Lombard, Apple's current crop of PowerBooks, has just now begun to arrive in quantity in the retail channel. Soon after many people received them, the emails began to arrive. First the USB issues, then the whining noises from the power inverter MacInTouch was covering. Most recently we've heard of a 'rattling' noise from a loose backup battery. With all these emails, one begins to wonder, is Lombard a lemon?
First, the USB issues are an unfortunate problem for Apple to have shipped. The good news is that it's a software problem and can be fixed with a patch. Since this is the first implementation of USB on a portable, there were some issues with the power management unit. Basically, USB had no provisions for 'soft power', that is powering up over a keyboard, with portables. Apple's hard at work on a patch with its best engineers, so one should be posted soon.
The power inverter 'whine' problems are much more difficult problem to solve. Some suggest setting the brightness of the LCD to a different setting, as this controls the level of power flowing through the specific capacitor that is making the noises. We're told the problem is caused by a low grade cap on the inverters supplied by Delta Electronics, while the Ambit-supplied inverters are fine. You cannot tell the difference in a visual inspection. This is an unsatisfactory fix, and if your PowerBook has this problem, you should to talk to Apple about a replacement or repair at your earliest conveinence.
Next we come to the loose mounting of a backup battery in the innards of the PowerBook. Readers report you must turn the entire machine vertical and shake it to hear it. It was confirmed by an Apple tech support rep to not be a problem, other than a nuisance.
One must remember that these are very complex machines with hundreds of componenets. However, we have confirmed that both the USB bug and inverter whine bug were known before the Lombards ever left Quanta in Taiwan. This is entirely inexcusable. If any of these bugs could not have been fixed, Apple would have much trouble with PowerBook buyers.
The good news is the widespread bug, the USB problems, is fixable. The more isolated problems, the whine and rattle, are not serious, nor unfixable with a trip to Apple's service centers.
Is Lombard a lemon? For now, we think not as there are so many things that are great about the machine. However, as more and more people receive their machines, new problems might show up, and we'll reserve judgment until then. Some suggest that leadership at Apple knowingly sacrificed quality on Lombard to acheive lower costs and a faster ship date. The one thing to remember is that these are high-tech machines. For every one bad email we get, there are many more that remain unsent because their machines are fine. The last word is that Lombard is a solid machine, and any problems that have arisen are fixable.
