The Balkan Yankee

Ye Old Powerbook Adapter, originally uploaded by garth walker.

Ok… I didn’t drop this, or crack it open accidentally. I did it on purpose.The power adapter casing is built to withstand far beyond what I would consider reasonable. What finally did this was a combination of Pliers, screw drivers, improvised vice grips and a lot of banging. The cord itself however, is more functional as a wick. These things seem timed to literally burn out after one year.

That’s what happened to this guy, right near the base of the adapter. This photo is the result of my attempt to expose enough of the wire to strip to Coaxial insulation, and reattach the wire.

I plugged it into the wall and to my joy it did not explode. I then plugged the other end into my computer. The result, unfortunately, was a green light around the rim for which was initially hopeful. (Later I remembered that this rim turns orange when the battery is charging) After 2-3 hours plugged in the computer has yet to startup.

I’m not sure what I can do from here. I sure as hell do not want to pay Apple another $75 ($150 in Bulgaria) for another one of these disasters. Read the customer reviews over at Apple for yourself. This happens to almost everyone. Unbelievable.

I got my first mac when I was 10 years old. It was a Mac Classic. Since then I’ve owned at least half a dozen mac computers as well as several iPods.
When I first heard rumors about the iPhone, I was really excited. I remember having conversations with people about how cool it was going to be. Particularly, assuming at the time that you would most likely sell the iPhone unlocked via your stores and online. The really exciting thing was the potential you had to revolutionize the mobile industry for consumers in the USA, by giving US consumers the same power as European consumers to own their hardware independent of providers demanding lengthy contracts.
Well, that didn’t happen. You signed an exclusive deal with AT&T which apparently includes a portion of their revenue going to you guys for the privilege of getting to sell your phone. Sure, you have the clout and you pulled it off. Sounds great for the shareholders…
So, maybe I could forgive you for that, but why oh why can’t I run 3rd party applications on it? Why do you threaten to void my warranty if I attempt to do it? I’m a 21st century consumer in an open source world. I want to decide what software I use, and I want the flexibility to change and customize it as quickly as possible. I won’t buy an iPhone when you release them in Europe because I’m holding out to see if Google beats you to the punch and releases the kind of phone I really want. Then, just maybe, the next notebook I buy will be running Linux as well.