I went to my campus bookstore to order my custom configged 250MHz/2GB
HD/32MB RAM/DVD PB on August 7. they said it would take about a month
since they're all on backorder. That was fine, I could live with that.
well, after about three weeks, I wanted to see the status, and was told
that Apple was upgrading all their PBs. Mine was to become a 266MHz,
and I'd have to wait another three weeks. So, I wait, and three weeks
later call the bookstore and they said they don't have it. I call Apple
(since the bookstore people were too incompetent to do so) and they tell
me it was shipped on the 11th of September. It was now the 25th. So I
ask them why the hell they don't have it yet. They say, it must be at
the wherehouse. Well, two or three days pass and it turns out it was in
the bookstore for about a week stacked under some boxes. So, I finally
get it, and get back to my lab and plug it in, and the adapter doesn't
work. Wonderful.. so I drive back to the bookstore that same day and
try another adapter. When the guy sticks it in, it starts to flame and
spark and smoke. So, we go down to the service department and they say
they'll have to send it in to Apple. It would be at least another week
before I get my computer. I find out that the entire motherboard was
fried. So, they tell me they'd replace it and return it to me. but the
prob is: I got a loan and paid for a brand new computer, not a
refurbished one. so I have to deal with the manager of the computer
bookstore and some guy from Apple to convince them to send me a new
computer. Two weeks pass and they tell me they're gonna send me one of
the old 292MHz computers with a DVD and all that. I say fine, just get
it to me... so, after the weekend of October 9, 10 and 11, I get a call
on the 12th that my computer is in. So I drive all the way over to the
main campus to pick it up and they don't have it. Turns out it was the
campus service department telling me the refurbished computer was in. I
go home pissed. The next day I call to see what's going on and they
tell me my computer is in from Apple. I get there and say I'm here for
my computer and they hand me a 266/4 GB HD/64 MB RAM with no DVD. I
say, 'hey I was supposed to get a 292 with DVD' they say, 'sorry, Apple
sent this one.' I tell them that's BS and that I'll take the 266 which
is what I ordered in the first place and take the DVD from the original
computer. I'm content with my results. The manager calls me the next
day (she wasn't there when I picked up the computer) and told me I had
to return the 266 since one of her employees marked the wrong computer
and that the 292 was there the whole time. I tell her I don't think
so. she says, well Apple's gonna expect that DVD drive back.. I tell
her if Apple expects anything from me they can talk to me themselves and
that I'd be more than happy to outline the entire story for them. She
says, the computer you have is yours.
I just got a new PBG3 300/DVD on Friday (2/19/99) Doesn't get too hot sitting on
my office desk using power adapter. However, I just about burned my lap that
same evening. Laptop is definitely what the computer is not. And I thought my
3400 got warm.
sure my pb g3/300/192MB gets warm... up to about 70 degrees celsius (around
158 F) at times, if memory serves me correctly (maybe a BIT warmer). at this
time of year it's actually kind of nice, as it keeps your legs warm, but
come summer, it might be a bit more bothersome. i assume that the more ram
you put in, the warmer it gets, since there's physically more chips with
current running through them generating heat inside your pb.
as warm as it does get, it's never really affected my productivity. it's
usually easy enough to put the pb on the coffee table (i do much of my
computing on the couch), and use it that way for a while.
in contrast, i was using a friend's pentium laptop for a couple hours early
last summer, in a comfortable, air conditioned office, and i had to stop
typing every few minutes, because the heat coming from the keyboard kept
making my hands sweat; it was VERY hot.
...and i'm not a sweaty person. :)
seriously, i've never had THAT serious a problem on my pb, or my wife's
pb/233/96MB.
Hey, I've had a PBG3 for 4 months now and use it everyday for extended
periods of time. Does it get hot? Sure. Has it ever smoked or fried or
teetered on the edge of combustion? Never.
I use it on my lap for hours (try 5-6) at a time and my thighs get
quite warm, but hey... I'll take my PB and hot thighs over some lame
Wintel horror that probably gets just as hot.
Even after 5 hour bouts of Myth or Diablo, the CD is just reasonably
warm upon removal, not some gooey lump.
My first G3 266 which I ordered back in November turned out to be a dud.
Altthough it didn't flame, it did some smoking! Within 24 hours of
receiving it, it was toast. After the initial charging of the battery, I
booted up. First thing I noticed was it would not boot every time after
pressing the on/off button (this is, of course, taking into account the
long initial startup of these G3's) Maybe, one out of four times it
would start up, the rest of the times it would just sit there. I was
beginning to think it was the buttton that was faulty. The next thing
was, after putting it to sleep for a couple of hours and then when
trying to wake it by touching the space bar, the screen never lit up,
nor did the hard disk start to spin. All at the same time a very strange
smoky smell began to come from somewhere beneath the keyboard. Dead! I
called Apple immediately and told them of my plight. I was given a case
number. Then I called Outpost.com (where I bought the p'book), gave
them the case number and they told me to ship the dead one back and they
would send my a new replacement right away. This second powerbook has
had no major problems so far.
I am one of the few unlucky people who have experienced this. (for real)
The first PowerBook G3 14" that my company purchased (we have about a
dozen of the 14's, 13's and 12's) had this problem about two months ago.
The user had left for lunch, and the machine was left running on his desk.
When he came back, he smelled that lovely burning plastic smell, and
thinking the machine was just asleep, tried to turn it on. It wouldn't
wake up, restart or anything, so he called me. I could definitely smell
that something had burned in the vicinity of the left expansion bay and
possibly the right. But get this: On closer inspection of the left bay,
(looking inside, under the trackpad) the inside was visibly charred, and
there was a small chip/resistor that had fallen off the power board and
MELTED TO THE BOTTOM INSIDE OF THE CASE. It had gotted so hot that the
solder melted from the chip and the chip actually embedded itself to the
bottom of the case. Crazy. However, no one was there to witness it, so I
can't confirm the flames/spark debate. I can definitely assume that
judging by the charred look inside the bay, that this did happen, although
it was minimal. We didn't have to call the fire department or anything. =)
Naturally, I called Apple, described what had happened, and apparently
they considered it a "Product Safety Issue" so I had to talk to someone in
that department to get an account of what happened. (apparently a
PowerBook catching on fire is taken pretty seriously at Apple nowadays ;))
Anyways, they gladly and quickly repaired it (three days) and it appears
to be fine now. They replaced the "Power Supply Card" part number
661-2039. Up until lately, I thought that this was a fluke, but apparently
I was wrong. On another note, the battery which was in this machine at the
time that this whole thing happened now refuses to charge or work in ANY
PowerBook.
There is definitely a difference between this and the "PowerBook Coffee
Warmer add-on pack" (heat on bottom) which other people describe. This is
definitely something that is related to the power supply card on the 14"
G3, if you ask me. This does not have ANYTHING to do with the PowerBook's
(high) operating temperature.
Anyways, I just had to put in my $.02. I was reading the posts from people
getting all offended, assuming that this was a problem with the operating
temp and assuming people were exaggerating. IT IS NOT - THIS IS A REAL
PROBLEM. However, it is most likely an extremely isolated one.
I am the owner of both a Revision 1 Wallstreet 250/13.3 (with the screen
problem) and a Revision 2, PDQ, 300/14.1. The 300 runs much cooler when
measured with the Powerlogix utility, or just by touch; it stays around 59 to
mid 60's degrees Celsius, while the 250, which hasn't burst into flames yet,
or even started smoking, runs up in the high 80's to 90's, Celsius. Seems like
that fan should come on sooner.
There are things I prefer about the 250/13.3 though. I really like the case
design a lot more; the smooth rounded countour of the top, front, is much,
much better, both for looks and feel, than the poorly joined, two piece,
cheesey, afterthought looking design on the 14.1 version. Also the 13.3 screen
itself, when not blinking with white lines, gives a noticably higher apparent
resolution, since it has the same number of pixels squeezed into a slightly
smaller area.
I bought the 300 because I needed more hard drive space, and couldn't bear
the thought of living without a speedy PowerBook for the two weeks or a month,
or how ever long it takes, while the 13.3 goes in for the screen repair, and
with the drop in prices, and only the un-announced Rev 3, or 101, or Lombard,
or whatever, on the horizon, with, what for me, looks like too long to wait
for an un-compelling feature set.
I bought my G3 PB 266 in late october 98 from outpost.com. I had it
three days when after pluggin in the AC smoke came through the
keyboard. It was completely toasted. It was returned to outpost.com.
where a week and a half later I received a new one. I was fearfull
everytime I plugged it into the AC. On Dec 7 I plugged into the AC and
I heard a crackling sound and the smell of burning insulation. I had
another toasted powerbook and had to deal with Apple. It was not a
positive experiance. I was told to take it to CompUSA. After three
weeks CompUSA said they could not get the parts from Apple. I called
Apple and tried to get another new one. They said no. I tried to get
an extenstion on my warranty. They said they would but I have never
received that in writing. I received a call from their senior customer
service person who called when I wasn't there. He told my wife that
there was a problem with the parts that were needed and that I should
call him. He left his office number. I called it everyday for a week
and was never able to get a hold of him. On jan 14 1999 I got the book
back. It has been OK since then, but I have NO confidence in it. I
will never buy another laptop. In the two months I was without my
powerbook I have watched the price drop almost $1000. My anti Macintosh
friends have more ammuntion. With this problem coming to light in yours
and others web sites I probably am stuck with a lemon book that I will
not be able to sale. I have lost a lot of respect for Apple. I have
been a loyal Mac user since 1986. I have owned a MacPlus, IIcx and 7300
without a problem. They are all still running. $3400 is alot of money
for a toaster oven.
0.003%
Thats 4 confirmed flaming powerbooks from 125,000 sold.
Thats an issue? I think not.
Ownership of superfast (the fastest!) high tech machines comes with
responsibilty......dont insulate the bottom of a 300mhz laptop; also known
as LIBWL (Lying-in-bed-with-laptop syndrome)
You know, dont leave the iron on the ironing board when it's switched on,
dont get out of the car while it's moving, dont dive in the pool when the
pool guy has drained it, etc.
0.003%.....Apple should be proud of such reliability.
If you can't operate it, stick with your old Classic.
'Books