Sunday, August 20, 2006

iBook News, Final Installment?

The Apple Genius opened up my stickly little laptop. He peered inside and said that it was at least tier-3 damage, which means repairs would cost anywhere from $800-$1,000. And it could even be worse. So I'm selling the laptop on eBay, for parts, and hope to get $200-$300 for it. (The display alone, he said, was worth about $400 and the battery and keypad are also still functional.) It's what we non-tinkerers must do with our machines that no longer function. After all, for the price of repairs - especially added to the profit of the sale of the iBook for parts - I could easily get a new MacBook. Repairing it is not cost-effective. I will lose some work and some photographs, but it's simply not worth the price.

It appears a MacBook or a used PowerBook is on the horizon - though perhaps not for a few months. While a laptop is far more useful and convenient for freelance work than my iMac, it may need to wait while we recuperate from summer expenses.

So here ends my iBook odyssey. Goodbye, little computer. My memories of you will be short-lived, but sweet.

6 comments:

ScottB said...

A moment of silence for the departure of a dear friend.

I think that God made children cute so that they would survive until adolescence, when they can fend for themselves.

Dan said...

Hey there Scott,

I feel your pain. I've fallen in love with my Mac laptop--I'd be bummed if things went south with it. But here's a question: how old is it? Is it possible that it's still covered under Apple Care? I'm sure you've already looked into that, but it's worth mentioning...

Dan

Unknown said...

Wise words, Scott, wise words.

Dan, unfortunately Apple Care only protects against Apple computers quitting by themselves. It doesn't cover the accidental-type quittings that my computers are more prone to, such as being thrown on the floor and having Sprite spilled into their innards.

Anonymous said...

that's really a bummer...
hope you can sell it easy and get a new one!

Alison Hodgson said...

Feeling for you, my friend.

Unknown said...

Zach, me too - i'm sure it will work out fine. I'll just have to re-adjust my life a little and do my work on the other computer. If we didn't have a desktop, I'd have already replaced the iBook - simply because it's necessary for my work. But I don't, so I'll wait. Hope you guys are doing well. Miss you.

Thank you, Alison, for your solidarity.