Every decade or so I buy Mom a new computer. Or a new used computer, but new for her all the same. The very first was a Radio Shack Model 100 way back in the early eighties. Back then I was a PC weenie, but pc laptops were large and expensive. Mom lives off-grid in a Wyoming cabin so desktop machines are out of the question. There were travelling journalists who swore by the Model 100 so I figured that Mom, being a writer, would love it.
The model 100 had a few good qualities. Backing up to a cassette deck wasn't one of them. If memory serves me correct, Mom may have even written an article about the challenges of writing an article.
Fast forward to the next decade. By then I'd gone to work at New England Digital and was re-introduced to Macs. We can argue all day about the merits of a given OS but in the end the Mac became my machine of choice. By that virtue Mom became a Mac user when I bought her a used Powerbook 150. Look Ma, no tape deck!
So here we are in another decade and it's time for Zeke and I to journey to Wyoming with a new computer for Mom. This decade's model is a lovely little iBook.
If you visit the Apple Store and scroll down to the bottom left you'll find a specials section. There you can buy a variety of reconditioned Macs (new and older models) at pretty good prices.
The reconditioned iBook showed up a week ago and I started setting things up. While checking it out I noticed that it didn't fall asleep when the lid was closed. Hmm. The way this works with iBooks and Powerbooks is that they have a little neodymium magnet hidden under the keyboard or in the screen that closes a reed switch when the lid is closed.
On the iBook there's another magnet which helps to hold the keyboard down. I used this magnet to find out where the reed switch was located (upper right part of screen case, below microphone hole) and thereby where the magnet ought to be. The magnet should have been below the keyboard, just south of the right arrow key. Robert has a good summary and was nice enough to respond to my email queries. No magnet.
Calling Apple support I thought I could just figure out where the magnet should be and put the little keyboard magnet in its place and be done with it. But they wouldn't tell me. "Go see your local authorized Apple tech" they said, "and they'll fix it or diagnose it for you."
The local service guys were busy and of limited help, other than to say that it sounded like the magnet was missing and would I like them to send it to Apple? Well, no, I can do that. And if I wasn't so stubborn I would have done it the very first time I called Apple like I should have. Instead I messed around for a few days trying to figure it out. My domain name is no accident.
Finally I called Apple late last Friday to do the return processing. I had NO idea how quick and easy it would be. Here's the timeline:
- Friday Evening - set up return with Apple
- Monday Noon - return box shows up with easy to follow directions, dropped box off at Airborne
- Tuesday 8am - email from Apple "we have begun work on iBook"
- Wednesday 8am - email from Apple "iBook fixed and shipped"
- Thursday Noon - iBook arrives, works great
Wow!
I don't know about you but in 20 some years of owning computers I have never had that good of a repair experience. This ranks right up there with the time Apple gave me money back when a new, lower priced model came out a week after I bought a powerbook.
Which makes me think Mom should get Applecare for the iBook. Trust me, nobody in Wyoming is going to offer that kind of service. If only she could get Apple to support her car...
By the way, my buddy Pedraum just started working at Apple. Can't wait to hear more about his new job.
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I'm impressed and awaiting the new computer. I still have the first one, plus all the others. The Radio Shack relic still works, had a memory of 12 pages, and as I was working on my thesis, I had to record the extra pages, then play back when I wanted them printed, it was fun! Now I was complaining because my most recent "old" mac laptop can only handle about 250 pages of my manuscript in one folder, of course that could be due to my lack of knowledge--obviously your jerryrig genes didn't come from me.
Maybe Jerry can throw out or recycle those old computers. They do make good door stops and projectiles for packs of wild dogs. But, I think the wild dog problem was "solved" years ago and there are too many bugs for leaving the doors open too loooooong.
According to to 14" G4 iBook service manual, page 49, the sleep magnet is located "on palm rest below left speaker". Judging by the picture, the palm rest must be for those small handed people that rest their palms at the bottom of the screen!
Whoever refurbished the machine didn't read the replacement note: "The sleep magnet can pop off during the top case removal. Make sure the sleep magnet is in place when replacing the top case."
Getcher comprehensive collection of apple service manuals here: http://home.earthlink.net/~strahm_s/manuals.html
regards,
brett
Excellent link, thanks Brett!
Yes, the little magnet under the keyboard does flip out quite easily. It also develops strange capabilities when dropped, rendering itself all but impossible to find.