XPost: comp.os.linux.advocacy   
   From: crude@sausa.ge   
      
   On Thu, 29 Jan 2026 03:24:16 -0000 (UTC), Gremlin wrote:   
      
   > CrudeSausage    
   > news:69762388$4$26$882e4bbb@reader.netnews.com Sun, 25 Jan 2026 14:07:04   
   > GMT in comp.os.linux.advocacy, wrote:   
   >   
   >> On Sun, 25 Jan 2026 00:49:35 -0000 (UTC), Gremlin wrote:   
   >   
   >> I get the impression that you would have been able to fix the 2017   
   >> MacBook Air I spilled coffee on. Of course, that thing was so slow that   
   >> I didn't even see the point of fixing it.   
   >   
   > I may have been able to fix it. It would have depended on what was in   
   > the coffee and where it went once it entered the machine. Depending on   
   > the substance the damage can be unrepairable.   
      
   It was basically just 2% milk and stevia. Either way, the performance on   
   that thing was appalling. Apple really didn't deliver decent machines   
   until they started making their own chips. Putting Linux on there made the   
   computer more fun to use, but even then I was shocked by how slow it was.   
   Even the $115 ThinkPad with its modest Ryzen 3500U processor was a   
   significant upgrade. It helped that I went from 8GB to 16GB of RAM too.   
      
   >>> I typically don't buy the extended coverage warranties for my own   
   >>> purchases. I will if it's a gift or something. I consider them to be a   
   >>> waste of fundage for the most part if i'm purchasing it for myself.   
   >>   
   >> That's actually very nice of you to do, to buy an extended warranty for   
   >> a gifted purchase. I can only hope that the recipient appreciates you   
   >> going out of your way.   
   >   
   > I do that so I don't have to fix if they break it.    
   >   
   > I've got an odd duck for the bench. It's a fancy remote controlled   
   > electric heater bought from Kohls. It stopped providing heat. No matter   
   > the setting the PTC sections don't come on. I don't believe they are   
   > getting power. It does have four wires going to it that I can see from   
   > the back so it's a multi heat element. I suspect the temp sense circuit   
   > has an issue - while it's possible the relays (I assume it's using   
   > relays to control the heat element and not triacs) could be at fault;   
   > it's probably using more than one and it's not that likely that they'd   
   > all be bad at the same time.   
   >   
   > I'll tear into it soon and see what's going on.   
      
   If I didn't have an autistic son who takes up most of my time, I'd   
   actually look into much of what you wrote and probably taken a greater   
   interest in repairing. I pull double duty with the little guy because my   
   wife has no patience whatsoever, so I have to be the calm one who prevents   
   her from just murdering him.   
      
   >> This is an issue I've always found annoying in both Android and MacOS   
   >> actually, if I'm reading this right. The idea that an application is   
   >> made,   
   >> but only for this or that version of the operating system. If your   
   >> version is too old or too new, too bad.   
   >   
   > It's very frustrating. I could have had this issue resolved already if   
   > the app would load on any of my Android devices. Oddly enough this   
   > laptop I'm using is willing to grab the software for me - but as far as   
   > I know, it doesn't have any internal hardware to read/write nfc/rfid   
   > cards...I'd have to get an external device to do that. As far as I know.   
      
   And I imagine that the audience for such hardware and software is so   
   minimal that getting support on something like Linux would be impossible.   
      
   >> However, if you _do_ reinstall your operating system, you'll never be   
   >> allowed to install the software you were using. That just sucks.   
   >   
   > That's very annoying.   
      
   Exactly. Thus, if you have a Mac, never ever reinstall your operating   
   system if you've had it for more than five years or so.   
      
   >> It is pure retardation and yet more evidence that Apple has no desire   
   >> to allow individuals to repair their hardware, regardless of what kind   
   >> of repairability rating they might get whenever they release a new   
   >> machine.   
   >   
   >   
   > When I was a kid, Apple wasn't all about making repairs impossible. I've   
   > fixed more than one Apple 2 series. Repaired a couple of Mac Classics   
   > too. One of those fuckers bit me good with the high tension wire. LOL! I   
   > should have known better, being as I got hit with a tv set when I was   
   > around 5. but,   
   > I must have forgot about the special effect a picture tube has. Stores   
   > electricity like a capacitor. And let's you have it if you screw up.   
   > And, I did.   
   >   
   > Oddly enough, I extracted a couple of flyback transformers from a couple   
   > of older monitors to use in a plasma speaker I wanted to build. They run   
   > at much higher frequencies than a car ignition coil - which is what you   
   > want if you want to play music with it. I remembered to be extra careful   
   > and ground that CRT out.  Listen for the POP and do it again a couple   
   > more times just to be sure. With a nice sturdy screwdriver that's   
   > grounded. Just slide her under the suction cup and POP (one made more of   
   > a kabang sound but hell, as long as it's discharging to ground and not   
   > into me I'm not going to complain)   
      
   I can't imagine that the Macs were easy to repair, but I believe that the   
   Apple ][ was made to be because its architect was a tech, not a salesman.   
   Wozniak, a Pole like me, believed in expandability and that a person   
   should be able to hack hardware to get as much potential as possible out   
   of it. For his part, Jobs just wanted to sell you more stuff.   
      
   I always thought it was fascinating that both of Apple's creators had a   
   certain link to me. One's Polish like me, the other shares my birthday.   
      
   >> Apple wants you to buy the machine from them, pay for their warranty   
   >> and send it to them directly if ever there's a problem. These are the   
   >> same people who make panels that develop cracks on their own (see the   
   >> amount of cracked screens on eBay for reference), keyboards that break   
   >> if you use them (until they went back to their original design) and   
   >> bodies that dent if you simply look at them wrong. The rule here is   
   >> that if you buy an Apple, make sure that you have a warranty for as   
   >> long as you use it and discard your computer when it's no longer   
   >> covered.   
   >   
   > It's the way of Apple. I'm sure they have their reasons for these design   
   > decisions. But, fuck if I know what those might be. It's not consumer   
   > friendly, imo. It's not repair tech friendly either. While they aren't   
   > the only companies known for pulling this sort of shit, they are one if   
   > not the flagship for it.   
      
   It's an obsession with delivering a product that is impossibly thin, even   
   though being so provides no benefit whatsoever to a user in terms of   
   functionality. Sure, it's more portable, but it is suddenly impossible to   
   repair. They also had great battery life back in the day, at the expense   
   of performance. Until the M1 came out, there was truly no good reason to   
   get a Mac. (cue Anal)   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)