance. After I got to 640MB, this thing flew.
Click to expand...
I got mine, as promised on Friday, and I LOVE it! It's a 933 with a 14.1
monitor. Now, I need to jumps through some additional ropes to have my
AppleCare Protection Plan transferred to the new unit. Gilbert from CC said
the money I paid for the first plan could be credited towards the new plan,
since I did not use it. All three repairs and replacement were covered by
1-year warranty (I bought the iBook in March).

Of course, I would love it, since it means the $249 bucks I paid in March
2003 will cover my new laptop till January 2007...

Crucial already confirmed my order for a stick of 512MB, meanwhile, I am
playing around and learn the iBook. It is MUCH better that the G3, feels
better (keyboard, and plastic surfaces). Unlike the previous one, this has
the Trackpad that is clickable. I missed that feature a lot, now I have it
back.

Please don¹t reply to the address above ‹ it¹s a spam trap. If you want to
send me a message you can do it via any of my sites below.
--
Vadim Zima
ATA Certified Russian/Ukrainian Translator/Court Certified Conference
Interpreter
Work & Fun: http://zima.net Forum: http://www.zima.net/phpBB2/index.php
Personal pages: http://homepage.mac.com/zimanet
 
M

Mac Geek

zimanet <[email protected]> said:
I got mine, as promised on Friday, and I LOVE it! It's a 933 with a 14.1
monitor. Now, I need to jumps through some additional ropes to have my
AppleCare Protection Plan transferred to the new unit. Gilbert from CC said
the money I paid for the first plan could be credited towards the new plan,
since I did not use it. All three repairs and replacement were covered by
1-year warranty (I bought the iBook in March).

Of course, I would love it, since it means the $249 bucks I paid in March
2003 will cover my new laptop till January 2007...

Crucial already confirmed my order for a stick of 512MB, meanwhile, I am
playing around and learn the iBook. It is MUCH better that the G3, feels
better (keyboard, and plastic surfaces). Unlike the previous one, this has
the Trackpad that is clickable. I missed that feature a lot, now I have it
back.

Please don¹t reply to the address above ‹ it¹s a spam trap. If you want to
send me a message you can do it via any of my sites below.
Click to expand...



Hate to say 'i told ya so' but I didn' so I won't <-;

Still I hafta say GREAT !! See - Apple came through for you in the end
- it was simply a matter of plugging away till the end.

Good for Apple ! Good for you ! enjoy
 
V

Vadim Zima

Still I hafta say GREAT !! See - Apple came through for you in the end
- it was simply a matter of plugging away till the end.

Good for Apple ! Good for you ! enjoy
Click to expand...
Crucial was extra fast. I ordered memory on Saturday, and Monday morning 2nd
day UPS package already arrived. I didn't even know they worked on
Saturdays...
Unfortunately the iBook freezes all the time when used with this stick...
Tomorrow I'll call them about a replacement stick.
:(

Vadim
Please don¹t reply to the address above ‹ it¹s a spam trap. If you want to
send me a message you can do it via any of my sites below.
--
Vadim Zima
ATA Certified Russian/Ukrainian Translator/Court Certified Conference
Interpreter
Work & Fun: http://zima.net Forum: http://www.zima.net/phpBB2/index.php
Personal pages: http://homepage.mac.com/zimanet
 
M

Mac Geek

Yeah - personally I have never had a problem with memory in any of the
Macs that I have owned --- but I have heard of issues with certain 'off'
brands - that said I have heard that Crucial is really good about
getting you exactly what you need to work with your particular Mac.

Hang in there - once you have the memory beefed up it'll scream.
 
Z

zimanet

On 2/2/04 10:14 PM, in article
(e-mail address removed), "Mac Geek"
They also seem to have very loyal people working for them, I had to repeat
several times that I don't want to pay for return shipment. The Customer
Support lady tried hard to make me pay for it but finally emailed me a link
to FedEx OnLine Label to download a free label with RMA and all on it.
All I had to do was print it out and take the bad module to the nearest
FedEx drop-off.

Please don¹t reply to the address above ‹ it¹s a spam trap. If you want to
send me a message you can do it via any of my sites below.
--
Vadim Zima
ATA Certified Russian/Ukrainian Translator/Court Certified Conference
Interpreter
Work & Fun: http://zima.net Forum: http://www.zima.net/phpBB2/index.php
Personal pages: http://homepage.mac.com/zimanet


I have heard that Crucial is really good about
 
Z

zimanet

On 2/2/04 10:14 PM, in article
(e-mail address removed), "Mac Geek"
They also seem to have very loyal people working for them, I had to repeat
several times that I don't want to pay for return shipment. The Customer
Support lady tried hard to make me pay for it but finally emailed me a link
to FedEx OnLine Label to download a free label with RMA and all on it.
All I had to do was print it out and take the bad module to the nearest
FedEx drop-off.
Click to expand...
It's amazing - today FedEx brought me another memory module from Crucial -
this time it works, and the laptop is running FAST!
 
M

Mac Geek

zimanet <[email protected]> said:
It's amazing - today FedEx brought me another memory module from Crucial -
this time it works, and the laptop is running FAST!
Click to expand...

Crutial is known for good customer service - you will get cheaper
pricing at Memory to Go but you can not beat Crutial for taking good
care of you. Looks like you learned that the easy way.

Glad to hear your iBook woes are now a thing of the past - you should
have years of productivity in front of you.
 

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