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PowerBook Upgrade and Repair Guides
kwiens writes "We had such a positive response from Slashdot with our Free-As-In-Beer Mac disassembly instructions last time around, we decided to do it again: We've made six more FixIt Guides, perfect for those intrepid road-warriors who refuse to trust anyone else to work on their 'Book. Now there's nothing stopping you from trying that LNO2 overclock on your PowerBook-- or just a hard drive upgrade. The new Guides have professional photos, a new GUI design, and screw guides (no, not this). Guides are now available for all iBook G3, PowerBook G3, and PowerBook G4 models (including the oft-requested 12, 15, and 17 Aluminum 'Books)."
Paint it yourself. Think for yourself.
I haven't paid Apple one dime in extended waranty, yet they have done more than I ever expected from a company. Once, when they screwd up a warranty replacement (it was a bit of a hassle and involved sending back the keyboard twice), they gave me a Apple Bluetooth mouse as a way of saying "We fucked up, we're sorry. Now go play with theis shiny thing". And it worked on me!
I had a iBook G3 12" and i thought it did not have a fan in it for 3 years that i own it. Then after installing 10.3 while watching a DVD the fan kicked in.
While their quality is unquestionable, Apple's products perform functions not only without the user needing to understand how they work but where understanding how they work does not extend the user any extra power.
:-)
I've had my oft-mentioned iBook for a bit over six months now; it is quite probably the best computer I've ever had. Yes, it's got very little upgrade potential (memory's already at 640MB, and I don't need wireless networking) but I really don't mind.
In a way, it's like there isn't a computer there at all, just MacOS X in a handy carrying case. It just works. The battery last absolutely ages, so I'm not worrying about when it's about to run out; it's incredibly quiet, so I can work without a constant computer whir and hum; all the hardware features I need are built in, so I'm not messing around with external cards or devices, fighting with incompatible devices...
I can forget there's a computer there, and get on working with the software.
People claim that Apple is a hardware company, I think I'd disagree. with MacOS X, they're a software company - except the software has a solid, physical presence in the real world.
Tedious Bloggy Stuff - hooray?
I don't see how this is different from other products that have a one year guarantee.
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Maybe I could've bought an extended warranty, but I thought I'd take the chance. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. I think it's a bit childish to start whining in a public forum when you decided to take the chance and lost.
OTOH if they refuse to cooperate within the guarantee, then you fully stand in your rights.
8 of 13 people found this answer helpful. Did you?
That's a load of crap. Macs have standard parts just like any other PC. Everything is pretty much as upgradable as possible (except for iMacs and eMacs, which are somewhat limited, unless you're really dedicated). I've always mucked around inside my PowerMacs and PowerBooks, and purchased standard high-quality PC parts, and they've pretty much all been a joy to work inside of. The cases are thoughtfully laid out (since the days of the infamous Performa line), and upgrades of all kinds are about as easy as they can be. The drives are ATA, RAM is standard DDR, the cards are PCI or AGP, the CPU is on a ZIF socket in most cases (in the PowerMacs), power supply is standard, etc., etc. Apart from the initial building of the machine, Macs are ideal for tinkering, thanks to very good case design and layout.
Then there's the OS. Since it's POSIX-compliant (all except in name thanks to licensing issues), and all the config files are either text or XML, there's a whole world of tinkering to be done. This includes compiling your own nix software, building apps in XCode (free and included with all Macs), hacks aplenty, etc. This is in addition to all the main commercial titles available. It's really a tinkerer's nirvana; one where you aren't limited by anything, and yet can still forget all that and just be productive. It's amazing how liberating an experience it is to use hardware and software that were crafted with care and thoughtfulness. Macs are not about dumbing down, but about excellent design and efficiency, as well as quality. You can still muck around the internals to heart's content, but you'll find you're too busy getting stuff done, and playing in OS X. In short, it's the perfect system for geeks who don't feel they have to prove themselves with completely custom setups and a dremel tool.
"I like systems, their application excepted", George Sand (French)
If you wish to compare equivalent devices then you really need to compare how Apple acts to how Dell or IBM acts and it becomes pretty obvious from such a comparison that all companies "disempower" the hobbyist culture (we are talking about laptops here, dude). And, laptops are devices which are just not meant to be taken apart. I mean it's a silly arguement since its impossible to take apart any laptop from any manufactor and even more so if you what to upgrade the CPU or graphics card.
However, If you extend the comparison to desktop systems, Then I think your will find that Apple goes out of there way to allow people to play with their hardware (apart from changing the CPU), For example Power PCs are incredably easy to work on since they have doors on them, and almost any component of the new IMAC can be replaced. Its just that tragically no one does. Probally because third party support is disgusting, espcially if you've ever tried to upgrade your graphics card (hint; it involves bending over) - but how can Apple be blamed for that?
Sadly, I don't know whats so great about having an enthusist hardware culture nowadays. Since the one on the PC side seems to have degenerated into some lame otaku (SP?) scene where dudes spend all there time and money riceing up their boxen so they can have pissing contests with benchmarks. Alot, like those dudes you see who spend all there time adding neon lights and Type R stickers to their Honda's, usually in a desperate attempt to be individual which only ever succeeds in making them look like every other sad sack out to do the same thing. Only sadder.
The reason I say this is that hardware is getting to the point where its fast enough. Where harddisks from the POV of your average person are infinant. Nowday's you can upgrade your PC and all you can have to show for it are some slightly bigger numbers in your about box. This extends to the gaming scene who only ever seem interested in playing counterstrike. Playing around with hardware seems to be becoming illreleviant. Be honest, there has not been a reason for anyone to upgrade their computer for the last five years. Doom3 maybe a good game but its not worth buying a new computer for.
I used to hold the view that the otaku were the one driving technology, That it was because of them that I could buy last years computer cheap, used. But recently I found, from slashdot, that a middle of the road graphics card will set you back $200 - this is just insane. These guys may drive technology, but it seems to me they are also the ones making prices leet. IMHO.
Also being a geek does not mean being on some power trip because to have to constantly tune your hardware. Most of us get quite enough of that at work, Having to reflash your bios to install a new DVD drive should never have to be a part of the computer experience. And my feelings about having to contend with issues about drivers or irq conflicts are not those making me feel part of some cool underground hobby scene. Only retards could possibly think like that. Computers are tools for doing stuff and the time I have to spend making stuff work is time I'm not doing stuff. Anything else is bullshit.
I'm a geek becasue of my blog review of Hikaru no Go not because I know the timing of my ram or the temp my CPU is running at.
Personally, You kinda get driven to using Mac's because of how sad things are getting in relation to PC's and because it gets depressing waiting for linux to develop into a decent desktop system.
BTW, I can't understand the issue you seem to be having with the IPOD. WTF you just plug it in and it acts as a regular firewire drive - it is not inconveient at all. Ofcourse if you mean copying MP3's Apple have to do this overwise they will have the arse sued off them by the RIAA. However its trivial to get programs which allow you to do this anyway so whats your prob?
(me, to salesguy and his manager)
If this thing is such a piece of crap that it breaks so often that you guys think the extended warranty is going to be a good deal, I'll pass. Can you direct me to the location of your nearest competitor, please?
No relation to Happy Monkey
It is darned service unfriendly. No matter how good you are, you will leave a few little marks on that case when you open it.
Odds are your discman, although cheaper, is service unfriendly. When was the last time you replaced a part in a discman?
Now when was the last time you replaced a part in your laptop? Probably slightly less frequently than your desktop, and slightly more frequently than your discman/ipod.
Some products are designed to be serviced - some to be replaced
...and that's all there is to it.
The reason people get upset over stuff like this is simple though: you didn't pay $400 for that discman.
If it breaks, I'll just toss it and get myself a new one for $30 at Walmart. You just expect cheap CEs to have a very limited lifespan. No biggie, they're cheap. That's why you bought them in the first place. Having to replace them every once in a while is no surprise.
If you're buying an iPod though (and I absolutely love mine), you're not just buying any ole MP3 player. You're buying a design, an image and I'd even say, in a way, you're buying an experience. The big deal isn't $400 (which is a lot of dough to many people, but - in comparision to other CE items (big screen TVs, good stereo equipment, etc) - isn't really all that much money).
You just expect more for those $400. Afterall, you're not buying some $250 clone, you're getting the original, the real deal. And if you pay extra for it, you just want it to work.
If my the $200 TV you keep in your kitchen breaks, you probably won't even think about getting it fixed. You'll just replace it. If your $10k+ big screen projector breaks, you'd probably be really pissed if the dealership you bought it from told you to "just buy a new one" (and rightfully so).
Again, I'm not disagreeing. Just offering some perspective.