Digital Trends
An 80-year-old man from Paris is the latest to report a dangerous problem with his iPhone – in this case, a screen that cracked before his eyes.
"I took it out of my pocket and held it to my ear and saw the screen crack up like a car windscreen," Rolland Caufman told AFP.
There have been several similar incidents, including one where a man claims a shard from the screen hit his eye when it broke up. And all this has prompted an investigation by French consumer watchdog DGCCRF, which said:
Apple has issued a firmware update for its new 17-inch MacBook Pro which, supposedly, addresses a problem of vertical lines appearing on the display. The problem is apparently being experienced by a portion of owners of Apple’s new 17-inch unibody MacBook Pros: some displays show green vertical lines and other display anomalies when using the integrated Nvidia 9600GT discrete graphics processor.
Apple’s svelte (770K) update appears to fix the problem; however, it is not the first time Apple has had issued with the Nvidia graphics controllers used in its MacBook Pro systems. Some users reported the vertical lines problem only happened when the laptop was running hot; others reported the problem even when the 17-inch system was running cool.
Flights in and out of some UK airports, including the international hubs of Heathrow and Gatwick near London, were delayed or canceled yesterday when a computer glitch caused problems at the main air control center in Swanwick.
The problem hit about 4 pm yesterday, and British Airways alone had to cancel 35 domestic and European flights. There will also be a knock-on effect today with planes not where they should be, according to the BBC, and the size of the problem caused a spillover of the problem to airports all over Britain.
Apple has released a software update for its 3G iPhone which should eliminate the problems with reception and dropped calls reported by a number of users.
Although Apple has made no official comment on the problem, as is its way, some have speculated that the problem might lie in the Infeon chipset the handset uses.
From hints that have been dropped, it’s believed that the problem affects around 60,000 users. The iPhone firmware 2.0.2 is available for download through iTunes.
Chris Neher, of MacDailyNews.com, told the BBC:
A number of customers have reported reception problems with the spanking new Apple iPhone 3G handsets, and Business Week has reported that the problem may lie in the phone’s Infineon chip, a theory first put forward by analyst Richard Windsor of Nomura Securities, according to CNET.
At first it was believed that a recall might be necessary, involving replacement of the chipset, but now Apple and Infineon engineers are making their companies happy by saying a software upgrade could fix the problem.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the fix should be available "in the coming weeks," and users will be able to download and install it via iTunes.
Most of the problem chips were still in the hands of computer and motherboard manufacturers, said Bill Calder, an Intel spokesman.
“The good news is we think almost none of the impacted product
The problem, which appeared on dual 1.8GHz machines, created a beeping or hissing noise on some machines when used in conjunction with professional external audio gear, according to reports on Macintosh enthusiast sites including Think Secret and Macworld UK. The issue has also been a frequent topic of discussion on Apple’s support site.
An Apple representative told CNET News.com that a “small number” of customers have experienced the problem, which has been fixed in production. The company said any customers experiencing the issue should contact the company’s customer support.
Visit CNET News.com for more on this story.
Quote from the review at Virtual Hideout:
“Everything installed easily and fit without any force. I had only one problem: the top 120mm fan prevented me from putting my DVD drive in. I think this really isn’t much of a problem though, because many people have fan controllers or system monitoring screens to put in a 5.25″ bay, and those will still fit fine. Since I previously modded a window into the top of my DVD drive, I was pleased to have a top window in the case so I could actually enjoy the mod! Up front, the drives are a little tacky being beige, but thanks to the door they aren’t visible when it’s closed. I checked out the local automotive store, and they carry this same case color, so painting the drives is an option.”
Quote from the review at SL Central:
“After reading this review, and looking at the 9.5 score I gave the Apple Powerbook 12″ laptop, you may be confused. I have listed in this review a countless number of problems with the laptop. From the display to the case warping, there are problems with this computer, thats for sure. Truthfully, the pros outweigh the cons. The performance is great, the design is better, and the OS is best. These three things that really shine outweigh the small problems like the lack of USB 2.0, or the short warranty. Call me biased, but the fact is that this laptop is great.
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