Powerbook Ettiquette

S

stizz

gorilla beta tester
The big new 17 incher that I find myself carrying around these days has me nervous. Its so big and beautiful, but just how hardy is it?
I have had a G3 Powerbook for 5 years now, and it has been to hell and back with me numerous times. The port cover is missing,the original HD is dead, the monitor hinge is cracked and broken, audio jack has a short and there are numerous scratches all over it. All that (and more) aside, the damn thing still works, and works well I might add. It just isn't up to travel any more and has since been retired to office duty.

I want my new mac to last me 5 years as well, and hopefully come out in one piece. That is a daunting proposition considering I use my laptop extensively and take it with me everywhere. My old PB is testament to the toll which that kind of lifetyle takes on a machine.

I have notice that when closed and latched, my 17" leaves a gap. And when you apply any pressure by grabbing it as if to pick it up, that gap closes; I worry that the keys rub against the monitor when this happens. I also leave my powerbook on most of the time; plugged in. Should I remove the battery when I do this?

Share your stories here about your powerbook care habits, and god forbid, any horrors stories.
 
I don't know about the new powerbooks but my tibook is very easy to scratch, something rubbing against it in a bag, for example the corner of a book, can put a nasty scratch in it. I usually place a sheet of paper or even an a4 sheet of the foam the laptop came wrapped in between the keyboard and the screen. Carrying the 15" is not really a problem, they are not too heavy and are nice and thin. You just have to really careful! My brother has a big ugly HP laptop and I have to say it is hardier than my powerbook. He tosses it into a bag and doesn't have to worry about the paintwork because the damn thing is made out of plastic! Looking back I should have bought an iBook, they are tougher and very capable but at the time the powerbook suited my needs better. My next laptop will probably be a 12" powerbook, nice and small, very powerful and they look the business!
 
OWC(otherworldcomputering.com i believe?) sells a great little keyboard cover to protect your keys from rubbing up against your LCD..i got one for my ibook, it cost me about $15 :)
 
No, do not remove the battery. This is when the battery recharges itself when you use the power adapter.
 
I saved the protecting foam that came with my powerbook, the sheet that was in between the keyboard and the screen. I don't think that there's such a big problem with the key marks on the screen with the new powerbooks because the keyboards are fixed and not removable as in the old Powerbook. A good bag is always good :)

Viktor
 
Cheryl said:
No, do not remove the battery. This is when the battery recharges itself when you use the power adapter.
Click to expand...

yes indeed, but what about after the battery is fully charged? Is it ok to continuously charge a full battery? I would think this would considerably shorten the lifespan of the battery over time. My old G3 PowerBook battery barely maintains a 20 minute charge these days due to constant charging.
 
stizz said:
yes indeed, but what about after the battery is fully charged? Is it ok to continuously charge a full battery? I would think this would considerably shorten the lifespan of the battery over time. My old G3 PowerBook battery barely maintains a 20 minute charge these days due to constant charging.
Click to expand...

Actually, you should run on the battery as often as possible. Once it's fully charged, unplug. And run it down all the way at least once a month. This conditions the battery to remember the actual charge it can hold.
 
Actually, you should run on the battery as often as possible. Once it's fully charged, unplug. And run it down all the way at least once a month. This conditions the battery to remember the actual charge it can hold.
Click to expand...

Apple's current batch of Notebooks all use Lithium-Ion which do not have the "memory effect" such as you describe. This was common in Nickel-Metal-Hydride batteries which were phased out about 5 years ago.
 
Well, I don´t have the 17" but the Rev A 12". AFAIK, the casefinish is the same though so it should apply to your PB as well. That said, my PB has been fairly sturdy, I´ve carried it around from time unprotected in a shoulderbag or backpack (not that much though) and it hasn´t gotten any dents or scratches. I dropped it a few times as well, from around a meter and it has taken that without problems. Once I even dropped it opened so that it landedon the edge of the screen and the edge of "keyboardpart", ^ like that so to speak but it handled that too. that was only a 50 cm drop though.

As far as the battery goes, no worries keeping it plugged in when your PB is connected to the AC-adaptor. There´s voltageregulating electronic inside your PB that switches to maintenancecharging once the battery is full. Sometimes this may show as the batterymeter fluctuates between 96-100%. One cool thing about the battery in the 17" PB is that you can actually change the battery (provided that you´ve got an extra charged battery) when the computer is in sleepmode without having to shutdown. Not possible on the 12" though =/
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top