A little happy anecdote from Applecare.

[Jiddick ExRex]

So my iBook's background lighting seemed to dissapear once or twice everytime it ran off battery. With a good 3 months left of the warranty, I sent it in for repairs, making a THOROUGH problem description for them to consider.
The repair finished last week, and reading about the problem gave me the shivers: logic board replaced. The background lighting problem was software related. Reformat software to make problem dissapear.

Nononononononononono! If it's software related I am going to pay a big fat bill for the repairs, not to mention the shipping both ways. Not something a college student would want.

Alas! Waiting for a week to get contacted by a technician, I was told this morning that the problem, although looking like a hardware related issue, was a software issue after they booted it up from an external firewire drive. Dammit! HOWEVER! Since they had reversed the way to solve the problem (checking for hardware failures first, thus replacing the logic board and being too lazy to swap the old one back in, then booted from a firewire drive), the expenses will be covered by my warranty.

TARAAAA! So now I got a new logic board after 6 months of use and a problem diagnostics as well. All my files are there as well, since they never bothered to reformat in the first place. I am a little happy gimp, who's now a little less short of money than he originally planned last week!

The sunshine is out there boys (and those not in that category)!

 

[JFreak]

G3 iBooks are notorious for the failing logic boards, so the technician probably just replaced it first 'cause it so often fails.

 

[DevilsRejection]

why... do... people... buy apple notebooks?

jesus the day i can run OS X on a plain old IBM ThinkPad (the non hacked one), I will breathe a sigh of relief that I don't have to deal with the hell that is Apple design.

The desktop are amazing, the laptops ... look pretty, and then the line stops there in the engenering department.

 

[26139]

Uhhh...

why... do... people... buy apple notebooks?

jesus the day i can run OS X on a plain old IBM ThinkPad (the non hacked one), I will breathe a sigh of relief that I don't have to deal with the hell that is Apple design.

The desktop are amazing, the laptops ... look pretty, and then the line stops there in the engenering department.

Probably because we're crazy. Thinkpads are ugly and heavy.

 

[SpookTheHamster]

why... do... people... buy apple notebooks?

jesus the day i can run OS X on a plain old IBM ThinkPad (the non hacked one), I will breathe a sigh of relief that I don't have to deal with the hell that is Apple design.

The desktop are amazing, the laptops ... look pretty, and then the line stops there in the engenering department.

Jesus, the day I can run XP on an Apple notebook (oh wait, I could if I had an MB/MBP), I will breathe a sigh of relief that I don't have to deal with the ugly that is IBM/Lenovo design.

The desktops are overpriced, the laptops... look ugly, and then lack decent specifications for the price.

I love my PB (12" 1GHz G4), I've had no major problems in over 3 years of ownership. I'm constantly amazed at how capable a computer it still is.

 

[DevilsRejection]

Moral of this forum:

"your notebook looks like caca poo poo and can't run os x. i must draw the only conclusion i can think of and say that it is inferior. besides, does your notebook make animal noises and keep your tea warm!"

 

[Pressure]

Moral of this forum:

"your notebook looks like caca poo poo and can't run os x. i must draw the only conclusion i can think of and say that it is inferior. besides, does your notebook make animal noises and keep your tea warm!"

Before this turns ugly, are there any reasons why you would post so obvious flamebait?

I'm not really pro-Apple or pro-PC, just curious . . .

 

[WinterMute]

Before this turns ugly, are there any reasons why you would post so obvious flamebait?

I'm not really pro-Apple or pro-PC, just curious . . .

Bit late for that, it was already ugly....

Keep it on topic and civil please people.

 

[Queso]

I love my PB (12" 1GHz G4), I've had no major problems in over 3 years of ownership. I'm constantly amazed at how capable a computer it still is.

As am I with my slightly older 12" 867MHz. Give me this little beauty over an IBM anyday.

 

[purelithium]

Devil:

I've never seen a Thinkpad's standard battery last for 5+ hours, unlike my brother's iBook. (I own a thinkpad. It's good for what it is, but it's ugly and nowhere near the features of the macbook that I own.)

Sure, the first gen MacBooks have issues, but mine's been great. But the macbook doesn't hold up to the iBooks in one aspect that I can think of. Battery life. My macbook will only last 3.5 hours max on it's battery, but I've seen my brother's iBook last 5+ hours on his battery.

Maybe it's the PC hardware. Maybe it's poor engineering, but the G4 iBooks are great machines.

 

[dmw007]

Devil:

I've never seen a Thinkpad's standard battery last for 5+ hours, unlike my brother's iBook. (I own a thinkpad. It's good for what it is, but it's ugly and nowhere near the features of the macbook that I own.)

Sure, the first gen MacBooks have issues, but mine's been great. But the macbook doesn't hold up to the iBooks in one aspect that I can think of. Battery life. My macbook will only last 3.5 hours max on it's battery, but I've seen my brother's iBook last 5+ hours on his battery.

Maybe it's the PC hardware. Maybe it's poor engineering, but the G4 iBooks are great machines.

The iBook G4s are great machines. I loved how mine would get 5.5 hours of battery life! If only my MacBook Pro was as energy efficient....

 

[DevilsRejection]

The iBook G4s are great machines. I loved how mine would get 5.5 hours of battery life! If only my MacBook Pro was as energy efficient....

but but the os is so much more productive! so you don't need 5.5 hours of battery life!

the apple spin doctors strike again

and yes purelithium, you make a fantastic point, on standard battery none last 5+ hours, but that's why they have these things called extended batteries, made for people like me who care about battery life. it's called choice. i can make my laptop weigh 2.9 pounds and get 3 hours of battery life, or weigh 3.6 pounds and get 8 hours. i like choice

 

[dmw007]

but but the os is so much more productive! so you don't need 5.5 hours of battery life!

True, Mac OS is even more productive on the Core Duo compared to the PowerPC G4 (except for non UB apps such as Photoshop).

 

[joeops57]

but but the os is so much more productive! so you don't need 5.5 hours of battery life!

the apple spin doctors strike again

and yes purelithium, you make a fantastic point, on standard battery none last 5+ hours, but that's why they have these things called extended batteries, made for people like me who care about battery life. it's called choice. i can make my laptop weigh 2.9 pounds and get 3 hours of battery life, or weigh 3.6 pounds and get 8 hours. i like choice

Use what works for you. I could really care less. If you want to have an 8 hour battery, be my guest. But by no means should you be the one to pass judgement on someone who prefers something different. Out of the 3 threads I've read so far, you've been in 2 complaining about the design of apple laptops. They may not be the best machines out there, but if you're striving for the ultimate perfection, you won't find it anywhere. Use what works for you, whether it be a Thinkpad or a MBP.

Back to the OT, I'm glad everything worked out so well for you.

~Joe

 

[Ryan T.]

Probably because we're crazy. Thinkpads are ugly and heavy.

My Thinkpad weighs under 5 lbs. with a 14" SXGA+ screen, and runs cooler than any Apple notebook currently produced. It also gets 6+ hours of battery life with the 9 cell battery installed and can take a drop from a reasonable height and not be any worse for the wear.

The Thinkpad hating that goes on in these forums is ridiculous. It seems most people have visions of Thinkpad 600's from the mid nineties. Comparing that to a current Macbook isn't fair, just as comparing a current T60 or X60 to a Wallstreet isn't fair.

I've owned an AlBook, my girlfriend has an iBook, they're fine machines, and I love running OS X. However, for what I do, which is take my notebook everywhere, nothing can keep up with me like the Thinkpad. So easily upgradeable, so durable, and can run forever. It also has a nice high screen resolution and powerful dedicated graphics.

So before we go bashing things we don't know about, think about if on an IBM forum someone made reference to Apple notebooks as 'shiny and overpriced', and consider how dangerous uninformed preconceptions can be.

 

[purelithium]

For some reason the Quote buttons don't work for me right now, so here's a reply to everyone who said they can get more than the standard 2.5-3 hours out of a Thinkpad.

You had to pay extra for that battery, no? That's my point. Usually with Thinkpads/PC's in general, you have to buy something just so it'll work properly.

I've never seen a more ingenious trackpad as the one on my Macbook. I used to hate anything other than a mouse, and now I hardly ever use one. Two finger scrolling and right click is fantastic!

 

[Ryan T.]

For some reason the Quote buttons don't work for me right now, so here's a reply to everyone who said they can get more than the standard 2.5-3 hours out of a Thinkpad.

You had to pay extra for that battery, no? That's my point. Usually with Thinkpads/PC's in general, you have to buy something just so it'll work properly.

I've never seen a more ingenious trackpad as the one on my Macbook. I used to hate anything other than a mouse, and now I hardly ever use one. Two finger scrolling and right click is fantastic!

My Thinkpad with SXGA+ screen got 4 hours with the standard batter and wireless on. Thats more than a Macbook Pro and about in line with a Macbook (even though it has a lower res screen and no GPU). That works properly. I wanted a laptop that could be on and mobile all day long. So I bought the extended battery. What if I wanted one for my Mac? They don't even bother to offer them.

To me, that's a MUCH bigger issue.

 

[SC68Cal]

This whole thread has turned into a "Mine is bigger than yours" discussion.

Everyone, put your big batteries back in your pants.

 

[funkychunkz]

why... do... people... buy apple notebooks?

jesus the day i can run OS X on a plain old IBM ThinkPad (the non hacked one), I will breathe a sigh of relief that I don't have to deal with the hell that is Apple design.

The desktop are amazing, the laptops ... look pretty, and then the line stops there in the engenering department.

They suffer alot of malfunctions, but they work nice if they don't.

 

[ironic23]

Umm.....because they are freakin' awesome!

Yeah! But i do wish that they would put more stringent control on the assembly, especially on incoming parts. Then there will be less logic board, etc. problems.

 

[dmw007]

Yeah! But i do wish that they would put more stringent control on the assembly, especially on incoming parts. Then there will be less logic board, etc. problems.

Sure, there are the occasional problems that needs attention, but they happen to be great machines!