View Full Version : 12" PB screen - replace or forget about it?
So, my wife was on a train and working on the PB. She stood up to let a passenger back into their seat and must have had her phone between the screen and keyboard. When she closed the PB lid down a bit, the screen - naturally - smashed.
She was devastated b/c she loved that computer and b/c it was our first Mac together. Also, with the iSight, it handled our iChat sessions. :(
Anyway, she's in China and I'm over here.
Should I pay for a replacement screen or just forget about it and steer her toward a MacBook or, dare I think it, the MBA?
We love the 12"PB - it's a classic, but a preliminary estimate from Nanjing (the secretary didn't tell the Apple Repair Centre the model obviously) is between 5000 and 9000 RMB, which, in US$, is around $700 to $1266.
I know the intial quote is not much help presently; I'll try and get something more solid in the next day or so.
In the meantime, what do you all think?
I think you're on the right track: replacing the screen isn't worth it at this point. As for whether you should get an MBA, my opinion with the first revision is that unless you can afford the SSD option, it's not quite worth it yet. The lightness of the MBA makes you want to carry it around a lot; the hard drive, however, is going to hinder that (unlike the SSD).
I agree with that. I'm hanging to see what the Rev B of the MBA offers. If I'm going to blow dough on a light machine, my thinking is to save hard and go for the lightest option.
Still - that will be some time away and my wife usually doesn't share my patience for things like that. ;)
She has a work computer to use, so there's no great rush to get a replacement, but I'm sure she'd like something sooner rather than later.
Just got a quote - ¥6100 RMB for a new screen. About US$858 or AU$920.
We both love the design of the 12"PB and it is still perfectly fine (power wise) for how my wife uses it, so we decided that it's better we pay for a replacement screen as we don't need to blow extra $ on a newer model.
Thanks for the input though chucker - nice to have a brief chat. :)
You made your call and I respect that (and acknowledge that the 12-inch PowerBook is a great machine), but you're spending about as much (if not more) as the entire laptop is worth…
digitalprimate
2008-03-04, 05:00
I agree with chucker (but also respect your decision).
Well - the value of the machine is immaterial really since we won't sell it. It's the cost of acquiring a new machine that is the issue. You can't buy a current model laptop in the Apple line-up for less than AU$1500, so we come out around $600 ahead this way. Finding a 2nd hand Mac in China isn't easy either, so this is the path of least resistance and high sentimental return. ;)
Couldn't you just buy one and then send it to China? Or is that what you're talking about already?
huh?!?!? yeah, i'm confused.
you said you were over here, i'm assuming here is usa, and you could buy a refubished macbook for nearly the price of a new screen for your PB... do you not want a macbook? do you have a need for the graphics of the PB, if not, just get the macbook, it will last you a lot longer than an old PB with a new screen.
still, its up to you
"Here" for Mac+ is Australia I believe.
I'm thinking that you'd be better off buying a new computer though .
Spending that much for a screen for a 12" PB is a lot of money. Shit, Luca just sold his 12" PB for $750 I think. The entire computer. not just the screen that you're willing to pay over $800 for.
But, it's your call, and do as you please. I would have loved to have a 12" PB about a year ago, but the MBA is the "new" 12" PB
psmith2.0
2008-03-04, 15:36
Mac+, you don't really have to go all-out "new", necessarily. Have you considered a refurb 13" MacBook? You'll get a modern, Intel-based machine (better performance in every way), the iSight is built right in and its size weight shakes out to roughly that of the 12" PowerBook, when everything is factored in (wouldn't be a drastic change to adjust to for her, in terms of toting around, making space for, etc.). The PowerBook is just a skootch smaller lengthwise, and less than half-a-pound lighter, according to MacTracker.
I certainly understand the "sentimentality" aspect, but maybe - like I've done with my tangerine iMac DV - you guys could simply "display" it somewhere in a favorite room. You see it every day, it's a neat conversation piece, it's still "part of your life", etc. You don't really use it as a computer anymore, but it's still around?
I know you're in two separate places at the moment, but she could hang on to it and then when you reunite, that's something you could place somewhere in your house, even if it's only just a kitschy, "inside joke" type of thing between you two (hang it from the bathroom bathroom ceiling or something, or open it all the way and mount in in a shadow box, cracked display and all, in a hallway or TV room). It's just dying to be made into something cool and funky...
:)
I'm not sure on pricing in Australia or China, but there are currently some previous-generation MacBooks at Apple's online store for US $849 (1GB RAM stock, combo drive, 80GB 5400rpm hard drive, Intel GMA X3100 graphics, etc.)...the price you're talking about to replace an older, 4:3 1024x768 screen (that she still has to attach a standalone iSight to, plug in, etc.).
I've not read every single post here, so if you've already made a "we're replacing it" decision, that's cool. But I'd be so tempted to just go refurb and turn the 12" PowerBook into an art piece (a symbol of your love and all that).
:)
Maybe if the PowerBook was newer (or if it was a very recent MacBook, just out of warranty), I could see going the replacement route. But if something happened to my four-and-a-half year-old PowerBook G4 (I almost wish something would...ha!), I'd be all for replacing it with something more recent (even refurb)...especially if the price to repair something this old could, instead, buy me a whole new, current-era (late 2007) machine with all the goodies like iSight, faster optical and hard drive, more RAM (and higher RAM ceiling), etc.
And, from what I've seen, you should be able to get some change back if you are willing to sell your external iSight too. (not to mention that you could sell your broken PB for parts)
Couldn't you just buy one and then send it to China? Or is that what you're talking about already?I'm not sure what one is which you are referring to here.
***
Gosh. :|
I didn't expect the "Spanish Inquisition"... "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition". :lol:
*Ahem*
As kieran23kk said, I'm in Australia. My wife is in China. She has tried a MacBook before and is not a fan of that type of keyboard. She actually loves the keyboard on the 12" PB and I can't blame her; I think it - along with the Al PB and MBP keyboard - is the best notebook keyboard Apple has produced.
Also, aside from the screen of her PB, her model is structurally perfect. I don't think there's a mark on it, since she has been using it in a case all this time, so that was another reason she preferred to keep it.
If I bought a second hand 12" PB from here (Australia) and then shipped it over to China it wouldn't really gain us anything. There'd still be freight and insurance to pay and who's to say the second hand model would be cosmetically as good as what she has now? (aside from the screen - which we're replacing)
Finally, we bought this model, the last of the 12" G4s, just before the Intel notebooks came out at some ridiculously cheap "get rid of stock" price knowing full well that we were buying into an antiquated system. For the way my wife uses her computer, the processor means nothing, so the longevity obtained with the purchase of a (more expensive) current selling model is practically a non-issue.
Chalk this one up as a victory for the aesthetic side of computing I guess.
I hope this clarifies our thinking with the decision to replace the screen.
Oh, and, chucker and digitalprimate thanks for the "respect your decision" comments. I haven't seen many of those around these parts lately so I appreciate that you took the time to include it in your posts. (That's not to be snide toward Luca and artesc - I just forgot to mention it in my reply to those guys last night.) :)
kieran23kk - The MBA is the new 12" PB, but the cost of that is significantly higher than the replacement screen. Plus, it still has that keyboard style which my wife doesn't like. I will, however, love to see what the Rev B model brings and I could see myself opting for one when those models are released.
apple007
2008-03-04, 15:43
I've loved every PB I've owned -- well, except for the 5300 that would crash every 10 minutes (and was eventually swapped for a 3400 by Apple), but I digress -- but I can't imagine spending more on a replacement screen than the PB itself is worth. (To me, this is a far worse way to spend money than 'Quagmire's $400 RAM purchase he was lampooned for.) There has to be a better option than that available, whether it's a refurb, a new MB, etc.
Mac+, have you considered a refurb 13" MacBook? You'll get a modern, Intel-based machine (better performance in every way), the iSight is built right in and its size weight shakes out to roughly that of the 12" PowerBook, when everything is factored in ...
Ha ha ... Good to see you jump right back in the purchasing-advice saddle, 'scates, after yesterday's "My sister bought a PC" thread. :D
:eek: Ack! More posts. No time to reply right now, so please don't think I'm snubbing any of you. I'll get to them later tonight.
We'll have a rethink too - but we were both satisfied to wear the cost of this. Sometimes money isn't the only issue. :\
psmith2.0
2008-03-04, 15:56
True. You gotta do what is right - and makes sense - for you and your situation; stuff only the two of you could truly know. Good luck.
No need to reply to my suggestion (unless you just want to :D ). It sounds like you've already decided firmly on the repair route, for reasons that are obviously important and meaningful to you...the keyboard preference, her usage patterns and needs, it's in otherwise great shape, you got it at a good time for a nice price, the sentimental/personal angle, etc.
Replace the screen and be happy. :)
beardedmacuser
2008-03-04, 18:03
As kieran23kk said, I'm in Australia. My wife is in China. She has tried a MacBook before and is not a fan of that type of keyboard. She actually loves the keyboard on the 12" PB and I can't blame her; I think it - along with the Al PB and MBP keyboard - is the best notebook keyboard Apple has produced.
Hear hear!
Oh, and you have my support as I too am trying to resurrect my PowerBook.
If this was any other machine but the 12" PowerBook, I'd be with the people who say to just give up on it - but seeing as the form factor is not replaceable with a newer machine, I can see the logic in saving it.
Been travelling with work and let this slip, but just wanted to drop by and reply to those who offered advice since my last post.
Paul - yep, that's a neat summary of how we arrived at the decision.
bearded and Bryson - thanks for the support.
That 12"PB form factor is unique and, in our case, worth maintaining.
I'd probably replace the screen in my 12" also, unless I could find another cheap one locally to replace it, which is unlikely in Thailand.
Then again, even if I did replace it I'd probably eventually replace the screen in the broken one too! The 12" is a special little piece of kit, and the one I just got served me very well in Vietnam over the last fortnight, and still got admiring glances from a few of my skydiving buddies I have brought over to Macs in the last 12 months.. They all wondered if it was a new model!
I dunno, to me it seems like a waste of money.
You're coughing up all this money on dated technology that doesn't even use a up-to-date style of processor when you could just buy a cheap Macbook with Intel, much more power and more compatible with the future.
I broke my screen on mine and I just got a nice cheap 19inch WS dell monitor and am just gonna get a new Macbook instead of spending the outrageous costs to fix the screen.
It's "a waste of money" in the same way buying a Valentine's card for your sweetie is a waste of money. There's no inherent, obvious value to it, but it lets you appreciate things a little bit more. They like the 12-inch PowerBook, they can likely get another few years out of it, and they want exactly that.
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