Just bought a Rev D 12" Powerbook and......

[Piarco]

......I'm having to take it right back tomorrow!
Everything the new model has over the Rev C is great, immediately I'm loving the trackpad, but the problem lies not with the new spec.

Its the keyboard.
Its either not seated correctlyor warped, but in the top left corner from the esc to the F2, down to the W and tab keys, there seems to be a "bubble" right in the center of the grouping, so the outer keys lean to the left and the inner keys lean to the right - and it is immediately apparant. Same is true on the bottom right of the keyboard around the cursor keys predominantly and the shift and backslash. Same leaning. Only here you can also see a gap between the keyboard membrane and what lies beneath, and there is a hell of a lot of give if you press the blanked out keys either side if the page up key.
So as its new I called Apple immediately and they've suggested I take it back to the Regent Street store (first time I've been and it was absolutely rammed with people! Never seen that in the PC World ) and see if one of the instore "genius" can help: either a repair or a replacement. I have zero intention of having to mail it off for repair, I only got it 2 hours ago!!

Fingers crossed its not a revision problem.....

 

[mactropy]

What a bummer! Well. I have heard from a couple fo peple that there seem to be occasional problems with the PB 12" keyboard. I have a slight warp, but not a terrible one. However, I do believe you are entitled to receive an error-free product. Good luck!

 

[Applespider]

If you are going into see a Genius in Regent St, either get there for 10am tomorrow morning when it opens or get online at 10am and book your appointment at the Genius Bar.

It's always packed - and any time I've checked, there have been no appointments left by late morning.

I'd suggest the 'get there by 10am' route since if you book an appointment at 2pm, you might still end up waiting 30 minutes or so if they are running late. Only way to book in advance and go 'front of the line' when you arrive is to pay out for a Procare card.

 

[jxyama]

just letting you know, my rev. A has had a slight bulge in the top middle of the keyboard - and i've heard/read that slight warping similar to mine is not uncommon.

if it doesn't affect the core functionality, i say don't worry about it...

 

[Piarco]

Well I took the advice of someone from work and went straight back the same evening, seeing as I was out in Covent garden after work, it was just an additional trip. And handily enough, despite the genius bar being fully booked, they were slotting people in left right and centre so got seen straight away!
The bloke who who helped me (Ben) was great, basically said it would be too much haste to repair, so went and got me a replacement and insisted we checked it for errors there and then! Fortunately it was flawless, and I'm a happy camper!
Plus, how cool is the setup of a new Mac that you can transfer your old files, settings AND applications for your old comp! Took over a hour, but it was all ready to go - no re-installing at all! Simply Awesome!

 

[xyian]

not in pee cee world....

That's great that they just did the switch! You wouldn't have that happen in the PC world. WYSIWYG in that regard. I would like to know how good the 12" PB D is because I'm thinking of getting rid of my g4 ibook for it. I like the fact that it has DVI now so that I can make use of an LCD monitor and span it.

Cheers!

 

[Mechcozmo]

Nice to hear that. You can also book a time at the Genius Bars via Apple's website. Nice to do.

 

[puckhead193]

If you are going into see a Genius in Regent St, either get there for 10am tomorrow morning when it opens or get online at 10am and book your appointment at the Genius Bar.

It's always packed - and any time I've checked, there have been no appointments left by late morning.

I'd suggest the 'get there by 10am' route since if you book an appointment at 2pm, you might still end up waiting 30 minutes or so if they are running late. Only way to book in advance and go 'front of the line' when you arrive is to pay out for a Procare card.

u can also make appointments online by going to the store's web site (through apple's)

 

[Applespider]

Yeah, I said 'go online at 10am and make an appointment' but perhaps wasn't clear enough.

My point was that the Genius Bar in London is so packed that by 3/4pm in the afternoon, they are often running 30-45 minutes behind the appointment times given (although you still have to be there at the time given). So getting there at 10am means that there isn't any kind of queue yet!

The Procare customers announce their arrival at their specified time (4pm) and generally see someone within 5 minutes, regardless of whether someone had booked a 'free' appointment for 3pm and is still waiting.

 

[Piarco]

I would like to know how good the 12" PB D is because I'm thinking of getting rid of my g4 ibook for it. I like the fact that it has DVI now so that I can make use of an LCD monitor and span it.

Cheers!

Coming off the back of a Rev C, there really isn't that much difference. The faster HDD does make apps open slightly quicker, and if switching on the PB it does boot in quicker (19secs quicker - I did a test before I sold on the Rev C ), but besides that its all stuff which you could just add on to an old Rev C (bluetooth 2.0 - not used yet, bigger HDD I probably won't fill) but the superdrive is coming in handy. There is a part of me though that wishes I'd just bought an external dvd-rw for the Rev C combo. That, in hindsight, would have been enough!

Still, I'm quite happy with it despite the financila hit! I've done what you're interested it... run it with an external LCD (Philips 17" widescreen high res LCD TV) and have bought the Apple wireless keyboard this weekend. I already own the wireless macmouse, so its a complete home setup. If I'm particuarly inclined I may get the bookendz docking station, but as it doesn't add any ports (like more firewire/usb ports) its probably not worth it.

If you're coming from an iBook G4, the speed boost will be very evident, so I have no problem recommending it. Although if you can pick up a Rev C (it will be a lot cheaper) I'd say go for that and save the extra cash.

The scroll pad is cool though

 

[wide]

That's great that they just did the switch! You wouldn't have that happen in the PC world. WYSIWYG in that regard. I would like to know how good the 12" PB D is because I'm thinking of getting rid of my g4 ibook for it. I like the fact that it has DVI now so that I can make use of an LCD monitor and span it.

Cheers!

......you really shouldn't bash PC support. In general, Dell and HP have better, cheaper support. Especially in that they will give you a new part usually no questions asked, and they have the option for onsite support and repairs (i.e. someone comes to your house, and you don't go anywhere) for notebooks (it comes standard in desktops by Dell and HP).