Why I Hate laptops.

[GoEatFood]

alright, so I went out and got a powerbook G4.

after use for a week, I have had programs freeze more times than I can count, the "superdrive" doesn't work, and the airport card seems to be faulty as I randomly get DCed and the signal goes up and down even when I am in the same spot.

the only thing I can say is I'm glad I didn't cancel my order for my ThinkPad and if it's anywhere near the same quality as the PowerBook I refuse to get a laptop for a long while. hopefully, they won't charge me the 15% restocking fee for returning the powerbook as the superdrive was faulty and the crappy airport card seems a bit screwed.

The only thing I've found wrong with thinkpads are the waitt to receive it and the service...which shouldn't really be a problem one I get it.

[yukit]

I just got my PowerBook (ok, it is supposed to be my wife's).

It is a 12" superdrive model. Came with Tiger preinstalled. No problems with Airport connection (was a pain to type in the hex WEP key though). So far so good.

Your PowerBook may have been a lemon.

Thinkpads are not without flaws, but they have a good service if something goes wrong. I needed to replace my battery because it stopped charging only after 3 months. My coworker needed a new motherboard in his 1 month old T42.

[Bob Collins]

alright, so I went out and got a powerbook G4.

after use for a week, I have had programs freeze more times than I can count, the "superdrive" doesn't work, and the airport card seems to be faulty as I randomly get DCed and the signal goes up and down even when I am in the same spot.

So, what version of the OS were you running? Were these apps up to date with your version OS? Are there any compatability problems with the apps? Have you updated the machine to the latest updates?

And saying a dropped wireless link is a problem, is a VERY open ended comment. There are MANY things that may make a wireless link drop. One cannot assume the machine is a problem without fully exploring why there are issues. For example, does your wireless access point support the Apple AirPort cards? It may not, but you get some link anyway.....

The SuperDrive is indeed a problem, they should fix that with no troubles. Just take/send it in and have it addressed. Don't throw the baby (read Powerbook) out with the bathwater....

[K. Eng]

This stuff can happen to any kind of system, notebook or desktop. Return it and get another one.

[GoEatFood]

yeah, every thing was up to date...I was running the latest version of tiger. I think the ram might have been messed up or something also, when using dashboard the widgets would constantly freeze and after closing them the little "x" to close the widget would still be on screen...

as for the airport card being a little messed up even while at the apple store using there wifi it seemed to drop out after a few minutes from the tech looking at it...

also, after the tech looking at it he said there was something seriously wrong with it...I would have thought it would have been cought before they put it out.

[asiafish]

IBM is very good, but they too can make a Lemon. I bought a T20 that ate logic boards ever five months or so, until IBM finally offered to replace it with a new T22.

My last 2 12" PowerBooks (1.0 GHz Combodrive and now 1.5 GHz Superdrive) have both been flawless, while my new T42p needed a new modem and a new hard drive within the first month. Does that mean that the Apple is better? No, it means that MY PARTICULAR ThinkPad had a bad modem and a bad hard drive. Apple buys Hitachi hard drives just like IBM does, and I have no doubt that Apple's failure rate for modems is about the same as IBM's. What really matters is whether or not the company will stand behind their product, and BOTH APPLE AND IBM have excellent reputations for doing just that.

Andrew