It’s Here!
Got the new PowerBook. And as advertised, it’s very, very nice. Transferred all my data and settings from the old TiBook, it was very seamless. So far, it’s working brilliantly. It plays the Hi-res Apple Movie trailers quite well, ones which would not play well at all on my old ‘Book. And though the unit gets hot, it doesn’t get nearly as hot as my older computer would get. And though it’s supposed to be .2 pounds heavier, somehow it feels lighter, even when holding both computers at the same time, one in each hand. I haven’t had the chance to take it for a real spin yet, and won’t see its full effect until the 1GB RAM upgrade gets here next week.
One problem: a dead pixel. Yargh. At least, it’s partly dead. As far as I can tell, only the green element to the pixel is dead. But in most circumstances, it makes the pixel look dead, next to the other pixels around it. Anything that’s not pure red, blue or purple, anything that’s lighter than that, and it shows up. And there seems to be another pixel stuck on blue as well. The good news, somewhat: both are on the right side of the screen, less than an inch from the edge, so they won’t be so noticeable. But you always really hope for the screen to be perfect. And Apple’s policy is to accept anywhere up to five or perhaps seven dead or stuck pixels on a screen. Won’t stop me from taking it to the Genius Bar at the Apple Store in Ginza and seeing what they say and do about it. I doubt I’ll get anywhere, but best to try all options.
Hi Luis:
I had the exact same pixel problem with my PowerBook – the grizzled old tech at our local Apple store suggested I gently ‘massage’ the screen area over the dead and partly dead pixels with the end of a fingernail.
Astonishingly, the pixels came good – some sort of voodoo, I guess (though I presume theres a good electronic reason for it too!).
Try it, it might work for you.
Yeah, I know about that (have for a long time, in fact). I’ve been doing massaging, and have downloaded a video which switches colors quickly and is supposed to help jar the pixel back into functionality. I’ll be trying both of those and probably more–but there’s no guarantee either will work. Usually it’s said that it’s a 50-50 proposition. I’m hopeful, but far from certain I’ll get it unstuck. Thanks anyway for the suggestion!
Congrats! It’s a cool machine, isn’t it? I’m loving mine everyday.
Yes, it is indeed cool. I just right now activated the keyboard backlight by turning out the lights. Verrrrrry nice! A lot of comparisons pop up concerning this and my TiBook, sitting unused beside me now. Somehow, the keyboard is easier for me to type on than the older keyboard. The speakers are much improved, that’s for sure. And it’s still not as hot as my old TiBook, even using Photoshop and a lot of other stuff.
I also like the new port configuartion b etter, with the ports on the side rather than the back. However, they could have done a better job in placing specific ones. The power cable is fine, but why not put the Ethernet and Firewire on the left as well? At least the Firewire and USB on the right side could have gone more toward the back, so as to interfere less if you’re using a mouse. That’ll be less of an issue to me once I get a BlueTooth mouse.
I also note that the surface area including the handrest is larger than the TiBook, as a result of the (stronger) screen hinge design.
One remaining problem: I like to import my digital camera photos via a PC Card for Compact Flash cards. As with the TiBook, this computer slows down a lot when files are being transferred via that bus. Does it share the main bus of the computer, I wonder?
I just realized that you can activate the backlighting of the keyboard by covering both speakers grilles with your hands. There must be two light sensors, one under each speaker grille. In fact, I just figured that they’re at the top of each grille. Take your right thumb, and from the right, press it horizontally across the speaker grille just beyond the power button, covering the button only slightly. Do the same with your left thumb at the same place on the left grille. That activates the lighting on my ‘Book. It’s easier to activate the lighting with two fingers at the top of the grilles, of course.