Post #358,490
6/6/12 10:12:22 AM
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Well, this is certainly unusual
My iMac is at the authorised service centre, having its disk replaced under warranty (well, would YOU want to fool around getting a 27" piece of glass and then a 27" LCD panel out? Nah, me neither) and so I'm on plans B and C.
Plan B is this computer; a little eMachines thing I picked up for about fifty quid a couple or three years ago. I had Windows Vista on it (needed to do something or other win-specific) but that was whinging about being not genuine, and also it was slow as fook. P4 2.66GHz, 1GB RAM. This machine is Not. Fast. eMachines 3240, fact fans.
So the last act of the Vista install was to download and burn an ISO of Ubuntu 12.04. Installation was easy and painless, as it is these days.
I've got Chrome and Evolution doing web and mail duty. But it's weird. I'm not really getting this Unity thing. Although I don't hate it, I'm finding it a bit unsettling. I'll give it this evening, and then I'll decide whether it's staying or going.
One thing I do like: the way apps go full-screen. The only monitor I've got lying around that isn't a telly in the living room is a little 1024x768 thing, so pixels are at a premium.
Plan C is the laptop that's at the other computer shop, having its power connection (the bit in the laptop itself) repaired. That's a Sony Vaio of unknown spec - but probably better than the desktop. That might get Ubuntued, too.
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Post #358,493
6/6/12 11:37:35 AM
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chuck the Unity, its awful
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free American and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 55 years. meep
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Post #358,512
6/6/12 2:01:30 PM
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Been there, done that, still have the suction cups.
But then, my mother's iMac was out of warranty and we weren't willing to pay some dweeb at the "local" (1.25 hours away) computer shop to do something I could do myself.
The glass is the easy part: it's magnetic. Set it on a lint-free towel, cover it with another one, and it's good.
The LCD panel is a bit harder only because you can't really disconnect it completely and will need a place to prop it during the rest of the surgery.
The hard parts are the 80 brazilian screws of differing sizes and formats, the fiddly breakable connectors, and the various won't-restick-no-matter-what-you-do tapes and putties.
Would it seriously hurt Apple that much to put the hard drive in a slide connector off the side (or even the bottom!) behind a fancy screwless plate?
I can't stand Unity, but then again I no longer use Linux as a UI OS so who cares not I.
Regards,
-scott
Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson.
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Post #358,518
6/6/12 2:24:00 PM
6/6/12 2:26:32 PM
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Re: Well, this is certainly unusual
The Vaio is a go! Nothing wrong with it, apparently. They just left it on charge for absolutely ages and it sprang to life. Battery must have been completely flat and me insufficiently patient.
2GHz C2D, 2GB RAM. A much better display, though, at 1280x800 and much, much brighter.
Observation: holy shit, Sony don't half load it with crap.
Observation: Imma Ubuntu this fucker, too.
Observation: Space bar/caps lock and some other keys down in the bottom left didn't work. Flipped it over and undid two screws and the keyboard came free, to reveal a semi-inserted (matron!) printed ribbon cable. Carefully reinserted it, job's a good un. The observation is that Sony somehow inadvertently made a laptop where you could get the keyboard out with just two screws. Someone, somewhere screwed up. (haha!) I'm sure they've rectified this in subsequent models.
Edited by pwhysall
June 6, 2012, 02:26:32 PM EDT
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Post #358,520
6/6/12 2:50:42 PM
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Woot!
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Post #358,564
6/7/12 6:05:20 AM
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Nah, I think that was deliberate.
My old VAIO needs to have the keyboard lifted so you add more memory. Oddly, this was also designed to be accomplishable by an end-user. It would seem Sony doesn't subscribe to Apple's "seal it all up" mantra.
Wade.
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Post #358,584
6/7/12 11:47:48 AM
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Here's the thing with Apple, though:
The towers are miracles of easy access, so it's not an across-the-board thing.
I think there are two motives for them: packing as much stuff into as small a space as possible, even if it compromises maintenance, and "protecting" the knuckle-dragging populace from their own lack of ept. I find it hard to believe that any small amount of money they make on upgrades is worth the warranty maintenance difficulties.
Regards,
-scott
Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson.
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Post #358,587
6/7/12 12:07:32 PM
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Re: Here's the thing with Apple, though:
Small amount of money on upgrades?
How about going from 2GB to 8GB on the Mac Mini from the Apple store or the Website is:
$300
Buying the same memory from Newegg for the Mac Mini 5,1 is:
$46.99 including shipping.
Hmm. $253.01 difference there. Newegg is making a profit enough to sell it and provide free shipping. Why does it cost so much from Apple... which *WE KNOW* Apple gets a much better deal on the memory than Newegg. Plus Apple gets to keep the other memory to use in another machine if you order it from the website.
Hard Drives from Apple are also suspect in cost.
From a 5400RPM 500GB drive to a 7200RPM 750GB drive is $150? Plus Apple can use the drive in another machine, if purchased from the website.
Same drive from Newegg costs $79.99 plus $1.99 3-day shipping.
For $159.99 I can get a 3TB drive, plus $7.86 shipping.
Meh...
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Post #358,589
6/7/12 12:15:31 PM
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I think he means at the Apple Store, not buying online.
I.e. someone has to open the thing up after it's been sold, rather than building it that way in the first place.
Yes, its ridiculous how much upgrades cost on a custom box. But Lenovo's the same way.
Cheers,
Scott.
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Post #358,595
6/7/12 1:26:49 PM
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Yes, labor isn't free.
Hard to service cases increase Apple's labor costs as well.
Regards,
-scott
Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson.
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Post #358,594
6/7/12 1:25:56 PM
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Re: Here's the thing with Apple, though:
Not nearly as many people upgrade their computers as have warranty work, I would imagine. And if the upgrade is done by Apple, that extra cost is probably absorbed by the labor cost of getting into the case by Apple's employees.
I could be wrong, but in the large scheme of things I don't think upgrade money is anything more than a tiny line item on Apple's balance sheets.
Regards,
-scott
Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson.
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Post #358,607
6/7/12 3:54:19 PM
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Well, my AppleCare just paid for itself.
In addition to replacing the disk, I had the service centre take a look at the screen. There were a couple of blotches that could have been smudges on the inside of the glass.
Turns out they were defects in the LCD panel, so that has been replaced.
Computer should be back with me tomorrow, courier permitting.
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Post #358,627
6/7/12 8:29:20 PM
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Woot^Woot!
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Post #358,633
6/7/12 11:16:07 PM
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Good points.
I had truly forgotten about their tower hardware. A different subset of hardware tends to get the spotlight. :-)
I think there might be a third motive: the design. Apple is usually very good at design. Not wanting to be anti-Jobs, but he was widely known to be huge on design and probably sacrificed ease-of-service for it. There are stories he wanted the original Mac to not even be openable by the end-user.
Wade.
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Post #358,645
6/8/12 9:36:42 AM
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unless you bought an expensive 18in long hexdriver
it wasnt openble by an enduser
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free American and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 55 years. meep
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