[Ti] Ti hinges (among others)

[Kynan Shook]

Georges Vandeputte <g.vandeputte at advalvas.be> writes:
> I don't discuss their strongness, only their concept.  As a matter of
> fact they seem to be *too* strong.  The movement gets harder over time
> (lubrication issue ?) and this time, exactly as a year ago, the opening
> movement  is *much* harder than the closing.  The hinges snap during a
> perfectly normal opening movement. I can assure you, my previous
> experience scared the hell out of me, and I paid extra attention
> opening the Powerbook.
> No, really, those hinges are faulty.
> I hoped Apple would place new design hinges, as the problem was
> perfectly identified by then, but now I doubt it !

Well, I suppose if the movement got way too tight, that could probably 
put enough stress on the hinge to break it.  The hinge and the 
supporting parts around it - on ANY laptop - are under a lot of stress. 
  Try bending the hinge of a screen with just your bare hands; unless 
the hinge has an unusually long base (giving you more leverage), it is 
difficult, if not impossible, without using tools of some sort to gain 
leverage.  The hinges should never need lubrication.  Makes me wonder a 
little bit if they have a different parts source for Europe or 
something, since I haven't seen this problem much in my job in the US.  
Seems unlikely though; I presume your PowerBook's serial number starts 
with QT?  This is the factory code, and as far as I know, all 15" 
Titanium PowerBooks were made in the same factory.

> It's all figured out : the screen part of the hinge, which is =20
> ridiculously thin alloy, broke off at its weakest point : the screw =20
> hole on the side of the screen.   This part also maintains the poor =20
> rotating element... see ?

Well, for what it's worth, I bought a Ti 500 as soon as I could get my 
paws on one, and it has been pretty much perfect.  I sold it to my 
sister almost a year ago when I decided it was time for me to upgrade, 
and it has worked very well for her too.  No hinge problems, no paint 
flaking.

> A market developing on that problem, and Apple not recognizing it's
> responsabilities?

Actually, the market has developed more on taking advantage of people 
who significantly damaged their computers (eg logic board is dead, 
screen is cracked).  These companies can easily pick up broken 
computers on eBay, disassemble them, and sell the parts at a huge 
profit.  Most of the things they sell are priced way more than they're 
worth, especially for used parts.  Certainly they're way more expensive 
than what we would sell a used part for, though we don't sell used 
parts very often.

Anyway, best of luck on fixing/replacing your computer!