A GAP ON CLOSING 17"?help.....

reddcarrot

reddcarrot

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Hi

Is there supposed to be a gap when u shut the PB 17"? It doesnt seem to shut tight and flat it seems to have a gap which you can press down and it opens up a bit again when u let go. Is this right? It closes am concerned with gap....seems like alot of dust and stuff can creep in...also the front hingy thing wont last if it gapes....screen wont last either.... :rolleyes:
 
Just be glad you don't have a 15" model... with only one tiny latch, the gap is worse, plus, usually, one side sticks up more than the other and looks warped (can't tell if it really IS warped or not though). I find the lids on the Powerbooks unacceptable at their price range. They should close snug and level.
 
lol. Uh, guys, call me crazy, but I think this is a feature, not a bug. if these things closed too tight, the keyboards would be much more likely to leave pressure marks on the screen. Personally, I think the current PowerBook design is great.

~PowerBook G4 15inch owner
 
I'll have to agree with adambyte here... the closing of a laptop computer lid isn't meant to make the compartment between the screen and keyboard airtight, dustproof, waterproof or anything else. It's simply to protect the screen and make the computer compact and portable, and as the PowerBook is already magnificently thin, making that compartment close tight would probably damage the screen or keyboard.

The problem Zammy-Sam speaks of isn't the gap you're experiencing... the problem was with seemingly "warped" screens: when shut, the left and right top edges of the screen left a gap much larger than the middle top left, so it looked as if the screen was warped. Apple replied with, "that's normal behavior."

Here's a forum discussion with links to articles about the "warping" phenomenon -- see if it sounds like the problem you're experiencing:
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=61972
 
It may be intentional, but it's a stupid design. I have never seen a PC laptop that leaves a gap between the lid and the base, or any previous Apple model. No laptop is airtight, but it is unnerving to feel the loose fit when you're carrying it in your hands (plus it looks dumb when the rest of the computer is so well designed). A gap is one thing, a poor fit is another and could easily be fixed if Apple had added useful pads around the frame of the screen.
 
OK....THANK GOD ITS NOT MY NEW BABY 17" BUST! I thought i'd have to take her back....this forum is simply the best. thanx. at least my PB isnt the only one...i also did not embarrass myself by giving apple and the sales guy hell....seeing that he is a mate. So i assume you have to carry these PB's like they are made of glass....it seems silly about the gap....i understand it saves the screen but what about if you carry it and it rests on the screen anyway. Surely the hinges get weaker by gaping then closing and gaping everytime you let go. Yes, warping...this is also another factor, it does warp on both sides. I will go and read the macromors thingy. Ive always been a desktop girl and had an old PB...no gaping or weird fragile stuff....but oh well...if this is what happens, so it must be. APPLE SORT IT OUT FOR THE G5 PB MAN! WE ARE WORKING PEOPLE WHO NEED HARDWEARING NOT GLASS. Thanx everyone for putting my mind at ease. I also managed to get old of a friend who owns a PB 15" and yes the sames happened to theirs...damn! :mad:
 
Zammy-Sam said:
this is a known prob with all alubooks (12'', 15'' and 17''). Unfortunately.. :(
Click to expand...

No gap on my 15" 1GHz TiBook, that's astonishing that Apple would have overlooked it on the AluBooks.
 
btoth said:
I have never seen a PC laptop that leaves a gap between the lid and the base, or any previous Apple model
Click to expand...

Dell Inspiron 8000, IBM ThinkPad, Sony VIAO slim.

It's easy to see on the Sony, like the Apple. Probably due to the thin construction of those laptops. The Dell on is hard to notice unless you really look close...real close. There's so much junk in the design and the black color just hides it well. However the screen has been trashed since it was 3 months old. The IBM always had a huge gap between the screen and keyboard, more than enough to slip two quarters on their sides stacked in,
 
Yeah, Eldiablo was right. I was actually pointing to that corner problem. However, if the lid is not supposed to close too tighly over the keyboard, why won't they at least increase the gummie distancers size? It would be ok to have a bigger gap between lid and keyboard, but the moving lid is not really nice. Makes the whole book feel more unsteady.
And of course, I didn't meant this corner prob happenes to all alubooks, but at least to some but no matter if 12'', 15'' and 17''.
There is another prob with the alubooks. Did anyone put his/her alubook on a very plane table or so? You will see the book is somehow not straight and it will shake a bit. Weird, huh?
And one comment to pc laptops closing tightly: not true! We have two Samsung X20 (I think) and they are also not closing tightly.
 
The only table my PowerBook 15 has ever been unstable on is my parents' old wooden hippie coffee table from the '70s. I think it's the table, not the Mac. Every other surface has been pretty level.
 
then you were lucky. My brothers alubook 12'' is shaking, in the apple Store the 17'' was shaking as well and I think LordCohen also had a post running complaining about this. Let's hope they will present some proper powerbooks on monday ;)
 
My 15" aluminum Powerbook is 6 months old. Recently, I noticed that sometimes it rocked slightly on some surfaces. Then the problem went away. Today, I had it in a padded pack with many other items. I accidentally dropped the pack from about 18 inches off the ground. It landed softly on a side that had 8" of padding and other stuff protecting the Powerbook. I knew it would work when I woke it up. It did. But I was surprised to find that the rocking was back, and far more severe.

I found an article about massaging Powerbook lids to remove the warp at http://www.macintouch.com/pbg4reader20.html (find "warped/bowed lids" on that page).

Encouraged, I devised a solution for the base. With the lid open, I put a Postit note pad under the non-rocking front corner. Then I placed the heels of my hand on the now-elevated non-rocking corners and pressed down just enough to cause a slight flex. Very little pressure is required--just enough to cause a small flex. You don't want to crack anything or bend it too far. I "held the stretch" for a minute and removed the Postit pad. Most of the rocking was gone. I did it again for fifteen seconds and all the rocking was gone. The lid also closes better than it has in months.

Later, I found an equivalent solutions to mine at http://www.macintouch.com/pbg4reader19.html (find "diagonal" on that page).
 
It's interesting how much we human beings will accept when we know that others have the same issues. :) Just wanted to throw that out there.
 
What about using one of those leather screen protectors that they advertise in the back of MacAddict and MacWorld? They fit between the keyboard and the screen. I've seen some that cover just the keyboard, and others that cover the entire screen (I think 15"). Even with your 17", you could buy the large leather cover and use it to minimize or eliminate the gap.

Doug
 
I don't think there'd be heat issues if it was only used while the machine was off or asleep.

Doug
 
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