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PowerBook audio defect causes uproar

updated 10:55 am EST, Thu January 26, 2006

PowerBook audio defect

A group of PowerBook owners are crying out to Apple, hoping the company will answer their pleas with a solution to an audio defect in its 12-, 15-, and 17-inch PowerBook models. According to the website, the problem manifests randomly in Mac OS X as a looping/echo sound that magnifies itself for approximately 4-5 seconds, apparently stemming from Apple's internal hardware, as some PowerBook owners report that the problem disappears when they connect an external sound card to the laptop. One upset customer recently launched a website--PowerBook Defect Info--in an attempt to recruit other users experiencing the same issue. Apple has officially acknowledged the issue, but suggests that users run only one audio application at a time on their high-end notebooks as a remedy. Apple however has noted that it will provide updates as more information becomes available, suggesting that it is working to resolve the issue. Earlier this month we noted that Apple launched a PowerBook G4 Warranty Extension for some models affected by a defective memory slot.

 
Previous Comments

rincewind42

01/26, 11:19am reply

If the issue is officially acknowledged, then isn't the rabble rousing a bit pointless? Get the information out there, let people know that Apple is working on it, and when there is a solution, it'll go out.

If no solution ever comes, THEN you go about making h***.å

Rincewind

Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: May 2000

0

My message to the site...

01/26, 11:23am reply

Wow. Way to attract bees with honey.

Apple HAS acknowledged the problem. That is their "statement". Like all problems Apple discovers and acknowledges, they say "This article will be updated as more information becomes available". They give the best workaround they can in the meantime. They are CLEARLY aware of the problem. You may not know this, but when they acknowledge a problem and create a knowledge base article about it, they ARE working on a solution. They WILL NOT tell you what they are doing "RIGHT NOW" to solve it.

I love how all people can do these days is make web sites whenever any Apple product has a problem. The really funny thing is that, while Apple branded products certainly have problems, including manufacturing problems and defects like any other vendor or product under the sun, Apple products are actually statistically higher quality than those of *any other manufacturer*. This has been shown year after year, time and time again, by consumer reporting organizations like Consumer Reports.

Also, when AppleCare says there is a solution on the way, they mean exactly that. I was really baffled by your response to that. If there is no solution in the works, Apple sure as h*** does NOT say anything on the subject. In fact, they pretend like the issue doesn't exist if there is no solution planned. (Have you not dealt with Apple before?)

So you have:

1. An official statement, IN WRITING, from Apple, the current form of which is all you are going to get, no matter how much bad PR you think you'll bring, and

2. AppleCare categorically (and truthfully) saying a solution is on the way, because if there is no fix planned, AppleCare does NOT say a fix is planned.

3. Problems cannot be fixed instantaneously. Will it be firmware? Hardware? Software? A combination? All of the above? How can a fix happen immediately?

das

Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Jan 2001

0

Great.

01/26, 11:39am reply

I have no idea what this is about; no problems here, but thanks for letting me know.

iomatic

Mac Elite

Joined: Oct 1999

0

My laptop does it...

01/26, 11:45am reply

My laptop only does it when I adjust the audio via the keyboard, and only sometimes. It also only seemed to crop up after I installed 10.4.2. I'm convinced it's not a hardware problem but a software problem.

In any event, Apple has acknowledged it and even if it is a hardware problem, I'll just take my laptop down to the Apple Store and have it fixed.

What's the big deal?

olePigeon

Clinically Insane

Joined: Dec 1999

0

Wait a second..

01/26, 11:56am reply

The solution is NOT running only one audio application at a time like it says in the kbase article. It happens to me when Safari is open and nothing else!

kuzelnik

Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Mar 2000

0

Uproar?

01/26, 12:06pm reply

I'm in an uproar! My new PowerBook doesn't do this! I'm mad I can't b**** at Apple! Roar!

super_steak

Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Dec 2005

0

Re: Wait a second..

01/26, 12:08pm reply

That's the best suggestion for a workaround that they have. All Apple can do is try to find a solution, and it has clearly said via the only channels that it communicates with customers that it is working on a solution. What more do you want?

das

Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Jan 2001

0

LINK

01/26, 12:37pm reply

I dunno about you guys but the link to the website is missing.. i googled it and i guess this is the one:

http://powerbookdefect.info/

apple_fanso

Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Jan 2006

0

Would this fix it?

01/26, 12:46pm reply

I had this problem happen with a M-audio Delta soundcard in a dual-1.8 G5 PowerMac. It was as though after a couple of seconds the audio would somehow get mixed with a low-resolution time-delayed version of itself, and would slowly increase the echo delay as the sound played for a longer period. After getting no help from Apple or M-Audio, I decided to set the Processor Usage to "Highest" from its default setting of "Automatic". This seemed to fix the problem.

Nettech

Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Jan 2006

0

Lucky Me...

01/26, 01:19pm reply

Knock on Wood!

Well, my new 15" PowerBook has NONE of the troubles others have complained about... audio, lines on the screen, etc.

Apple is on it. Sounds good to me.

JeffHarris

Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Oct 1999

0

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