[CS-FSLUG] How Apple makes products difficult -- and expensive -- to repair

[Tim Young]

I have never used this stuff, but...
http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/b70c/

Or make your own...? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2l9fKVTICw

Somehow I would think the think-geek stuff would be the way to go...

     - Tim

Ps.  I did a field-repair on a cellphone using fingernail polish as a 
glue.  It was non-conductive, but I had the wires touching that 
needed to be connected.  I told the guy to take his phone to a shop 
upon returning home and have it fixed properly.  I never heard from 
him again, so have no clue about the rest of the story.  But the 
phone worked for the 3 days that we were in the boonies.

On 11/3/2012 11:30 AM, davidm at hisfeet.net wrote:
> In this connection, I'm trying to get some old cell phones working to be
> useable as mp3 players as 'give aways' to Indian people. (Put a New
> testament or other gospel material on it in an Indian language, and give
> it to an illiterate family to take home with them.) Problem is replacing
> the batteries: They are often not available, or very expensive.
>
> Soldering connections to the old connectors is difficult, because they are
> 'laid in plastic' which melts as soon as you tryn to solder to the metal
> against it.  I'm thinking of a gelatinous, conductive glue. Does such a
> thin exist? and if it doesn't any ideas how to use existing materials to
> get the same results?
>
> David McMullen
>
>
>> Heh heh.  As a missionary, I have also pulled apart a lot of stuff to
>> fix.  I am sure I am nowhere near as experienced in field repair as
>> David McMullen is,  but I do know a bit about pulling things apart
>> and fixing it.
>>
>> I think the key to the complaint is that they are talking about
>> "devices."  When I am pulling apart a cellphone or mp3 player, the
>> more "device-like" they are, the more they are designed to be thrown
>> away.  Most computers, on the other hand, are designed for longer
>> lifetimes and more upgrade potential.
>>
>> If you look at netbooks, you will find that a surprising number of
>> them are non upgradable.  Usually the drive is removable in some
>> manner or other, but lots of them have the RAM soldered into them.
>> This is just one of the many issues I have with the current trend
>> towards device-ifying the workplace.  The BYOD (Bring Your Own
>> Device) philosophy that many organizations are stepping into, where
>> people bring their own iPad, netbook, or whatever, and plug it into
>> the corporate network, has so many issues with it.  I think it is a
>> place that the workforce will go to for a bit, but hopefully quickly
>> revert back from.
>>
>> Anyway... Getting off the old soapbox...
>>
>> It is not just Apple who does this.  Most "devices" are being made to
>> be a lot less repairable, simply because it is often much more
>> expensive overall to make them that way.  The vendors for many of
>> these things would prefer that the device be replaced every year or
>> so instead of remaining around for 5 or 6 years.  I have some
>> household appliances that my grandfather left for me when he died.
>> Some of these things are 25+ years old and are still going strong.
>>
>> I can see both sides.  A 25-year old cellphone would be, what, the
>> size of a shoe-box?  I helped someone upgrade their DSL connection
>> from a 128k modem to a 1.5MB connection.  Yes, 128K.  The phone
>> company was trying to figure out how to force the upgrade because
>> they only had one techie who was old enough to know how to maintain
>> the equipment needed to keep that old monster running.  The
>> organization was spending over $120 a month for their connection, and
>> upgrading them to 1.5 MB cost them $50 a month because it was using
>> main-stream equipment  / functionality.
>>
>> Anyway.  It is not just Apple.  Most vendors do it in one form or
>> other, especially on the "devices".  :)
>>
>> On 11/2/2012 8:32 PM, Fred A. Miller wrote:
>>> How Apple makes products difficult -- and expensive -- to repair
>>> <http://ct.zdnet.com/clicks?t=1157373632-f09aff1f3240c763b781087d83996fa3-bf&brand=ZDNET&s=5>
>>>
>>> Gallery: In recent years, Apple has attracted a lot of criticism
>>> for making devices that are difficult to repair, and complicated to
>>> recycle. Let's take a look at why.
>>>
>>> VIEW THE GALLERY
>>> <http://ct.zdnet.com/clicks?t=1157373633-f09aff1f3240c763b781087d83996fa3-bf&brand=ZDNET&s=5>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Socialism is to communism as seduction is to rape. -- George Putnam.
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> http://cs.uninetsolutions.com
>>
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