powerbook dos and donts

M

muse

Registered
Hey all,

The other week I purchased a 12" powerbook G4 :D.
Friends of mine who already had a laptop warned me about some things, that I didn't know and wasn't told about.

Do any of you more experienced laptop users have some dos & donts for starters? :)

Here's what I heard so far:
- put something in between keyboard & screen when the book is closed, otherwise the keyboard can make "stains" on the screen.
- beware of static discharge, put something under the powerbook.
- the poweradapter's thin wire breaks easily, and if it does, may cause a shortcut that will break the charger.
 
I kept the piece of plastic/foam that originally was in between the screen and the keyboard and I put it back there every time that I close the laptop. No scratches or marks on the screen whatsoever.
 
Always plug your power adaptor into the wall first, then plug your computer in. I failed to do this once, and while it is a once in blue moon thing, I blew my power management unit. Which basically means you get to start all over again! Hooray!
 
Do not let your Wife drop it. Mine did OUCH....
Guess my real tip is do not leave it on the way whilst you aint in. It could get moved or in my case dropped. :eek:
 
after about 2 years I've noticed my powerbook's keyboard lifting slightly (at the arrows corner especially).
I don't know how to prevent this...any tips people?

my screen's a little marked-up - I haven't put anything between to protect it - but it's not bad. more like smudging. a good screen cleaning rag pretty much fixes it.
but I'm not worried cuz the whole thing's gonna be replaced by applecare (there are a couple bright spots in the display that I've had from day 1. just need to send it in...)
 
yeah, i ordered one of the ScreenSavRZ from RadTech, works great to protect the screen, also as a cloth to wipe it down. covers the keys, trackpad, and wrist-resting area where oils from your hands and arms accumulate to mess up the screen.

on the note of the keyboard lifting, i had a Pismo G3 a while back and noticed that they keyboard bowed up in the center, near the G and H keys. You think this may be a heat issue, maybe permanently warping it? strange. the Pismo developed the screen smudges from they keys, which prompted me to buy the screen protector cloth.
 
Yep, my Pismo G3 keyboard is notoriously flaky. The "i" key fritzes out every now and then and I've given up trying to clean the key marks off the screen. I only paid $300 for it used, with RAM and HD upgrades already included, so it's been a great little workhorse. :)
 
Yeah my Powerbook had a few marks.

But it is actually being repaired at the moment for a creaking hinge on the display.

The Apple Technician said he could not repair it BUT he could have a brand new display sent, and he would fit it on. This is good, as the Powerbook had scratches on the back of the display.
 
I have the orig 17 " I kept something between the screen and keyboard for a couple months till I lost it. The screen seems on to me. The aluminum skin seem to discolor almost like tarnish.
The charger wire does seem to be fragile but I use almost everyday and wind and unwind all the time sofar so good. It seems awfully flimsy for a $3200 laptop.

Calliex
 
- put something in between keyboard & screen when the book is closed, otherwise the keyboard can make "stains" on the screen.

Depends on how you store your Powerbook. For examble: I often put my ibook in a laptop bag without anything which might apply pressure to it. I don't have any problems with stains and keyboard marks. (It "stands" on the side where the screen connects to the base.)

- beware of static discharge, put something under the powerbook.

Hm, static discharge shouldn't damage your powerbook (Faraday cage effect), otherwise it is faulty. But I've read somewhere that in some cases people got small electrical shocks - hardly noticeable - if the poweradoptor was connected to the powerbook while they were resting their palms on the surface of the pw. Earlier models had bad shielding, should be fixed in the current generation.

- the poweradapter's thin wire breaks easily, and if it does, may cause a shortcut that will break the charger.

Yes the cable of the poweradapter is flimsy. Don't wrap it around the poweradapter in order to save space. Don't do it, even if you are not using it. I've damaged mine (no shortcut) by doing this - I was used to the "ufo - poweradaptor" when I got my 700MHz G3 ibook.
 
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