Posted by
michael
on from the public-service dept.
Beelsebob writes "Apple have put out a recall on a certain group of PowerBook G4 batteries. If you have a PowerBook G4 (Aluminum) 15" and your battery's model number is A1045, and its serial number starts HQ404, HQ405, HQ406, HQ407, or HQ408, then you could be at risk of it overheating."
suprisingly with student discount the 15" pb was cheaper than a similarly equiped ultra thin thinkpad (you know the worlds thinest laptop)..
i believe the thinkpad had 40 gig hard drive, 14.1" screen, and geforce 5200 go or something like that
the powerbook had 60gig hard drive, 15" widescreen, ati radeon 9700... for $50 more i think i got the better deal
Yes you are, just admit it! It's okay, there are professionals who can help you work through these self-esteem issues.
You know that apples are better!
--sarcasm;
On the other hand, unless a post is flagrantly offensive (and intended that way), I find it's more or less a waste of time pointing it out to the original poster, as a lot of people simply.. refuse to learn or modify thier world-view at all.:)
I would guess that even if you replace the battery - you will still be nice and krispy...
I have a recent model (serials do not match;-) and it still heats up nicely to provide that cozy feeling of "I'm going up in flames in a second" I so got used to...
I had always felt there was an overheating problem. People in the newsgroups and suggested that I recondition my battery... which maybe helped some.
Anyway, glad to know that I'll be getting a new battery out of it.
AC
Re:replace
by
AKAImBatman
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· Score: 2, Insightful
This is actually somewhat surprising as Apple has always been careful not to burn people's laps. Dell laptops, OTOH, have been known to cause injuries from the high temperatures at which they operate. I'm guessing that's why Apple has been so careful about the temperature of their laptops.
FYI, the iBook I'm typing this on keeps cool enough not to even need the fan running. The only time the fan kicks in is when I place it on a poor surface (e.g. a blanket while watching a movie). Even then, it never gets hot enough to burn.
Perhaps this only occurs under certain power draw situations? Or perhaps it's a run of defective batteries?
I have an iBook too, and it runs at a reasonable temperature... But I have heard and read comments and complaints about the heat of Titanium and Aluminum Powerbooks since they were first introduced .
I have a 15" PB and although my battery's SN isn't in the range of the recall, I feel that it gets inordinately hot especially when running graphics intensive applications. Given the circumstances I don't think it's the battery causing the problem. Anyone else had issues like that?
-- "The object of war is not to die for your country, but to make the other bastard die for his." - Patton
It's possible that the graphics card is putting out a lot of heat, although the battery will heat up if its power draw is increased. Does you PowerBook have a fan that kicks in when this happens?
They're not _that_ hot. They are very warm, but they don't burn you. It's the side effect of having a case made out of aluminum (what do they make heatsinks out of? aluminum.)
I can only get mine (15", 1.33GHz) warm enough to turn the fan on when I'm using 100% CPU _and_ GPU. The CPU alone doesn't get it too hot.
I find that when my AlBook is plugged in, with the processor performance set to "High", it averages around 130 degrees. When maxing out the CPU or taxing the graphics, though, it will go up to 143 degrees, at which point the fan turns on. If I unplug it, it gets much, much cooler - 100 degrees or so. --Quentin
Re:replace
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 5, Informative
What does "recondition the battery" mean?
The battery circuitry tracks charge level and usage patterns to estimate how much time you have left. If you go for a while without draning the battery all the way, the estimates can become inaccurate. Therefore it is recommended that you deep-cycle the battery about once a month, draining it all the way then charging it all the way up. This reminds the circuitry of the actual capacity of the battery, and this is what is called reconditioning.
Don't be tempted to drain the battery every time. While deep-cycling was necessary with NiCads and NiMH batteries, it's bad for Li-ion batteries.
Yes, but it rarely does so. I find that If I leave it on overnight and it runs (for example) the SETI@home screen saver (don't worry, I've moved no to the CLI) I pick it up in the morning and it's damn hot. Are there settings somewhere with the OS to get the fan to turn on more often? It was plugged into power all night so I don't think it was a power saving "feature."
-- "The object of war is not to die for your country, but to make the other bastard die for his." - Patton
AKAIK, there's no setting for this. You might consider taking it to the nearest "Genius Bar" and having them take a look at it. It's possible you've got a broken or misconfigured thermostat.
I have a 1.25 GHz AlBook, and it doesn't seem to have temperature sensors. Are you getting those figures from the 'book itself or an external thermometer?
The iBook has a fan? Crap I've been using a 12" 1Ghz G4 iBook for 3 weeks and I haven't heard the fan kick yet.
Heck the only time I hear the hard drive is late at night, and even then I think I'm half imagioning it, half feeling it.
And for those of you who thing "yeah, but he isn't doing crap on it" I do database development work. A couple of times a week I have it dump and reassemble our database for a testbed. It blows out ram and disk load for 30 minutes at a stretch. Heck, the battery is so good in this thing I've taken to doing it on my bus ride home while I fiddle around with emacs in the foreground.
Really, really nice machine. (Coming from a long time Linux laptop guy.)
-- "Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
--Dr.W.Edwards Deming
The iBook has a fan? Crap I've been using a 12" 1Ghz G4 iBook for 3 weeks and I haven't heard the fan kick yet.
Mine is the model just before yours, so things might be different. But yes, the iBooks have fans. I didn't know it was there until I started watching DVDs in bed. On the blanket the laptop wouldn't have a large enough cooling surface and would get hot. It's fairly loud when it turns on, but otherwise you'd swear that it doesn't have one.
Are you sure about the NiMH batteries? I was under the impression that only the NiCads needed this procedure, and it was not necessary for NiMH batteries... Thanks.
Except for some humorous posts involving aptly-named musician Bruce Cockburn.
-- Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
Recipe for Caramel Apple Powerbooks
by
XaviorPenguin
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· Score: 5, Funny
1. Go to store and by some hard Caramel candy, at least a pound
2. Place pieces unwrapped on keyboard of Powerbook and turn on. Place the pieces on every other key to allow maximum coverage of Caramel
3. Let over heat and allow Caramel to spread
4. Enjoy!
--
Friends help you move... REAL Friends help you move dead bodies... ^_^
Re:Recipe for Caramel Apple Powerbooks
by
ByteMangler_242
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· Score: 1
Addendum-
(optional) For added flavor, sprinkle with chopped nuts, such as peanuts.
--
Rule of the open mind People who are resistant to change cannot resist change for the worst.
It already overheats.
by
Gannoc
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· Score: 5, Funny
I have a powerbook, and I love it, but after using it on my lap for 30 minutes, I can't have children anymore.
Re:It already overheats.
by
kannibal_klown
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· Score: 3, Informative
I have the PB 15" (1.25 GHz). And while I've never had it on my lap while playing, say, Unreal 2004, it's never been that hot. It's actually run cooler than most of my other noitebooks.
The PB 12, on the other hand, feels like it just came out of the oven. That thing heats up like a hot plate on a summer day. It's ony of the main reasons I decided to get the 15" instead (that, and I wanted to use it as my main computer and the screen was just annoying).
But truthfully, m Powerbook has been the best computer purchase I've ever made. And this is coming from a person that's long-since hated Macs for various reasons. While I'm no zealot, I think the Powerbook is a work of art.
Re:It already overheats.
by
StevenHenderson
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· Score: 3, Funny
Having children requires contact with a female silly.:)
Re:It already overheats.
by
Moridineas
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· Score: 1
couldnt agree more..got a powerbook as a longtime linux/freebsd/windows user and love it. I still hate mac people more often than not, but i love the pb.
I have the 12" iBook. Heat hasn't been a problem, and I'm a cheap ass with the air conditioning.
Man, I thought I was being cheap picking the iBook over the PB. Ok, really I was going for the extra hour on the battery, because after adding in extra RAM, the airport, bluetooth, and maxed out HD I (cough work) really didn't save anything.
(PS, there is an hacked control panel available that will allow the iBook to do dual-screen. I look like something out of a movie at the office, I have my iBook's screen on one side, and an external flat panel next to it. Both working at the same time.)
-- "Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
--Dr.W.Edwards Deming
-- Did anyone bother to ask the customers what they want?
Year of the Portable my butt
by
SpiffyMarc
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· Score: 4, Insightful
For a company that puts so much emphasis on portable devices, Apple certainly has a lot of problemswithbatteries.
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
finkployd
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· Score: 1
Thou hast offended the zealots! Prepare to be modded down.
I don't know, he looked modded up to me.
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
badasscat
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· Score: 4, Interesting
For a company that puts so much emphasis on portable devices, Apple certainly has a lot of problems with batteries.
And you didn't even link the most dramatic case, that of actual exploding batteries. And no, this isn't some Nokia-like third party battery situation, these were the real Apple-supplied batteries (though that article does go out of the way to point out they were "Sony-made").
Apple's got some real quality control issues, despite their reputation. They seem to have at least one or two recalls per year for various reasons ranging from defective batteries to defective power supplies to defective screens, as well as other problems that are common complaints but that they do nothing about (such as the iPod battery service life issue). The recall I noted above was actually a safety issue, and I would guess the overheating batteries in the G4 PB's might be a safety issue as well.
I'd still buy an Apple for other reasons, but quality control is not one of them, public perception notwithstanding. They're certainly no better than any other manufacturer and may actually be somewhat worse (IBM, for example, has had fewer recalls over the same period).
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
the+MaD+HuNGaRIaN
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· Score: 5, Interesting
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
Otter
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· Score: 4, Insightful
For a company that puts so much emphasis on portable devices, Apple certainly has a lot of problems...
I don't think that's a paradox -- Apple is continually pushing to have the smallest, lightest, longest-lasting portable devices and that means early adoption of new battery technology and enclosures. It's not surprising that their products run into more issues than boat-anchor Toshibas or MP3 players powered by AA batteries.
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
falcon5768
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· Score: 2, Informative
eh All of the laptop makers have had battery problems... there was once YEARS ago a problem with the old laptop batterys exploding though contrary to popular fiction, no ever did make it out to the public.
And as for the iPod battery... mine is STILL going strong, and I have a 1st gen. That battery problem was SO blown out of proportion it isnt even funny and those "brothers" ended up looking like fools in the end.
But apple isnt the only group to have battery problems so why beat up on them.
--
"Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 1, Insightful
The typical reaction of the Apple fan when there is an issue with Apple products is to find a PC product that's even worse.
"The fan on my eMac is pretty loud."
"Nonsense, I rarely hear it at all. Besides, the fan on my cousins brothers roommates PC is much louder."
"Why is my 12" Powerbook so hot and is the fan running all the time, even when I'm only typing a text document?"
"The fan is for your own good, imagine how hot it would get if it didn't run. Besides, my co-worker's laptop is much hotter and the fan is much louder."
"Why am I getting just 3 hours on my Powerbook battery rather than the advertised 5?"
"3 is very good dude, my PC only lasts 2 hours and it was advertised as 6!"
"I don't think I'll buy Apple again, my iBook was in repair three times last year."
"Be glad you got such excellent service, [generic PC laptop] falls appart in 6 months, and they probably won't even repair it."
I'd still buy an Apple for other reasons, but quality control is not one of them, public perception notwithstanding. They're certainly no better than any other manufacturer and may actually be somewhat worse (IBM, for example, has had fewer recalls over the same period).
I'm forced to agree. I bought a 15" PowerBook 2 years ago. The internal DvD drive didn't last a year (and Apple wants close to $1,000 to replace it, so I bought a $400 external one) and now one of the internal fans sounds like the bearings are shot. Other then that, I love the machine and software.
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
SilentChris
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· Score: 1
Once again: the issue isn't that the battery life is bad. The issue is that they claim the battery life as one thing then it turns out to be another. See iBook and 3rd-generation iPod.
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
kmmatthews
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· Score: 1
Uhm.
What exactly are you smoking, and why aren't you sharing?:) I didn't say anything about six hours.
In my experience, my powerbook does not get 6 hours of battery life; however, it does get around four. (Not always extensive use, sometimes just reading/.)
-- feh. stuff.
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
jhtrih
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· Score: 1
Wow, and that proves how mach users are immature how?
It's rather nice to have a cause you can believe in.
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
SilentChris
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· Score: 1
Apple claims iBooks get 6 hours. Look it up on their site.
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
CountBrass
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· Score: 2, Informative
Do you even own an iBook, PB or iPod? Or are you just repeating second-hand gossip from a friend of a friend who once knew someone who thought he saw a PowerBook one time on a train?
Neither of my PowerBooks nor my 2nd and 3rd gen iPods have any battery problems at all. After 2 years my 2nd gen iPod still ran for 8 hours and my 3rd gen is better.
Take your FUD and stick it where the sun don't shine.
-- Bad analogies are like waxing a monkey with a rainbow.
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
dfghjk
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· Score: 2, Informative
The 1G players weren't the worst ones for battery problems. Even the best, properly working 3G players had crappy batteries. Take a properly working 3G player, charge it and remove it from charge. Three days later it's mostly dead.
Don't have a 4G, but the 1G players were by far the best of the first 3.
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
dfghjk
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· Score: 1
I owned a 3G player and it was horrible. Had 4 friends with 3G's as well. All had the exact same problem though they didn't realize it. 3G players had bad batteries by design and I'm convinced it's 100% of production.
How long does yours last off the charger when you aren't using it? Any iPod competitor would last a month or more. 3G iPods won't come close to a week.
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
dfghjk
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· Score: 1
Making a battery last a long time doesn't "push the edge" of battery tech. Making it last a short time does. Batteries inherently prefer slow discharge rates. Perhaps Apple should push a little harder.
Curiously, Apple notebooks already have less than half the processor power of PC versions. You'd think with so little CPU they'd have an easier time of it. PC builders don't seem to have to reduce processor speeds to work.
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
falcon5768
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· Score: 1
the 1st gen where the same way.... if you look at the stroy about the iPod this was a ongoing problem with all of them, it had something to do with how the iPods shut down and the fact that even off, they never really are off.
--
"Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
dfghjk
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· Score: 1
Why isn't it surprising? You expect Apple products to fail because of their "superior engineering"?
Since when does Apple push to have the smallest, lightest, longest-lasting anything? I suppose it's easier when you have a closed architecture with no direct ability to compare and no real requirement for high performance, yet both the iPod and the mini are outclassed both in size and battery life by the Toshiba and new Rio Carbon, respectively. Apple notebooks, in addition to being grossly uncompetitive in CPU power, cannot possibly compete with the hundreds of models of PC notebooks for sheer variety of size and function.
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
theLOUDroom
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· Score: 1, Redundant
And as for the iPod battery... mine is STILL going strong, and I have a 1st gen. That battery problem was SO blown out of proportion it isnt even funny and those "brothers" ended up looking like fools in the end.
Yes, obviously ONE is representative sample.
Look if you have a REAL reason to believe that there was no problem with the original ipod batteries that's one thing, but all the comment you posted shows is a total lack of understanding of statistics.
"Since my Pinto hasn't blown up yet, obviously there are no problems with them. These exploding car problems are SO blown out of proportion."
-- Life is too short to proofread.
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
LilMikey
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· Score: 1
But they come in pink! Damnit... slashdotters never learn.
-- LilMikey.com... I'll stop doing it when you sto
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
david_reese
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· Score: 4, Informative
Apple's got some real quality control issues, despite their reputation. They seem to have at least one or two recalls per year for various reasons ranging from defective batteries to defective power supplies to defective screens, as well as other problems that are common complaints but that they do nothing about (such as the iPod battery service life issue). The recall I noted above was actually a safety issue, and I would guess the overheating batteries in the G4 PB's might be a safety issue as well.
Guess their "reputation" also includes independent consumer reports studies... (note: link is to maccentral forums, but the info is from valid consumer reports articles... updated as of Jun04, I checked).
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
Erik+Hollensbe
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· Score: 1
I don't own a portable mp3 player, except for the one in my car stereo. I guess I just haven't had a need.
OTOH, I don't play games on my laptop, I have a gaming machine for that. Considering that most of my true stress tests of my applications are staged on test lab servers at work, that's not an issue, either. So I guess the "poor" CPU performance is not a concern to me... I guess firefox could load 0.1 nanoseconds faster, but then again, I never have to shut down any programs because I have a ton of ram and the sleep feature works flawlessly.
And in reality, the fact that it runs Mac OS X, fully integrated with the hardware, is more important than just about anything else feature-wise this machine has. I don't have to worry about tuning the system, making sure it's going to work with the hardware, or having to spend a lot of time researching who made what chipset (and sometimes more importantly, what version that chipset is) so that I have a driver that works with it so I can use a UNIX operating system as my workstation.
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
falcon5768
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· Score: 2, Interesting
Actually the real data I can find has showed that.0001% of iPod owners actually had a faulty battery if you find the numbers in the class action lawsuit to be true.... while its not a true percentage since there might be a few who have never heard of the problem, I can not find a true percentage though and usually if its that big of a problem you would be garenteed to find statistics showing it.
SO if you can find any real statistics I commend you, but if you comment was just to troll well your an idiot since a good troll would have posted facts to back it up.
--
"Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
theLOUDroom
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· Score: 1
Actually the real data I can find has showed that.0001% of iPod owners actually had a faulty battery if you find the numbers in the class action lawsuit to be true.... while its not a true percentage since there might be a few who have never heard of the problem, I can not find a true percentage though and usually if its that big of a problem you would be garenteed to find statistics showing it.
1st off, what on earth did you just say there?
2nd where is this "real data" that gives you the.0001% ?
(If you're going to make up numbers, at least make them believeable..0001% says that there is a one in MILLION chance of an ipod battery failing. That's ridiculously low.)
if you comment was just to troll well your an idiot
I'm not trolling, if just baffled by your jumping to conclusion based on insufficient data. Anyways, you may not want to make that many grammar mistakes when insulting people. It sort of takes away from the impact.
-- Life is too short to proofread.
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
falcon5768
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· Score: 1
Well you caught me, I typed too fast and its actually.001 which is low, but considering there are well over 2 million of the things sold NOT counting mini's a logical number...
as for where this data came from, it was from the court documents pertaining to the lawsuit filed by iPod users who said the battery life was too short. Im sure the number may be higher, but the truth is that it was a VERY small percentage of the iPods that had a problem.... not nearly as large as some people like to beleive..
--
"Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
sabNetwork
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· Score: 1
There is a bug in the power level indicator. When you leave it off the charger for a while, it claims the battery is almost dead. Just keep using it until you get a low battery warning. --
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
Lars+T.
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· Score: 3, Insightful
And you didn't even link the most dramatic case, that of actual exploding batteries. And no, this isn't some Nokia-like third party battery situation, these were the real Apple-supplied batteries (though that article does go out of the way to point out they were "Sony-made").
Apple's got some real quality control issues, despite their reputation.
Too bad (for you) that not a single one of those 5300s exploded in the lap of a customer, because Apple found out about the problem before any machines where shipped. Which means they had good quality control. Quite unlike Dell, over and over again.
--
Lars T.
To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
wilscoop
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· Score: 1
Spot on. Quality control is truly Apple's Achilles heel. My PowerBook G4 broke down irreparably after three months. The fact that I was using it to run my business seemed to make no difference to Apple. Getting it replaced was a nightmare. I recommend Slashdotters to read Corporation by Joel Bakan in which the author says that, since companies have the same rights as people, what kind of people are they? He then enlists a psychiatrist whose diagnosis is that the average corporation is a psychopath.
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
Spyritus
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· Score: 1
iPods have a calendar and a clock, they NEVER shut off, they just go into a power saving mode where the screen is not used and the HD is spun down, most of the rest of the circuitry is still drawing power so that the clock can keep running.
Its a design issue not a battery issue. The iPod would still run 8 to 10 hours from recharge to stop playing music, it just does not run 8 hours, 3 days later.
Hence the various "it is fine" vs "battery is shocking" posts. If you leave your iPod plugged into the 6 pin FireWire port on your computer (constantly charging) you have no battery problem, never have, never will as you are using the iPod as designed. If on the other hand you have a 4 pin FireWire port on your computer or a USB port on your computer (both cannot charge the iPod) you better remember to plug the iPods charger in frequently, or your iPod will always have "no charge" and a "battery problem".
Tell them that you want Apple Powerbooks BANNED from using the in-flight laptop power (which will charge batteries) available in many first- and business- class sections of airplanes.
This is a very dangerous and serious situation! The DOT is concerned enough to ban Knitting Needles (maybe someone could knit an Afghan!); why not ban something that poses a REAL DANGER?
Write letters to the editors, call local call-in shows, and do all the "Guy Kawasaki" style virus marketing that Apple loves so much. Let people know that having an Apple Powerbook charging on an airplane is a recipe for disaster!
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
Quobobo
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· Score: 1
People who are affected by it care, obviously. I ran upstairs to check my battery the moment I saw this on Slashdot.
Granted, it's not a huge deal, but it's useful information to those who might be affected by it.
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
Moofie
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· Score: 1
If it didn't last a year, and it was still under warranty, why didn't you have them fix it?
Or did you not bother to call 'em until your warranty was up?
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
sokoban
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· Score: 1
True, nobody was hurt as a result of the 5300 battery issue, but 5300 li-ion batteies were shipped. I should know, I had a 5300 ce. The battery itself was great (and one of, if not the first li-ion batteries). The problem was with a part of the recharge circuit that would not stop the recharge cycle even when the battery was full. Overcharging a Lithium-Ion bettery causes it to not only get hot, but also causes a buildup of Hydrogen (in H+ form I believe). The combination of those factors can lead to a fire in some circumstances. It is really unfortunate that apple dropped the Lithium batteries in favor of NiMH beacause of that incident, but I guess they wanted to be safe. Personally, I took the NiMH replacement, but the battery life wasn't nearly as good. Any Lithium-Ion battery has the potential for exploding, (really, they don't explode, judt catch on fire) but there is a chip inside all of them which keeps tham from doing so. Apple used the very first generation of Sony (the first people to make Li-IOn batteries) batteries to run in the Powerbooks and they got burned (har har) for it. F-it, I'm drunk. Please don't mod me down.
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
dave420
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· Score: 1
Well, my good friend has a Mac and an iPod (2nd gen.). My wife and I both have iPods (1st, 2x3rd), and the batteries in all of those devices are rapidly deteriorating. The 3rd gen. iPods were worse than the 1st and 2nd, and I'll have to see how the new 4th gen we have in the office is fairing.
It's not FUD, it's just something you haven't encountered before. Don't jump to conclusions like that, or people will think you're a fanboy. Just sayin'.
Re:Year of the Portable my butt
by
dfghjk
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· Score: 1
Hard to do when you are traveling. Why should I be tethered to a charger daily on a device that's supposed to be portable?
I do agree that iPods are for the trendy, however. Seems totally consistent with the marketing campaign.
::Looks at battery
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 5, Funny
Hmm HQ... cant see the rest. Its melted away. How do I tell?
-- An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
History repeating itself
by
InternationalCow
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· Score: 2, Informative
Just goes to show that there is nothing new under the sun. It has happened before. Rather annoying and shameful for Apple that is should happen again in one of the most popular powerbooks.
-- -----
One learns to itch where one can scratch.
Yeah they use a couple of those obsolete Intel CPUs to handle battery power management. What are they called now.... hmm oh yes Pentium 4 EE (EE for Energy Efficient I think).
-- Bad analogies are like waxing a monkey with a rainbow.
I thought it was "Emergency Edition" (in response to AMD Opteron that was released a few weeks later).
-- Did anyone bother to ask the customers what they want?
Look at the date of manufacture....
by
detritus`
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· Score: 4, Interesting
At least they manufactured these batteries using the improved Li-ion technology, if it was the older style it wouldnt just overheat, it'd most likely start a runaway reaction that would end in quite toasted laptops. I think it was 150 Degrees F or so that this would start at, i know i heard of several cell phones left in hot cars that did this, and at least 1 nokia that burnt up while charging.
As another poster commented above to a similar post, this never happend outside Apple's lab. Not a SINGLE CUSTOMER had their PB 5300 burst into flame. This occured with a pre-production model with a defective battery in THE LAB.
Here, lemme just pop out the battery and check my serial numb
Re:Dear Slashdot
by
nordicfrost
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· Score: 2, Informative
Funny, yes. Bu you can put it in hibernation and then look at the battery. I did, and lo and behold. The battery starts with HQ407, so I have filled out the form on the Apple recall site.
Re:Dear Slashdot
by
rampant+mac
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· Score: 4, Funny
"Funny, yes. But you can put it in hibernation and then look at the battery. I did, and lo and behold. The battery starts with HQ407, so I have filled out the form on the Apple recall site."
That reminds me of when I was on a flight from Boston to Seattle and I was doing some work on the flight using my PowerBook. The battery started getting really low, and I remember saving my documents (Word, Keynote and Dreamweaver, if my memory serves me) and closing the lid, turning the laptop over and yanking out the battery... The man sitting next to me started to say "Hey, I don't think..." while I slapped in a fresh battery and opened up the lid, resuming my work where I had left off. "Wow, that's amazing!" he exclaimed. "Yeah, it is nice to be able to work the whole time during these long flights." I replied. To my horror the moron (who was using an older model Thinkpad) flips his laptop over and proceeds to rip out his battery right before my very eyes only to discover, moments later, that his computer didn't support hibernation mode quite as well.
He didn't save his work before attempting said stunt.
weh, when i entered the serial numbers on the page they checked out and a new battery is soon on the way. I don't worry too much about this, I handle things a lot more dangerous than this on a daily basis. like kittens.
A Dell I had also had a similar battery problem. Didn't get a replacement though.
Hmm...
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 2, Funny
I'm going on an international flight next week. Does this mean that I'll get stopped by security when I try to take my Powerbook through?:-)
Dude. Joke. I will put an emoticon next time so everyone knows.:) See? It works!
One more...
by
Glendale2x
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· Score: 2, Informative
serial number series A1045 is under the recall, too.
-- this is my sig
Re:One more...
by
kannibal_klown
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· Score: 3, Informative
No...
A1045 is the model number, not the serial number.
A1045 is like saying "The Chevy Malibu." The serial numbers are like saying "if your VIN number starts with..." or more broadly "models made between 1995 and 1997."
My battery is model number A1045, but it's serial number is not in the supplied list. Therefore, mine doesn't have a problem.
Ah, your battery may not have a problem NOW.... or they may not have yet acknowledged that your range of serial numbers is included... just kidding...
I have 1.3g 15" bought in june, and it's battery model number is A1078... it was custom configured, so I'd imagine the battery was manufactured more recently, but I wonder what else the differences are
b
-- to email me: take my/. handle and append.net preceded by charter.
I think your battery probably lasts longer. They probably put something in there that will last a little longer so the owners of the 1.3 wouldn't complain too much about the deminished battry life.
As for my battery, the whole unit runs fine for now. It gets mildly warm when browsing the internet, but barely. I don't use it for gaming, so I can't comment on how it runs while playing UT 2004.
Re:How unusual for Apple!
by
kmmatthews
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· Score: 1
In any product, but espescially those designed for power consumption and size constraints, you're going to have issues.
Plainly, this stuff is just plain hard to do. Granted, Apple could probably test more sufficently, but I'd wager they test thier product designs much more thoroughly than certain other companies.
Of course, too much time testing, and they're missed the market window, and someone else eats thier pie..
-- feh. stuff.
that was a preproduction machine
by
SuperBanana
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· Score: 4, Interesting
It has happened before.
Jesus, everyone blows that out of proportion, like 5300's were exploding left and right. It happened in an Apple test lab, with a PREPRODUCTION model, with a DEFECTIVE BATTERY supplied by the battery manufacturer. I have no idea where MacNN got that it was two batteries.
Not a single customer was affected by the problem- Apple took the precautionary measure of switching to NiMH after the problem, and most people never even saw a Lithium Ion battery in their 5300.
So, I ask, how could they possibly have handled the problem any better, mmm? Comparing it to the iPod battery bit, which was not handled as well- is absurd.
Re:that was a preproduction machine
by
InternationalCow
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· Score: 1
You're probably right. I'm an Apple user myself and am not looking to bash Apple or something. But for a computer company that compares itself to BMW it is not acceptable that something like that should be possible at all. If you buy a BMW you don't want a model that has been known to be losing wheels in preproduction runs on the test circuit.
-- -----
One learns to itch where one can scratch.
Re:that was a preproduction machine
by
tgibbs
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
You're probably right. I'm an Apple user myself and am not looking to bash Apple or something. But for a computer company that compares itself to BMW it is not acceptable that something like that should be possible at all. If you buy a BMW you don't want a model that has been known to be losing wheels in preproduction runs on the test circuit.
Yeah, you won't find a respectable company like BMW issuing recalls due to dangerous product defects
Re:that was a preproduction machine
by
InternationalCow
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· Score: 1
I wasn't aware of that one. Well, it sure illustrates the point, no?
-- -----
One learns to itch where one can scratch.
Re:that was a preproduction machine
by
Chicks_Hate_Me
·
· Score: 1
BMW has gone downhill since the late 90's:(
They used to be very distinct aggressive looking cars like the E30's (late 80s) and E36's (93-98) but now they look like every other car out there (buldgy and round.)
Re:that was a preproduction machine
by
nordicfrost
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· Score: 1
There were two batteries going. One of then was at an Apple internal developer, the other at the factory test lab. No customers harmed. Just the reputation for Apple. The 5300 was an assload of crap and did a lot of damage to their reuptation. It cracked almost as easily as my Dell.
New battery!!!
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 4, Funny
New battery? For free? Ahh, kick ass!!!!! Those third degree burns are finally starting to pay off!!!!
Re:I'm writing a letter to the FAA and TSA right n
by
callipygian-showsyst
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· Score: 1
This is an excellent idea. Perhaps the airlines were too hasty in letting laptops in general be plugged in.
I'm writing my letter now! I think it's an FAA issue, and not a TSA issue, but the TSA could be on the look-out for those power adapters if the traveller is using a PowerBook.
But I knew a guy who did that. Ya see, he came home one night, drunk, and the power was out. But he had to piss. So he went into the bathroom. Lights were out. So he used the cigarette lighter to provide light so he could aim. Then he grabbed his willy so that he could piss. He grabbed it with the hand holding the lit cigarette lighter.
Re:How unusual for Apple!
by
kmmatthews
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· Score: 1
Hmm, that is an interesting point.
I wonder how apple came to the decision to use this specific battery - e.g. if it was, as you say, soley a financial decision, or there were other, more complicated reasons for it.
Personally, I'd be willing to shell out a couple hundred extra for.. high quality components, e.g. not the cheapest, but the best manufactured and tested.
Can anybody reccomend a computer manufacturer that does this?
-- feh. stuff.
Re:Apple fanboys !!!
by
stratjakt
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· Score: 2, Insightful
See, there's the fanboy spin!
They aren't just replacing a defective (and potentially very dangerous) part, nor are they providing the expected warrantee services, they're giving you something for free! How nice of them!
"The tires sold with the car were defective, and the treads seperated at highway speeds, and I'm now a quadrapalegic and both my children are dead. But check it out, Ford's giving me free tires! What an AWESOME compnay!"
--
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
I know I'm going to get modded up for this...
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 5, Funny
But the fact that linux can achieve this same effect in just software really shows the power of open source. (insert keyboard characters to show humor)
The Replacement Process
by
AgTiger
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· Score: 4, Funny
"After serial number verification, a new battery will be shipped to you free of charge. When you receive the replacement battery, please use the same shipping envelope and included prepaid shipping label to return the recalled battery to Apple."
How appropriate, they're using an in-the-field hot-swap method.;-)
"The swap's hot, so it doesn't get too hot." (my version of Yogi Berra's logic in the infamous AFLAC Barber Shop commercial.)
One could argue...
by
infinite9
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· Score: 2, Insightful
But that's just natural selection eliminating Mac users from the genetic pool.
One could argue that they were never in the gene pool to begin with.
-- Disconnect your television. Do your own research. Draw your own conclusions. They're probably lying. Don't be a sheep.
could be worse...
by
WormholeFiend
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· Score: 3, Funny
Man I wish PECO was that cool, er hot, er, you know what I mean.
I'm still holding out for a barcode tatoo on the back of my hand. Bonus if I can tie it into the electronic lock at the office.
-- "Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
--Dr.W.Edwards Deming
I thought that was the whole point of buying Apple
by
BubbaThePirate
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· Score: 1
you're supposed to buy one complete product, from one company, that integrates top notch components for a premium.
In reality, Apple only manufactures the motherboard... and puts the Apple logo on the side.
You're really paying for the design and the OS.
My advice? If you want high quality components, build your own computer. Learning that, saves up a lot of money.
--
-- "I'm not a religious man, but if you're up there, save me Superman..."
Re:I'm writing a letter to the FAA and TSA right n
by
squiggleslash
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· Score: 2, Funny
Great, now we're going to have hysterical articles from Annie Jacobsen about Syrian musicians who are trying to use "Garageband" on a PowerBook while in flight.
It was terrifying. Each followed a ritual where they would drink a large glass of iced tea and then immediately, 30 minutes later, went to the bathroom. For what purpose I wondered? It became clear when they pulled out seven large PowerBooks. "Allah be praised for such a wonderful tool!" cried one, launching something called GarageBand. Garage, Band. Garages - the traditional location for the terrorist to manufacture a bomb, far from prying eyes, and bands - what you'd use to wrap around a bomb to keep it together? So obvious! And with the PowerBook's infamous exploding batteries I realised it straight away - these were no laptops, these were the bombs, the devices they intended to use to blow us to kingdom come!
I called over an air steward. She sympathized with me. "Yes, it does look sort of suspicious if you're paranoid" she agreed, "but actually they're just musicians". "Is there an air marshall on board?" I asked. "Look, it's all in hand, there's nothing to worry about" she replied, clearly terrified out of her mind.
My worst suspicions were confirmed when she quickly, 45 minutes later, spoke to a man on the back row. He came up to me. "There's nothing to worry about, I'm an US Air Marshall ma'am, if anything were to happen I'd be here". "Thank god!" I cried, jumping up with relief, "An air marshall! There's an air marshall on board! We don't have to worry about those shifty-looking Arabian featured terrorists!"
(Continued on page 94...)
-- You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
"I actually saw a salesguy at the Apple Store try to sell a Powerbook while it was on fire! True story. The customer was hesitant at first, but when he offered to throw in a refurbished 5GB iPod with spare battery assembly kit for an additional $179, the customer caved in. Another AppleStore salesguy chimed in and moved in to assist. He added that this Powerbook will virtually seemlessly integrate to the 2007 BMW 6 series."
Total cost of Mac ownership: $2199(powerbook) +$179(refurb/discoun ted iPod) +$45999-67000 estimated MSRP(BMW 6Series)options vary
TCO = ~49000-70000 USDollars.
This independent case study brought to you buy MSFT/Dell.
-- If you think/. comments are bad, check out Digg.
Re:I'm writing a letter to the FAA and TSA right n
by
gamgee5273
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· Score: 1
Right... the battery is the issue, therefore the laptop can't be plugged into the system?
Wouldn't common sense dictate you want them to plug into the system and remove the battery?
Dead battery
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 1, Funny
I must have a dead battery. Explains why my P-P-P-PowerBook won't turn on.
I wish I could get a replacement...
by
Lethyos
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· Score: 2, Informative
Let me say that these batteries suck ass. I don't know if anyone else has had similar experiences with their 15" TiPB (please comment here if you have) where battery life seems to drop like a stone even when the laptop is asleep. It used to last nearly three hours, and that was even under heavy load. Now adays, not even a year after my purchase, just sitting idle will kill my battery in roughly one and a half hours. When I contacted Apple, I really just got snubbed. They claimed that the PMU wasn't "calibrated" right and I needed to drain the battery to zero, reset the firmware, then charge back up to 100%. No change (and that even sounds like a bad idea with lithium ion batterries). Anyone have any luck getting replacements in light of horrible performance?
-- Why bother.
Re:I wish I could get a replacement...
by
MarcQuadra
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· Score: 2, Informative
Well if you mistreat your battery it wil do that. It's not just Apple either. I killed one battery by leaving the PowerBook in the car in the summer, and an iBook battery by forgetting it overnight in the winter (we had some -5 degree nights last winter). I also killed a cell batery on one of those occasions, and a Compaq LiIon battery on another.
A great way to kill your batteries is to let them sit when they're discharged. LiIon needs to be charged as much as possible. We lost about forty batteries at my work last summer because nobody plugged the laptop carts in after the end of school.
-- "Sometimes, I think Trent just needs a cup of hot chocolate and a blankie."
-Tori Amos on Nine Inch Nails
Re:I wish I could get a replacement...
by
Lethyos
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· Score: 1
Well if you mistreat your battery it wil do that.
And could you explain to me how I've abused my battery? Is using the laptop the same as abuse? When I say "idle", I was describing the state of the system, not what I was doing with the laptop. Imagine I'm reading Slashdot or some document, as opposed to, say, a code-compile-debug development cycle.
I killed one battery by leaving the PowerBook in the car in the summer, and an iBook battery by forgetting it overnight in the winter...
I have kept this laptop in excellent environmental conditions. Always at room temperature (aside from heat generated by the components, of course).
A great way to kill your batteries is to let them sit when they're discharged. LiIon needs to be charged as much as possible.
When I am using my laptop in the presence of external power, it is running on external power, plain and simple. I only run it off the battery when I am on the road or just need to use it for a couple of minutes and I see no need to whip out the external power supply. So yes, I know that you should keep Li-ion charged as much as possible and use the battery as little as possible.
So what remains a mystery to me--despite an insult from a previous poster and an assumption on your part that I abuse my hardware--is why my battery is in such bad shape?
-- Why bother.
Re:I wish I could get a replacement...
by
geekoid
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· Score: 1
I think the poster was just giving you some information. Not saying you abused you battery, just that abuse can casue the battery life to shorten.
Assuming everything was done right on your side, recharge, good enviroment, etc . . then I think you have a manufacturer defect.
To answer your sig:
3 letters short of a full alphabet.
-- The Kruger Dunning explains most post on/. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
Re:I wish I could get a replacement...
by
AKnightCowboy
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· Score: 1
A great way to kill your batteries is to let them sit when they're discharged. LiIon needs to be charged as much as possible.
Really now? So it's not bad I leave my iBook plugged in 24/7 at home? I guess not since I still get about 4 hours of battery life, just like when I bought it 2 years ago.
Re:I wish I could get a replacement...
by
MarcQuadra
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· Score: 1
I didn't mean to come off as condescending. My apologies.
I use Occam's Razor, in which the reason a person's stuff is broken is probably the simplest reason: they abused it.
In your case, it seems like you got a somewhat bunk battery, or there's something wrong with your box.
In any case, you'll have to go out and buy a battery now. Are there folks making third-party PowerBook battery units?
-- "Sometimes, I think Trent just needs a cup of hot chocolate and a blankie."
-Tori Amos on Nine Inch Nails
Re:I wish I could get a replacement...
by
MarcQuadra
·
· Score: 1
That's right!
LiIon oxidizes when it runs low, permanently damaging it.
It's best to leave them plugged-in as much as possible, and if the machine ever foces itself to sleep, you need to get it to a power adapter ASAP and LEAVE IT PLUGGED IN until it's fully charged. That calibrates the battery!
-- "Sometimes, I think Trent just needs a cup of hot chocolate and a blankie."
-Tori Amos on Nine Inch Nails
Re:I wish I could get a replacement...
by
Lethyos
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· Score: 1
I didn't mean to come off as condescending. My apologies.
You have my apologies as well. There's definitely something to be said for posting comments when you are A) not stressed, B) not extremely stressed, and C) not really fucking stressed.:) Sorry for jumping down your throat like that.
In your case, it seems like you got a somewhat bunk battery, or there's something wrong with your box.
Well, I guess one of the things I'm looking to learn here is whether or not I am expecting too much. First, the PowerBook is definitely a power hog. Huge display, fast disk, two fans, wireless, et cetera. This kind of machine definitely puts a heavy load on the power source. I complain because my crappy old Dell got much better life, of course, then again it had a tiny display and a huge brick of a battery. So, am I really being too picky?
-- Why bother.
Re:I wish I could get a replacement...
by
n8_f
·
· Score: 1
Li-Ions are the best battery tech out there as far as energy density, but they are also the flakiest and most temperamental. Each one has a computer chip inside to regulate power flow because of how flaky they are. I have had pretty good luck with them, but I have definitely had dogs that were down to no life after a few months. Every manufacturing process has defects and considering that they start deteriorating as soon as they are manufactured, it is very easy to understand that a defect or even just sitting on the shelf too long could cause a few to go bad.
You aren't expecting too much from the battery, I have several friends with 15" Al PBs and 2.5 to 3 hours with Airport, etc. But you are expecting too much from the manufacturing process. Defects happen and it sucks when it happens to you, but it had to happen to somebody. And laptop makers are very reluctant to replace batteries, because they all fail sooner or later.
Does AppleCare replace batteries?
Re:I wish I could get a replacement...
by
sciencewhiz
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· Score: 1
If you are doing long term storage, you shouldn't leave them either fully charged or fully discharged. IBM recommends 40% and Apple recommends 50%.
Re:I wish I could get a replacement...
by
MarcQuadra
·
· Score: 1
true, but from experience, it's not so bad to fully charge them before storing them.
If I had only a few machines to deal with I'd be going for 50%, but I've got over 70 batteries here, and it would take a LONG time to get them all calibrated (up to 100%) and then discharge them to 50%. I'm trying to minimize battery loss while also minimizing the time I spend fiddling with this aspect of my job.
-- "Sometimes, I think Trent just needs a cup of hot chocolate and a blankie."
-Tori Amos on Nine Inch Nails
Okay, lets just get the low hanging fruit out of the way...
If you've been letting your PowerBook rest on your lap, you'd better hope the low-hanging fruit was already out of the way.
Alt. use for defective battery - practical jokes
by
IronChefMorimoto
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· Score: 2, Funny
My friend was over at my place last night gaming with one of the affected Macs. Lo and behold, the battery was hot as hell after a few hours. I think I could find a use for the defective battery, though.
Run laptop for 2 hours. Remove battery. Find sleeping roommate/spouse. Put hot battery in roommate's/spouse's left hand. Watch person piss themselves. Retrieve battery. Laugh.
It's a lot simpler than using the warm water/left-hand/piss in your pants trick, since no one will ever suspect the battery.;-)
Of course, if you're doing this to your spouse (considered the joke on wife last night), you probably shouldn't be allowed to have a computer anyway until you get out of therapy.
IronChefMorimoto
Illustration of where to find the numbers
by
dynayellow
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· Score: 1
IBM vs. Apple Notebooks...
by
MsGeek
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· Score: 1, Offtopic
Oh yeah, and the X-series also uses 1.8" hard drives, which are standard on the iPod but not really a standard for notebooks. Might pose a bit of a problem around upgrade time.
I'd rather have a T-series ThinkPad over an X-series. The T-series are the heirs to the 600 series (I currently have a 400MHz 600e) and weigh about five pounds. You can get one with Centrino Inside or Pentium-M with a different wireless chipset. (hint: the Cisco wireless is currently the most Linux friendly of the three available for this machine.)
Actually ThinkPads and PowerBooks/iBooks compare pretty favorably to one another. Both are built to last. The choice between IBM and Apple is more a question of which platform you prefer rather than quality.
BTW both IBM and Apple have had battery problems in the past. The 600 series battery is notorious for losing capacity, and the PB 5300 might have caught fire a few times thanks to a flaw in its LiIon battery.
-- Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
Common AA's
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 2, Funny
This is the bad thing about PROPRIETARY BATTERIES.
Support the engineers who build their devices around common, replaceable batteries. You really can buy lithium-ion cells. And metal-hydride cells.
It is official; Netcraft confirms: Laptop batteries are dying.
One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered Apple community when IDC confirmed that battery model number A1045 has yet again succeeding in burning someone's penis.
---
Sad news, the A1045 is dead at 54.
I just heard some sad news on talk radio - the battery, better known as A1045, was found dead in his Maine home this morning. There weren't any more details yet.
:)
-- I like big butts and I cannot lie.
Re:I thought that was the whole point of buying Ap
by
NiceGeek
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· Score: 1
The draw of getting a new battery is that it has a longer life than an older, well-used battery. Comparing a new battery to one that is a year old, you might get an extra half hour of life out of the new one.
Although you are somewhat right... the fanboys are a little too excited about this one.
Re:IMPOSSIBLE!
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 3, Informative
Actually, it isn't Apple's fault. It's the fault of the battery manufacturer, LG Chem, Ltd. of South Korea; the recall is only on batteries manufactured during the last week of December.
Re:I used to be sold on PowerBooks
by
swimmar132
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
1) Why would that matter for a personal buying decision?
2) You can secure it easily.
3) It's expensive, not sure what you mean by hard to come by. Perhaps you mean that there aren't as many spare parts around?
4) And Linux doesn't have a stigma?
5) This is for early 15 inch powerbooks. Not going to be an issue for newer ones.
Re:I used to be sold on PowerBooks
by
Entropy2016
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
1. "The OS is proprietary, as is the hardware. Expensive and hard to come by." Actually, the OS is only partly proprietary. Darwin (the part that "has teh UNIX!") is open.
2. "The elitist stigma that would come with owning one." Mac users can't be elitists because elitists think they're better. We know we're better. (it's a joke, laugh!)
OT - Re:double standard
by
DarthWiggle
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· Score: 1
The same dynamic is at work in the rest of the world.
"If a Democrat tries an idea that doesn't quite work right it's because liberals are the devil. If a Republican does something that goes unexpectedly, it's because they're too patriotic and trying to push freedom and democracy."
(and, to be fair) "If a Republican tries an idea that doesn't quite work right, it's because George Bush, Condi Rice, Don Rumsfeld, and Paul Wolfowitz are the devil (but Colin Powell is still a decent man in a tough situation). If a Democrat has some unexpected instability, it's because they're too progressive and compassionate to worry about getting things right all the time."
I mean, really, this is all about demonizing. Welcome to 2004, the pinnacle of consumerist xenophobia.
Re:I used to be sold on PowerBooks
by
Erik+Hollensbe
·
· Score: 1
1) FreeBSD is most certainly UNIX. (Heck, most of the manpages haven't even been modified) 2) Do you plan on using a laptop as your firewall? 3) Actually, there are just as many advantages to this as disadvantages. Weighing them for their benefits is really what it's all about. 4) It sounds like your opinion is based more on how users of the system act and their opinions of the system rather than your opinion of the system. 5) I don't know about you, but I look forward to trading in a 6 month old battery for a brand new one, for free. Especially since they ship first. Any other situation, I have insurance and a great support plan.
Too bad this recall doesn't include my powerbook's battery... one of the early jaguar updates broke my battery somehow... I've read of other users experiencing the same thing. After the update, the battery's status isn't acurate by any stretch of the imagination. The thing stays at 99% and when it gets close to dying, it just turns off. No warning. Nothing.
It's not a software issue. I've reformatted several times. And it's not a hardware issue, because when I put my battery into my mom's powerbook, the same thing happens on hers. And when I put her battery in mine, it works as expected. blah. sucks.
If it happens in 2 different laptops, then it's the battery, not the software. It is possible that you need to go through the calibration procedure again (Listed in the owners guide for the Powerbook). Otherwise, the battery is probably on it's way to the Charger in the Sky.
Li-Ion/Li-Polymer batteries have a certain life expectancy, after which they won't hold a charge perfectly, and their output voltage fluctuates more than usual, which is what makes the battery meter go wonky.
I've run my battery down and fully charged it a hundred times since this started happening... the battery's charge-o-meter must be dead. Even the little green LEDs on the bottom always read either full (when it has any charge) or empty (when the machine goes to sleep).
The Jaguar update could have killed your battery. My iBook's battery developed that same problem after I installed 10.2.4 -- I was at a friends place downloading stuff from his fileserver and at 50% it just died. The next time, 65% remaining. Within a couple weeks it was gone at 95% remaining. I still had applecare (which I should have bought when the 1st year was up but didn't) and got a fresh battery out of it.
I still have applecare... yay for the extended plan!
--
...spike Ewwwwww, coconut...
Re:I used to be sold on PowerBooks
by
GlassHeart
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
1) Extremely annoying Mac zealots chanting "It has teh UNIX!" when they have no clue what that means.
There are extremely annoying Windows and Linux users as well. There are even extremely annoying people who don't use computers. So what?
2) "Total Cost of 0wnership" study showing how laughably weak MacOS is, even though "it has teh UNIX!"
Sorry, what are you referring to?
3) The OS is proprietary, as is the hardware. Expensive and hard to come by.
Yes, the OS and hardware are proprietary. That's not going to change.
Expensive is relative. For some people, dealing with Linux (for example) is an expensive proposition as well, which can involve spending considerable time and money learning it. There's also the question of resale value, where Macs do considerably better than PCs of similar age. (Whether you consider it lunacy or not, a 400 MHz PowerMac circa 2000 fetches about the same price as a brand new 2.4GHz Dell desktop.)
Hard to come by? Apple sells computers right on its website, if you don't have a retailer near you. Recent Macs use standard hard drives, RAM, as well as various Firewire and USB peripherals.
4) The elitist stigma that would come with owning one. (I don't think they'll sell you one unless you have an aloof attitude, a goatee and a pair of those fashionably thick-framed rectangular eyeglasses.)
Wow, you really do let image get in the way of your computer purchase decisions. You are even more like those you criticize - yeah, those who buy Macs because of their pretty cases - than many actual Mac owners.
Apple is just as susceptible to flaws like this as anyone else. I prefer the more ubiquitous and affordable hardware.
That's certainly your right, but you don't have a right to dress up that personal preference in pseudo-technical babble.
You want a low up-front cost. Great, but that doesn't mean a computer with a higher up-front cost has a low value.
You want the most common hardware. Great, but that doesn't mean another computer is "hard to come by".
You want non-proprietary software. Great, but that doesn't mean you can't run Linux or a Mac, or that you're not paying Microsoft when you buy that Dell. Want a PC without paying Microsoft? You may find the selection to be as limited as Macs.
Finally, you don't like the image of Mac owners and zealots. Great, but your insecurities are your own.
Re:Common AA's - they are
by
adzoox
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· Score: 4, Informative
Actually, the cells in these batteries ARE replaceable - they are common double AA's. (It has been disputed they may not be, but I have actually taken a G4 battery apart - rechargeable Lithium Ion Batteries) I wish they'd make the casing easier to split apart though.
That's just lame. I buy the damn thing from Apple, not from LG. You might as well say Apple (or Dell or HP) laptop failures are never their faults, it's the fault of Quanta or Compal or Alphatop who manufacture them.
404
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 2, Funny
i had a battery with serial HQ404 but i cant find it anywhere:(
I used to work for a digital imaging specialist reseller, we had a 1st Generation Kodak SLR digital camera to demo to customers, it had a RRP of around A$25,000.
One day before a demo, it was sitting on a table, switched off and not connected to anything when it subbenly burst into flames. The battery had shorted out and melted the entire back of the camera body into slag. It was quite spectacular. The unit got sent over to Rochester for Kodak to disect to try and work out what went wrong.
I can't actually remember if the potential customer ever bought one or not.
-- Sara Designer, Gamer, Macgrrl in an XP World
Re:I used to be sold on PowerBooks
by
geekoid
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· Score: 1
"There's also the question of resale value, where Macs do considerably better than PCs of similar age." If it's so great, whay are you reselling it? Huh? gotcha fan boY! hahaha... heh;)
If there are two systems, and they both do what you want, the more expensive one does have less value.
"Want a PC without paying Microsoft? "
There are lots of ways of doing this.
Also, MS gets money for every Mac sold. Just thought you would like to know.
-- The Kruger Dunning explains most post on/. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
The defective batteries were manufactured the last week of 2003. Get the feeling the regular (senior) QC people were taking the whole week off and the poor slobs at the bottom of the totem pole were stuck at work during the holiday?
(yes, both Christmas and New Years Day are Korean holidays)
Re:I used to be sold on PowerBooks
by
GlassHeart
·
· Score: 1
If it's so great, whay are you reselling it? Huh? gotcha fan boY! hahaha... heh;)
People sell things for any number of reasons. You might be leaving town, or now need a much faster CPU, or need the cash, or need the desk space, or need to run PC-only software, or your new spouse already has a Mac.
If there are two systems, and they both do what you want, the more expensive one does have less value.
Absolutely, but you must remember that the price tag is not the total cost. The total cost includes things like downtime, wasted time, irritation, and resale value. It's dishonest to count a $1,500 Mac as less value than a $1,000 PC if the resale value of the Mac is $500 and the PC's is $0.
There are lots of ways of [buying Microsoft-free PCs].
If you want to buy a Mac today, you have five models of laptops, two all-in-one's (not counting what will probably be three iMac models when they return), and three desktop models. How many different models of Microsoft-free PCs can you name?
Also, MS gets money for every Mac sold.
I wasn't arguing that buying a Mac doesn't pay Microsoft. I was arguing that buying most PCs will not avoid paying for proprietary software, which is what the person I was responding to wanted. I personally have no problem paying for commercial software.
Re:Common AA's - they are
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 1, Insightful
The PowerBook in the X-ray is at least 2 1/2 years old, though (you can see it's a VGA TiBook). And the newer PBG4s require a different battery pack, which for all I know could have some wacky kind of cell inside it.
Slashdot Mirror
I love baked Apples.
Well, it keeps my lap nice and warm, since I couldn't afford my heating bill after purchasing the powerbook... ;)
Gotta get your priorities straight, s'all.
feh. stuff.
I have the phrase "HQ405" burned into the top of my thigh... All the chicks think it's a prison tatoo.
-- "A chicken is an egg's way of making another egg."
ZDNet Story
Forbes
I had always felt there was an overheating problem. People in the newsgroups and suggested that I recondition my battery... which maybe helped some.
Anyway, glad to know that I'll be getting a new battery out of it.
AC
No good posts will come from this thread.
1. Go to store and by some hard Caramel candy, at least a pound
2. Place pieces unwrapped on keyboard of Powerbook and turn on. Place the pieces on every other key to allow maximum coverage of Caramel
3. Let over heat and allow Caramel to spread
4. Enjoy!
Friends help you move...
REAL Friends help you move dead bodies... ^_^
I have a powerbook, and I love it, but after using it on my lap for 30 minutes, I can't have children anymore.
For a company that puts so much emphasis on portable devices, Apple certainly has a lot of problems with batteries.
Hmm HQ... cant see the rest. Its melted away. How do I tell?
never mind.
An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
Just goes to show that there is nothing new under the sun. It has happened before. Rather annoying and shameful for Apple that is should happen again in one of the most popular powerbooks.
----- One learns to itch where one can scratch.
I didn't know Apple started putting Intel chips in their Powerbooks.
Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.
At least they manufactured these batteries using the improved Li-ion technology, if it was the older style it wouldnt just overheat, it'd most likely start a runaway reaction that would end in quite toasted laptops. I think it was 150 Degrees F or so that this would start at, i know i heard of several cell phones left in hot cars that did this, and at least 1 nokia that burnt up while charging.
drunk chemists
But that's just natural selection eliminating Mac users from the genetic pool.
Reminds me of that ebay auction for a laptop cooling pad where the headline was "Don't burn your penis". Does anyone have a screenshot of that?
I think "don't burn your penis" is good general advice as well, not just in regards to laptops.
This time it's not supposed to burst into flames, just overheat.
Here, lemme just pop out the battery and check my serial numb
I'm going on an international flight next week. Does this mean that I'll get stopped by security when I try to take my Powerbook through? :-)
They do ydl.net.
Guy #1: "Man this Powerbook is HOT."
Guy #2: "Yeah, it is pretty sexy I guess."
Guy #1: "No, I mean it is singeing my pubes dude."
This wouldn't help the problem with a battery. Oh and the powerbook can run linux! http://www.yellowdoglinux.com/
2. In Soviet Union, Powerbook burns you!
Wait, so here in the West, I burn the Powerbook? I think you got it backwards...
Moo.
ah i think the soviet one has to be backwards. powerbook burns you in US, so... in Soviet Russia, YOU BURN POWERBOOK!
Dude. Joke. I will put an emoticon next time so everyone knows. :) See? It works!
serial number series A1045 is under the recall, too.
this is my sig
heh...dunno how you guys do it, but me and my friends normally wear pants when using computers...in the same room ;-)
In any product, but espescially those designed for power consumption and size constraints, you're going to have issues.
Plainly, this stuff is just plain hard to do. Granted, Apple could probably test more sufficently, but I'd wager they test thier product designs much more thoroughly than certain other companies.
Of course, too much time testing, and they're missed the market window, and someone else eats thier pie..
feh. stuff.
Jesus, everyone blows that out of proportion, like 5300's were exploding left and right. It happened in an Apple test lab, with a PREPRODUCTION model, with a DEFECTIVE BATTERY supplied by the battery manufacturer. I have no idea where MacNN got that it was two batteries.
Not a single customer was affected by the problem- Apple took the precautionary measure of switching to NiMH after the problem, and most people never even saw a Lithium Ion battery in their 5300.
So, I ask, how could they possibly have handled the problem any better, mmm? Comparing it to the iPod battery bit, which was not handled as well- is absurd.
Please help metamoderate.
New battery? For free? Ahh, kick ass!!!!!
Those third degree burns are finally starting to pay off!!!!
I'm writing my letter now! I think it's an FAA issue, and not a TSA issue, but the TSA could be on the look-out for those power adapters if the traveller is using a PowerBook.
Best Buy can have you arrested
He was very drunk...
Best Slashdot Co
Hmm, that is an interesting point.
I wonder how apple came to the decision to use this specific battery - e.g. if it was, as you say, soley a financial decision, or there were other, more complicated reasons for it.
Personally, I'd be willing to shell out a couple hundred extra for.. high quality components, e.g. not the cheapest, but the best manufactured and tested.
Can anybody reccomend a computer manufacturer that does this?
feh. stuff.
See, there's the fanboy spin!
They aren't just replacing a defective (and potentially very dangerous) part, nor are they providing the expected warrantee services, they're giving you something for free! How nice of them!
"The tires sold with the car were defective, and the treads seperated at highway speeds, and I'm now a quadrapalegic and both my children are dead. But check it out, Ford's giving me free tires! What an AWESOME compnay!"
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
But the fact that linux can achieve this same effect in just software really shows the power of open source. (insert keyboard characters to show humor)
"After serial number verification, a new battery will be shipped to you free of charge. When you receive the replacement battery, please use the same shipping envelope and included prepaid shipping label to return the recalled battery to Apple."
;-)
How appropriate, they're using an in-the-field hot-swap method.
"The swap's hot, so it doesn't get too hot." (my version of Yogi Berra's logic in the infamous AFLAC Barber Shop commercial.)
But that's just natural selection eliminating Mac users from the genetic pool.
One could argue that they were never in the gene pool to begin with.
Disconnect your television. Do your own research. Draw your own conclusions. They're probably lying. Don't be a sheep.
at least it's not a Con Ed manhole cover.
you're supposed to buy one complete product, from one company, that integrates top notch components for a premium.
In reality, Apple only manufactures the motherboard... and puts the Apple logo on the side.
You're really paying for the design and the OS.
My advice? If you want high quality components, build your own computer. Learning that, saves up a lot of money.
-- "I'm not a religious man, but if you're up there, save me Superman..."
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
"I actually saw a salesguy at the Apple Store try to sell a Powerbook while it was on fire! True story. The customer was hesitant at first, but when he offered to throw in a refurbished 5GB iPod with spare battery assembly kit for an additional $179, the customer caved in.
n ted iPod)
Another AppleStore salesguy chimed in and moved in to assist. He added that this Powerbook will virtually seemlessly integrate to the 2007 BMW 6 series."
Total cost of Mac ownership:
$2199(powerbook)
+$179(refurb/discou
+$45999-67000 estimated MSRP(BMW 6Series)options vary
TCO = ~49000-70000 USDollars.
This independent case study brought to you buy MSFT/Dell.
If you think
Reminds me of Microsoft:
...
Windows 95
Windows 98
Windows ME
Okay, that's a little harsh, I'm sorry...
Got a letter from Verizon and LG saying they got a bunch of "fake" LG batteries that they were recalling due to overheating.
The lengths they went to to emphasize the batteries were not really LG made me wonder...
Lies about crimes
Yeah... it is harsh for you to expose us to the memory of Windows ME! How dare you?
Step 3.5: Bake Powerbook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Wouldn't common sense dictate you want them to plug into the system and remove the battery?
I must have a dead battery. Explains why my P-P-P-PowerBook won't turn on.
Let me say that these batteries suck ass. I don't know if anyone else has had similar experiences with their 15" TiPB (please comment here if you have) where battery life seems to drop like a stone even when the laptop is asleep. It used to last nearly three hours, and that was even under heavy load. Now adays, not even a year after my purchase, just sitting idle will kill my battery in roughly one and a half hours. When I contacted Apple, I really just got snubbed. They claimed that the PMU wasn't "calibrated" right and I needed to drain the battery to zero, reset the firmware, then charge back up to 100%. No change (and that even sounds like a bad idea with lithium ion batterries). Anyone have any luck getting replacements in light of horrible performance?
Why bother.
In other news, air cooled by the frigid waters deep in Lake Ontario started bringing relief to G4 Powerbooks in downtown Toronto on Tuesday after the valves were symbolically opened on the multi-million-dollar project. http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/08/1 8/0056252&tid=126&tid=14
"Don't waste your time or time will waste you" -MUSE
My friend was over at my place last night gaming with one of the affected Macs. Lo and behold, the battery was hot as hell after a few hours. I think I could find a use for the defective battery, though.
;-)
Run laptop for 2 hours. Remove battery. Find sleeping roommate/spouse. Put hot battery in roommate's/spouse's left hand. Watch person piss themselves. Retrieve battery. Laugh.
It's a lot simpler than using the warm water/left-hand/piss in your pants trick, since no one will ever suspect the battery.
Of course, if you're doing this to your spouse (considered the joke on wife last night), you probably shouldn't be allowed to have a computer anyway until you get out of therapy.
IronChefMorimoto
Oooh, purdy pictures
But I hate roasted nuts!
I'd rather have a T-series ThinkPad over an X-series. The T-series are the heirs to the 600 series (I currently have a 400MHz 600e) and weigh about five pounds. You can get one with Centrino Inside or Pentium-M with a different wireless chipset. (hint: the Cisco wireless is currently the most Linux friendly of the three available for this machine.)
Actually ThinkPads and PowerBooks/iBooks compare pretty favorably to one another. Both are built to last. The choice between IBM and Apple is more a question of which platform you prefer rather than quality.
BTW both IBM and Apple have had battery problems in the past. The 600 series battery is notorious for losing capacity, and the PB 5300 might have caught fire a few times thanks to a flaw in its LiIon battery.
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
This is the bad thing about PROPRIETARY BATTERIES .
Support the engineers who build their devices around common, replaceable batteries. You really can buy lithium-ion cells. And metal-hydride cells.
It is official; Netcraft confirms: Laptop batteries are dying.
One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered Apple community when IDC confirmed that battery model number A1045 has yet again succeeding in burning someone's penis.
---
Sad news, the A1045 is dead at 54.
I just heard some sad news on talk radio - the battery, better known as A1045, was found dead in his Maine home this morning. There weren't any more details yet.
I like big butts and I cannot lie.
Good advice...now how do I build my own laptop?
While we're on the subject, how's IBM's track record?
-- "I'm not a religious man, but if you're up there, save me Superman..."
Your tire analogy isn't really appropriate here.
The draw of getting a new battery is that it has a longer life than an older, well-used battery. Comparing a new battery to one that is a year old, you might get an extra half hour of life out of the new one.
Although you are somewhat right... the fanboys are a little too excited about this one.
Actually, it isn't Apple's fault. It's the fault of the battery manufacturer, LG Chem, Ltd. of South Korea; the recall is only on batteries manufactured during the last week of December.
1) Why would that matter for a personal buying decision?
2) You can secure it easily.
3) It's expensive, not sure what you mean by hard to come by. Perhaps you mean that there aren't as many spare parts around?
4) And Linux doesn't have a stigma?
5) This is for early 15 inch powerbooks. Not going to be an issue for newer ones.
1. "The OS is proprietary, as is the hardware. Expensive and hard to come by."
Actually, the OS is only partly proprietary. Darwin (the part that "has teh UNIX!") is open.
2. "The elitist stigma that would come with owning one."
Mac users can't be elitists because elitists think they're better. We know we're better. (it's a joke, laugh!)
The same dynamic is at work in the rest of the world.
"If a Democrat tries an idea that doesn't quite work right it's because liberals are the devil. If a Republican does something that goes unexpectedly, it's because they're too patriotic and trying to push freedom and democracy."
(and, to be fair)
"If a Republican tries an idea that doesn't quite work right, it's because George Bush, Condi Rice, Don Rumsfeld, and Paul Wolfowitz are the devil (but Colin Powell is still a decent man in a tough situation). If a Democrat has some unexpected instability, it's because they're too progressive and compassionate to worry about getting things right all the time."
I mean, really, this is all about demonizing. Welcome to 2004, the pinnacle of consumerist xenophobia.
1) FreeBSD is most certainly UNIX. (Heck, most of the manpages haven't even been modified)
2) Do you plan on using a laptop as your firewall?
3) Actually, there are just as many advantages to this as disadvantages. Weighing them for their benefits is really what it's all about.
4) It sounds like your opinion is based more on how users of the system act and their opinions of the system rather than your opinion of the system.
5) I don't know about you, but I look forward to trading in a 6 month old battery for a brand new one, for free. Especially since they ship first. Any other situation, I have insurance and a great support plan.
Too bad this recall doesn't include my powerbook's battery... one of the early jaguar updates broke my battery somehow... I've read of other users experiencing the same thing. After the update, the battery's status isn't acurate by any stretch of the imagination. The thing stays at 99% and when it gets close to dying, it just turns off. No warning. Nothing.
It's not a software issue. I've reformatted several times. And it's not a hardware issue, because when I put my battery into my mom's powerbook, the same thing happens on hers. And when I put her battery in mine, it works as expected. blah. sucks.
...spike
Ewwwwww, coconut...
There are extremely annoying Windows and Linux users as well. There are even extremely annoying people who don't use computers. So what?
2) "Total Cost of 0wnership" study showing how laughably weak MacOS is, even though "it has teh UNIX!"
Sorry, what are you referring to?
3) The OS is proprietary, as is the hardware. Expensive and hard to come by.
Yes, the OS and hardware are proprietary. That's not going to change.
Expensive is relative. For some people, dealing with Linux (for example) is an expensive proposition as well, which can involve spending considerable time and money learning it. There's also the question of resale value, where Macs do considerably better than PCs of similar age. (Whether you consider it lunacy or not, a 400 MHz PowerMac circa 2000 fetches about the same price as a brand new 2.4GHz Dell desktop.)
Hard to come by? Apple sells computers right on its website, if you don't have a retailer near you. Recent Macs use standard hard drives, RAM, as well as various Firewire and USB peripherals.
4) The elitist stigma that would come with owning one. (I don't think they'll sell you one unless you have an aloof attitude, a goatee and a pair of those fashionably thick-framed rectangular eyeglasses.)
Wow, you really do let image get in the way of your computer purchase decisions. You are even more like those you criticize - yeah, those who buy Macs because of their pretty cases - than many actual Mac owners.
Apple is just as susceptible to flaws like this as anyone else. I prefer the more ubiquitous and affordable hardware.
That's certainly your right, but you don't have a right to dress up that personal preference in pseudo-technical babble.
You want a low up-front cost. Great, but that doesn't mean a computer with a higher up-front cost has a low value.
You want the most common hardware. Great, but that doesn't mean another computer is "hard to come by".
You want non-proprietary software. Great, but that doesn't mean you can't run Linux or a Mac, or that you're not paying Microsoft when you buy that Dell. Want a PC without paying Microsoft? You may find the selection to be as limited as Macs.
Finally, you don't like the image of Mac owners and zealots. Great, but your insecurities are your own.
Actually, the cells in these batteries ARE replaceable - they are common double AA's. (It has been disputed they may not be, but I have actually taken a G4 battery apart - rechargeable Lithium Ion Batteries) I wish they'd make the casing easier to split apart though.
See an xray here
Yell & scream & rant & rave... it's no use... you need a shaaaave ~ Bugs Bunny
That's just lame. I buy the damn thing from Apple, not from LG. You might as well say Apple (or Dell or HP) laptop failures are never their faults, it's the fault of Quanta or Compal or Alphatop who manufacture them.
i had a battery with serial HQ404 but i cant find it anywhere :(
I used to work for a digital imaging specialist reseller, we had a 1st Generation Kodak SLR digital camera to demo to customers, it had a RRP of around A$25,000.
One day before a demo, it was sitting on a table, switched off and not connected to anything when it subbenly burst into flames. The battery had shorted out and melted the entire back of the camera body into slag. It was quite spectacular. The unit got sent over to Rochester for Kodak to disect to try and work out what went wrong.
I can't actually remember if the potential customer ever bought one or not.
Sara
Designer, Gamer, Macgrrl in an XP World
"There's also the question of resale value, where Macs do considerably better than PCs of similar age."
If it's so great, whay are you reselling it? Huh? gotcha fan boY! hahaha... heh;)
If there are two systems, and they both do what you want, the more expensive one does have less value.
"Want a PC without paying Microsoft? "
There are lots of ways of doing this.
Also, MS gets money for every Mac sold.
Just thought you would like to know.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
The defective batteries were manufactured the last week of 2003. Get the feeling the regular (senior) QC people were taking the whole week off and the poor slobs at the bottom of the totem pole were stuck at work during the holiday? (yes, both Christmas and New Years Day are Korean holidays)
People sell things for any number of reasons. You might be leaving town, or now need a much faster CPU, or need the cash, or need the desk space, or need to run PC-only software, or your new spouse already has a Mac.
If there are two systems, and they both do what you want, the more expensive one does have less value.
Absolutely, but you must remember that the price tag is not the total cost. The total cost includes things like downtime, wasted time, irritation, and resale value. It's dishonest to count a $1,500 Mac as less value than a $1,000 PC if the resale value of the Mac is $500 and the PC's is $0.
There are lots of ways of [buying Microsoft-free PCs].
If you want to buy a Mac today, you have five models of laptops, two all-in-one's (not counting what will probably be three iMac models when they return), and three desktop models. How many different models of Microsoft-free PCs can you name?
Also, MS gets money for every Mac sold.
I wasn't arguing that buying a Mac doesn't pay Microsoft. I was arguing that buying most PCs will not avoid paying for proprietary software, which is what the person I was responding to wanted. I personally have no problem paying for commercial software.
The PowerBook in the X-ray is at least 2 1/2 years old, though (you can see it's a VGA TiBook). And the newer PBG4s require a different battery pack, which for all I know could have some wacky kind of cell inside it.
FWIW
not the same AC as the grandparent
In Soviet Russia, All Your Batteries Are Discharged By Us, You Insensitive Clod!
Not everything that can be measured matters; Not everything that matters can be measured.
Mine's HQ341. Suckers!
I am feeling fat and sassy