Apple 'User-Proofing' iPhones With Unremovable Screws, Sources Say [ Apple Screws ]

Fox News ^ | 1-22-11 | Reuters

[NoLibZone]

Apple is replacing iPhone screws -- but it may be the consumers who are really getting screwed.

In line with its infamous philosophy of maintaining absolute control over its products, sources said U.S. Apple stores are replacing screws on iPhone 4s brought for servicing with tamper-proof screws to prevent anyone else from opening the device.

Kyle Wiens, chief executive of iFixit, a prominent Apple repair and parts supplier, said the purpose of the new screws is to keep people out of the iPhone and prevent them from replacing the battery. He said he noticed in November that screws were being switched.

"If you took your car in for service and they welded your hood shut, you wouldn't be very happy," he said, comparing it to shutting owners out of their iPhones.

IFixit, based in San Luis Obispo, California, has become famous in the technology world for performing "teardowns" of Apple devices, often within hours or minutes of a new product launch. The company promotes repair to cut down on electronic waste that goes to landfills.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/01/21/apple-iphones-unremovable-pentalobe-screws/#ixzz1BnwEDmfc

[Dr. Sivana]

Lovely, Microsoft's products suck, and Apple are control freaks who want you hooked to their system/drug.

It has usually been that way for a LONG time. Sometimes it works out okay. PC motherboards had USB ports for YEARS before Microfot could be bothered to make an OS that could really use them, and the big peripheral manufacturers would make devices that used them. When the iMac came out, with NO serial or SCSI ports (and Apple NEVER embraced the parallel port), it forced the manufacturers to make USB devices for the unit. This provided the impetus for MS to get on the stick.

[Pontiac]

"If you took your car in for service and they welded your hood shut, you wouldn't be very happy,"

Rolls-Royce used to have locks on the hoods that could only be opened by the dealer.

[prophetic]

As one who has worked on Apple stuff before esp the Macbooks, they are very tricky to work on!!

In the Mac notebook the screws are so tiny and they had so many different types in there that a swiss watch was a cakewalk by comparison!! The data cables has less than 5mm of extra length to make the connection from one end to another and after completing the job it makes you want to work on any other types of laptops rather than this one!!

As far as Steve Jobs changing the screws from a Philips to a new security head screw I have this comment "Hey he's been screwing people around for so long now that he feels safe in doing it again"

[PAR35]

"If you took your car in for service and they welded your hood shut, you wouldn't be very happy,"

GM used to use torx screws on the headlight trim to 'encourage' folks to pay dealer prices to replace a burned out headlight. You could switch out a Chrysler of the same era with an ordinary phillips head.

[truthfreedom]

tea party - generic android tablet

[Dr. Sivana]

The first ones were so dang slow. I remember having to take a coffe break just to change the disk.

Very true. The hard drive was an expensive option, as it had to be external. Worse, it plugged into the FLOPPY port! No ISA slot, NUBUS, PDS (Processor Direct Slot), SCSI ... a FLOPPY port designed for data rates suited for an 800K diskette. Even Apple IIIs got more respect.

[Dr. Sivana]

In the Mac notebook the screws are so tiny and they had so many different types in there that a swiss watch was a cakewalk by comparison!!

I see your Apple notebook and raise you one early '90s IBM Thinkpad. The folks at IBM had to issue print outs to compare the slightly different screws. The IBM's had to be COMPLETELY taken apart to replace a keyboard. Worse yet, a bunch went out with bad laminate on the keys, so the letters wore off after a few weeks. The Compaqs were the worst, though, as the cable connector clamp on the motherboards were so flimsy, and the only fix for a broken one was a new motherboard!

[SeeSac]

Lead is for pretty much anything.

People have gotten serious radiation overdoses by assuming that lead is for pretty much anything!

[Constitution Day]

I am by no means a fan of the cult around Apple, but I think this is absolutely hilarious.

[Dr. Sivana]

People have gotten serious radiation overdoses by assuming that lead is for pretty much anything!

I suspect that it will be sufficent to blick an iPhone's signal home. In any event, you could always just position a dead hand to attenuate the antenna.

[Dr. Sivana]

Typo's corrected:
People have gotten serious radiation overdoses by assuming that lead is for pretty much anything!

I suspect that it will be sufficient to block an iPhone's signal home. In any event, you could always just position a dead hand to attenuate the antenna.

[9422WMR]

Apple and the other industries that created these billion dollar generating items to be sold to the American public are traitors.
Why?
Because they sold out the US populace by having the items manufactured in a foreign country so they would earn more profit. Jobs that could have supported American citizens and the US economy were outsourced for profit.
They could have still made an enormous profit and supported the country that provided the wealth.
Instead, these companies have destroyed the American way of life and built up the economies of our enemies.
I guess Henry Ford could have outsourced the Model T and the American economic revolution would have never occurred./S
Microsoft/Apple/Walmart and the others, their executives are traitors.

[Richard Kimball]

If something can be screwed (mechanical) it can be unscrewed.

Agreed. My suspicion is that many of the people that take the screws out end up breaking the phone and then get mad because it's not covered under warranty.

[SandRat]

The Grand Nagis

[saltus]

When every problem looks like a nail, then every issue needs a hammer.

[brityank]

How specifically should Apple's practice of selecting certain screws be considered a "monopolistic" activity?

OK, I'll play Devil's Advocate! You'll note, these replacements were done on units turned in for repair, not as sold originally.

They stole what was rightfully mine at the time I turned it in to repair the thingamajingy. While true, they need to remove said screws to effect the repair, they by all rights should have replaced my original screws. They did not.

I was given no notice or previous information that my screws would be removed and replaced with these usurpers.

I used those screws every day:
º In contemplation they gave me a pleasant feeling to allow my thoughts free reign.
º The crosses of the Phillips head reminded me to pray to my Lord, and provided a focus for my senses.
º Caressing the soft protrusions of the cross calmed my psyche.

Now they've given me a Pentagrammic Design from Lucifer. No thank you!

[brityank]

Oh yeah - I used to work on small computer parts, so I'm used to funny type screws. Got good at filing my own blades!       :^)

[FreedomPoster]

Exactly. The whole thing is so dumb it is incredible. I have a couple of drawers full of specialty small screwdrivers and screwdriver bits out in the garage. Do these fools think I won’t go out and spend $20 or $25 to be covered for these new Pentalobe screws?

[FreedomPoster]

Uhh - you can turn them off. Really you can.

[Calvin Locke]

I worked with a guy that donated his time to a museum in a
metropolitan city. In the parking garage, he had his radio stolen a
couple of times, and went to the mechanical engineer in the company.

The Mech found a theft deterrent screw/driver. At first glance,
the head appeared to be a solid round piece of metal, but was
really slightly oval.

The time-donor still had to put up with smashed windows, though...