A tale of unfortunate trauma + the egregiously Loud experience of 'The Apple Store' -- and direct experience of the fact that: their allegiance is to the bottom line with 'customer benefit' appearing well down any incentive list. Terse and simplistic 'sales advice' to the uninitiated == All Others Beware. Friend, a few miles up the road, managed to leave her 17" G4 Powerbook in her driveway (in alloy case - maybe Halliburton™? - have to see the 'after' pic) Missed it, came back -- someone had driven over it! (How attentive a driver is That?)

Outer case mangled. Slight G4 case bending, but seemed to work OK.. Then she inserted a DVD; it needed "a little extra pressure to go in", failing to notice the depression narrowing that teensy slot. Stuck. No eject incl. the secrut on-boot key hold-down forced eject. (She and I have the massive The Missing Manual.)

As there had been earlier flakiness with the (Super-)drive, no brainer to replace rather than my trying usually futile resuscitation rituals. Noted that R&R is tedious but not particularly fraught with gotchas.

I found that, via thumb-pressure bodywork, I could restore pretty-well the straight lines which the case should adhere-to, open up the DVD slot, etc. Web trackballing revealed a number of alt. faster S/drives. Then local neighbor recalled place where Apple Store sends *their* repairs.

Apple Store wanted $450 for a new/original S/drive and $150 for labor, maybe even $more to remove the DVD ('s actually: there are two stuck in there! - due to failure of the detect-flag to throw a drive icon, etc.)

Ept tech at Other place came up, no-nonsense or haggling: with sane numbers:
$115 for faster (8x?) aftermarket drive whose wares they had vetted, $75 for adding 1 GB RAM to her measly 512. And $90 for labor, en toto. While I could beat the RAM price a bit, finding such sanity was itself worth a 'tip' == and Shaun gets the job.

Moral: the cacophony of the Apple Store happening may suit zoned-out multitaskers (who can partly-audition 4x things, while attending-seriously to none.) This circus may target the demographic for max $returns -??- but with no sanctum available there, where an actual discussion of wish-list VS toys >at normal volume level< can happen -- I call it a Black Tulip fad and a failure ... for those capable of any serious inquiries.

(Finally, since 'Shaun's local place is also an Auth. dealer: I know where I-and-mine shall henceforth go.) Methinks that, short of the torch-bearing mobs descending sooner than expected -- '09 just might see me with a colorful replacement for this unnaturally-reliable junk surfer
(and the sole.. Reliable-build ever sold, of Beastware9.x/SE?)

Played a bit with the iPhone; it's almost enough magnificently integrated gadgetry to infuse lust.. but then I recalled: nope, I be detached by design; 'twould be lipstick on This pig. But a Bitchin! example of form-following-function AND design. Maybe unmatched? since the bare, simple, sturdy Bell real-phone one needs to use on land-line, when the transistors don't work, in the black-out.


I who iPhone, (but just visiting.)

because a car dealership is the Opposite of the craziness which is The Apple Store:
you are led to a sepulchral/quiet place to hash out the color of the lizard-skin accents and whether you want the straight-4 or the DOHC intercooled supercharged V-8.

Yes, the companies' aims are similar -- but at least car dealers comprehend that details cannot be discussed ... ^{OVER A CACOPHONY} of incessant duration.

And indeed: those who are unwilling to acquire even just a few hints about the product, prices of memory and such before showing up at one of these circuses -- are these hucksers' lawful prey. (Still, the technical ken of the couple Apple folk queried was certainly far below 'technician' -- they're flat-out sales droids. Not the impression intentionally given in the ads.)

At least: the hardware is clearly superbly done, down to the smallest detail -- like the magnetic PS-plug; trip over power cord? Nothing Happens. Expensive box remains on desk.

Priceless. How's come nobody else figured That one out?

Exceptions abound, though:
my local Acura dealer.. til a couple years ago offered:
Oil/filter change (I brought my own syn-oil), eyeball inspection all-around AND a detailer-grade car wash gratis: for ~$24. Etc.

Good Thinking.

A strip of that + oft times, a toothpick or v-thin spatula (as for chemicals) has, more than once SMA. Hate It when I, similarly, put something in-something sans its container; nothing to cuss at but moi.

Once used double-sided tape, attached in an air-lock to an existing probe -- to retrieve a tiny part of a second gadget, at high vacuum. The tape splotch was on a small length of chain and we wriggled the probe in/out + twist; finally the weight of chain + goo attached: saved letting up-to-air a substantial volume of accelerator vacuum chamber and many wasted hours.

Congrats on your innovation -- it's only obvious afterwards.

17" Macbook - maybe. No mention of soldered-in battery pack, at the time.
(I guess that Powerbook is now an obsolete, but IMO more-ept sobriquet.) There was something like that, connected to an also-new 24" monitor; the guy said something about a 'new' digital teensy connector 'twixt the two, apparently using HDTV protocols (already out there. Not proprietary.) Apple-guy wasn't able to inform about that part: that only the connector was new on micros; Apple being first to incorporate (the protocol, I assume.) Fine display, of course, but then the Store is full of seductive stuff.

Build quality of all items appears about equal to that of Tektronix, way-back; have seen very few 'consumer' things that can earn that comparison. Even the teensiest iPod (Shuttle?) seems milled out of an alloy ingot and finished to perfection.

Still, was not tempted {much}; in a Depression cash is King.