I do see your points, and I too would celebrate an open Windows release.

I’ve been reading a good amount of stories on Geek Squad lately both on the internet and in print about how GS and similar company services overcharge for simple things (installing a wifi card, setting up a router, both start at 100 bucks). The point of the articles is that the internet is there to help you, and that the majority of repair that would be required by an average person can be done by that person. They then go on to show some shady practices by various shops. Geek Squad stole folders of a guys personal porn collection in a sting operation. One of the most telling pieces was a TV investigation where they unplugged an IDE cable from the hard drive and took it to local repair services. They were quoted from needing something like a new motherboard for 500 bucks by one of the big name guys to a small mom and pop repair shop looking at it and fixing it for free in under 2 minutes.

(Should my laptop be repairable, I do have the links to back these up)

While these aren’t necessarily saying that folks are learning to do repairs themselves, I think it is an effort to show people that they can do it.

It’s a bit like cars. You simply HAVE to know the simple mechanics behind a car, and a bit of knowledge and experience with the car yourself before you take it in to a shop. Monday I took my car in to a Meineke to get it inspected so I can get my Missouri plates. The Meineke mechanics came back and said that I was leaking powersteering fluid from my rack and pinion and therefore would need to replace it if I didn’t want to fail the inspection. They said the fastest they could get the parts in and the work done was Thursday (which didn’t work for me, since I had to drive 800 something miles the next day to my fiancees house for a wedding show today) and it would cost me $1100.

First, I can go to a local junkyard and pick up all the parts for a rack and pinion for about $100 bucks. New it wouldn’t cost too terrible much. It does take some time to repair, so labor would definitely play a factor, but in no way does my car require $1100 worth of steering work (maybe if I had a nice muscle car like a Vette or the like, THEN it would).

I wonder how many people are had at that Meineke (in Liberty, MO if you ever break down there). My dad was telling me that at the Goodyear repair shop the man in front of him in line was talking to the mechanic saying “So I don’t need a new water pump? Those guys at Meineke were telling me I needed one! You just saved me $600!” Unnecessary repairs at unreasonable costs (I think the most I’ve seen a standard water pump installed for is about $345) hurt folks. Same thing with computer repair.

I’m all for legit repair and support services with the skills to get the job done. I just wish people would take the five minutes to research the problem beforehand.

(Woah, tangential)

We took my car to this little auto/motorcycle shop down the road called Dan’s Auto. Dan himself came out, looked at the failed inspection and quote for repairs, and laughed. About 10 minutes later, he brought my car out of the garage, saying there was some condensation on there, and it was rusty, but not leaking in the least. Payed him the $12 for the inspection and headed off.

Oh, and beachballs are better than spinning rings.

That is a very interesting assertion? Do you have anything concrete to support it? I ask because it doesn’t support my own intuition nor probably the increasing percentage of people purchasing laptops and compact computers like Mac Minis or iMacs.

Sure, some people would be outraged, and I’m happy they would be, because they are traveling a different road to free culture, and maybe that road will get us there faster, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t explore a different one.

Trumped? Apple is paying people to work on open source. These open source comrades take their values with them to work every day, and when they go home they take their Apple experience with them.

You say there are generous amounts of open source alternatives and original apps for both Mac and PC? Then why are people paying for Windows or Mac OS X?

If it’s just a matter of packaging up all the open source, you will be rich.

The reality is there is a long list of experience bugs that need fixing to connect with us rationally and emotionally.

Daniel, you inspire me too!

If the experience is proprietary, does that not trump the foundation of the OS? There are equal amounts (prolly not equal, but generous amounts) of open source alternatives and original apps for both Mac and PC.

I’m just not a fan of how Apple does hardware. They won’t let it be sold just anywhere. They integrate everything in to admittedly stylish, but all in one computers (iMac only really, the towers and laptops are good)and when something breaks (looking mainly at optical, slot-load is not preferred from an average tech-repair guy standpoint) you send in the entire iMac.

I have enjoyed playing and working with Macs, I’m not entirely a hater (playing devil’s advocate for the most part here). I just don’t see how folks think that OSX is more open because of its lower level openness. In the end, you are still locked in to Apple’s licensing, you still pay for OSX and all the upgrades, etc.

And I do have three tubes of thermal paste One next to my tower, and the others next to my moped (the automatic choke is run by engine heat, needs good conductivity to run smoothly). Funny enough, the CPU paste I use on my moped is higher quality than what I use on my computer. I think that more and more folks are learning that replacing hardware isn’t that hard or expensive (thank yous to GeekSquad and the like for their outrageous pricing and shady activities that have led to this realization for many).

I’m not doubting your commitment to the FOSS movement in the least! You’ve always been inspiring me to be for open source software and electronic living.