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Apple Powerbook and iBook Battery Recall
doubleacr writes "The Register is reporting that Apple is recalling batteries in 12 and 15 inch Powerbook and 12 inch iBooks sold between October 2004 and May 2005. Apple has set up a page with info on model number and serial numbers of batteries affected, and also how to get a replacement."
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I could have had the first post, but I realized that my recent ibook was effected. Went to the site and filled out the form in about 5 minutes. Deffinitly hassle free so everyone who has a relativly recient ibook 12" 14" or power book 12" should go there asap and get their free replacement battery.
I haven't a clue what the solution to this is, but with the explosion of notebook sales, I think we're going to be seeing A LOT of these kinds of problems
Free MacMini
WE always had problems with the batteries and logic boards going out like crazy. Would anyone care to wager a guess why?
They're mainly manufactured in Guadalahara, Mexico. Cheap labor and poor standards controls usually equals poor products.
One out of three laptops actually made it past the Cashmere test after repairs, due to defective parts. (Bad onboard USB/Firewire, IDE controller, etc.) And people wonder why Apple products are so expensive. They're spending more in repairs than almost anything else.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
That's a lot better company support than Fight Club math:
If a new car built by my company leaves Chicago traveling west at 60 miles per hour, and the rear differential locks up, and the car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside, does my company initiate a recall?
You take the population of vehicles in the field (A) and multiply it by the probable rate of failure (B), then multiply the result by the average cost of an out-of-court settlement (C).
A times B times C equals X. This is what it will cost if we don't initiate a recall.
If X is greater than the cost of a recall, we recall the cars and no one gets hurt.
If X is less than the cost of a recall, then we don't recall.
It only sounds like a stupid question. However many laptop power supplies are designed with the assumption that there will be this big battery installed acting as a capacitor. So the power supply just sends in dirty power, letting the battery smooth out all the noise into a nice steady DC current.
That is why you leave your old, dead, battery in your laptop even though it gives at most a second of runtime - it still make the power better.
That looks more 'slightly shotgunned' than burnt from an exploding battery.
I'd day the danger is pretty real. I work for a battery maker (A competitor of LG, makers of these 'hot' ones), and we've had some sketchy shit happen that didn't result in a recall. I'd have to guess that the problem is fairly serious.
I know for a fact that Apple won't issue a recall like this unless there is a clear danger.
492 cycles here. nearly a cycle a day since I've owned the thing. I am still getting a little over 1/2 the life it came with, but have a new one that's only been drained and charged for regular maintenance. Apple recommends fully draining the battery and recharging it at least once a month to keep it from going into some sort of deep discharges state.
I'll keep this one till it is absolutely pointless to use anymore, since about 1/2 of my time I am using it on AC power, the battery only needs to last a couple hours at a time. No point in hurting the nice battery until this one's life is completely gone.
what exactly is a battery cycle? the number of time you've charged it? what happens if you charge it at half-full... is it only a half cycle? or is it just estimated?
Your CPU is not doing anything else, at least do something.
Looks like there's something missing in that analysis--lost business if the consumer ever discovers you doing that. Just ask Firestone, or former Ford CEO Jacques Nasser.
In Repressive Burma, it's not just your connection that dies. slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=314547&cid=20819199
The issue at hand has nothing to do with being perfect. Such a comparison is a way to railroad people into accepting your conclusion without any real consideration of alternatives. It says that on the one hand we have Apple with whatever behavior they wish to engage in, on the other we have perfection. Since perfection is never available anywhere for anything, the perfection "alternative" goes away leaving only what was offered first; thus there is really no alternative at all.
You're also trying to position convenience above ethical treatment of other people and this is very dangerous position. People of a variety of political standpoints agree that Nike products are manufactured by underpaid workers who labor in unreasonable working conditions, earning far less than a living wage. Nike makes a great deal of money on the backs of workers who are treated unethically. See the evidence presented in the book and movie "The Corporation" for first-hand accounts and price evidence retreived from Nike's garbage.
Yet Nike products are sold at most athletic shoe stores. We are not better off by encouraging people to do business with Nike because what they offer is convenient. Particularly for those wealthy enough to afford Nike shoes (or Apple computers), other options are available which will serve a comparable function.
In the software realm, we are better off by doing what we can to encourage writing more free software, software which respects the users ability to share and modify programs, and we are also better off by doing away with software patents entirely. We should encourage hacking on free software to make it easier to use for most people most of the time. But we cannot afford to believe (as so many who frequent this site do) that ethical treatment of people is separable from computer software, or that technical convenience should trump how we treat other people.
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