Apple iBook G4 Design Flaw Proven

empaler writes "Apple has long denied service on iBook G4s whose screens went black after just over one year of use, denying that there was any error. But now, the Danish National Consumer Agency has released a report proving that the error is due to a design flaw. So far, the only news site picking this up is The Register (unless you understand Danish). The Danish Consumer Complaints Board says that Apple needs to get a grip and acknowledge this error in the rest of the world. The NCA also has some photos from the report (explanations in Danish, but easily comprehensible from context)."

the Register article does not make sense

[microcars]

"Many iBook G4 customers complained..."

"After regular complaints, the National Consumer Agency in Denmark sent a suspect iMac G4 to Delta, an independent electronics laboratory to have it examined."

So what is it? An iBook or iMac?

Re:bah

[gEvil (beta)]

Yep. Same here. Late 2001 G3 iBook developed this problem after about 2 months. Over the next year it went back to Apple 3 times. It was only on the final time that the problem was actually fixed. Had they not taken care of it then, I would have been eligible for a full refund under California's lemon laws. Oh, and the second time it came back to me it had obviously been reassembled by a chimp--one screw was so loose it fell right out, the plastic clips on the case hadn't been snapped back together, and there was a nice scratch on the screen. I love using Macs, but it will be a long time before I buy another one...

Re:How widespread is the problem?

[Anonymous Coward]

I can't comment on statistics, but I can offer anecdotal evidence: my 2 yo iBook G4 died under symptoms that sound a lot like these. I just had it repaired a week or two ago, costing me almost $300 of my own money. They replaced the logic board and the hard drive (and stole the extra RAM I installed on the old logic board). I'm sort of fed up with them at this point, especially if it turns out that my issue was due to their poor design.

Re:It's a dry joint.

[Anonymous Coward]

It's an engineering defect. Whether you look at it as a design problem or a manufacturing problem depends on the constraints (and perhaps also on your point of view). If they are constrained to use particular materials, then the design needs to be such that the system, when made of those materials, doesn't fail prematurely.

Understanding the constraints and setting specific definitions around terms like "prematurely" contribute inputs to the engineering process. In the end, if you release a product that breaks too soon, you messed something up and have a defect.

All of which is fine, if you then respond by revising either the design or the manufacturing process and fixing people's broken computers, which is not what Apple has tried to do.

Re:It's not a bug...

[Rakshasa Taisab]

Hey, did you know that when you buy a laptop in Norway, you're by law guaranteed for 5 years?

It won't cover parts that are normally considered to have a somewhat short lifespan, like batteries. But in other regards it is held to the same standard as other household items that are meant to last, like fridges, etc.

Wouldn't have happened if...

[dave562]

...it were a Toshiba 4600.

(Insert -1 Flamebait here).

I have an old Toshiba Satellite Pro 4600 that originally came with Windows 98. It then ran Windows 2000 and now runs Windows XP. Can an iBook of the same era even run OS. =)~

Re:bah

[nomadic]

I'm sorry if this comes across as flamebait or a troll, it's not. I've always admired Apple products but never could afford them. Now an Apple fan says they have lousy QA. So the question, which I'm sure if I'd post from my own account would get me modded to hell, is this:

If they have lousy QA, their products suck. Period. If thir products suck then why do you buy them? Again, I ask this question out of honest curiosity.

You raise a good point, but I think it's just one aspect that you have to look at. First of all my favorite part is the OS; if they actually had OS X on PCs I would just stick with PCs, but you have to get the whole package.

Re:A dry joint on thousands of units is a design f

[Nefarious Wheel]

Maybe we shouldn't use solder any more? Micro sized wires were routinely welded on older model (VERY older model) IC's internally. Micro-miniature spring clips into copper plated holes? It could be made to work. Mind you, using present knowledge (or to be honest, my present lack of knowledge) any prototype laptop I built this way would cost as much as your car and would probably also need wheels, but hey -- this is theory, right?

Getting only a little more serious -- is there any alternative to the old fashioned wave soldering manufacturing process? Is there some combination of materials that could be laser or maser welded rather than soldered? What if we went copper-to-copper instead of aluminium-to-copper-via-solder? A micro-mechanical solution (spring clips) would have appeal if the right alloys -- conductive, non-corrosive, springy -- could be adapted. I doubt that anything we can lay our hands on today could do it, would take a lot of research, but then a newer, greener world would by definition be different, and we'll have to come up with some new thoughts. Maybe Wm & Melinda Gates could fund a few grants, pay some of that fortune back into the industry at the bedrock.