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General discussion

I'm not too impressed by the new macbook.

Nov 20, 2007 3:44PM PST

I have been messing around with my friends' new macbook running Leopard (a computer he just got today) all evening long and I have to say... I am not that thrilled, nor impressed by it.

The reason why I've been troubleshooting with it all night is because he got it home, and it refuses to hook up to the wifi network in his house. He brought it over to my place and I wasn't able to get it going either. The ethernet works... but no wifi (even though it does detect the local networks). Researching the problem uncovered several threads on apple's support forums that had received tens of thousands of hits about this very problem. I reset the wifi security, entered the encryption key, entered the password, unpluged it for a half hour, swung a dead cat by the tail in a graveyard at midnight... I tried everything, to no avail.

There also seems to be lags in performance with basic programs such as disk utility which takes forever to work. I became so convinced that the factory installed OS was corrupted, that I reloaded the software with no apparent improvement.

While leaving a note for my friend, using Stickies, I was unable to change the font after writing a message. Every time I clicked on the fonts option, the program freezes and I had to Force Quit !!!

I haven't loaded, or used any heavy duty programs yet (like photoshop) so I can't speak to how robust the new processor is. All I can say is I will have to advise my buddy to look forward to spending some time with an apple operator tomorrow. That is... if I can ever get this darned spinning beach ball to quit when I bring up Stickies.

Sad

grim "grim" graphix

Discussion is locked

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First Step
Nov 20, 2007 8:57PM PST

Call Apple and get this problem reported.

It's under warranty with full tech support.

Not a good sign though

P

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Just back from a local Apple store.
Nov 21, 2007 4:56AM PST

New machines on display wifi just fine. Sounds like someone misfired on a batch. Dang.

Bob

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I got it fixed.
Nov 21, 2007 10:26AM PST

My bro was convinced his new macbook was broken, and was ready to send it back to apple. I convinced him to let me call apple and talk with them. After an hour on the phone, I talked with a 4th tech by the name of Rob who helped me finally narrow it down to an issue with the firmware in the Verizon supplied Westel DSL WiFi modem. I had the same modem as my friend, since we both have Verizon DSL, which explains why we could recreate the same problem with the wifi connection at my house.

I had spent the past evening trying to see if Westel had something on their support page about the problem but all they had on their documentation support page was that the model 327 was specifically made for Verizon. Rob informed me that Verizon had a firmware update buried somewhere in their website that was specific to the Intel powered macbooks. Of course the firmware update comes in the form of a .exe file, so I had to drag out my old PC and hook it up to a borrowed monitor (since my LCD monitor for it failed last week) and updated the Westel a90-327 w15-06 DSL wifi modems' firmware using this link...

http://download.verizon.net/webdownload/firmware/upgrades/westell/A90-327W15_VER_03_02_01.exe


It would seem that there might be more than a few wifi setups out there that may need firmware updates considering the number of hits on some of the Apple Discussions : Internet, and Networking the MacBook threads

Cheers y'all and big thanks to Rob at apple

grim

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Good you fixed it.
Nov 21, 2007 10:48AM PST

See? Apple blames everybody except for themselves. Blaming the routers... how rude. Haha. Well Grim, I can agree that Leopard is not as impressive, though I have taken advantage of it. I probably have taken it for granted too.

Even though the new MacBooks are powerhouses in their own right, I still think you might as well go for a fully upgraded 17 inch MBP. 2.6Ghz... Nvidia... 4GB of RAM... everything my MBP will never have. I still need to take it in, as the case, and especially the power button, are progressively coming apart. Sucks for me. I'll get it fixed. Hope they let me pay for upgrades and they get me a Santa Rosa set! Oh well.
-BMF

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BTW, I also ran into this 327w issue.
Nov 21, 2007 11:08AM PST

But it wouldn't connect with Windows XP SP2 on a newest laptop. So it's not an Apple pie only issue.

Bob

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(NT) Figures.
Nov 21, 2007 11:15AM PST
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I just got a new MacBook and she's bloody brilliant
Nov 21, 2007 11:53AM PST

beautiful, and I really am enjoying Leopard. I have not had any WiFi issues with her. She is the best piece of technology I've ever owned! I hope to have her for years to come. Just thought I'd share...heh...
Cheers,
Rachyl

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You shouldn't have trouble with it at all.
Nov 21, 2007 1:11PM PST

They are incredible machines indeed. This problem was only occurring with this specific Verizon router. I'm assuming you don't have the same one.
I too enjoy Leopard, but now that I am so used to Macs and such, I've grown too accustomed to it. I know it's not but sometimes Leopard really does some more like a fancy patch for Tiger after upgrading. But it is great. Beats Vista by miles.
Wonder what the next system will be like. OS X 10.6, Cat. Why not use Lion or simply Cat as a name? Makes things simpler.
-BMF

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I think Leopard will display some growing pains...
Nov 21, 2007 1:26PM PST

... for a couple versions upgrades to come. Even so, I will always recommend an apple to anyone looking for an easy workflow and relatively trouble free computer. Glad to hear you are happy with your choice.

grim

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I have to deal with 3 of these 327w's
Nov 21, 2007 1:38PM PST

Mine, a friends, and my mom's house, too.

While I have never had a problem getting a signal on my iBook at my house or my buddies, the same model modem gives my airport card fits at my mothers' home to the point where I use the neighbors Linksys instead !

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Jut chiming in
Nov 21, 2007 8:25PM PST

But I found it interesting that the problem was "out of the box", as it seemed to be as I don't use wireless.

Reminded me of my problem a couple of months ago when my iMac shut down with cable outages. Apple Care spent over an hour checking everything they could think of, and finally said to first tell the cable company to change my several years old modem, and to change the surge suppressor, although this was a new problem they had not heard of before.

What was interesting.... the cable tech disconnected the old modem (put some gizmo on it he kept checking with an instrument), then when he disconnected the cable at the box at the house, the iMac did not shut down.

So far, with the new modem and changing the surge suppressor, there has only been one cable outage, but the iMac did not shut down. So I can't say 100% that the problem was solved.

They did tell me of a case they had re: "My Mac keeps shutting down!"
They finally determined the fellow had his Mac plugged into the same outlet as his refrigerator. Every time he opened the fridge door, the Mac shut down. Happy I don't know it this was true or not, but it made for a funny story,

Angeline

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Interesting... hard to follow for a min, but I get it.
Nov 22, 2007 7:57AM PST

Why are internet problems so darn confusing? It's "always" their fault for Mac issues, since Macs "never" have problems. Sarcasm intended if you didn't catch it.
My friend got a MacBook awhile ago, and he absolutely loves it. Of course, he bought 4GB of third party RAM, configured it with a 250GB HD... and with the new 2.2Ghz Santa Rosa chips, the only thing that really makes my MBP better than the new MacBook is the screen size and the graphics card, though I think the new Intel accelerator has more memory than my ATI card... but I still have 15 inches of Apple-ness! Haha. Apple and their constant upgrades. Never ending.

There's my somewhat random post for now.
-BMF

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Can't wait for my PB Pro to arrive
Nov 23, 2007 7:41PM PST

I've used pc laptops since 1988. I was already fed up with rebooting, reinstallations etc but following a bsod crash and needing three reinstallations of Windows XP I spent an hour with a Genius in our new Apple store in Glasgow and have ordered a 17" glossy screen 2.6ghz Powerbook with all the bells and whistles. It should arrive in 10 days from now.

If it's as good as all you guys on the forum say I'm going to change over all my friends who pester me with their pc problems to macs.

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I hope you know it's MacBook Pro,
Nov 24, 2007 5:31AM PST

since the PowerBook line was retired in favor of the new Intel line. Wow, a 2.6Ghz chipset, and nicely upgraded 17 inch. That's one of the new ones alright, with lots of horsepower to boot. Let us know how great it runs. Personally, I think they should have kept the name PowerBook and added Intel to that. "Intel PowerBook", easier to say than MBP. I have to take mine for repairs... the casing is constantly getting worse and I can no longer ignore it. Hopefully, they'll let me buy some upgrades. I really could use the 250GB HD a faster CPU.

Enjoy your new Mac.
-BMF

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...
Nov 30, 2007 1:25PM PST

sounds like Apple got bit by the Vista bug too! Grin

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I say it's more like an Apple bit by a worm...
Dec 2, 2007 11:35AM PST

but the Apple's core is too tough, LOL. Vista by all means is nowhere near as great as Leopard. I heard about a new XP service pack coming out soon, one that supposedly increases performance by about 10%! If only the 4.11 Tiger update had been the same, besides adding the improved functionalities. Didn't the 4.11 update have some serious problems for some people? Anyway, XP and Tiger have been around long enough to have had a bunch of updates and time to smooth things out. Both are pretty advanced, and don't need all of the bells and whistles (and bugs Wink ) of Vista and (sadly) Leopard, but I haven't had any problems with Leopard... my MBP just had hardware problems, though some of it was probably software related... never mind that.

Leopard is impressive, but it's still new and needs to be worked on. When I went to the Genius Bar with my MBP, the lady next to me had the white C2D iMac (17 inch or 20 inch, I couldn't tell), and her Time Machine app backed up to her external like it should, but yet Time Machine didn't let her see it or something. I just watched the Genius working on it and talking to her as the Genius I was talking to went in the back. Apparently, even non-aluminum iMacs have problems too. Come on Apple, fix some of these with a new update!

-BMF

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Another friend of mine got a new macbook
Jan 15, 2008 5:31AM PST

She has had all sorts of problems trying to install the drivers for her HP all-in-one printer. After 2 days of talking her through various procedures (on the phone)... I came to the conclusion the OS (Leopard) was corrupt. She did an archive and reinstall and the machine seems to be running better now.

I am wondering... is there anyway I can view her desktop remotely considering I am using Tiger and she is using Leopard?

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Well you could try the Sharing preferences
Jan 15, 2008 8:19AM PST

Back to My Mac would work also, if you had a .Mac account, but you would need Leopard for that. Unless you use iChat... but that would be a pain, trust me. You'd have to have the laptop you want to control available for remote login, or access perhaps, screen sharing, file sharing, etc. Remote Management, that might work... Check around your preferences area and see what you have. But hers must be set up too.