David, a few points of rebuttal... (Automobile analogies, may I mention, are not always fitting for the subject at hand. A computer that is only two years old and has not suffered excessive use is hardly comparable to a 265k mileage auto. I am not complaining about an aged PowerBook that has been abused - mine died only 2 years after I bought it, under normal day-to-day use as my SECOND computer - primary being a G3 tower. Furthermore, denying an issue exists fixes nothing. Expecting and demanding attention for the issue will, if not help me, allow Apple to improve it's future offerings.)
As to the issue of weak, defective hinges this IS a well-known problem and any argument to the contrary would be a denial of reality. Although Apple has not recalled the affected products, there are countless reports of the problem in Wallstreets of every screen size. Indeed, the 14.1" is probably the most affected, but that's because of the dimensions of the screen and the increased torsion applied to the clutch mechanism. 12" screens apply less torsion, but they still apply torsion. The torsion causes cracking in the housing over the spring mechanism where the aluminum Apple used is especially thin. Cracking leads to a complete failure of the mechanism; the spring has nothing against which to apply torque. The result: the screen simply falls over. This defect occured for me in Fall 2001, 2 years after I bought the machine. I replaced the hinges out of my own pocket, not having an extended warrantee. I will only mention one source for more information about this problem: The fabulous Road Warrior series of articles on MacOpinion.com deals with this issue at length <http://www.macopinion.com/columns/roadwarrior/01/07/03/>. If that's not enough, Google "PowerBook G3 Hinge." > Many Wallstreet batteries are dying now. > THat doesn't mean anything other than > 1. perhaps it wasn't used properly (never > lleave your battery dead or drained for > longer than necessary, and don't leave it > plugged in 24/7), 2. perhaps you have a > bad AC adaptor they go bad occasionally as > well), or 3, perhaps it's reached it's life-limit. (Hmm, I don't recall my PowerBook User's Guide advising me to remove the battery when I'm not using it - perhaps Apple should change it's documentation? If this is how batteries are damaged, you can hardly blame the user for not knowing to remove the battery. Come to think of it, I have NEVER seen this documented. It's almost folkloric! Some gurus say to remove the battery, but no user manual I've ever seen has mentioned it, and no user - PC users included - i've ever met, and I've met a few, has ever practiced it. If this is true, we should all have dead batteries.) One only needs to go to the PowerBook G3/Power & Battery support forum and read the hundreds of posts about G3 batteries not charging, not holding a charge, and not being recognized (and the dearth of Apple responses, suggestions, or even attempts to trouble shoot) to get a feel for the size of the issu e <http://discussions.info.apple.com/WebX?[EMAIL PROTECTED]@.eea04bb >. Of particular interest are this threa d <http://discussions.info.apple.com/WebX?[EMAIL PROTECTED]@.3bb90ee 7> and this threa d <http://discussions.info.apple.com/WebX?[EMAIL PROTECTED]@.ef8e763> (Hope those URLs work for you folks - they are rather funky) I bought my Wallstreet in the summer of 1999. Lombard had just been introduced and this was the last of the remaining new models. The battery was brand new, never used. The battery died in Fall 2001. That's 2 years. I did not have a 3 year AppleCare warranty on my hardware, so the battery could not be replaced. 2 years of battery use is exceedingly short, you must admit. Even PC laptops have longer battery lives than that. Being someone who has experienced this problem, I have done some research. Of the large majority of people who suffer from bad batteries, most of them only got 12 to 24 months of use out of their battery. My power adapters (x2) were recalled by Apple as being from the defective lot (the kind that could catch fire or melt). I replaced them with the two yo-yos Apple sent. Perhaps both of the yo-yos were defective, since my battery died shortly after the exchange. Before you bring it up, though, I took the precaution of enlarging the grounding shield on my yo-yo power adapters to make sure they fit smoothly and easily into the Wallstreet power receptacle as soon as I got them. As to your own statement as to the trend of Apple products lasting longer than other manufacturers', and your mention of the 5300, then let me just say that I own two 5300s. One of them has the original battery (NiMH from 1995). The battery still holds a charge for nearly two hours. But what is important is that it CHARGES! My Wallstreet's battery doesn't even charge. Are you saying that Apple's standard of quality has decreased since the 5300, since newer batteries die sooner? Heck, there are people still using PowerBook 1xxs on this list! Granted, they may not have a long battery life, but at least they _have_ a battery life. Believe me, I would love nothing more than to be proven wrong - then I could fix the problem! > Contrary to Drew's statement, the Wallstreets > do not (in general) have any issues with the > kbds marking the LCD's.. I'm sure that there > are one or two.. But out of the 1000+ that I've > seen in our shop this year, I don't recall a > single one. Just because you haven't seen it, that doesn't mean it doesn't happen: Considering that there are actually PRODUCTS on the market specifically designed to protect the screen from marks left by the keyboard when closing the lid, I would absolutely have to say this is a widespread problem. Witness <http://www.powerbookresq.com/powerpad. html>. MacNN also did a blurb about PowerBook ResQ doing a screen repair service for Wallstreets: <http://www.macnn.com/news.php?id=1617 0> OWC has a similar item : <http://www.powerbookcentral.com/newspro/talk/985276351,16823,.shtml >. Heck, even Low End Mac <http://www.lowendmac.com/ibook/010330.html > addresses the issue and quotes OWC as saying "Apple PowerBooks made since the 1998 WallStreet models all the way up to the brand new PowerBook G4 have had problems with their keyboards coming into contact with the delicate LCD display and leaving marks on the screen that sometimes will not come off. Most are oils left from your fingers on the key caps; however, Some are not removable." Finally, I may not own a repair shop, but I know how to repair my computer at the board component level. I know my way around the hardware and I can certify that my sound board is not damaged in any way that would prevent charging of the battery... I can certify that I put no un-due stress on the display hinges. I can certify that I don't push down on the top of my lid forcing contact between the keyboard and screen. Your argument is that _all_ these problems are the result of abuse to the laptop. I, for one, find the implications of your statement insulting. Peace, Drew -- <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> <http://homepage.mac.com/alk/> "Anyone can fly, all you have to do is throw yourself at the ground and miss." -Douglas Adams, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy -- PowerBooks is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... 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