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Author Topic: Apple's difficult products  (Read 3779 times)

Tinman57

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Apple's difficult products
« on: November 07, 2012, 09:23 PM »
How Apple makes products difficult -- and expensive -- to repair
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.

http://www.zdnet.com...to-repair-7000006810

Renegade

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Re: Apple's difficult products
« Reply #1 on: November 07, 2012, 09:34 PM »
Tangentially related:

https://duckduckgo.c...ight+bulb+conspiracy

It's not about good products - it's about good revenue potential.

Great article though - nicely walks through some design decisions.
Slow Down Music - Where I commit thought crimes...

Freedom is the right to be wrong, not the right to do wrong. - John Diefenbaker

40hz

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Re: Apple's difficult products
« Reply #2 on: November 08, 2012, 09:21 AM »
I'll agree with the difficult part. An earlier incarnation of my company had an authorized Apple repair department. Disassembling and working on most Apple products felt like a cross between solving a Chinese puzzle box and disarming a tactical nuke. I was always amazed at the number of different types and sizes of screws they had holding things together. Apparently each model was designed independently of the others without regard to manufacturing engineering "best practices." I can only imagine the size of their stockroom...

I understand the take-apart (i.e. "case cracking") instructions for the Macintish SE was a modification of the instructions that went with this device:

fullsizepuzzlebox010xx.jpg

Can't really say if that's true. I was out the day one came in for "repair." Fortunately. ;D


Renegade

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Re: Apple's difficult products
« Reply #3 on: November 08, 2012, 09:28 AM »
I understand the take-apart (i.e. "case cracking") instructions for the Macintish SE was a modification of the instructions that went with this device:
 (see attachment in previous post)
Can't really say if that's true. I was out the day one came in for "repair." Fortunately. ;D

Ahhh... Now it all makes sense! Once you know who the lead designer is, everything becomes clear! ;D

hellraiser-pinhead.jpgApple's difficult products

;)
Slow Down Music - Where I commit thought crimes...

Freedom is the right to be wrong, not the right to do wrong. - John Diefenbaker

40hz

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Re: Apple's difficult products
« Reply #4 on: November 08, 2012, 12:18 PM »
@Ren: Hmm...the resemblance is rather uncanny at times.... :tellme:

hellraiser-pinhead.jpg_thumb.png   jobs-mad.jpgApple's difficult products

Coincidence? (You be the judge!)

Renegade

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Re: Apple's difficult products
« Reply #5 on: November 08, 2012, 12:45 PM »
@Ren: Hmm...the resemblance is rather uncanny at times.... :tellme:
 (see attachment in previous post)    (see attachment in previous post)
Coincidence? (You be the judge!)

I would love to see a photoshop of Steve with pins! ;D

Actually, given his track-record in life, twisting that cube around there may just summon him back... :P
Slow Down Music - Where I commit thought crimes...

Freedom is the right to be wrong, not the right to do wrong. - John Diefenbaker

40hz

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Re: Apple's difficult products
« Reply #6 on: November 08, 2012, 01:18 PM »
                                              avatar_3073_1327010257.gif


^Best let it rest quietly. Strange unexplained phenomena are sometimes better left unexplained.  :P

Mark0

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Re: Apple's difficult products
« Reply #7 on: November 09, 2012, 08:07 AM »
The Ping failure actually surprised me a bit.
Not that I was directly interested, but at launch I taught that it was the typical thing that Apple could pull of well, given the leverage they have in the music biz, the numbers of people using their store, etc. It seems that they have made more than one mistakes on that.