Broken PowerBook. Oh, The Irony.
July 31, 2005 | 
24 Comments
My PowerBook broke today.
The hinge on the display broke off and it won’t stay open. It’s also having some kind of electrical issue. It’s not something I can really live with so I had to buy a new ‘puter. I’ve needed one for awhile, as anyone who’s seen my PowerBook can attest, but I was really hoping to be able to wait until I got rolling before making any big purchases of any kind. Shit, I’d actually planned on getting one a month or so ago, when it would have been much more convenient to break.
It’s funny (in a slightly non-fun way) because it’s the absolute worst possible timing. I just left my job. I’ve got some money, but it was there as a reserve and to keep me afloat for awhile. I’m not dumb enough to leave my job without a contingency plan, but this…this was just perfect in all the wrong ways.
Ah, well, there’s nothing I can do about it…It just amazes me how life can up and kick you in the naughty bits like that. Seriously.
Filed under: Life
Keyword Tags: powerbook irony
Comments
1. Yannick L. said:
Well that really sucks. Hope you are able to get some money to put back in your reserves.
Posted on July 31, 2005 08:10 PM | #
2. Keith said:
Yannick – Yeah, it kind of sucks, but I’ll live. And there is a bright-side! I bought myself a much needed new machine! ;0) Maybe that will help mitigate the stress a bit.
Posted on July 31, 2005 09:09 PM | #
3. Derek said:
So what are you going to do with the guts of your old Powerbook? Anything planned? Or are you going to just toss that in the trash?
Posted on July 31, 2005 09:26 PM | #
4. jim said:
a fren had a similar problem. hinge broke. so what we did was to open the pbook up, take the LCD apart, disconnect the cables to the LCD, use it as a desktop…a sort-of Mac mini with an external monitor…
Posted on July 31, 2005 09:38 PM | #
5. Josh Jarmin said:
I agree with Jim. If the computer still works, turn on the wifi, throw it on a shelf somewhere and use it for a testing server or backup server or just more file space. What type of new computer did you end up getting?
Posted on July 31, 2005 10:28 PM | #
6. Micah said:
Well you know what they say, “when it rains it pours.”
Bummer.
Posted on July 31, 2005 11:03 PM | #
7. Ian Lloyd said:
But just look a that new powerbook. That shiny, uncluttered, thing of beauty … feeling better now? Thought so :-)
Posted on August 1, 2005 12:55 AM | #
8. Kate Bolin said:
When the hinge broke on my G3, I grabbed a box that was wide enough to hold the powerbook and set up the powerbook inside of the box, so that the screen was supported by the back of the box. It also kept light away from the screen, and all it required was cutting out a hole in the back for all the wires.
It worked pretty well as a temporary fix until we bought new hinges off of eBay — and definitely long enough to finish any immediate projects or anything like that.
Posted on August 1, 2005 01:11 AM | #
9. Ian Cheung said:
that’s a bummer Keith,
there was no way to fix it? Which model did you get to replace it?
Posted on August 1, 2005 03:15 AM | #
10. Keith said:
I’m sure I’ll find a use for the broken machine, but, it is over 4 years old and had a few other problems. I got a 12-inch PB that will take some time to get used to. I hope the external display will help. I couldn’t afford another 15-incher and do most of my work at home anyway.
We’ll see how it goes.
Posted on August 1, 2005 03:36 AM | #
11. James Crossett said:
I bought a 12” powerbook about 9 months ago now and I love it. It’s fully portable without losing out on power. I’m used to the small screen now, although at home I work with an external screen and it’s great. Put a keyboard and mouse in it and its a desktop too!
Posted on August 1, 2005 04:17 AM | #
12. Yvonne Adams said:
Ouch! Perhaps it’s a test; you dealt with this smoothly, so everything else will follow accordingly.
Posted on August 1, 2005 07:45 AM | #
13. Kenzie said:
Maybe you’re not interested in salvaging it, but have you checked out pbfixit.com?
Posted on August 1, 2005 08:30 AM | #
14. Jough Dempsey said:
Ouch. Sorry to hear about the dead PC. These things always tend to happen when you can least afford them (of course, had you been rolling in the dough you probably would have replaced the old one long ago). Still, I hope the new one serves you well for quite some time, and you may be able to sell the old broken one for parts on eBay.
I had a four year old Compaq that I sold to someone who needed parts from it to fix their four year old Compaq. It took a bit of the sting out of the new computer purchase.
Posted on August 1, 2005 08:35 AM | #
15. Dave Woodward said:
At the very least you could buy a firewire hard drive enclosure and have an extra external hard drive for backups and such (they’re like $150-$200). Thats what I did with my old HDD when I installed a 7200 rpm drive in my powerbook. I’m a little worried about my PB as well, I have the aluminum 15” and the connection of the hinge to the screen is loose (the top of the screen moves about 3 inches before the hinge actually starts to move).
Hope you like your new one. And this is just like when you drop toast it *always* lands buttered side down. You won’t always drop it, but when you do…
Posted on August 1, 2005 08:49 AM | #
16. Kevin Tamura said:
Did you get a new PB or the new iBook that seems just as good? I love my 12” PB but wish the screen resolution was a bit higher.
Posted on August 1, 2005 11:15 AM | #
17. Keith said:
Kevin – I woke up in the middle of the night last night, really worried about the purchase. I have serious buyers remorse. I’m actually going to return the 12” and splurge for the 15”. I’m really thinking the resoulution will be to hard to get used to.
Posted on August 1, 2005 11:21 AM | #
18. Laurence Anderson said:
You could make some money by eBaying the machine for parts or gutting it and selling all the parts separate.
Posted on August 1, 2005 11:36 AM | #
19. Tommy said:
Sorry to hear about your PB. I’ve got my $2,800 G3 Powerbook sitting on a shelf. They just want to much to fix the display and the battery problem (won’t hold much of a charge). Sorry to sound dense here, but what is wrong with the new iBooks? They’re like $500 less then a PB and mine has pretty good performance. I guess is a non-design guy I am missing something. Just curious.
Posted on August 1, 2005 03:09 PM | #
20. Ketan said:
pbparts.com is a good place to get rid of the old one - and get some cash in the process!
Posted on August 2, 2005 10:48 AM | #
21. Nick Finck said:
We should hold a fundraiser for Keith’s Powerbook.. what do ya say?! :)
Posted on August 2, 2005 05:07 PM | #
22. Sebastian said:
How’s it going? It’s been a while since you quit your job etc..
Regards
Posted on December 14, 2005 01:18 PM | #
23. Rimian said:
i know someone who spilled coffee in theirs. that really stuffed it.
Posted on January 9, 2006 10:28 PM | #
24. Doug said:
It always seems to “hit the fan” at the perfect time, eh?
Posted on February 8, 2006 01:34 PM | #
New Comments Disabled
About The Author
is a writer, designer, etc. in Seattle, Washington.
Hire me
Links
Home | Search | Archives | Subscribe
Random Old Stuff
Happy 7th Birthday to Digital Web
Hosting provided by:
The highly recommended Dreamhost!
