MacBook 3rd party issues?

[Pua'i Mana'o]

Every once in a while, my keyboard decides that it doesn't want to work anymore. I cannot figure out which magical key stroke combination I hit, but all of a sudden only the mouse point&click features work. So I gotta restart the damned thing and then it will play nice.

Talking to my good friend, she mentions that she is having many issues with Mac Office 2004 and her macbook pro. She blames the newness of the product and that the kinks haven't been worked out yet, and will patiently wait for the patches and upgrades to arrive on the market/net in order to fix her issues.

I remember owning one of those first generation imacs (bondi blue anyone?). Usb ports were unheard of before that. But I don't recall as many issues as this new intel-infused mac is giving out.

anyone else singing these same blues? Otherwise, the puter is speedy!!!

[pzarquon]

Re: MacBook 3rd party issues?

Are you using a third-party keyboard? I'm guessing so from your thread title, but of course the Macbook is a laptop so I want to make sure you're not talking about that keyboard.

If you're using a third-party USB keyboard and it just dies, it could be the MacBook or it could be the keyboard. To test the latter, have you used it on a PC without problems? As to the former, the fact that it works then stops makes me suspect some kind of USB bus conflict or something. If restarting fixes it, but not unplugging and reconnecting the keyboard, it may very well be an OSX glitch.

FWIW, I use an Apple wireless keyboard and mouse for my MacBook (lid closed, external LCD, as my home config), and haven't had any problems. Nor have I had any of the problems ascribed to "rev one" of the MacBook (i.e. discoloration, intense heat, random shutoffs, etc.), though there are a fair number of reports out there. The periodic firmware upgrades have helped with my few annoyances, from heavy fan use to Wi-Fi performance.

As for software, I try to avoid anything not Universal (Intel optimized). Though like your friend I have to fire up Microsoft Word 2004 now and then, or Photoshop. It doesn't crash, but it sure is pokey.

[Pua'i Mana'o]

Re: MacBook 3rd party issues?

I should have entitled this thread better. </crap>

as for my little laptop, it is its own keyboard that crashes. I am still researching its little issues...

[Palolo Joe]

Re: MacBook 3rd party issues?

Did you shell out the extra money for Apple Care?

Might be worth a phone call to customer service, if you did...

[pzarquon]

Re: MacBook 3rd party issues?

as for my little laptop, it is its own keyboard that crashes.

Ah. So first-party hardware, then? Have you noticed any correlation between when the keyboard goes dead and when the laptop is drawing from the battery (versus AC power)? Some random Googling has turned that up as one possible symptom, though it may be a different problem, and the suggested solution is a PMU (Power Management Unit) reset: shut down the laptop, disconnect the AC adapter and remove the battery, then hold down the power button for ten seconds. Supposedly the next time you startup, your PMU will have been reset, and things might improve.