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Desktops (Apple) IOS Operating Systems Upgrades Apple Hardware

Sealed-Box Macs: Should Computers Be Disposable? 673

Posted by samzenpus from the time-to-upgrade dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Apple's new Retina MacBook Pro is essentially completely non-upgradable, a sealed-box, following a trend started with the MacBook Air in 2008. It's a given that hardware companies are in the business of selling hardware, and would love for computers to have iPhone-like replacement cycles of 1-3 years. But does this mean we're moving irresistibly into an era of 'sealed-unit computing,' even for power users?"
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Sealed-Box Macs: Should Computers Be Disposable? More

Sealed-Box Macs: Should Computers Be Disposable?

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  • "moving irresistibly"? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by crafty.munchkin ( 1220528 ) on Monday August 20, 2012 @04:23PM (#41059903)
    Only if you want to spend money with Apple. I'll stick with building my own, or using a laptop from a brand where I can upgrade it if I want.

    • Re:"moving irresistibly"? (Score:5, Informative)

      by Relayman ( 1068986 ) on Monday August 20, 2012 @04:29PM (#41059981)
      Exactly. When you order a new Mac on Apple's website, it warns you that you can't upgrade ("Please note that the memory is built into the computer, so if you think you may need more memory in the future, it is important to upgrade at the time of purchase.").

      • Re:"moving irresistibly"? (Score:4, Funny)

        by Forty Two Tenfold ( 1134125 ) on Monday August 20, 2012 @04:51PM (#41060305)
        Does it also have a programmed-obsolescence chip? Hey apoptochip, cool.
        • Apoptochip! This is a fantastic neologism and I hope it sees more use. Except I don't, because apoptochips sound like a terrible idea.

        • Re:"moving irresistibly"? (Score:5, Informative)

          by JoeMerchant ( 803320 ) on Monday August 20, 2012 @06:51PM (#41061973)

          I've got a 2006 MacBook Pro - for reasons all my own, I've never upgraded the OS, but neither have I downgraded it... bit by bit, piece by piece, the things I still do with that computer are stopping working, typically with each software patch pushed via the web.

          Similar story for the XP machines we have, though one of those finally fried a power supply and put itself out of our misery.

      • Re:"moving irresistibly"? (Score:5, Insightful)

        by magarity ( 164372 ) on Monday August 20, 2012 @06:01PM (#41061301)

        Does it warn you that since the battery can't be removed then in 3 years the laptop will be tied to a power outlet in the future? I don't mind (much) that laptop parts can't be upgraded but is it really too much to expect parts that are definitely going to fail after a few years (battery, fan) to be replaceable?

        • Re:"moving irresistibly"? (Score:5, Insightful)

          by roc97007 ( 608802 ) on Monday August 20, 2012 @06:10PM (#41061419) Journal

          Does it warn you that since the battery can't be removed then in 3 years the laptop will be tied to a power outlet in the future?

          I think according to the business model you're not supposed to keep it that long.

        • Re:"moving irresistibly"? (Score:5, Insightful)

          by Darinbob ( 1142669 ) on Monday August 20, 2012 @06:12PM (#41061447)

          If the battery fails it may actually ruin the computer as well, very often they don't just passively stop working. Ie, they swells up and crack boards instead of just popping out, or they leak and shorts stuff out.

          • No one is talking about catastrophic failure. Battery failure generally refers to its inability to hold a charge.

        • Re:"moving irresistibly"? (Score:4, Insightful)

          by ThePeices ( 635180 ) on Monday August 20, 2012 @06:14PM (#41061469)

          Does it warn you that since the battery can't be removed then in 3 years the laptop will be tied to a power outlet in the future? I don't mind (much) that laptop parts can't be upgraded but is it really too much to expect parts that are definitely going to fail after a few years (battery, fan) to be replaceable?

          If you can afford to buy a MBP with retina display, then you can afford to pay Apple to replace the battery, or just buy a new MBP.

          The high end Apple products are not designed/marketed for the average person, they are designed/marketed for the average rich person. This is seen by the lengths Apple goes through to make sure that Apple products are NEVER seen as cheap ( banning the use of the word 'free' for iDevice giveaways etc etc )

        • If the battery fails within three years, they replace it for free. It's called AppleCare.

          My MacBook Pro is coming up to three years and shows no deterioration in the battery. I would expect four years from it before needing to replace it.

        • Re:"moving irresistibly"? (Score:5, Insightful)

          by the_B0fh ( 208483 ) on Monday August 20, 2012 @09:07PM (#41063367) Homepage

          I've had my first gen macbook pro's battery replaced twice. Once right before applecare ran out, and once about 4-5 months afterwards. No hassle at all to get it replaced, free both times. Not sure why anyone's bitching. It's not like Apple's replacement battery price is way out of line compared to others, and on top of that, they do the work for you, so, errr, where's the problem...?

          • Re: (Score:3)

            by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

            I'll give you three.

            1. You have no choice but to buy from Apple and once they drop support you are SOL.

            2. You can't carry a spare battery for long journeys.

            3. You can't safely dispose of the machine yourself, you have to get Apple to deal with the battery. Since the SSD can't be removed either if the machine dies there is no way to remove your data first.

    • Starts with apple (Score:4, Insightful)

      by nurb432 ( 527695 ) on Monday August 20, 2012 @04:55PM (#41060369) Homepage Journal

      It doesn't end there. Eventually you wont be able to build your own devices or find any that support minimal upgrading/repair. When the masses want toasters, eventually that is all that will be manufactured.

      I don't like it either, but I'm not going to delude myself that we will *always* have 'open' systems. With a bit of luck ill be retired by then and i wont have to care.

      • Go ahead and tell yourself we won't always have open systems, but if you really think that there aren't plenty of people out there like you and I who are also working at hardware companies and assuring their management there is a sustainable market segment of people who want computers they can open up and fiddle with (which there absolutely is) then you're seriously missing the mark on how many tech folk there are (real tech folk, not the ones who think they're techies because they memorized an apple produc

      • Re:Starts with apple (Score:4, Insightful)

        by oakgrove ( 845019 ) on Monday August 20, 2012 @05:14PM (#41060639)
        But is that what the masses really want? I think many new people buy Macs because of the reputation of them being less trouble and the aesthetic attraction of OSX. And the hardware. The fact that they are becoming more and more non upgradeable is more an incidental that people just tolerate as part of the experience. I doubt that if a poll was taken that most people would say they don't want upgradeable computers. Compare sales of Macs to ultra book Windows laptops and note the fact that on the Wintel side people are by and large staying away from the super thin hard to upgrade stuff. I think people are reading too much into the popularity of iPads and recent Macs and drawing erroneous conclusions.

  • MacBook Air confirmed most don't care. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 20, 2012 @04:26PM (#41059933)

    It very much is the way things are going to be done and it turns out, people like it. The experiment was first tried with the MacBook Air and people bought it without hesitation. Had the Air been a flop this wouldn't be happening.

    Or put another way, I've never met someone that "upgraded" their laptop after 2 years anyway. They hand it down or put it to work in the corner of the room, but they aren't upgraded. Whether it is a Dell, Mac, or Thinkpad. I put more ram in mine after 3, but I think I"m by far the exception. The most upgrades laptops probably ever received was in that period of time when you could replace the old hdd with ssd and get a huge bump. Now we're falling out of that even as laptops come stock with ssd.

    • Yes, people aren't interesting in upgrading their laptops. As for servicing them it isn't worth it for Apple anymore. It's cheaper to pay a worker bee in China $0.05 to make a new one than it is to pay someone in the US $20/hr to fix one that's broken.

      • Re:MacBook Air confirmed most don't care. (Score:4, Insightful)

        by jedidiah ( 1196 ) on Monday August 20, 2012 @04:37PM (#41060103) Homepage

        $20/hr will get you new memory and new storage. That can take a machine that's otherwise a doorstop and breathe new life into it.

        This used to be the sort of thing that Apple Fanboys used to like to brag about: getting more useful life out of a machine.

        When you are talking about expensive machines, it's still cheaper to maintain and repair them. What Apple charges for it's hardware makes them not quite disposable by most people's standards.

    • It very much is the way things are going to be done and it turns out, people like it. The experiment was first tried with the MacBook Air and people bought it without hesitation. Had the Air been a flop this wouldn't be happening.

      Or put another way, I've never met someone that "upgraded" their laptop after 2 years anyway. They hand it down or put it to work in the corner of the room, but they aren't upgraded. Whether it is a Dell, Mac, or Thinkpad. I put more ram in mine after 3, but I think I"m by far the exception. The most upgrades laptops probably ever received was in that period of time when you could replace the old hdd with ssd and get a huge bump. Now we're falling out of that even as laptops come stock with ssd.

      Besides memory and HDs; how many laptops are truly upgradeable, anyway?

      And from the looks of things, it looks like the SSD will be upgradeable [ifixit.com], at least at some point. The memory is another story; so get as much as you can when you buy. But isn't that de regeur with most computer purchases, especially laptops?

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by garcia ( 6573 )

        I own a MBP13 that I upgraded myself soon after purchase to 8GB of RAM and I plan to upgrade it to 16GB and an SSD when they both become more financially reasonable to do so.

        I also own a Lenovo G555. I tried to replace the keyboard and found that it was a real bitch to do so. Why? Because Lenovo doesn't even know what particular keyboard model a G555 may be using and you have to disassemble the entire laptop to find out what it is before you can buy another for $70 or $80 (from sketchy sites) and $100+ (fro

    • Re:MacBook Air confirmed most don't care. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by tverbeek ( 457094 ) on Monday August 20, 2012 @04:41PM (#41060149) Homepage

      Actually the MacBook Air sold rather... let's say "slowly"... for the first year or so, to the point that a less... "committed" company would have discontinued it. It was unpopular, because it was so much more expensive than the rest of the MacBook line, for a machine with the least horsepower, no CD drive, etc.. When the price came down into the territory of the white MacBooks then costumers went for it.

      • Well noted.

        The MacBook Air didn't really "take off" until it replaced the MacBook. So how much of that is the $999 price and how much of that is the "airiness"?

        If you look at the PC world--where they actually have competition--the answer would seem to be the price.

  • Look to Detroit (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward

    to see how well planned obsolescence worked out for the American auto industry.

  • No thanks, Apple. I've had enough. The custom temp sensors / connectors for hard drives in the iMac? The obliteration of your Server OS in 10.7... countless other slights, rough terms/conditions... I always somehow managed to keep pulling for Mac and OS X because I felt it was the best UNIX workstation you could buy. Yeah, keep closing up.. as your market share grows you'll see more of this -- your restriction of choice will eventually get the best of you if you're not careful.

  • $3000 every 1-3 years. Right. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by EmagGeek ( 574360 ) on Monday August 20, 2012 @04:29PM (#41059973) Journal

    Honestly, they're not "sealed" to sell more hardware. Nobody in their right mind is buying a new $3000 laptop every three years.

    The reasons are twofold:

    1) It is easier to make the laptop thinner and smaller if it does not have to have the mechanics necessary to facilitate taking it apart (screws, bulkheads, etc), or to make it modular (why not just mount a bunch of SMT flash to the motherboard for a disk drive rather than have a 9mm thick 2.5" wide 3" long metal box with yet another circuit board in it? It's more profitable to just integrate everything on one board.

    2) We're in a state of development where hardware is a decade or more ahead of software. There is too much computer and not enough problem. My Athlon X2 from 2005 does everything I need it to do, and will do so for years to come. So, why bother with upgrades anymore? They are unnecessary unless you're a hardcore gamer, in which case you're not buying a laptop.

    • Re:$3000 every 1-3 years. Right. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Fwipp ( 1473271 ) on Monday August 20, 2012 @04:35PM (#41060079)

      To be fair, some people do buy a new $3000 laptop every year or two. They usually resell their old one for a large portion of the original purchase price, though (MacBooks in particular retain their resale value reasonably well).

      To the rest of your post, you've got it exactly right - it's not motivated by a nefarious lock-in plot to take away consumer choice. It simply reflects a prioritization of user-customizability below other factors, like product aesthetics and cost reduction.

    • Nobody in their right mind is buying a new $3000 laptop every three years.

      I'd argue nobody in their right mind is buying a new $1500 laptop every three years, even.

      Other than the Mac I was recently provided by my workplace, none of the Macs in my household is less than three years old - and they all still work perfectly well for what we use them for. Because the rest of your post is exactly right - for the vast majority of users, the increase in hardware performance has far outstripped their needs.

      As a bit of an extreme example - my mom was using a hand-me-down 2003 G4 Powerbook

      • I'd argue nobody in their right mind is buying a new $1500 laptop every three years, even.

        And you'd be ridiculously narrow-minded about it. Just because that level of expenditure isn't reasonable for you doesn't mean it isn't reasonable for somebody else who has greater work needs or just a lot more money.

      • For a professional in just about any field, spending a few thousand dollars every year on new and improved gear is pretty much expected.

        For instance auto mechanics are expected to own and maintain their own tools, this is not cheap.

        If you are a musician, you are generally expected to purchase and maintain your own musical instruments. Computers are pretty cheap if you want to start comparing to electric guitars, amplifiers, cables, guitar strings etc.

        There may be legitimate reasons to diss Apple,

  • No (Score:4, Insightful)

    by amicusNYCL ( 1538833 ) on Monday August 20, 2012 @04:29PM (#41059975)

    does this mean we're moving irresistibly into an era of 'sealed-unit computing,' even for power users?

    No. Next question, please.

  • Germany's model (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Antony T Curtis ( 89990 ) on Monday August 20, 2012 @04:29PM (#41059983) Homepage Journal

    The manufacturer should pay S&H to receive such sealed units for recycling and it should be as simple as submitting a request on their website for a prepaid addressed bag/envelope/box to be sent to the customer.

  • Not new... but also inevitable. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by tverbeek ( 457094 ) on Monday August 20, 2012 @04:31PM (#41060005) Homepage

    This isn't exactly new. The original Macintosh was rather deliberately designed to be a sealed unit, with no user-upgradable/replaceable components inside.

    Just like pretty much every other piece of consumer electronics. How easy is it to upgrade your Blu-Ray player, or replace components in your clock radio? Microcomputers have been the exception to this, beginning as kits and retaining some level of user-customization (most of the time). But as they get closer in size a pocket calculator than to a refrigerator, with the components getting smaller and closer together in the process, the notion that you can open up and tinker with your laptop becomes about as practical as suggesting that you do the same with your wrist watch.

    • The original Macintosh was rather deliberately designed to be a sealed unit, with no user-upgradable/replaceable components inside.

      What exactly were you going to upgrade, back then? That was well before the era of performance above-board video cards, multiple CPU choices, heat management, etc. Strangely, one of my earliest memories of computing was helping my dad add more RAM to one of the early Macs, probably the SE/30. It was far from a sealed unit...

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by tftp ( 111690 )

      Just like pretty much every other piece of consumer electronics. How easy is it to upgrade your Blu-Ray player, or replace components in your clock radio?

      Simple devices, like a clock radio or a hammer, are not upgradeable. But take a hand saw - it is already upgradeable, and there are many blades to choose from. Same applies to your hand drill, your AR-15, your car, your home... Only very cheap items, or very complete items, are not upgradeable. Consumer electronics rates high on "completeness" - it does

  • In a word no... (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Genda ( 560240 )

    I'm sorry if someone came out with a $25,000 disposable car, that needed no service, was virtually indestructible for 5 years and then had to be turned in for the next $25,000 disposable car, I'm guessing most folks would tell Detroit to stick it where the sun don't shine. Certainly there would be a few who had the money and if it was a great driving experience, with super tires that last the life of the car, a super electric motor, and sealed systems so there was simply no need for maintenance, those few w

    • Re:In a word no... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 20, 2012 @04:53PM (#41060331)

      I'm sorry if someone came out with a $25,000 disposable car, that needed no service, was virtually indestructible for 5 years and then had to be turned in for the next $25,000 disposable car, I'm guessing most folks would tell Detroit to stick it where the sun don't shine. Certainly there would be a few who had the money and if it was a great driving experience, with super tires that last the life of the car, a super electric motor, and sealed systems so there was simply no need for maintenance, those few who wanted to drive without concern might enjoy it. The rest of us want to sell it when we're done, many want the value of a used car. A disposable car is great for the dealer and the wealthy guy who can afford a $25,000 expense every 5 years.

      Isn't this exactly what anybody with a $420 a month car lease does (or anybody that trades in their car for the down payment on the next $420 a month car?)

  • If it was a $20 issue, it lasted a year, and could be recycled, maybe. At $3000, or even $300, they can shove their nicely sealed hardware up their collective asses with a nice solid twist.

  • Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Monday August 20, 2012 @04:38PM (#41060113)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • What are you talking about? Is a Mac Pro not "POWER-USER" enough for you? Or is Two 2.4GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon processors and 12Gigs of RAM packaged in the most easily accessible case around too "braindead consumer"

      I'm so sick of "braindead pc-bigots" who use the same tactics as the GOP/FOX News by ignoring or blatantly distorting the facts to make their bullshit points.

      Ohhh and then their's this gem

      Apple users, largely but not exclusively, are less computer owner and more internet user.

      What a complete pile of bullshit. Why don't you head on over to Silicon Valley and take a look at the Dot Coms

  • Maybe some people do this, but very few people I know could afford to. I have a nice benefit at work where I can get a new computer once every 3 years, and they will pay for it, then deduct the cost out of my salary over the course of a year. Since I know I'll have that computer for at least 3 years, I always get the max RAM & HD for my computer along with the best video card I can get. I usually alternate between an iMac and a MacBook Pro laptop computer and give away the older computer to a family mem
  • Replace "power users" with "99% of users" and I would say yes. Definitely yes. Computers are becoming (frankly, they are already) disposable consumer products.
  • This is horrible. Who would buy anything that they can't easily repaired and/or upgrade themselves? Next thing you know, we won't be able to pull the tubes from our radios and TVs and take them down to the drug store to test them.

  • NO (Score:2)

    by rujholla ( 823296 )

    With the current shortages or rare earth metals I think we should be working towards a fully upgradeable box, just to make them last longer.

  • Interesting discussion (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Dunbal ( 464142 ) * on Monday August 20, 2012 @04:51PM (#41060311)

    This reminds me of a conversation I had with my sweetheart, a market research person placed rather high up in a Fortune 500 company. She's a smart cookie. I consider myself to not be too stupid either. Anyway here's the gist of the argument.

    I'm an old dinosaur, having been around the PC since it took off in the 70's. I've always had a PC since my teenage years - Apple II, PC XT, AT, and all the way across the upgrade path to the current i7 quad core I'm writing this on. As a dinosaur, I always have in the back of my mind the modular design of the computer. PC's were originally sold to us on expandability - the ISA slots. With those 8 slots you could increase the memory, add in a co-processor, a graphics card - hard drives, when those came out. The sky was the limit. And no one wanted to buy a computer that had few ISA slots - I mean, why shoot yourself in the foot right at the beginning? Compatibility was also paramount. It had to be IBM-compatible, because that was the "gold standard".

    But the market has changed. Kids nowadays, and Joe Public who isn't a computer expert at all - well they really don't give a damn about keeping their options open. They want a neat little package that works with as little hassle as possible. The things I value in a computer are not the things they value in a computer. And unfortunately as I age, I am slowly but surely moving into a very niche market.

    Of course I think the current trend is wrong. I am dead set against the top-down model that manufacturers are desperate to impose on people - buy this machine, and then only buy from my store, and only run apps that I say, and eventually, don't run apps at all - lease CPU time from us "in the cloud" (which is just another way of saying the old mainfraime/client model). I think there is great danger in this route - because no one will look after your data, and you can be denied access to your data. And of course you will have to pay to access your data. Without even mentioning security problems. Personal computers had broken through that top-down model and everyone had a mini supercomputer (at least what passed for one in the 70's) on their desk and could do anything they wanted. Now you will only be able to do what you are allowed. But again, the market doesn't care. The market wants facebook and skype and angry birds and a camera and a phone and to be able to watch tv, and that's it.

    Apple has seen this, and oh god are they ever cashing in. Others are catching up. But the direction of the technology is the same, be it apple or the competitors. A locked device, and pay for service. I think it's a shame, but I'll be dead soon.

    • Re:Interesting discussion (Score:5, Insightful)

      by tlhIngan ( 30335 ) <slashdot@worf.ERDOSnet minus math_god> on Monday August 20, 2012 @05:18PM (#41060693)

      But the market has changed. Kids nowadays, and Joe Public who isn't a computer expert at all - well they really don't give a damn about keeping their options open. They want a neat little package that works with as little hassle as possible. The things I value in a computer are not the things they value in a computer. And unfortunately as I age, I am slowly but surely moving into a very niche market.

      That's because you're using a computer for the sake of using a computer. You grew up when computers were neat novel things that often required "computer users" to own and operate.

      These days, computers are also tools. People are forced to use computers in their every day lives. Your mechanic needs a computer to diagnose a modern car. Your dentist needs a computer to manage their patient records. And so on. These people don't care about computers - they care about getting work done. If it's a sealed box that magically does what they need, as far as they care, that's all they need.

      Same with all the kids and smartphones - they don't care about processors or what not, they care about communication, communicating and socializing with other people, and they don't care about how it really works underneath. They don't care about that - just what it enables.

      It's just like cars - some people spend hours on the driveway fixing their cars or doing othe rmaintenance, while others on the road barely get an oil change every year or two. A car is a tool for many people - get from point A to point B. Some people get fancy cars to get there in style, others get boring econoboxes to get there cheaply and efficiently. And others spend their whole time restoring ancient classic cars.

      Computing has changed from the niche geeks-and-nerds thing to something the whole population has to use. As such, the geeks-and-nerds will see the masses not care about what they care about, which is fine.

      Take a look at where computers are used and realize that not everyone cares because they use computers to get work done. As long as it's getting work done, they're happy. If it's broken, they're more than happy to call in someone to fix it, just like they'd call a plumber to fix their plumbing, an electrician to fix the electricals, a mechanic to fix their engines and vehicles, etc.

      You might not like it, which is completely fine. However, think of it this way - the next time you visit the dentist, wonder how much you're willing ot pay for them to learn how to upgrade the OS, install more RAM, change the CPU on their patient record system. And be billed for it. Ditto your mechanic - would you pay your mechanic to recompile the kernel while fixing your car?

      Then realize that if every computer required someone skilled inside and out to operate, we'd still be with mainframes and time sharing systems. Instead, we have wonderful new technology and new innovation spawned by the ubiquitousness of computing poewr. Most of it is crap, but others make the world a more connected place and much less isolated.

  • Since when is choice such a bad thing? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Above ( 100351 ) on Monday August 20, 2012 @05:21PM (#41060725)

    If Apple were a monopoly I would get all the geek hand wringing over how serviceable their computers are, but they aren't by a long shot. As such this speculation makes no sense to me. Perhaps it's because I remember a time when a "PC" meant it came from IBM, or one of a few people who licensed bits of the technology from them. There was no choice.

    Today I can build my own from Newegg. I can buy a generic pre-made box from Dell or HP, Acer or PacBell, or hundreds of others. I can buy sexy form-factor machines from Apple, Alienware (a dell company), Sony, Asus, and Shuttle. Tablets and phones that didn't exist even 5 years ago are now widely and cheaply available and have more power than a 10 year old "PC". Pogoplug and Raspberry PI are putting computers where people never thought they would exist.

    The notion that an Apple Laptop's "sealed" nature is limiting consumer choice is laughable. Consumers have a lot of choice, and they are choosing a product that they like. Perhaps it's not the right laptop for much of Slashdot, but a lot of consumers are voting with their dollars.

    It reminds me a lot about cars in the 80's when the new smog standards and computers came out. "I can't work on this in my driveway" all the old guys said. I need expensive computer gear to fix it that only a shop can own. Some of the new parts require specialized tools that are very expensive! Turns out most consumers didn't change their own oil or adjust their own timing, so the fact that the new computers and tech made a tune up every 50,000 or 100,000 miles rather than 3,000 with points and a carburetor more than offset the fact they couldn't work on it themselves. The benefits to consumers greatly outweighed any of the drawbacks.

    I think the computer world is making the same transition. I remember a Toshiba laptop circa 1997 that had a NiCad battery that wouldn't even last an hour, and in less than a year of use wouldn't hold a charge at all. I kept two spares when traveling, and swapped them out. The battery better have been user replaceable in that thing. Now, with modern tech, folks are getting 10 hours out of Apple laptops and tablets, and seeing 5-7 year battery life with minimal degradation. People don't buy spare batteries anymore, even when they are modular. Tech has advanced, so now people want the thinner, lighter more than the replaceable battery.

    As long as you can go to any of a hundred other vendors and get modular laptops and desktops complaining about one vendor who makes them non-serviceable is stupid. People have choice, and are voting with their dollars.

  • "sealed box" ...... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Lumpy ( 12016 ) on Monday August 20, 2012 @06:39PM (#41061789) Homepage

    Only for the uneducated. It's not sealed box to me. but then the old codgers whined how all electronics were becoming dosposable when we stopped using tubes and started with the new flangled Integrated circuits.

    And then I heard the same thing when surface mount stuff became popular....

    Only the old codgers or uneducated will see it as a sealed box. The rest of us hackers will still find our way inside and modify or extend the life of these items.

    Last TWO ipads I have owned were 100% free. as the previous owner dropped them and broke the screen.. I buy new screen off of ebay and replace the broken one. now I have a $900.00 64gig 3G ipad 2 for the $58.00 the screen cost me and 1 hour of my time.

    I love what apple is doing, it means I will get a lot more free stuff as the uneducated throw it away or believe it has no value.

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