I wondered how long it would take to happen. I just received my beautiful 1GHz Titanium PowerBook with SuperDrive… And I DROPPED it! Considering that I’ve owned PowerBooks since the 170 was released, I have plenty of experience with these. In all these years, I don’t believe I’ve dropped a machine once. Of course, as soon as I get the most beautiful (and most fragile) of them all, I drop it.
I was sitting at my desk, an EtherNET cable being the only thing connecting it to the wall. The cable, because of the desk arrangement, must drape to the right side of my chair. I was in a rush (stupid), got up, my foot snagged in the cable, and the machine dropped to the floor. The way it dropped was, well, pretty incredible in itself. It plummeted to the floor keyboard and screen FACE DOWN.
It happened so fast, I THINK what happened is that it hit the floor (thin, not shag, carpet over cement w/one of those plastic floor covers for a wheeled chair), bounced up in the air (the springiness of the hinge causing this), the screen closed, the machine bounced back to the ground, backside up. At that second I was angry, still rushing to the back to fix the problem I got up for. By the time I got back, I felt terrible & couldn’t wait to open it and see what horror awaited me.
Good news & bad news. The good news is that, other than a little dirt from the floor, there was no damage to the screen. I used KlearScreen wipes, and it looks as good as new. Initially, the only damage I saw was a tiny crack on the plastic bezel, the light colored one that goes around the keyboard and mouse.
After closing the machine, I see that the titanium case itself is slightly bent now. The screen doesn’t close as nicely as it did when it was new (2 weeks ago?). Also, down by the trackpad, there is a little bump where I guess the Ti flexed. These problems are nearly imperceivable, although I know they’re there.
My brother has a Ti too; he says a few bumps give the machine “character.” Yeah, that makes me feel much better. I guess in the end, I’m impressed that the screen didn’t break and the DVD-R seems fine, but I still wish these machines could take more abuse without bending.
I guess after 10 years of portability, I deserve to drop one. It’s just a shame it had to be with the most fragile laptop I’ve ever owned, and two weeks after getting it. Maybe it’s like a car – after the first door ding you relax a bit?
