::swisswuff::web front end::

Executive summary

If your Powerbook exhibits Narcoleptic Syndrome and does have warranty on it: First, secure your data using Target disk mode. Then start the warranty process you usually would start for such problems.  Since the warranty process is likely to  take up a considerable time, and there is a greater-than-zero chance that you may have to take your laptop back for further warranty "repair" once or twice more, I suggest to seriously consider buying another computer - a Mac Mini, another Mac laptop, or an affordable PC desktop or laptop computer (they are not that bad - my wife and me just "switched") so you can be productive "while owning" a Mac laptop.

If your Powerbook exhibits Narcoleptic Syndrome and does not have warranty on it: You may keep reading and consider taking it upon yourself to evaluate your options - at your own risk. Most importantly, secure your data using Target disk mode as the first thing you do. A repair is likely to cost a lot of money, that can also (a) buy a faster, better and more reliable laptop that runs Linux or Windows or both, (b) buy a Mac Mini or a nice PC laptop (I have two Mac Mini-equivalents on the PC side: both are slim Acer desktop computers; I would not want to miss any of them), or (c) go towards a new Apple laptop even though I would assume that these are probably stricken by a similar problem or another problem.

No matter whether you do or do not have warranty: reconsider your strategy of choosing an Apple laptop or of pouring money into a costly "repair":

• consider purchasing and setting up a fast and very affordable laptop computer, and
• consider moving some of your application domains over to PC and / or Linux.
  

General reading about repairs

Macs, desktops or notebooks, can be opened, modified and closed correctly by anyone who knows what they are doing. As to that effect, there are books and websites dealing with this. If your computer is the only one you have, simultaneously checking the web can be hard....

Narcolepsy saga

On July 16th, when I was madly working on a piece of text, I had been using my Powerbook G4's keyboard and trackpad intensively since weeks. The model concerned was a Powerbook G4 1.5 GHz Aluminium purchased in summer 2005 (NH).

All of a sudden I did get Narcoleptic Powerbook Syndrome! In other words, the computer "fell asleep" without particular signal or command. This happened at intervals ranging from 3 to 20 seconds.

Of course, working on text was the very reason I bought that Powerbook, so any "fix" would have to take into account that further strain would be imposed on the trackpad / keyboard region. I have been typing on computers since around 1984 or so, and never had problems with them - and I am not a particularly clumsy or forceful typer.

Now, narcolepsy did not happen during Target disk mode (restart computer pressing down the T key on the keyboard and hook the Powerbook up to another Mac with a FireWire cable), and so I got to backup all of my data minutes later without problem. Also, this pointed me to the fact that I was dealing with a problem of software or/and hardware, but somewhat likely a problem that could be fixed using software.

The problem was referred to "narcoleptic Powerbook" on a range of Internet forums, and it was typically tracked to a defective trackpad temperature sensor. This part apparently breaks as a consequence of heavy or extensive mechanical strain of the keyboard and trackpad area of the Powerbook [further deteriorating comments withheld].

Requiem for a Temperature Sensor 

Without surprise, I found that until the very moment that my first symptoms with Narcoleptic Powerbook had occured, the average temperature readout for my trackpad temperature sensor was 7.5 degrees C, and from the moment that crapping out of my Apple Powerbook laptop had occured, temp readouts were 0.0 degrees C. In other words, the software "Temperature Monitor" (you can find it with Google) supported this assumption of a defective touchpad temperature sensor.

So I figured that on the hardware side, I would be in for a major repair, including replacement of logic board or case parts including the trackpad.

And I figured that due to the design of these parts, I'd be in for further repairs further down the track, because likely, if it's designed to break, it'll likely break again. I figured that, based on previous experience with that company, Apple may not have any particular idea about what really causes that problem. This means that in reality, they'd be unable to fix it - despite all the money in the world. 

So, I first went looking for ways to switch the software temperature sensing off. In other words, if I can't remove the sensor, I can still try to remove the software part that's reading that sensor.

Working my way up from trying an initial fix on macosxhints.com that switched off both trackpad and PMU, I then posted the whole thing on an Apple Discussion forum, where I obtained a very educated reply by a certain 'danny hajicek', then I applied the following fix:

This should be considered a risky modification of a system that I can not recommend to anyone. It should be considered extremely experimental. If you type something wrong, if you press the wrong key, there may not be any double floor. This is only if you really are a 'you ask for it you get it' person, as mentioned already. 

So much for the Disclaimer(TM). Now, I can safely report that exceptionally, this trick worked bliss for me in the beginning. Even though I don't know about yours, my Powerbook G4 had four other temperature sensors that kept it running at normal temperatures, so I thought I could do rather well without this particular sensor.

Since all I'd get by obtaining a repair - or a new Powerbook G4 - would be an equally sensitive trackpad that wouldn't withstand serious usage - such as heavy typing for editing -, I would have risked a relapse by not attempting to remove this sensor from being read out by the OS X software anyway. So even if I did get myself some new hardware parts on your Powerbook, I'd still end up having to disable this hardware piece to keep my machine happy and running. However, in as much as you are concerned by any of this, I couldn't possibly comment.

A Powerbook G4 mod tip that got mailed to me

Requiem for my data

Of course, my Powerbook really (and to me) is only worth as much as the data (and applications) I have running on it. My particular Powerbook started to provide "functionality" in a more wavelike fashion, like maybe when you would walk through and look at "Pictures At An Exhibition" (its function comes and goes, then stays away, like a fairy or maybe a gnome) than a more persistent function. So I started to take my data away. 

At this moment I should mention that I do have a considerable number of backup options, all of which I frequently use. I realized early with computers (C64, Apple, IBM, ..), that none of them really deserve trust, at least not over an extended period of time - and surely and particularly not Apple computers. You can try trusting them - but you really risk being disappointed. That was news back in the days when they typed up the 'Orange Book', and it's still news today.

So I re-booted the Powerbook while pressing the T-key (hence starting it into the so-called Target-disk mode). This allowed me to hook the Powerbook to another Mac using a FireWire cable and operate it as if it was an external harddisk. Interestingly enough, no narcolepsy occured (but a Powerbook is a bit too bulky in order to go through as an external harddisk). So I could make sure even the last bit of my data was "safe".

Later (read below), I dismantled the Powerbook (I have no warranty on it anyway, and so I decided to maximize benefits of a computer that's losing value as we speak, hell, it's a Power PC G4!). I put the 100GB-harddisk into a considerably older Powerbook G4 0.5GHz Titanium, and now consider using the spare 20GB-drive from that old laptop for a little project that requires an external USB-drive "larger than around 6 GB".

Requiem for the Rest of the Powerbook

Several weeks after this, my Powerbook started to exhibit more serious problems. First of all, the narcoleptic sleep-occurences started to come back despite the above mentioned fix. Another colleague of mine - also having an initially narcoleptic Powerbook G4 - applied the aforementioned fix (see the tips contained in the funny-colored box). He runs his Powerbook G4 since about 6 months now (as of December 2006) without any further problems and with good reliability. So, his computer didn't go BITZEL, mine did. Between both of us, you'd face a 50/50 risk for a free fix, were you to conduct limited statistics. 

For me and at this time, occasional 'overtemp' signals were logged, but also or alternatively, 'blueetooth' and other errors seemed to trigger the deep sleep. Opposing my previous assumption, this Powerbook problem was not restricted to one particular temperature sensor any more. 

After turning the PMU off by removing the relevant files from the /System/Library/Extensions folder, the machine then would run for any time between 7 to 20 minutes, and then shut down at random without a blink.

At this point in time it was clear to me, that whatever the deterioration of the hardware-software-unit was in this Powerbook, it was likely to be a major issue.  My assumption of this being a major issue is also reflected by the fact that this very article here (on my webpage) receives a considerable number of visits that I had not expected. So by all means conceivable, it's a major, major issue. 

Seeing as if Apple has no option but to understand the error before being able to fix it - and so far, indications of forum reports of this type of problem don't point to Apple even understanding the problem - I decided to move the relevant components (harddrive, antenna, RAM, DVD combo drive) out of my Aluminium Powerbook, retire the rest and hibernate the current situation using an old and slow Powerbook G4 Titanium 500 MHz (which is now happily humming on the harddrive which I moved over).  

Requiem for the decision of buying an Apple Powerbook

Technology is not easy to come by or decide upon. Many people suggested I get the machine repaired - however, Apple is neither likely to admit error, much less to admit design error, even less to offer a reduced price repair as they designed the machine poorly, and even far less to replace the machine or conduct a free repair.

At this point in time, the options are:

(1) Get the Powerbook repaired for a likely cost of around 1000 to 1300US$. There are currently no indications that Apple actually understands the technical flaw, and there are indications that they may not. Furthermore, Powerbook G4s are really slow and hot compared to some more modern ones running other processors.  All in all, any repair over 200$ would require extensive justification not available right now. 

(2) Buy a new MacBook or MacBook Pro for around 1000 to 2000US$. While this sounds like hardware that could run any of Windows, Linux or Mac OS X, there may be problems with device drivers for both Windows and Linux and a sub-optimal performance. Furthermore, MacBooks and MacBook Pros also seem to suffer from some type of random shutdown problem, that Apple may not entirely understand; while recent word got around that Apple "is alleged" to think it's the heatsink, we still don't know whether that's really true. There are a number of other hardware "issues" that plague new Apple laptops, so you may want to spend reasonable time on sites such as macfixit and read forum entries concerning Apple laptop hardware problems. Apple may not be technically able to fix any of these, even if the device would fall under warranty. Based on previous experience with Apple hardware, this does not sound like a good investment at all. 

(3) Buy a new non-Apple laptop, run Linux on it, and run Windows under VMWare. While I like OS X, many applications are now moving to non-Apple OS anyway; most important software for Mac either requires X11 and fink, or is cross-platform any way, so while OS X looks sleek, you still have to be a geek in order to get things done. I have realized that Mac OS X is entertaining and "spectacular" - at the same time, Linux offers similar functions at a typically better and more reliable performance. 

It appears to me, that Apple had to move prices down when siding with other Intel Core Duo notebook makers and thus must have further reduced the already weak quality control in their factories. 

And Apple, with me as customer, has a history of interesting technical design problems that all point to a deficiency in properly integrating electronic circuitry into a case, and I know, because I use Apple computers since just about 20 years now:

1. An Apple Macintosh Plus, and later Macintosh SE and SE/30 that I used, would exhibit interesting symptoms in relation to shielding: I could copy yourself a system floppy disk, and run the Mac with that system floppy disk inserted into the internal floppy drive (right underneath the monitor). After about 6 hours of continuous operation, I would have to reboot the Mac for the first time. And after about 12 hours of continuous operation, my floppy disk (the one running immediately underneath the monitor) would start to become unreliable. This would never happen when using the external drive for my system floppy and the internal drive for my data files - only then I would risk my files, my data, the stuff I tried to produce. In other words, the cube Macs were great, but predictably damaged the internally used floppy disks. - My observations were set off by some colleagues, who asked me for advice, and who held their floppys - while swapping - in front of the little monitor. That's when I started thinking about that little b/w monitor being an important cause for some operational problems that were undocumented and relevant, because at that time, the only way to run a Mac was by having the operating system, applications and data on floppy disks. Another source of suspicion came from data loss on my C64 which would run in front of an old B/W television: the closer the floppy drive was standing to the monitor, the more problems I would get. 
2. The SE/30 I bought in 1991 had a motherboard that sat on a piece of cardboard. That cardboard was coated with some metallic surface on the bottom which apparently served as shielding. Now, the way the parts of the SE/30 rested on that cardboard must have caused the motherboard pins to stick through it and sometimes get in touch with the metallic side of the shielding, which was my assumption: because my SE/30 had the weirdest errors - with stripes and completely gaga-looking "bluescreens" - that were effectively treated by running it upside down (repeatedly this would work!), or by shaking it in an upside-down position for some minutes. The problem occured first 9 months after the purchase and reoccured ever since. This observation was never acknowledged by the Apple repair center, and thus, never covered by Apple warranty even though it was, by my own observation and judgement, clearly a technical design problem. This clearly indicated to me that Apple (or its representatives, clearly equal to me from point of view as customer) did not recognise and repair errors that clearly fell under advanced engineering competency.
   
3. The Quadra 900 machine that I had was flawless. There was no issue with this computer.
   
4. The Quadra 840 machine had a SCSI chain that was powered in a way that was very hard to set up correctly. At one point in time, a SCSI cable burned down (!) after igniting spontaneously (!) with no damage incurred on the computer, including the logic board (I had the machine tested afterwards).
   
5. I had a Powermac G3 desktop computer; this machine was flawless up to the moment when OS X came along.
   
6. I had two iMacs: a gray iMac Special Edition and a "ruby" iMac. The "ruby" model did not seem to run well and crash a lot, while doing the same on the gray iMac SE was no problem. My iMac SE died due to graphics failure.
   
7. A Powermac G4 867 MHz (tower) followed. This machine was so loud and slow, that I eventually upgraded all fans and the processor. Now the machine is in good working condition. However, it is not possible to reliably boot this computer; there can be re-boot cycles of 3-4 times until a correct boot sequence occurs. 
8. Then I got an eMac G4. Nothing at all wrong with this machine - it still runs, now somewhere in the German capital. Maybe an interesting quirk was a mild monitor distortion that was present since upgrading this machine with the memory that I retrieved from the (then broken) gray iMac SE. 
9. My Powerbook G4 Titanium and Powerbook G4 Aluminium had an almost non-existent Airport reception. Of course, this is an issue relating to integrating parts into a case, or acknowledging the fact that the mere installation of computer parts into a case can bring about particular difficulties. In both instances I had to undertake specific measures in order to obtain a good and solid WiFi reception on these computers, and there was no way the computers were equipped with external WiFi antenna connectors or sufficient airport reception. Now, this text is typed on an Asus A6T laptop running the latest Mozilla Firefox webbrowser under full 64-bit Suse Linux 10.2, with KDE 3.5.5, and no hardware modifications were required any more. 
10. Our first iPod mini was found to exhibit a crackling noise problem. When playing with the components of this model (my wife's iPod mini had these issues), I found that the positioning of harddrive and battery relative to the main board were crucial in obtaining - or avoiding - the crackling noise. The problem occured 2 years after the purchase, and the observation was never confirmed by Apple. There is no indication in Internet forums that Apple ever got to the root of the problem. However, the reproducibility and full correlation to the parts positioning, in my view and observation, were entirely conclusive of a serious technical design problem. After our second iPod mini also got these symptoms and both batteries had died, I decided to definitely move on; I was sick of the job Apple had done that had cost me twice the price of an iPod mini. - My wife got me a GP2X for my birthday; this thing is comparatively cheap, plays back mp3 and OGG files, it also play videos and all sorts of games; it is open source, and runs standard issue AA rechargable or regular batteries; furthermore, it holds SD cards (which allows me to store anything on any number and just swap them) rather than some limited sized harddisk. It features a number of very convenient controls rather than an alienating turn wheel, including two frame side big buttons (for next or previous songs) which allows me to hit them when driving (try switching songs with an iPod...). 
11. The Powermac G4 Quicksilver and the Powermac G4 Mirrored Doors both were equipped with extremely noisy fans. Not even our current server-workstation-class computers were ever howling that bad, even when we gave them so much work they started to sing. Apple was cool to recognize this issue for the second model (the Mirrored Doors model), but they failed to acknowledge it for my privately owned one (Quicksilver). Nevertheless, this problem was fixed when I replaced the fans with other fans. I also replaced the processor around the same time, and improved cooling in order to keep that machine running at handwarm temperatures, and it is still in very good working condition and runs smoothly. At the moment that I start cranking open computers in order to get my fingers dirty, I am also asking myself who works for whom here, and at what price. That is when you wish you had your choice of hardware options - and I mean, hardware options, not fancy stuff. So in my not so humble opinion, "cheap OEM fans", "Papst fans" or "Thermal Take fans" should definitely and by all means one of the pre-production options for any computer priced Apple league prices. And I can tell you for free that these fans work bliss inside Apple computers - I put in quite a number of them, and none caused any problems. 
12. The Apple Powermac G5 I had ordered in summer 2005 arrived with some initially weird symptoms, that then stopped altogether when the machine would crap out. This was effectively a DOA, and I was happy Apple acknowledged it. I already then was of the opinion that Apple must have had some device testing problems, because how can you ship such a machine. 
13. The Apple Powermac G5 I had ordered later in 2005 was also DOA to begin with. I plugged it in, but it didn't work. The reseller I bought it from accepted my warranty claim. I then considered Apple's quality management not sufficient to prevent shipment of what clearly are dead computers. 
14. The Apple Powermac G5 I bought recently second-hand had a logic board problem and required repair. I knew there could be such a defect and wasn't upset about it. And surprisingly, now it works without problems, and I do wonder what the difference was. Also, that G5 Powermac, even tough  similar with regard to tech specs to a "1st generation"  Powermac G5 (both are dual 2.0 GHz), runs 1.5 to 2.0 x as fast with regard to certain applications. So, who knows what's up. 
15. My Apple Powerbook G4 Aluminium crapped out due to what appears to be a major flaw in design. This is what I call real highway robbery by Apple. Powerbook Aluminium models, MacBooks and MacBook Pros seem to suffer from an unidentifiable problem that should be related to some extensive design flaws covering a number of (expensive) components of these laptops. If you have to get several parts, including top case and logic board, replaced, and even then can not count on this computer being functional and working, I bet we are looking at yet another example of Apple missing out on technically sound integration of a logic board into a computer case. Recently, Apple started "admitting" that "something was wrong with the heatsink" of MacBooks - according to some websites - but quite honestly there is no way of telling whether that is an accurate assessment or not.
    
16. With current Mac Mini models, FTP file transfers will cause a hard crash if either file count or file size (have not found that out yet) is exceeded. It appears as if an old OS X bug, from a previous version of OS X, has found its way back into the system. This only happens with the Mac Minis in use (Intel Macs) - not with Powermac G4 or Powermac G5 computers that still run. 
    

We can learn from this, that it is mandatory for mission critical investment, to wait for Apple products to be released for at least 9 to 18 months before starting to read on the Internet forums how they are actually performing. We can learn from this that Apple has a history of repeating specific errors that other companies seem not to have - at least not to the same extent. 

However, the frequency of Google searches with the keyword "narcoleptic powerbook", or "temperature sensor issue" on this particular article on my own webpage (i.e., the article you are reading right now) indicates to me that we probably are dealing with a major, major issue here - not a small scale problem at all. Even if many owners of Powerbooks do not voice their experience, the sheer amount of traffic this page has generated so far is a possible indicator to me that this may not just be a singular freak incident. And that is not the moment to buy another Apple laptop without hesitation. 

I would require a laptop that runs Linux (X11) (60%), Windows (20%), and Mac OS X (20%). Apple laptops would be perfect for that - if they would meet the hardware requirements of allowing wide choice of options (they don't, all you get is Intel Core Duo), and if they would meet some minimal requirements as to sturdiness of their design (they obviously don't, recently not even NVIDIA cards seem to work in the MacBook Pro, causing kernel panic, while Apple is busy deleting forum entries discussing just that ).  

In my personal opinion, this issue currently severely limits the usage of Apple computers or other hardware such as iPods: because the real problem that arises is that OS X only runs on Apple hardware. OS X could be a real go-getter for Apple, but unless they are forced to sell it separately from their hardware, they probably won't do that. At this moment, this forces me to use hardware by other vendors, and thus, to another operating system.

I recommend to either accept these serious design issues of Powerbooks, enjoy it while it doesn't sleep (or while it sleeps), and deal with the issues strategically in a forward fashion (i.e., buy 2-3 cheaper Apple computers instead of 1 powerful one, so you have back-up), or by avoiding Apple hardware altogether (and install your application domains on other operating systems such as Linux, Windows or Unix).

We did the latter already starting 3 years ago: I bought an affordable Acer desktop pizza box sized machine just to "play with Linux and Windows". Then we moved our main calculations to an IBM machine running AIX - and while that was not an easy decision at first, it helped us to be educated enough about other options. 

I am currently conducting a systematical switch from Macintosh OS X to Linux; I got myself a blazing fast Asus A6T. After an initial setup, am putting into practice a move of my application domains. Also, I am currently waiting out Apple's workstation performance (Xeon machines) and keep checking user experience reports for at least a year or so, while safely running a Linux based Fujitsu Siemens Celsius v830 with dual AMD Opteron 254 inside (ah, you know your way around FPU benchmarks, right) which is very, very, very nice and cost me just about about half of a comparative Apple model's price while offering more performance and extensions, full speed Windows or Linux compatibility and dynamic frequency scaling. 

Requiem for the underlying design issue of the Apple Powerbook and Macbook Pro design line

There is no clear explanation what could cause the problem, even though at first it may appear so.

Some people hypothesize that cable isolation of temperature sensors could be the issue, and isolating or "moving" those cables away from where they are could help resolve the issue:  

http://www.mactechnews.de/index.php?id=14304 

Wie uns ein Leser per E-Mail berichtet hat, scheint man bei Apple mittlerweile den Schuldigen für das plötzliche Ausschalten einiger MacBook gefunden zu haben. Demnach sind die Anschlusskabel der Temperatursensoren zu nah am Prozessorkühlkörper verlegt, so dass deren Isolierung schmilzt und diese über dem Kühlkörper einen Kurzschluss verursachen. Dies führt zu dem plötzlichen Ausschalten des MacBook und die Kabel entfernen sich anschließend beim Kühlungsprozess wieder vom Kühlkörper - bis zum nächsten Kurzschluss. Technikern habe Apple empfohlen, die Kabel eigenhändig mit Isolierband zuverlässig vor dem Kühlkörper zu schützen und ihren Verlauf so weit wie möglich vom Kühlkörper weg zu fixieren. Apple selbst arbeite bereits an einer Modifikation für Ersatzteillieferungen. Allerdings soll laut dem Leserbericht auch die Modifikation des Technikers mit Isolierband bereits zuverlässig die Ausschaltprobleme gelöst haben.

However, this is not backed up by other people, who say that they had to play with the heat sink paste, that apparently had drooled down from its original position and cause havoc because of that:

Ich glaube nicht, dass es wirklich das Problem ist. Ich hatte gestern, nach 2 Garantieeinsendungen und einen Logicboardtausch, mein Macbook selbst zerlegt und dort waren nirgends Spuren einer geschmolzenen Isolierung. Stattdessen fand ich massig Wärmeleitpaste unter dem Kühlkörper. Ich habe diese komplett entfernt, Kühlkörper und Dies mit Ethanol gereinigt und neue Wärmeleitpaste (AS5) hauchdünn aufgetragen. Seitdem habe ich absolut keine Probleme mehr.

While the issue remains interesting, it remains also speculative. If you decide to base your business operations on such speculation, you may very well do that and I could not possibly comment - but personally, I like devices to be constructed more reliably. 

While Apple seems to now publicize their "fix" for the problem as related to the heatsink, we have to keep in mind that there was no acknowledgment of the issue until recently many websites started to blog the problem (including this one), and we have to keep in mind that those are the same people that otherwise would not have come forward with this. In other words, there is no way of telling whether it is really the heatsink, or even another problem. As of October 2006, Apple seems to not conclusively be aware of the specific cause.

What Apple could have done

All the while within the last two weeks, AMD had a representative contact me personally to offer an exchange of two Opteron 254 processors that they had found had slipped some manufacturing control checks before getting shipped. Think about it! They sent around people fixing something that didn't even cause a problem - they fixed it to prevent any problem possibly arising from this. 

Apple could have contacted the buyers of Powerbook G4s and told them to get their heat sinks replaced before they had any problem as a consequence of it. And Apple computers, per rate of performance, cost far more than that AMD machine that I bought. So we can learn from this that Apple takes out their narrow-minded stinginess coupled with faulty computer design on the back of the customer who on top of that gets milked for extra money. And that really is no policy I can see myself supporting without a very good reason.

If Apple is that company that only acts on external pressure and not out of their own conviction of what's right or now, then I shall exert my right as customer and lay that down as a free - and verbally clear - choice: Apple representative can make that choice - and so can I.  

Requiem for application domains on Apple

After this rather problematic timely sequence of issues that highlighted once more how hard it is to get a monopolizing company to admit an error (*I* told you since the beginning that this was design inherent - and there is nothing sweeter than to be able to say 'I told you so') we have to slowy nudge to other domains in terms of hardware and software usage. 

Currently, Beagle beats Spotlight (did you see the controls and options?), k3b beats OS X Finder when burning CD/DVD media (more interesting options), and Kile and Texmaker beat LyX for LaTeX editing; Coppermine PHP-gallery beats iPhoto (because anyone gets to look at the pictures), Open Office beats Word (far more stable), and VMWare or dual-boot options allow for some Windows operations as well that are harder, and not as easy and fast to install and run, on Mac laptops.  

If you believe Apple sells "great hardware", you obviously didn't look at Hewlett Packard , Fujitsu-Siemens, Acer, Asus and most certainly not Monarch Computer who are simply awsome at least when it comes to desktop computing. 

All of my "Mac-specific" software also runs on Windows, particularly Propellerheads' Reason. Now we all hope for Adobe to release fully-blown Linux versions of their graphical applications! Other companies did it (IDL, Matlab, ..), so I am sure Adobe can do it. - Unless, of course, OS X will be available for PC.

Mac OS X for PC is a visionary product that I would buy and run any old time. If any not-so-proud Apple shareholder could have a word in for me at their next shareholder meeting with, say, Steve Jobs, Thanks Dude, I'll buy an extra Apple logo item just for you :-)  

Links

• Blogsite dealing with the first occurence and a so far successful fix of this problem. 
  
• Digg link
• MacFixIt link
• O'Grady link
• Rick Cameron's blog
  
• MacBookRandomShutdown website
  
• MacBook class action lawsuit
  

Keywords: Apple Powerbook G4 Narkolepsie Narcoleptic Narcolepsy Sudden Sleep Plötzlich Schlaf Ausschalten Kaputt Hardware Defect Hardware Trackpad Temperatursensor Temperature Sensor Design Flaw Designfehler