hfoster
sage
Reged: 10/16/06
Posts: 328
Loc: Western New York State
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My cat knocked a cup of coffee onto my beloved Titanium PowerBook!  It's drying in the sun, but it doesn't look good! The keyboard was pretty well soaked, as was the top memory module.
And this after I've gotten AstroPlanner, EquinoX, and a bunch of other astro software loaded and running!
Assuming the worst, should I cheap out with a 13" MacBook at $1300, or spring for the $2000 MacBook Pro with the hi-res 15" screen?
Henrietta
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Celestron Ultima 8 PEC
Orion XT 4.5 Dob (son's scope)
DIY 80mm rich field refractor "Blackbird"
Ultima EPs: 35mm, 30mm, 24mm, 18mm, 12.5mm; Televue EPs:19mm Widefield, 8mm & 10mm Radians; Ultima 2x Barlow
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Mike28
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 06/21/03
Posts: 2889
Loc: Morris County,NJ
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Ooh thats gotta hurt. let it dry completely. I am sure kitty didnt mean to do it. If you must, go for the 2K Macbook. Might as well have the latest, greatest!
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Mike
'The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.” Albert Einstein
NS11GPS/Sky align
TAKAHASHI TOA150F
Celestron 80ED
TV Pronto
Burgess Bino
Coronado Ha PST
CGE mount
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Tom L
Reged: 01/07/04
Posts: 29817
Loc: Sunny Oregon
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Yeah, give the cat something it can really ruin your day with! 
What do you plan to do with your computer? If surfing and email is all, get the Macbook or a cheap Windows XP machine and put Linux on it!
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Tom 
Tele Vue 102mm f/8.6 on an EzTouch
Vixen 80mm f/5 A80SSWT on a grab-n-go mount
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oldsalt
Astro Philosopher
Reged: 02/12/05
Posts: 7958
Loc: Pa - between starparties
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What was in the coffe. If you drink it black, the computer may survive. If you take your coffe with cream and sugar, all bets are off.
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rboe
Numbfinger
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 39690
Loc: Phx, AZ
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On one of the mac/apple rumor mill sites it was suggested Apple may have something new come January '07. I do believe there is some kind of show around that time frame and they want something new to feed the troops.  So if you can wait you may want to see if that pans out.
I'm looking at replacing my PowerBook as it is going to be four years old next year and I'm wondering which route to take myself. Those darn macbooks are pretty powerfull in their own right but MacBooks are enticing too. 
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
15X70 Obies
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hfoster
sage
Reged: 10/16/06
Posts: 328
Loc: Western New York State
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Unfortunately my coffee had that fake creamer stuff in it. At this point I'll be thrilled if I can get it to boot up so I can get my stuff off the hard drive.
This is Mac # 7 for our household since the mid-80s - so I know all about the "what is Apple coming out with and when will it be released" guessing game. Fortunately I can borrow my son's mac mini or my husband's imac - or even use my employer supplied Dell if I need to - but none of those have my apps and I can't haul any of them out to the deck with my scope. But I can wait till January if I need to to see what Apple does.
I use the computer for email and web, yes, but also for planetarium and other astro programs, and I'm experimenting with a webcam for astroimaging. I liked the 1680x1050 resolution of the 15" PowerBook, and I wonder if I'd be happy with a smaller screen and lesser resolution.
Henrietta
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Celestron Ultima 8 PEC
Orion XT 4.5 Dob (son's scope)
DIY 80mm rich field refractor "Blackbird"
Ultima EPs: 35mm, 30mm, 24mm, 18mm, 12.5mm; Televue EPs:19mm Widefield, 8mm & 10mm Radians; Ultima 2x Barlow
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rboe
Numbfinger
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 39690
Loc: Phx, AZ
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Well shoot, you're in a better postition than to guess about Apple so I hope you'll share with us what you bought. 
I've got the little 12" Powermac and I'm afraid my older eyes would like something with a bigger screen. This from a guy that just got done hooking up his dob to a Palm.
You might be able to hook a firewire cable to the laptop and pull data off that way. Never tried it myself but I see that method suggested in Mac magazines.
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
15X70 Obies
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Tom L
Reged: 01/07/04
Posts: 29817
Loc: Sunny Oregon
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Henrietta, surprisingly I've been happy with my Macbook resolution (I bought a Macbook when they first came out) and the speed is fine. Today's pick upped the ante with the dual core version of the CPUs but that was about all...we call it a speed bump in the industry (bump the speed of the CPU or the memory bus). Marginal improvement over current offerings but it is real. I would bet that Ron's rumor mill about January 2007 will be interesting...but worth waiting for? Don't know.
The best part right now for those of us with intel Macs is that the universal programs are starting to show up. That's good!
I've been in this biz too long to buy the latest and greatest when last year's technology is still awesome but now discounted 40-60%.
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Tom
Tele Vue 102mm f/8.6 on an EzTouch
Vixen 80mm f/5 A80SSWT on a grab-n-go mount
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rboe
Numbfinger
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 39690
Loc: Phx, AZ
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A quick review of the rumor mills has a tablet mac and a cell phone coming out. Personlly I'd like the new Wi-Fi standard, 802.22n (I think its' n )otherwise you're chasing the upgrade bus. A race you'll never win and spend a ton of money just keeping up.
The resolution on my little PowerBook seems fine too. I don't dare do a side by side test though. 
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
15X70 Obies
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TomC10
sage
Reged: 12/21/04
Posts: 239
Loc: Land of Enchantment
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It might be worth taking the ailing apple to a computer shop before you try to turn it back on. ..unless you're looking for an excuse.....
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Tom C
C10 NGT
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RandyR
Enginerd
Reged: 04/01/04
Posts: 14076
Loc: Castle Rock, CO 6677' MSL
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Henrietta,
I hope you have removed the battery (and did so immediately). You didn't say if the computer died immediately upon the soaking, if you did, you MAY not have destroyed the laptop.
It IS possible to undo the damage yourself, but it requires a pretty significant disassembly of the unit.
I've had one notebook end up in a puddle of muddy - dirty water and was able to ressurect it. All may NOT be lost.
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"Dark Skies & Great Viewing"
RandyR / NQ0R
GPS 9.25 XLT/Sky Align /FeatherTouch
TV85 w/FeatherTouch
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imjeffp
Senior Space Cadet
Reged: 09/30/03
Posts: 4424
Loc: Cedar Park, Texas
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I replaced my Macbook after spilling an orange soda into it. I was able to salvage the hard drive, intact, and one of the two DIMMs. I have a computer equipment rider on my homeowner's insurance, so I was only out the $100 deductible.
I like my Macbook, and didn't see enough difference in the Pro to make it worth it to me.
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Blog
ST80 • AT80EDT/LXD650
ETX-90/DS-2000 • 10" LX200 Classic ("The Quarter-Meter Telescope at the Heritage Park Observatory")
SPC900NC • DMK21AF04 • Digital Rebel XT
  
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RandyR
Enginerd
Reged: 04/01/04
Posts: 14076
Loc: Castle Rock, CO 6677' MSL
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Orange soda would really mess up a computer because of several of its constituent components: sugar, citric acid, and carbonated water - carbonic acid. Coffee - even with artificial creamer in it shouldn't be nearly as bad on the computer.
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"Dark Skies & Great Viewing"
RandyR / NQ0R
GPS 9.25 XLT/Sky Align /FeatherTouch
TV85 w/FeatherTouch
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hfoster
sage
Reged: 10/16/06
Posts: 328
Loc: Western New York State
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Well, this weekend I finally had time to look at my powerbook again. I had opened everything up to dry out and cleaned visible coffee stains off the internals. I wasn't able to clean all the coffee residue off the top memory module so I popped that out, put it in an anti-static bag from work, and set it aside.
The keyboard was a little crunchy so I depressed the keys a few times to loosen them up. Then it was time for the moment of truth - I reinstalled the battery pack, pressed the power switch and held my breath... the Macintosh startup chime has never sounded sweeter! Amazingly, the computer booted up. Only initial problem was that without a battery the date had reverted to midnight Dec 31, 1969 (the Unix Epoch).
When the computer died, there was a CD-ROM in the drive, so I tried ejecting it - after a few unsuccessful tries it finally came out. I figured my first priority was copying off the family vacation pictures onto a DVD, but the superdrive errored out then refused to eject the blank DVD. Looks like the superdrive is fried. I was able to run an ethernet cable to my husband's iMac and copy off the really important files that way. Unfortunately, he doesn't have room for the apps I've collected.
So bottom line, everything seems to be working except for the CD-ROM/DVD drive and a suspect memory module. Heck, I download most of my software anyway and I can live with 512MB RAM. The computer was powered on when the coffee was dumped in, so I figured the computer was a goner!
Of course, this incident may have shortened the computer's lifespan somewhat. I've ordered an Iomega network drive to hook to our wireless router so I can make a copy of my applications and we can all do backups, and I'm planning on getting an external keyboard so I can put the computer itself up and out of the way. And I need to start thinking about its replacement.
So thanks again to all here who offered encouragement and advice, and don't forget to do your backups!
Henrietta
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Celestron Ultima 8 PEC
Orion XT 4.5 Dob (son's scope)
DIY 80mm rich field refractor "Blackbird"
Ultima EPs: 35mm, 30mm, 24mm, 18mm, 12.5mm; Televue EPs:19mm Widefield, 8mm & 10mm Radians; Ultima 2x Barlow
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rboe
Numbfinger
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 39690
Loc: Phx, AZ
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I don't think the coffee on the top of the memory module will hurt - try reinserting it. If you want, clean it up with alcohol first.
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
15X70 Obies
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