PB 15'': Only crazy or ignorant people to buy it???

[mkrishnan]

Forgive my ignorance, but I thought the Powerbook 15" had two RAM slots? It comes with one 512 still in one of the slots, but it can be removed and replaced with a larger one. Is that now how it is on PC laptops as well? Unlike the iBooks, that have one stick on the mother board and one slot to add RAM to.

This is correct for both the 15" and 17" powerbooks. The 12" has 256MB fixed that cannot be removed, à la the 512MB fixed in the iBooks... But I think the concern being discussed isn't that the RAM in the lower slot goes bad, but that the lower RAM slot has been a site of logic board failure on and off in this generation of powerbooks. No data to support that it happens frequently, but it seems to be a common point of failure, within the small number of failures that do occur on PB's. There's lots on this on the web, if you want to google for it.

 

[munckee]

What's stupid is the fact that you have no obiligation to purchase the computer that you're so adamantly complaining about. No one is forcing you to buy it. If you have a problem, buy something else.

 

[shambolic]

No data to support that it happens frequently, but it seems to be a common point of failure, within the small number of failures that do occur on PB's

Bingo. I believe, if I remember recent figures correctly, Apple sells around 250,000 PB's per quarter. If we assume that the 15" is the most popular and sells around 100,000 per quarter, that's 400,000 a year.

The main petition on this issue can be found at:
http://lowermemoryslot.editkid.com/

Presently there are a little over 1000 signatures. (Note: If you read the comments in the petition, you'll see that the issue isn't related only to the 10.3.9 update - I think the recent press on this subject is inaccurate and based only on wild speculation. My own feeling is that it's an overheating issue that's entirely hardware related)

If you assume that perhaps one in four affected users has managed to find the petition, it's still only one percent of all PB's sold over the course of a year. Remember, most of the time, you only hear from people with problems, the happy customers stay silent (unless brought out to defend the product, as in this thread )

If you are affected - as I am, my PB presently being in repair (I lived with the issue for eight months, waiting for a quiet week at work) - then the best you can do is be philosophical about it and make use of your warranty / Applecare (you don't want to buy any Apple laptop w/out Applecare). It's just one of those things that happens to some degree with all makes of computer. There was, if I recall correctly, a recent Consumer Reports study that showed Apple in fact had the lowest failure rate in the industry, and from what I've witnessed of work colleagues' Dell laptops this year, that finding would appear to be correct....

 

[tobio]

I am completely 100% behind the original poster on this one. I can say whole-heartedly that my 15" powerbook (current gen, rev C) is the single most unreliable computer I have ever owned in my life.
I have had white spots while it was still in warranty, and the lower memory bank has gone, just after it came out of warranty. I am not even going to bother speak to apple about it because they just don't care. Instead I bought a 1Gb chip (about £85) and put that in the good slot.

My new screen is starting to develop white spots (but nowhere near as bad as it used to be), and I have had two failed hard disks, and my lid sometimes springs open.

Nothing else that could go wrong on it would suprise me. I keep religiously backup all my work so that when the next thing goes wrong I won't be sorry.

I have a friend with the previous design 15" powerbook (has a different hinge and a plasticy keyboard) and it is absolutely perfect. I have two freinds with 14" iBooks that they got at about the same time I got my Powerbook and they are perfect too. They all get used under similar conditions and treated in pretty much the same way.

I am completely with the poster on this. 15" Powerbooks... I wouldn't wish one on my worst enemy

On the memory bank issue... It seems to be present on all revisions of this powerbook, and it's one of those glitches that unless you go and check the system profiler you might not realise you are missing half your ram. The cynic in me thinks that apple only started shipping powerbooks with a single 512 chip in, instead of two 256s like they always used to, not for cost saving purposes, but so that people will only have memory in the good slot and never know about the bad one.

 

[jmsait19]

As far as Rev. A goes...

I bought a Rev. A 15" Aluminum PB, the 1GHZ variety...

and it developed the white spots, as most screens around that time did, and apple will replace the screen for free...

Other than that, this computer is perfect...

I would disagree that all Rev. A computers are crap, or that all 15" PB are crap...

Computers come from different vendors and the same model is made by different people. Maybe a bad batch got out.

An earlier poster said that you only hear from the people who have the problems... I totally agree with that. You hear from everyone with a problem, but only a few which everything goes ok...

I think you are getting all worked up for no reason. Sure there is reason to be concerned a little, but you have a better chance of getting a machine that is ok.

 

[mojohanna]

Typically, the electronics industry uses somewhere between 1% and 3% as an acceptable "defective" rate. I am not in the industry, but have been told that by someone who is. With that in mind, if you look at the number of PB's sold and those that have had problems with APPLE parts (not hard drives, or optical drives) but actual Apple designed and OEM manufactured, no one at Apple is going to start jumping off of tall buildings if there are a small percentage of problems. If problems become large, or are determined to be critical defects, recalls are usually instituted, a la the logic boards and battery issues of the past. Cosmetic issues (ie nano scratches, lines in screen that have to be viewed with your nose 2mm from the screen) do not qualify as recalls.
As people have said earlier in the thread. If you are that concerned, don't buy one. If not, buy one and if you have problems, be nice, be calm, and discuss your problem with Apple. Screaming and yelling right off the bat will get you no where and put the person or people on the other end in to an immediate defensive mode.

my $.02

 

[risc]

I am completely 100% behind the original poster on this one. I can say whole-heartedly that my 15" powerbook (current gen, rev C) is the single most unreliable computer I have ever owned in my life.

Do you mean the current model with the higher definition display? The Rev D? If you don't I'll chime in and say my Rev C 15" was the best notebook I've ever owned, and pretty damn close to being the best computer I've owned. It might not be as fast as my Power Mac G5 but it's a hell of a lot quieter, portable, and just plain sexy!

Oh well each to their own.

 

[lucidfuel]

to be honest, if you dig around board you'll only find bad things said about a product. i love my imac G5. it doesnt have a fan problem or any of the problems other people were complaining about. but i'm sure if you go on a forum you'd find a **** load of people complaining.

why?

People dont post about good problems really, most posts are from people who are pissed off and venting.

the mac issues are like any company, every product has some kind of defect and if it's 3 defects that hits less then 5% of all consumers thats pretty decent when you consider everything.

For pc's when i buy a Drive or Board or anything i run the risk of conflicts, suddenly my E drive doesnt work anymore. etc etc.

in short everything has problems. either take your chances and move on or not get a computer.

apple care is a bit sub-par to be honest, but it's a decent investment. other then the lines all of the 2 out of 3 earth shattering problems are covered and will be replaced. the screen is a matter of preference as i didnt notice anyhting while playig around with them.

sucks that you got the bad apple, but i've had a bunch of macs and PC's and the mac's are still the most consistent in quality and support.

mac's are not with out it's prob, but it's still way lesser of the two evils...

 

[plastique45]

You are correct, the 15" PowerBook has been plagued with defects. But ALL Apple product lines have had major defects/recall/class action lawsuits in the past 2 years! Something really bad has happenned to their Q&A. Maybe this cost-cutting madness also cause as many problem on PC hardware, I don't follow PC hardware evolution close enough to know, but I know Apple hardware is not as trust worthy as when I bought my first (or even 2nd ) Mac!

If you want a PowerBook, I would also advise you to wait Jan 10th to see what comes out at MacWorld. Maybe the switch to Intel architecture will resolve some of the current hardware issues, let's wait and see!

 

[muffinman]

-“Chill out dude”:

maybe you should. if u dont like powerbooks, dont get one! if your tired of windows, there is linex!

then again, there always are typewriters typewriters never get viruses

 

[portent]

In all the industry surveys, Apple is as good or better than any other systems vendor in quality and satisfaction.

The Mac community is unusually cohesive and communicative. How many HP Compaq nx6110 laptop owners do you know? Where is the forum for Dell Latitude D510 users? Hewlett-Packard and Dell are much larger companies than Apple, and sell millions more systems per year than Apple does, but there's no place for Dell or HP owners to compare notes.

Nobody hears from the satisfied customers; they have no complaints so they don't post anything.