Comments On: The Beginning of the End? by Charles Mudede http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/14/the-beginning-of-the-end Comments On: The Beginning of the End? by Charles Mudede en-us Copyright 2013 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Fri, 24 May 2013 00:00:01 -0700 Fri, 24 May 2013 06:30:00 -0700 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss <![CDATA[Re: The Beginning of the End?]]> Posted by dirac]]> Wed, 16 Jan 2013 00:27:26 -0800 The Stranger <![CDATA[Re: The Beginning of the End?]]> leaving computers completely aside- can you imagine he sews on a button, rewires a lamp, changes the oil in a car, or reputties a broken window?
Posted by CATSPAW666]]> Tue, 15 Jan 2013 04:06:51 -0800 The Stranger <![CDATA[Re: The Beginning of the End?]]> Posted by Mister G]]> Tue, 15 Jan 2013 03:42:04 -0800 The Stranger <![CDATA[Re: The Beginning of the End?]]> Posted by yuiop]]> Mon, 14 Jan 2013 23:42:56 -0800 The Stranger <![CDATA[Re: The Beginning of the End?]]>
(I know plenty of devs these days who look down on Windows fanboys for both. I don't know any Ruby developer running a Windows box. All Macbook Pros. )
Posted by Free Lunch]]> Mon, 14 Jan 2013 23:22:59 -0800 The Stranger <![CDATA[Re: The Beginning of the End?]]>
Anyway, you must have forgotten the 90s if you don't remember Microsoft fanboys. Keep in mind that I've lived in places other than Seattle; I'm sure the fanboys were in greater concentration there, but supposing that they're only Microsoft employees is like living in San Jose and supposing Apple fanboys are just Apple employees.
Posted by Matt from Denver]]> Mon, 14 Jan 2013 21:47:11 -0800 The Stranger <![CDATA[Re: The Beginning of the End?]]>
The whole reason there is a thriving market for 3rd party repair is because Apple charges so absurdly much for their Care "service" (which is to say: refurbishment and replacement). If people are content to spend their money that way, fine. But don't pretend that in supporting Apple, you aren't supporting a production process which is far more environmentally detrimental than necessary.
Posted by zivilisierter Wurm]]> Mon, 14 Jan 2013 21:36:50 -0800 The Stranger <![CDATA[Re: The Beginning of the End?]]>
Look, there's a real question about electronics and environmental sustainability; but that is a broad question for the entirety of Western civilization, not one to be balance solely on the back of Apple.

As for Fan Boys, nobody in this thread is blindly pumping up Apple. The "fan boys" critique is tired. And, Godwin's law as appropriately called.
Posted by Timothy]]> Mon, 14 Jan 2013 20:57:47 -0800 The Stranger <![CDATA[Re: The Beginning of the End?]]> Posted by zivilisierter Wurm]]> Mon, 14 Jan 2013 20:52:05 -0800 The Stranger <![CDATA[Re: The Beginning of the End?]]> Microsoft fanboys
I don't think I've encountered any of those. Perhaps you are referring to Microsoft employees?
Posted by seandr]]> Mon, 14 Jan 2013 19:57:07 -0800 The Stranger <![CDATA[Re: The Beginning of the End?]]>
Which ought to be a law itself. Whenever anything related to Nazis is mentioned in an online discussion, with each subsequent post the probability of someone tediously and pointlessly citing Godwin's Law approaches 1.
Posted by seandr]]> Mon, 14 Jan 2013 19:54:48 -0800 The Stranger <![CDATA[Re: The Beginning of the End?]]>
I'm wondering how the Apple techs themselves replace the batteries considering they're glued in. Apple will replace the battery for $199, I doubt they're throwing half the computer away.

I do think the internal design of Apple laptops is more about being as svelte as possible than it is about thwarting self-service. A user-replaceable battery requires space for a monolithic slab, whereas modern Macbooks have the battery split into multiple different cells of various sizes wired together throughout the chassis. Same with the RAM on some models.

At home I have the last aluminum Macbook with user replaceable battery and RAM, but it's at home because it's a tank to carry around. My 13" Air is as or more powerful, less than half the weight and thickness, and the battery life is triple. (Well, for now!)

Plus, it's drop-dead gorgeous. Apple is smart to play to people's vanity and sense of aesthetics. Form over function is a good tradeoff for them when form is a big part of their attraction. It's why the Apple store is full to the gills while the Microsoft Store is crickets: PC laptops are (mostly) fucking hideous. Hideous, but relatively serviceable.
Posted by Free Lunch]]> Mon, 14 Jan 2013 19:37:02 -0800 The Stranger <![CDATA[Re: The Beginning of the End?]]> Posted by RonK, Seattle]]> Mon, 14 Jan 2013 18:56:07 -0800 The Stranger <![CDATA[Re: The Beginning of the End?]]> "The Beginning of the End?" In Marxism, it seems, everything is the beginning of the end. And as we learn from this morsel of Mudedeist perspective ...
even before this whole trolling thing. it began with the design of ipod
... the Arrow of Time points backwards.
Posted by RonK, Seattle]]> Mon, 14 Jan 2013 18:53:08 -0800 The Stranger <![CDATA[Re: The Beginning of the End?]]> Posted by sarah70]]> Mon, 14 Jan 2013 18:48:24 -0800 The Stranger <![CDATA[Re: The Beginning of the End?]]>
@ 37, I'll take Apple fanboys over Microsoft fanboys any day of the week. At least Apple is being evil with superior products.
Posted by Matt from Denver]]> Mon, 14 Jan 2013 18:39:00 -0800 The Stranger <![CDATA[Re: The Beginning of the End?]]> Posted by hairyson]]> Mon, 14 Jan 2013 18:37:27 -0800 The Stranger <![CDATA[Re: The Beginning of the End?]]>
Apple needs to fix this problem. Perhaps a hologram of Steve Jobs berating the sycophants for drooling over his products, and telling them he'll no longer sell phones to people who behave themselves like obsessed, overly-attached girlfriends.
Posted by seandr]]> Mon, 14 Jan 2013 18:23:57 -0800 The Stranger <![CDATA[Re: The Beginning of the End?]]>
Or read this:

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/MacBook+P…

But yeah, guess I'm just a hipster anti-Apple douche-bag, talking out of my ass...
Posted by zivilisierter Wurm]]> Mon, 14 Jan 2013 18:06:23 -0800 The Stranger <![CDATA[Re: The Beginning of the End?]]>
It's not hidden, it's on the internet. That's why it doesn't need to be on the iPod.
Posted by Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn]]> Mon, 14 Jan 2013 18:06:01 -0800 The Stranger <![CDATA[Re: The Beginning of the End?]]> Posted by Warren Terra]]> Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:54:49 -0800 The Stranger <![CDATA[Re: The Beginning of the End?]]> http://www.jcdrepair.com/bellevue/WA). I've repaired thousands of iPhone, iPads, and iPods, and I can attest to the fact that they're designed to be essentially irreparable, BUT they're also built to be relatively easy to refurbish. That is to say they're not made to be fixed by the owner (and they easily could be, without having to compromise an iota of aesthetic or structural integrity), but they are made to be easy to be shippers back to China and refurbished, then sold to another user for full retail price. It's a brilliant way of doing business if you're only concern is acquisitive. Ethically and environmentally speaking it's definitely a wash.

Addressing a few points from experience: yes, it's totally possible to fix a water damaged iPhone -- drop it by our shop and give us three days; AppleCare is a joke, and not a very funny one -- our customers with AppleCare have routinely been asked to pay *hundreds of dollars* to get their devices fixed, fare below the cost of doing the repair (because Apple doesn't actually do repairs, they just hand you a refurbished one and ship yours back to China for refurb).
Posted by chaseacross]]> Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:47:52 -0800 The Stranger <![CDATA[Re: The Beginning of the End?]]>
As for being a douchebag, we've now crossed over 50% of American households that own at least 1 apple product. So, that's a pretty broad brush you're painting with. ;-)

The real annoyance anymore seems to be hipsters who have knee-jerk anti-Apple screeds for reasons that aren't well argued or well thought. The "I hate it because it's popular" trend is alive and well.
Posted by Timothy]]> Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:38:23 -0800 The Stranger <![CDATA[Re: The Beginning of the End?]]> Posted by Orv]]> Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:35:23 -0800 The Stranger <![CDATA[Re: The Beginning of the End?]]>
Apples are the BMWs of computers. Like BMWs, they're well built, stylish, and good performers; and also like BMWs, they can't quite shake the reputation that people who own them are douchebags. ;)

Posted by Orv]]> Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:30:05 -0800 The Stranger