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Options For a Laptop With a Broken Screen?
DefenseSupportParty writes "I recently traveled via an unnamed airline, and stupidly checked my laptop. Unfortunately, the screen broke in transit and they refuse to take responsibility for it, claiming that it could have been broken before the flight. I'm not really in the mood to replace the screen if I have to pay for it, as I have other laptops that I can use. At the same time, I don't want to waste computing power that could be put to good use. I've thought about the common stuff: file server, SETI@Home, but I'd like to do something a little more creative. Does anyone have good ideas for a relatively powerful laptop without a display?"
1) plug it into a television
2) add IR
3) add connection to file server with videos 4) ???
5) entertainment
Buy a cheap external monitor.
If you don't need the laptop, and the screen is relatively easy and inexpensive to replace, and the laptop has decent specs, why not fix the screen and sell it to someone who needs a laptop for just the cost of the screen replacement? You don't need it, they do, it's a (presumably) decent laptop. Everybody wins, and they might bake you a pie or something someday in return.
Built in UPS, plenty of computing power as you say.
Best use I can think of is as a server - web, mail, mysql, whathaveyou. Wear and tear on the hard drive not an issue if you're using something set up correctly - the hard drive will be spun down most of the time.
"Actually, I enjoyed this in the same vague, horrible way I enjoyed the A-Team" P. Opus
See if you can find a cheap screen replacement on Ebay.
That which does not kill me only postpones the inevitable.
Hook it up in your network as a MythTV. I don't think you need an attached display to use it; if you do, use an old external monitor.
Buy a usb keyboard and mouse and a 19" external monitor. Set the power saving to just turn off the screen when you shut the lid, not go into standby. Instant energy efficient desktop computer. What you do with that is the same questin of what you do with any surplus computer.
Who even needs a display? Run X over SSH.
Quite often, the parts you need are available on eBay especially if you use a Dell. (Availability of parts is the #1 reason I recommend Dell, not because they are "better." The #2 reason is because new Dell laptops almost always have accidental damage coverage available as a purchase option in the warranty... accidents happen, BUY IT! By the way, Apple computer does NOT sell accidental damage warranty coverage. If you buy an Apple, make sure you get it through a 3rd party vendor that does offer it or never buy Apple laptops...they are too expensive for accidents.)
The position of the airlines is 100% correct. There should be a certain level of abuse that passengers should absolutely expect. If you don't expect it, then you are an idiot and need to learn the hard way. CARRY ON anything you believe to be valuable and/or breakable.
Read the fine print. The airline is not responsible for the damage. Do. Not. Check. Laptops. Carry it with you at all times. Common luggage offers little if any protection for a laptop. Have you ever watched how the baggage handlers "handle" luggage?
What? He doesn't have any form of insurance of his own? The cost of a screen is substantially cheaper than the cost of a new laptop. (unless it's an old and/or crappy laptop.)
Yeah... on the list of "Stupid Ways to Get Your Laptop Stolen", we have:
#8: "Oh, it's okay, my friend's watching it"
#7: Leave it in the car
#6: Pass out at a frat house
#5: Two words: Finals Week
#4: Take a leak while "telecommuting" at Starbucks
#3: Work for a government agency
#2: Check your laptop with your airplane luggage
#1: Put child porn on it. (for a legal alternative, your social security number will also do.)
Seriously, to actually trust TSA to be doing their job 100% of the time and NOT screw with your valuables? You're nuts.
Nobody's given the correct answer:
- Small Claims Court.
"It was probably broke before you checked it," is not a valid excuse for an airline to refuse baggage insurance (or any other company for that matter). It is THEIR responsibility to check the luggage/item and verify it is not broken prior to accepting it under their liability insurance, and since they failed to do that, the legal presumption is that the laptop was 100% okay when received and damaged during transit. In fact in many cases the mere threat of court action is enough to make the airline cough up the cash.
This is somewhat similar to how the law presumes a mail-order package is 100% the seller's responsibility, even if said package was lost by the post office, or stolen by the neighborhood teenager. It's the seller's fault and requirement to issue a refund. The law is designed to protect the *customer* not the airline or seller.
One other option:
- Call your credit card company. Many of them provide protection, such that if an airline damages your luggage, you can get a refund of all your ticket money and/or replacement of the damaged good.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall