February 13, 2006

• Hi squidranch!
• Hello my tentacled brother! Good to hear from you but I am a PC user. good luck~
• Get a Mac! Oh, wait a minute...
• You might try eBay for the board?
• Yeah, for just a few hundred bucks more you could get a whole new iBook, so $600 seems exorbitant. I haven't actually tried them, but it may be worth it to call MacHollywood or MelroseMac and see what they have to say. You should be able to get an idea from them if what you want to have done is even possible... it may be that when you wrenched up the port the logic board was damaged. Of course, I may be talking out of my ass on that last point.
• Oh -- I get it. You only show up when you want something. Seriously, though, welcome back. You were missed. And no, I have nothing to contribute.
• If it's just a damaged connector, replacing it should be relatively easy, if you have access to someone handy with a soldering iron. $600 is way too much. That is, assuming the replacement connector is standard and readily available from a mail order place like mouser.com or digikey.com.
• Get a PC! *runs*
• Wow, logic board replacement has doubled in price over the past 3 years. Here's the advice I was given when I took my ibook to the genius bar a few years ago for a different problem: the guy said since I didn't have apple care, it would cost $300 dollars, but if I took it to another place more willing to solder and fix the specific problem, I could probably get things done cheaper. It's just that apple repair's protocol is to replace the whole damn thing. In the end, I still had apple repair it because I suspected more shit was up than the guy realized. It took multiple tries before things worked again. And then my ibook was stolen a month later. Yay, glad I spent $300. But, it all worked out because the problem was quite common in ibooks of that generaton (despite apple's denials at the time) and I got my money back for the repair eventually. Also, duuuuude, where have you been?
• I have no idea, but howdy pardner!
• Hi again squidranch! I also don't have any advice. Good luck! We're all pulling for you!
• Blast! I thought we were rid of you once and for all!
• I know it was mentioned above, but...Applecare, Applecare, Applecare!!! A friend of mine just had his eMac logic board fail at the worst financial time, had to buy a new iMac. It's not cheap, but it's an expense you can plan for, as opposed to the situation you're in now. Also, sorry and best of luck!
• You can often find discounted AppleCare at eBay. Just bought mine for 40% off, even though my PowerBook is still under warrenty. [I got that PowerBook for free though AppleCare, because my old PowerBook couldn't be repared because they didn't have any motherboards for it. It was almost 3 years old and now I've the lastest (pre-Intel) machine.] If you need the Apple Service manual for your iBook, so you can bring it to a solder happy friend, I have that for you. just email.
• PBfixit, where I got a new keyboard for a PB recently, lists the MB as a $400-$600 part, depending on processor speed. So, what are you doing with it? Can you work without it? I've heard of a USB 2.0 <-> Firewire adapter, which would run $90 if your firewire port is free, but I haven't seen it & don't know if it's any good. Or if you're running keys & mouse and your iBook is new enough to have BT built in, consider a bluetooth setup. Cheaper than a logic board. I think bluetooth USB hub or bluetooth USB printer adapter can be had for < $100 as well.
• MCroft, I think your bluetooth or firewire to USB might just be the solution. I'm using a scanner which powers off the USB port and a mouse for my graphics job on a television show that I work on and using the powered USB hub that I own for some reason slows down the scanner. In a perfect world I would find a local mac geek who is a wiz with a soldering iron. I'd happily pay $300 but for some reason can't get myself to pay $700. It's just too dear. Re: me being scarce on mofi lately, I've kinda tried to ween myself from mofi after I got into a flame war a while ago. Friends of mine let me know that I was taking it all a bit too seriously, so I chilled a bit on posting. But I still lurk and from time to time pop my head in ;-) On top of my self imposed exile, I've also been busy trying to launch a documentary. We had a verbal agreement with the subject (with email documentation) who then saw dollar signs in their head and shopped my idea around to cable tv, eventually signinng a deal with one of them. I've been working with my business partner and lawyer and we are middle of putting together our lawsuit. It looks good, but it's still shitty. I've had a lot on my mind, so don't feel slighted my monos...
• Oh and hello Koko, Medusa, el hueso, Captain, Mandyman, Kitfisto, Fes, mare and everyone else who needs a hello on this warm February evening. It's great to see you all!
• Good luck with the lawsuit, squid. I have one of those firewire/USB conversion cables for my iPod to my Windows machine and it works great for that.
• I'm not a USB supa-genius, but I wonder if it's slowing the entire bus down to the speed of the slowest connected device.
• I took my PowerBook (g4 1.25 12") into Apple and had them do the repair whammy to it. Cost $330 or so and got a new motherboard, hard drive and DVD writer out of the deal. There was some confusion in setting it up, but once I waded through the clueless I get a fixed rate repair and had it all done for the one flat charge. The genius who set it up couldn't figure out why I got so many conflicting stories previously as the flat rate seemed no big deal to him.
• How long ago was your repair done, nonbinary? Were you under apple care?
• Not under Applecare and outside of warranty. It was done about three or four months ago.
• ummmm...I happen to be quite handy with a soldering iron, thank you very much. wednesday eve soon enough? worst case scenario we have to buy a usb device of some sort for a port transplant...and maybe special tools to get that puppy open...and maybe some ether for the patient(s owner). wanna google up some warranty-voiding fu? (ie instructions for getting that puppy open)
• sexyrobot: try this pbfixit takeapart: ibook logic board replacement guide
• I just bought apple care through ebay. I think what I am going to do is to send the computer into apple myself, not going through my local apple store who was sort of dismissive when I went there. The guy who looked at it told me that there was a crack in the protective plastic plate that covered the ports and due to that apple wouldn't pay for the repair. I think that if I send the machine in, the apple gods will smile on me and repair the machine, if not for free, then for about the same amount as nonbinary paid. How's the car running sexyrobot?
• I WANNA FUCK YOU HARD TOO!
• Wait, this isn't the Valentine's Day thread.
• Oh, hi squid!
• are you sure? the special tools should only run about 10 bucks down at the radio shack, i have a bunch of electronics experience, and plus, it looks like fun... the car is running great, i just put in a new stereo, oh, and, um, i painted the outside (and gold-leafed it) in a huge Louis Vuitton print. not. kidding.
• He's not kidding about the Louis Vuitton paintjob. I haven't yet seen it, but Space Kitty says it's an order of magnitude more fabulous than anything else you have ever seen. Apparently passersby randomly stop to take a picture of it. Oh, and I'm at the Apple Store in Beverly Center RIGHT NOW. Someone come take me to lunch!
• Pictures!!
• Of the car, not the busted laptop. Well, if you've got pictures of the busted laptop, that'd be fun too, I guess...
• Ahoy, Squiddy! Glad to see you around!
• hey squid
• Hello ooga_booga and Wedge! Next time you are at the Beverly Center bone, call me. I live about five blocks away.
• omg squiddy, didn't you know? SK and boney moved to your neighborhood (I decorated) and are now well within stalking distance...bring pie.
• Just to wrap this tread up, I purchased apple care and waited a couple of weeks before I took it into another apple store at the Beverly Center. Just before I took it in the poor computer froze up and then when I restarted it, the screen flashed red for a second, then blue, then green and then white. This gave me extra impetus to get the sucker in for repair. The "genius" took one look at it and said "this isn't standard operating behavior" and sent it in to be repaired no problem. I guess it just sort of depends who your "genius" is and how busy they are. BTW, the Apple Store at the Beverly Center is virtually empty. While I was there one of the "geniuses" was supposed to give a class and no one showed up. He was just doing his stand up routine instead. If you need to go to an apple store, this is the one to go to. It's no where near the zoo the one at the Grove is.
• Zoom zoom!