Major Battery Recall

[mattbiernat]

check out this letter i got from apple:
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Dear Apple Customer:
Apple has determined that certain lithium-ion rechargeable batteries containing cells manufactured by Sony Corporation of Japan pose a safety risk that may result in overheating. The affected batteries were sold worldwide, in systems and separately, from October 2003 through August 2006 for use with the following computers: 12-inch iBook G4, 12-inch PowerBook G4, 15-inch PowerBook G4.

Apple is voluntarily recalling the affected batteries and has initiated a worldwide exchange program to provide you with a new replacement battery, free of charge. This program is being conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and other international safety authorities.

Issue: The affected batteries could overheat, posing a fire hazard. Apple received nine confirmed reports in the United States of these batteries overheating. Apple urges you to stop using your battery and to order a replacement battery immediately. After removing the recalled battery from the iBook or PowerBook, you should plug in the AC adapter to power the computer until a replacement battery arrives.

Product: Please use the chart below to identify the battery model and serial numbers that apply to your iBook or PowerBook. If the first 5 digits of your battery's 12-digit serial number fall within the noted ranges, please order a replacement battery immediately. To view the model and serial numbers labeled on the bottom of the battery, you must remove the battery from the computer. The battery serial number is printed in black or dark gray lettering beneath a barcode.

No other Apple notebook computers are affected by this recall.
Computer model

Battery model number

Battery serial number range

12-inch iBook G4

A1061

ZZ338 - ZZ427
3K429 - 3K611
6C519 - 6C552 ending with S9WA, S9WC, or S9WD

12-inch PowerBook G4

A1079

ZZ411 - ZZ427
3K428 - 3K611

15-inch PowerBook G4

A1078 and A1148

3K425 - 3K601
6N530 - 6N551 ending with THTA, THTB, or THTC
6N601 ending with THTC

Note: If your battery's serial number does not match any of the ranges listed above, you do not have to exchange your battery.
What to do: To begin the battery exchange process, go to the Apple website at http://support.apple.com/batteryprogram. You will be asked for the serial number of your computer, the serial number of your battery, and a ship-to address. After serial number verification, a new battery will be shipped to you free of charge. You may exchange up to three batteries through the website. When you receive the replacement battery, please use the same shipping packaging and the included prepaid shipping label to return the recalled battery to Apple for proper disposal. If you do not have access to the website listed above, you can call Apple at 800-275-2273 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., central standard time, seven days a week, for further assistance.

Thank you for your cooperation with this exchange program.

Apple

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[dsigma6]

you should plug in the AC adapter to power the computer until a replacement battery arrives.

apple customers need instructions like that?

there have been numerous recalls lately, so i don't remember if i read about this particular one...i thought it was only in japan that the problems were ongoing?

[gearguy]

Apple consumers don't need instructions, they need diagrams.

[mattbiernat]

Apple consumers don't need instructions, they need diagrams.

one of the reasons i don't do apple anymore is because they do as much phony buisness as microsoft and their overpriced entry level notebooks are as cheap as dell.

[gearguy]

Yeah, people who say Macs are better than PC don't know what they're talking about. They've only ever had experienced with really bad PCs, and even if they don't like Windows, there's nothing stopping them from installing an alternate PC operating system, or even hacking up Osx86 if they really want to

[asiafish]

The voice of ignorance, obviously you've never owned a PowerBook.

PowerBooks and the current production MacBook Pros are high-end machines in every way, with excellent design and performance. OS X is also a superior operating system that works perfectly on a real Mac, but is seriously crippled (no sleep and many issues) when hacked to work on non-Apple hardware. Getting those hacks to work is also no easy procedure, not to mention its illegal, as Apple doesn't sell OS X for non-Apple computers.

As for non-Windows PC operating systems, again this is hardly the painless solution for the typical user. Linux and the like are fine for geeks who know how to deal with repositories and packages and are willing to spend time configuring and compiling to make things work, but for the average user who wants to just turn on the computer and get work done. Even the easy distributions aren't that easy. I just spent 4 hours trying to get Ubuntu to play a commercial DVD on my X41 with no luck. Some distributions recognize the Atheros card and others don't. Most "winmodems" like those in our ThinkPads take a major project to get working.

Most important of all is the Office factor. Real business needs real office. I work with legal pleadings and other documents with complex formatting, embedded graphics and all kinds of other stuff that makes using an Office-alternative an exercise in wasted time. As a user instead of a geek, I'm just not willing to spend 15 minutes reformatting every document I receive so that it displays and prints properly, nor are the people I share with (mostly courts) willing to the same with documents I send out. WINE is promising, but again you have the geek factor to get it working. VMWare? Geek-city again.

I've been using Windows for 20 years and Macintosh for 16, and know my way around both rather well. Linux is different enough in its handling of software and lack of polish that you really need to be a hobbyist to be productive on it. Thats great if your a hobbyist, but it doesn't make for a true alternative to buggy and malware infested Windows or to Mac OS X with its somewhat limited software library. Those are really the only games in town for regular users, and for those who chose stability and security (OS X) over software variety (Windows), a real Macintosh is far better than a buggy, compromised, unupgradable and illegal "Hack"intosh.

[asiafish]

The entry-level MacBook is where the current problems lie, and from what I understand a recent firmware revision has fixed the temperature and Moo (fan start/stop) issues. I had three hot-running MacBooks, but that was before the firmware update.

The rest of the MacBook is a very nice package. The keyboard looks strange, but feels great and is very rigid (no flex). The screen is incredible and the thing is built like a tank (hence the too-heavy 5.2lb weight. Its not T-series or X-series build, but then its only R-series price.

[gearguy]

The voice of ignorance, obviously you've never owned a PowerBook.

.

There's no fun in Powerbooks, everything's already done for you.

If you're worth your salt you'll know how to get linux or Unix running fine on a PC with no problems ;p

The voice of ignorance is people who say things like Macs are better for Photos lmao... oh god.

I can honestly say I've never looked at a photo and thought 'well this was deffinatly photoshopped on a mac' Because Photoshop on MAC and PC are basically the same [censored] thing. ;p

Microsoft office is migrating to an XML based format for the new Office suites, that will have no problem formatting for apps like Open Office anymore

[asiafish]

Worth your salt? What a load of crap! A person shouldn't need to study Linux and learn about all the required configuration stuff just to use a laptop. PowerBooks not requiring configuration is why are great laptops, it is an advantage.

I spent 4 hours trying to get DVD playback in Ubuntu with lots of tutorials and assistance, and in the end still got errors instead of movie playback. Thatis unacceptable.

[Kyocera]

Let's not get to wrapped around the axle.

[mattbiernat]

The rest of the MacBook is a very nice package. The keyboard looks strange, but feels great and is very rigid (no flex). The screen is incredible and the thing is built like a tank (hence the too-heavy 5.2lb weight. Its not T-series or X-series build, but then its only R-series price.

"built like a tank"- MacBook is made out of plastic as cheap as dell. They uses the same chasis as iBook which i currently own. This computer wouldn't surive a fall on the carpet. I've complained about apple entry level notebooks for a while in here already...
now my mom uses powerbook for movie editing. it is an excellent notebook. i would recommend it to anyone but.... it is not built like a tank. it is built out of aluminium, the keyboard is made out of cheap plastic but the screen is one of the best i've seen (i haven't seen IPS yet). There is something unique about powerbook screen that it shows colors which look more live and colorful than colors on other notebooks. And apple has been known to make excellent screens for a while now.
now regarding the "tank" construction of powerbooks... it is nowhere near as well built as a "tank." i hope you know that aluminium bends and my mom just got a huge dent on the side of her notebook.
so to compare to what i've read about thinkpads:
thinkpads have cheap speakers, they use to have one speaker, they don't have widescreen display (well they just got the Z series) - they are designed for buisness
powerbooks have cheap keyboard, very good speakers, widescreen - they have been designed for movie editing.
entry level Macbooks - they try to compete with dell and hp (although they are match more expansive than both)

OS wars - please lets just post opinions or educated argumetns. i really don't want to be blamed for insiting OS Wars.
anyways since the topic got started i will tell you about my experiance about both OSX and Win XP. And this is only my opinion and you are entitled to yours. I found OSX to be more stable and this was mainly because there is no virus for OSX and no spywere. I didn't know (and i still don't know) how to protect windows from virus and spywere and that's why i had to reformat it every other month or so. Now if its about user friendliness I found Windows to be much more user friendly. It is simple, well organized and easy to learn. OSX on the other hand is too simple and treats end user like a "monkey" and that's why i felt using OSX as if i was in a "cage."
OSX is also too flashy for me. I like conservative looking desktop but that's only a matter of taste. But unlike windows you can't customize OSX to look like OS 9 or 8 or 7. One more reason why i felt i was in a "cage" and doing whatever OSX allowed me to do.

[dsigma6]

I spent 4 hours trying to get DVD playback in Ubuntu with lots of tutorials and assistance, and in the end still got errors instead of movie playback. Thatis unacceptable.

And it didn't cost a dime out of your pocket for Ubuntu! People obviously do what works best for them, so I don't see any reason to debate it here.

[asiafish]

I've used PowerBooks for years and have experienced dented metal cases (very expensive to fix), but other than that, they are extremely solid laptops. The MacBook and your iBook are far stronger than you think.

iBooks have flimsy keyboards, but are otherwise quite strong. The MacBook is also very strong. They are not plastic at all, but polycarbonate, which is tough stuff indeed, and have metal frames inside much like a T-series does. They are designed for school kids and generally stand up to a lot of abuse. They don't look or feel that tough, but in this case looks are very deceiving.

PowerBook keyboards are exceptional, as good as a ThinkPads, though very different feel. PowerBook (aluminum, not titanium) keyboards are rigidly mounted to the frame, have zero flex, and while the keycaps are plastic (like all laptop keyboards), the backing plate is metal. I wear out laptop keyboards quickly and the only keyboard that held up to my heavy pounding better than my 12" PowerBooks' was that of an old ThinkPad 600E, which was probably the best laptop keyboard EVER. The MacBook keyboard felt just as solid, though I no longer have the machine (above mentioned heat issues).

OSX is, in my opinion, the best consumer OS. It fails in some businesses because of the lack of sepecialized niche software, but for home or basic productivity, and certain creative applications, it is the best game in town. I wouldn't say OS X or Windows XP are easier to use than the other, they are about the same. Whichever one a user is more familiar with will be the easier one to navigate. Both have annoying quirks and flashes of brilliance, with more being similar than different in recent versions.

Where OS X wins hands-down is in security and stability. Windows just has too manymalware bombs pointed at its very easy target.

Where Windows wins hands down is software availability, wiht an application for every use and tons of games, which are few and far between on the Mac.

I wish OS X was offered for the PC, as a semi-functional hack isn't suitable for mission-critical business use. Linux remains a geek-toy that also isn't ready for end-user prime time, and Windows is just too unstable and vulnerable.

Sadly, Apple's lack of a really small and light laptop mean I can't get what I really want, so I make do with Windows XP on my X41 and keep playing with new versions of Linux in the vain hope that one will come out with Wine and DVD implemented from the start or without hiccups so I can use real MS Office and watch DVD movies when I fly, without hours of configuration or major research projects to make it work.

[asiafish]

I spent 4 hours trying to get DVD playback in Ubuntu with lots of tutorials and assistance, and in the end still got errors instead of movie playback. Thatis unacceptable.

And it didn't cost a dime out of your pocket for Ubuntu! People obviously do what works best for them, so I don't see any reason to debate it here.

Nope, not a dime, but in the end, it still wasn't a workable solution or substitute for a mature consumer OS.

[asiafish]

Back to the original topic, those batteries have nothing to do with Apple, they were made by Sony.

Dell was first to announce Sony battery recalls, followed by Apple. Looking at my ThinkPad, one of my four batteries was made by Sony, as was the battery of one of my Toshibas. Just because there hasn't been a recall yet doesn't mean these Sony batteries are any better (remember only a few batteries have failed, compared to the millions in use).

I wouldn't be surprised to see recalls expanding to other laptop brands that use Sony batteries in the near future. Two weeks ago everyone on the Apple forums was laughing at poor unfortunate Dell. They aren't laughing anymore.

[tfflivemb2]

Yes, lets not incite an OS war...it is against forum rules.

Opinions are like noses....everyone has one, but most people stick them where they don't belong.

[bill bolton]

Back to the original topic, those batteries have nothing to do with Apple, they were made by Sony.

While the batteries weren't made by Apple or Dell, the power management/charging sub-systems on the respective laptops certainly were made by Apple and Dell.

Its not yet at all clear where the real problem lies.

Cheers,

Bill

[asiafish]

Most likely the power management circuitry was made by Qanta, Asus, Intel or whoever won the contract for the system boards.

[mattbiernat]

iBooks have flimsy keyboards, but are otherwise quite strong. The MacBook is also very strong. They are not plastic at all, but polycarbonate, which is tough stuff indeed, and have metal frames inside much like a T-series does. They are designed for school kids and generally stand up to a lot of abuse. They don't look or feel that tough, but in this case looks are very deceiving.

polycarbonate is plastic. i haven't opened up my ibook but whenever i put my hand on the palmrest i can feel the plastic bending and touching the internal components (i think hard drive). the entire ibook flexes and especially the screen. if i touch the other side of the screen i can see my finger pointing through. besides the battery is sticking out about .2cm and the screen is leaking on all sides.

why is it that every time anybody mentions linux, windows, osx in the same topic and people become so emotional? how hard is just to relax and think before you write? anyways im done in this topic i regret i started it.