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SCCutler

SCCutler

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Spike Cutler
So Tommy got his Apple iBook G4, issued to him by his school (only $700.00 for a year of loan of a used computer.

First off, if Apples are so well engineered, why the hell can't they use key caps with the letter molded-in, instead of painted on? Several keys have the letter rubbed-ff.

Next and more importantly, the battery will not charge; you plug it in, the little ring turns green for about three seconds, then turns orange. you can jiggle it around and make it turn green again, but it never stays.

Junk. I have never heard of a computer with a charger which could, on the one hand, make contact (it only lights up when connected), but still not actually charge.

Ideas?
 
SCCutler said:
Ideas?
Click to expand...

what%20to%20do%20with%20my%20apple.gif
 
That sounds like a pretty poor product. They should be properly working if intended for students to rely on.

But, let me see if I got this understood correctly... you're paying $700 for a year to use this loaner? I'm a bit puzzled. Or, is that a deposit?

Edit: I love Chip's idea! :)
 
Go to the peer-to-peer forum at Apple and get some real answers.
http://discussions.apple.com/index.jspa

I've had my G4 Ti powerbook for nearly four years without a problem, although the battery doesn't hold as much charge as it used to, it still charges. Also, the indicator switches from green to orange even when the battery is charged periodically as part of a normal operation. But if the battery isn't charging or holding a charge, I would tell the place you got it from that the battery might be defective. I know there was a recall on Apple laptop batteries a while back, you can check the serial number at the Apple support website.
http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html
 
Batteries die, especially when they're not used. If the previous user kept the thing plugged in all or most of the time, then chances are the battery is dead, not merely discharged.

It could also be that the charger isn't putting out enough juice, but I'd guess it's more likely the battery. Chargers usually fail with gusto, not die gracefully.

I agree with terzap. I'd try to get them to issue a new battery, and then see what happens.

Rich
 
maybe that's their plan, you get stuck with repairing "the puter y'all damaged"!
 
mikea said:
$700 for loan of 3+ year old laptop that has been (ab)used by kids for those years, when you could buy a one that's new and 10x faster for $950? Yeah! Those Apples really suck!
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nplm=FB061LL/A

Think any 3 year old Dell laptops are still working? 2 year old?
Click to expand...

This is, as it turns out, typical of the deal Apple signs up schools (esp. private schools) with. The computer and the fee for it are mandatory, justified by the "included" tech "support."

It;s scam.
 
SCCutler said:
This is, as it turns out, typical of the deal Apple signs up schools (esp. private schools) with. The computer and the fee for it are mandatory, justified by the "included" tech "support."

It;s scam.
Click to expand...
A scam, indeed. Are you bound by this deal or may you provide your own Apple laptop which meets the same requirements or better?

A local computer guy was just indicted for bribing an Atlanta school official. There was similar suspicion when Marietta schools were going to provide laptops to students. Ya gotta wonder what plays out in the background on much of this stuff.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
SCCutler said:
So Tommy got his Apple iBook G4, issued to him by his school (only $700.00 for a year of loan of a used computer.

First off, if Apples are so well engineered, why the hell can't they use key caps with the letter molded-in, instead of painted on? Several keys have the letter rubbed-ff.

Next and more importantly, the battery will not charge; you plug it in, the little ring turns green for about three seconds, then turns orange. you can jiggle it around and make it turn green again, but it never stays.

Junk. I have never heard of a computer with a charger which could, on the one hand, make contact (it only lights up when connected), but still not actually charge.

Ideas?
Click to expand...

If the battery on my IBM T42 at work is low enough the charge indicator stays orange for a while before turning green again. Leave it plugged in for a while and see if this happens for you.

But, $700 rent for a year and the key legends are worn to the point of being illegible? Make them replace them.
 
We are not gonna tolerate keeping a non-functional 'puter.

And no, we have no choice; it's a "must-do" deal.

I still think I am gonna buy him an iMac for Christmas, though.
 
SCCutler said:
We are not gonna tolerate keeping a non-functional 'puter.

And no, we have no choice; it's a "must-do" deal.

I still think I am gonna buy him an iMac for Christmas, though.
Click to expand...
If you as the parent and the student are forced into this deal with inadequate and poorly maintained equipment, something smells.
 
Dave Siciliano said:
Dave:

I got several pop-ups on that site and my anti-virus software advised me to immediately close it; it was trying to download bad stuff to my computer.

Best,

Dave
Click to expand...
I saw numerous third party cookies trying to download. I blocked everyone, including the first party cookies from metacafe. There were no problems. Set your cookies to prompt first party so you can accept from only sites you know and trust. Block all third party cookies so the tricky stuff makes it through which usually allow the pop-ups, etc.
 
NAV has issued nothing, all is well here but thanks for the headsup Dave
It basically says I think 15hrs in the freezer for the battery, warm slowly to room temperature, dry off condensation, then several cycles of charging. If it works I would be somewhat surprised. The instructions to commandeer an elevator didn't work either!
 
The attempted ambush was by a company named Zedo. Zedo provides a wide range of advertising-related services that range from innocuous to seriously scummy. Most malware scanners identify it as spyware. I routinely block the entire Zedo domain.

As for the battery trick, I seriously doubt it would work, and there's no chemical reason it should work (at least to my knowledge). We sometimes put dying hard drives in zip-loc bags in the freezer overnight to get one more run out of them, but not batteries.

Rich
 
KennyFlys said:
If you as the parent and the student are forced into this deal with inadequate and poorly maintained equipment, something smells.
Click to expand...

Having done a little checking, this is a routine practice, Apple markets it thus.

*sigh*

PS-

Tommy got his homework done during the flight home today... on my 2.5 year-old Toshiba.
 
SCCutler said:
Having done a little checking, this is a routine practice, Apple markets it thus.

*sigh*
Click to expand...
Were I to ever have a child in such a situation, the school board would hear from me at every single meeting on top of personal expense of letters to every parent possible on the issue. Such a deal leads me to believe some favors were bought in some form or another.
 
Damn. Thought this was about that wonderful pork product, Scrapple. "Everything but the oink!"
 
re: freezing batteries: I've heard this before, never tried it. Doesn't seem like it would make a bit of difference.

re: freezing hard drives: I keep a few of those little DO NOT EAT silica gel packs around and when I need to do this freezer trick I bake them for an hour or so at the lowest oven setting and include them inside the ziplock. I don't know if that's just me being overly careful with something I'm about to throw away.

Seems horribly unfair to force you to use a broken old computer for a lease price that would buy you a perfectly good used computer. Since the lease is for "support", I'd have them support it. "Hi, me again... yes, my son's computer STILL doesn't work right."
 
OBTW, they gave him a new charger, and it appears to work.
 
SCCutler said:
Next and more importantly, the battery will not charge; you plug it in, the little ring turns green for about three seconds, then turns orange. you can jiggle it around and make it turn green again, but it never stays.
Click to expand...

Uh, Spike? That's how it's supposed to work. Green on the ring means "I'm plugged in and fully charged." Orange means "I'm charging."

When you first plug it in it'll turn green to show that it's plugged in, and after a couple of seconds it'll say "Hey, the battery's not charged!" and it'll turn orange as it starts charging the battery. When the battery's fully charged again, it'll switch back to green.
 
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