Moore’s MailBag - Monday, February 2, 2004
iBook logic board!
iBook, Logic Boards, and Apple
Encyclopedia Britannica Reference Suite 2004 OS X 10.3 Compatibility
Re: Eudora and Mac OS X 10.3 Panther Þle name
Eudora Address Books
Parts for OSes
A question about spam filters using boolian logic
Apple finally admits to iBook logic board failures[/url]
iBook logic board!
From Jim Dickey
Charles,
I have written you a few times about various problems with my daughter’s 14” 700 Mhz iBook, kernel panics, etc. Well, as I write this, I am at the Tokyo Ginza Apple store Genius Bar having the iBook diagnosed for what appears to be the logic board issue. The symptoms with this iBook were that it just suddenly cuts off; as if battery, cord, everything was taken away. The guy here told me it is probably the logic board, and possibly the backup battery is bad too. Anyway, it will be repaired for free under Apple’s just announced repair program. Talk about timing for us! Last night while doing homework, my daughter came downstairs and told me her iBook had suddenly cut off; about the third time it happened she said. Then, this morning, I turned it back on, and it did it again. I turned it on again before leaving for the Tokyo Apple Store, brought it straight here, and it is still going as they are working on it right now.
It sure is good to know Apple stood by us with this issue, and especially that they are reimbursing those who had to pay already. Guess it took them time to verify the issue.
I’ll let you know how it goes. They said it will take a few days to do the repair.
Anxiously waiting your report on your newly upgraded Pismo G4!
Jim Dickey
Thanks for the Report, Jim. While my 700 MHz iBook continues to perform flawlessly, I am much relieved that Apple has done the right thing by its customers on this issue.
See The Road Warrior on MacOpinion tomorrow for more on this topic.
I'm anxiously awaiting the return of the Pismo -- possibly tomorrow as well. It's been just 150 miles away for the past three days, but we don't get next-day deliveries here in the outback.
Charles
iBook, Logic Boards, and Apple
From Robb Neumann
Mr. Moore,
It’s been a long time since I’ve written you… I hope this e-mail Þnds you doing well.
I wanted to pass along some information that might be helpful to some of your readers. Hopefully I’m duplicating news you’ve already heard, but I just got off the phone with Apple regarding my iBook’s logic board replacement. I had the “procedure” done back in September and had to pay close to $300 (US), as my iBook was out of warranty. When I spoke to Apple tonight about seeing if I qualiÞed for a refund, the individual I spoke with told me that I did qualify and that Apple was going through its records and contacting anyone who has a refund coming to them. There was no need for me to call. They would be getting in touch with me.
It may sound a little suspect (“don’t call us, we’ll call you!”), but I would like to think that Apple is really trying to do the right thing with this new program. It has certainly helped renew some of my faith in Apple. With any luck, all of us who have suffered through logic boards failures and shipping nightmares, will soon be contacted regarding our refunds.
Take care,
Robb Neumann
Hi Robb;
I have no doubt that Apple will make good on their promise, and refund your repair bill.
Charles
Encyclopedia Britannica Reference Suite 2004 OS X 10.3 Compatibility
From Monty Mathews
Mr. Moore,
I read your review of the Encyclopedia Britannica Reference Suite 2004 with interest. I am a Panther user and have a question: based on your testing and analysis, is this reference suite compatible with Mac OS X 10.3?
While I am an Apple user, there is one Microsoft product that has earned my respect and that is the Encarta Reference Suite. I am looking for a suite that offers closely similar capabilities and a user friendly interface. My research to date leads me to think that Britannica may Þt that description. Please advise.
Thank you in advance for your response.
Best Regards,
Monty Mathews
Hi Monty;
I think you’ll like the Britannica Reference Suite, and it will work Þne with OS 10.3.
Charles
Re: Eudora and Mac OS X 10.3 Panther Þle name
From Jim G. Kahn
Charles -
I hit a kink in this — long Þle names are not transmitting properly, and wonder if you have further thoughts. Thanks in advance if you do.
Here’s what happened:
When I attach a Þle with a long name into Eudora 6.0.2 in Mac OS X 10.3, it creates a code to make this name shorter (e.g., #28A08) replacing a bunch of characters in the Þle name. This is what I see when I send the message.
When I download the message and Þle to my same Mac computer, it regenerates the correct Þle name in the Finder.
And, in my Þrst test to XP (Eudora 5.2), it likewise seemed to generate the correct name (doing the usual XP thing of adding a 1 at the end when if found a like-named Þle in the download directory). I thought the system was seamless.
However, 5 Þles that I later thus transferred from Mac to PC failed to work, instead leaving me with the concatenation code. (Ironically, this is substantially worse than what I had before, because not only do I lose some characters to length but also to this non-functioning code.)
I will install Eudora 6 for Windows, I guess.
Do you have any suggestions?
thanks -Jim
Hi Jim;
It looks like this feature is still well short of being bug-free.
All I can suggest is that you notify Qualcomm about the problems you're having and hope that they can get the bugs squashed in the next release.
Charles
Eudora Address Books
From Charlie Michelson
I am using Eudora 5.1 under Mac OS 9.0.4 and also Eudora 6 under OS 10.2.
Is there a way to have address books within address books?
In general, is there a Eudora help forum? I visited the Eudora site, and could not Þnd one.
Charlie Michelson
Hi Charlie;
You may Þnd some helpful info and links here:
http://www.columbia.edu/acis/software/eudora/help.html
Charles
Parts for OSes
From Keet
Hi Charles:
I’m going to partition a 40GB HD on my G4, which allows booting from OS 9 or OS X. I want a partition for OS 9 & one for OS X. (Jaguar version of OS X is on the disk here & until I’m settled in & they Þx the Þle size bug in Panther, I’ll likely spend my money getting cool utilties and general software.) From your prior comments, I Þgure I will set up OS 9 at 5 GB & OS X at 15 GB. That leaves me with a few questions.
When I partition it, will I need to zero out the harddrive prior to installation? The original installation and some ill-advised answers to Questions I typoed in when I Þrst tested it to see that it was indeed functional are the sum total of what’s currently on the drive.
Do I need a separate Data partition for each of the OSes and if I don’t, would it likely be….more convenient if I set them up separately. ::you peer through the monitor & see a remarkable collection of papers & other chaos:: Given I understand OS X likes to tell folks where to keep their stuff, would the data partition actually be similar to a backup rather than a separate place of storage?
Do I need to put the OS 9 or the OS X partition in a particular part of the drive? Does one or the other need to be Þrst on the drive?
If I installed a second OS X in a second OS X partition as an emergency option, will Apple’s update software sabotage things by updating every OS X system folder in every partition on the harddrive (or on the computer)? I know some third party software in OS 8.6 through 9.2.2 have the noxious habit of doing things like that.
For OS 8.6-9.2.2, I have a utility called Installer Observer. Before installing software I have it take notes as to what’s on my harddrive(s). After installation, if I don’t want to keep it or it causes problems, I simply run Installer Observer using the saved notes. This tells me what is new, what was changed & what was thrown out.
Many pieces of software lack an Uninstall option or do an uninstall which is worse than letting things alone. It makes returning things to functional order easier and helps me stock pile answers to those perenial computer Þle/app questions: What the #$#!! is that?, Where did it come from?, What, if anything, does it do? and Do I need it for anything anymore?. Is there something out there in OS X land that will perform the same functions for me under OS X? This utility has made my life a lot easier and I’d like to avoid harder if possible. And knowing what the mysterious installer is doing to my computer’s insides is rather interesting anyway.
Keet
Hi Keet;
Your partitioning scheme can be pretty much what you want it to be. Just make sure you put OS X on a big partition.
You don’t need a separate Data partition, and OS X doesn’t neet to be on the top partition except on Old World ROM machines.
I prefer OS X and OS 9 on separate partitions, but they don’t have to be.
You could install two copies of OS X, but I wouldn’t bother if you have a bootable OS 9 partition.
I don’t know of any analog to Observer for OS X.
Charles
A question about spam filters using boolian logic
From Jim Emerson
Or what ever its called, I know thats not the correct term (boolian) but I know its something like that. Which of the e-mail programs that you reviewed use it.
Thanks for the help
Jim Emerson
Hi Jim;
I'm not sure about Boolian logic, but Eudora and OS X Mail have pretty good built-in Spam filters.
Also check out POPMonitor, which works with many email clients.
Charles
Apple finally admits to iBook logic board failures
From Jim Dye
Hi Charles,
Apple finally fesses up!
http://www.apple.com/support/ibook/faq/
"What is the iBook Logic Board Repair Extension Program?
The iBook Logic Board Repair Extension Program is a worldwide program covering repair or replacement of the logic board in specific iBook models manufactured between May 2002 and April 2003 that are experiencing specific component failures."
Good news!
Jim Dye
Good News indeed, Jim.
See The Road Warrior on MacOpinion tomorrow.
Charles
***
Charles W. Moore
Note: Letters to Moore's Mailbag may or may not be published at the editor's discretion. Correspondents' email addresses will NOT be published unless the correspondent specifically requests publication. Letters may be edited for length and/or context.
Opinions expressed in postings to Moore's MailBag are those of the respective correspondents and not necessarily shared or endorsed by the Editor and/or Applelinks management.
If you would prefer that your message not appear in Moore's Mailbag, we would still like to hear from you. Just clearly mark your message "NOT FOR PUBLICATION," and it will not be published.
CM
