Q: New iMac 27inch screen flickering/tearing/shutoff

Hi Warren,

I think there is an issue with the Magic Mouse batteries:
http://www.upvery.com/5932-the-battery-problem-the-magic-mouse-could-be-a-softwa re.html

Do some research in Google, there might be a fix already.

Concerning your test with the Yellow, It could be interesting to do the same thing but taking some photos of the screen with a digital camera. Placing the camera just in front of the iMac, having exactly the same desktop configuration(white background with no icons or whatsoever). Turn off any possible light in the room so the only light will come from the screen.

Take some photos one day and do the same a week later using the same settings in the camera. Then create the same PSD file with the halves and check that out. In that way you will be able to see some real difference.

If you know about digital cameras, try to choose a white balance setting that capture the whites as they look. Some digital cameras change the whites for yellowish tones.

Good luck!

Warren: I have been keeping track of my Magic Mouse and its battery consumption since I first read about the problem on this Forum. I am using Sanyo rechargeables as I was going thru batteries at a fast clip. Right now a fully charged set of batteries in the Magic Mouse are lasting 10 days to 2 weeks almost to the day. Hopefully Apple will have some type of fix issued soon as this is truly beyond belief. I do turn the Magic Mouse off when I am not using it with the switch on the back. For more on this problem here is the link to the other discussion on this Forum ... http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=10679034

Thanks for sharing all your thoughts in your many posts ... great information too.

Update:
Almost 2 full days with Replacement iMac 21" NVidia Week 51
I do notice a Screen difference but from Left to Right with this iMac.
So the right side of Screen has Yellow Tinge. Called Apple Got a new Case #.
No Flicker So Far.
To be honest, when doing anything on here, I never notice the Screen having this Yellow Tinge.
It's only when I do the Vertical Grey Bar test, that I can see the difference.
The most advanced Photo Editor I use is iPhoto & I'm not a Graphic Artist.
So Guess What? As long as it doesn't Flicker, I'm keeping it.
Everything else working great.

I think it isn't a good reason to be satisfied.. We all are buying $2200 machines. From my point of view if anyone notice such problems (yellow, flickering, ..) have to continue to try to have a working unit. If we stop with "ok, it's not what it should be but for me is enough" Apple will never really threat us as we want to be.

I understand your Point, but if I don't notice it when using the Computer, I personally can live with it. If it Flickers, it's going back. Just my personal preference. I know most people will not deal.

Nathan Hill1 wrote:
Am I missing something here, doesn't the Mouse automatically goto sleep / turns off after a predetermined amount of time thus saving the battery? I've had my iMac for 5 weeks now and still have 57% Battery life and have never switched it off.

I honestly don't know. I just looked through the "Everything Mac" booklet that comes with the new iMacs, and I was unable to find anything about this, or about turning off the keyboard.

Can someone more knowledgeable please answer this for us? Does the Magic Mouse conserve battery power by going to sleep, or by turning itself off after a predetermined amount of time?

I think the answer to the second part of the question is a negative, because I will sometimes be away from my iMac for a while, and when I come back, the MM works as usual, without any kind of delay.

As far as it going to sleep, again, I honestly don't know, but I haven't seen any evidence of this. Has anyone else?

fa_design wrote:
I think there is an issue with the Magic Mouse batteries:
http://www.upvery.com/5932-the-battery-problem-the-magic-mouse-could-be-a-softwa re.html

Do some research in Google, there might be a fix already.

Concerning your test with the Yellow, It could be interesting to do the same thing but taking some photos of the screen with a digital camera. Placing the camera just in front of the iMac, having exactly the same desktop configuration(white background with no icons or whatsoever). Turn off any possible light in the room so the only light will come from the screen.

Take some photos one day and do the same a week later using the same settings in the camera. Then create the same PSD file with the halves and check that out. In that way you will be able to see some real difference.

If you know about digital cameras, try to choose a white balance setting that capture the whites as they look. Some digital cameras change the whites for yellowish tones.

Hello fa_design. Thanks for the link. I read the entire thread, as well as a related thread. While there have been a few reports from people with the newer short, two-battery wireless keyboard, the vast majority of the posters in those threads are using the older three-battery keyboards. From what I read, it seems that there was some kind of an incompatibility between the three-battery wireless keyboard and the Magic Mouse, which Apple addressed -- and fixed -- with a recent software update.

Concerning your yellow tinge test suggestions, thanks for the ideas, but given how slight the problem is on my machine -- although it is beginning to bother me more, and I confess that I've now gotten into the habit of looking at the lower right corner, and comparing it to the lower left corner, when I am on these white pages -- I really don't feel like going through the hassle of taking pictures and doing all of that work. As I said, unless it gets worse, I can live with it...I think.

old john wrote:
Warren: I have been keeping track of my Magic Mouse and its battery consumption since I first read about the problem on this Forum. I am using Sanyo rechargeables as I was going thru batteries at a fast clip. Right now a fully charged set of batteries in the Magic Mouse are lasting 10 days to 2 weeks almost to the day. Hopefully Apple will have some type of fix issued soon as this is truly beyond belief. I do turn the Magic Mouse off when I am not using it with the switch on the back. For more on this problem here is the link to the other discussion on this Forum ... http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=10679034

Thanks for sharing all your thoughts in your many posts ... great information too.

Hello Old John,

Thanks for the info, the link and the compliment. I appreciate it.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I read that entire thread. For now, I am going to keep an eye on the situation and see how it goes. As of right now, after seven days and seven hours of use -- with everything turned off for 6-8 hours per 24-hour period, the keyboard battery level remains at 100%, while the Magic Mouse battery level stands at 76%. I do a lot of typing, mousing and scrolling throughout the day. The original Energizer batteries -- put in at the factory I suppose -- are still in both units.

If the Magic Mouse batteries don't last at least a few weeks, I will seriously consider switching to rechargeable batteries as well.

This is from the Magic Mouse User Guide 'Note: When you aren't using the mouse, it goes to sleep to conserve battery power. If you won't be using your mouse for an extended period, turn it off'

I replaced my Energizer Ultra+ batteries that came with the MM with Energizer Lithium, and in addition to making the mouse noticebly lighter, they are still showing 100% after 3 weeks !

Message was edited by: UKOutpost

It would be really nice if you move your mouse discussions to a pertinent thread, this one is long enough to keep up on without having to shuffle through posts that belong somewhere else.

Would you try adjusting a movie screen on the wall if the picture was crooked, or would you adjust the projector? Really . . . . We're all trying hard to get through to Apple that we are intelligent folks here and then I read a post about capturing the screen to see where the yellowing is coming from . . once again give me a break.

fa_design wrote:
Hi Warren,

I think there is an issue with the Magic Mouse batteries:

I think a great upgrade to the magic mouse would be to have a docking station to charge the mouse magnetically when not in use, somewhat like the power pads advertised can do with the ipod and iphone. A majic mouse house...

I'm following this thread closely, I'm very close to ordering an i7 but I think I'll wait until mid february at least. I'm hoping the new builds as well as the replacements run rock solid.

This will be my first mac, I'm hoping to enjoy and rely on the apple product.

Dino1956 wrote:
I understand your Point, but if I don't notice it when using the Computer, I personally can live with it. If it Flickers, it's going back. Just my personal preference. I know most people will not deal.

And this is exactly why I think the issue is a lot more widespread than anyone thinks it might be. Most people actually WILL deal and that's precisely why Apple can get away with it. It's really a shame.

If every computer currently in use, regardless of make or model, were given the yellow screen test, what percentage do you suppose would show some degree of yellowing? Yellowing that the owners were previously not aware of.

Would the percentage be more, less, or the same as the current crop of iMacs?

It is definitely Widespread & if I were to guess I would say at least 70% have the Yellow tinge. I have a friend with a 24" model before this one & I tested his & his does not have it.