The head of Apple Computer Corp’s Powerbook product line – the laptops are still unavailable following a recall – left for a six-week sabbatical last week and someone else will be in the job when he gets back. To would-be Apple Powerbook customers, it may seem as though the entire division is on sabbatical because Powerbook 5300s and other models have been unavailable since the recall back in May. Apple now says the Powerbooks with fixes won’t be available in volume until the end of August and that repairs for individual customers’ units have begun. The Cupertino-based company pulled the products off the shelves because of cracks in the plastic housing and faulty AC power connectors (CI No 2,910). Powerbooks division senior VP and general manager Brodie Keast left on sabbatical last Thursday and his boss, senior VP Power Macintosh products Fred Forsyth, will fill in until a replacement is hired. Keast made the decision that he didn’t want to continue in that role, Apple said. It ‘s unclear whether Keast, an 11-year Apple veteran, will remain at the company. Apple blamed limited availability of parts for the three month delay in getting the Powerbooks back on the market. Even if Apple could get the 5300 series back on shelves it would be woefully out of date. The Powerbooks division has been unable to get the machines to work with lithium ion batteries, standard in most machines, after problems with them overheating, and in some cases, exploding. The Powerbook fiasco is symbolic of Apple’s overall problems. It borders on incompetence, said Pieter Hartsook, editor of the Apple-watching Hartsook Newsletter. The prolonged recall may end up encouraging potential Powerbook customers to stroll over the Wintel notebooks aisle, further eroding the Mac OS base. Apple’s share price fell to within $0.25 of its 52-week low of $17 before recovering to close at $18.0625.
