vulgarweed: (Default)
vulgarweed ([personal profile] vulgarweed) wrote2007-06-18 03:23 pm

FUCK!!!!!

Does anybody in the Chicago area know where I can get a power cord for a clamshell iBook ASAP??

(Don't tell me to look online--I don't have that much battery time left! Nor do I have two days to wait for it to come in the mail.)

ETA: OK, it still works if I hold it at a certain angle. Got it taped down, so it's recharging. Grrrr. Still need new one ASAP! Why is everything I own rubbish? --Ron Weasley.

ETA2: Just ordered one over the phone from some guy in Michigan whose site I found at Low End Mac, THE go-to site for us junkyard apples. Cross fingers my current one doesn't die before it gets here, because if it does, I am up SHIT CREEK.

[identity profile] celandineb.livejournal.com 2007-06-18 08:48 pm (UTC)(link)
There are several Apple stores in the Chicago area: here's one, and at the bottom of the page is a link where you could look for other locations if that one's not good. That's what I'd suggest!

[identity profile] vulgarweed.livejournal.com 2007-06-18 08:56 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks so much! But I already tried there. Thing about Apple stores is, they're only interested in carrying the very latest stuff --hell, the one on Michigan barely sells computers anymore, it's all about iPod crap. It's impossible to find parts for anything more than 2 weeks old there, and they look at you like you're the Ice-Man from the Stone Age. Love the computers, hate those bastards.

[identity profile] celandineb.livejournal.com 2007-06-18 09:01 pm (UTC)(link)
:-( How annoying! I didn't realize they were quite that bad; SO has both desktop and laptop Apples and so I've dealt with the Apple store near us to get things looked at, but never needed a replacement bit in a hurry like that. That is really CRAP customer service, I have to say.

[identity profile] vulgarweed.livejournal.com 2007-06-18 09:03 pm (UTC)(link)
You know what they told me when I asked about a wireless card? eBay!

[identity profile] celandineb.livejournal.com 2007-06-18 09:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Jesus. *coughassholescough* That is... yeah. That would totally put me off buying an Apple ever again.

[identity profile] vulgarweed.livejournal.com 2007-06-18 09:08 pm (UTC)(link)
The problem is, they build computers to last. Up until I moved and pitched it, I had a Classic Cube from the early 90s that still worked great. And they, of course, want their customers to spend thousands on the latest shinies as often as possible, but I have a contrarian Depression-era ethic about throwing away things that are still perfectly good. So a lot of us Mac folks have that love/hate relationship.

[identity profile] celandineb.livejournal.com 2007-06-18 09:17 pm (UTC)(link)
I hear you on that ethic. While I am replacing my laptop this summer, I am going to give the old one to my sister for her kids to use; so I bought a new power cord (the old one having that same problem it sounds like yours has) and battery so that it'll run, it otherwise being in good shape really. But I didn't have the time pressure thing!

[identity profile] vulgarweed.livejournal.com 2007-06-19 04:39 am (UTC)(link)
Make sure you get all the porn off it first. XD (Forgetting sounds like something I'd do.)

[identity profile] celandineb.livejournal.com 2007-06-19 04:41 am (UTC)(link)
Oh yes. I'm actually thinking I will wipe the HD completely and then reinstall the OS etc... because yeah, wouldn't want the niece and nephew running across some of that! ;-)

Classics Forever

[identity profile] murasaki99.livejournal.com 2007-06-19 04:19 am (UTC)(link)
Mac Plus. Still got mine. With the HUGE external HD (50 MB - woo!)

Re: Classics Forever

[identity profile] vulgarweed.livejournal.com 2007-06-19 04:32 am (UTC)(link)
Whooo! 50 MB of POWER.

Re: Classics Forever

[identity profile] murasaki99.livejournal.com 2007-06-19 02:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Hee. I've got to see if it still boots up. Probably. The old Mac OS was great. Getting my ancient files off the hard drive probably won't be too easy. Will anything read the old floppy disks? Or the HD itself?

[identity profile] lostambitions.livejournal.com 2007-06-18 09:15 pm (UTC)(link)
I just did a quick Google for "apple resellers chicago" and it looks like there's a place in Evanston that might be of some use, but the customer reviews make it sound kinda fail.

Craigslist might be helpful or one of the local Mac Users Groups. I am sending good vibes to your charger to hold on until you can acquire a spare!

[identity profile] vulgarweed.livejournal.com 2007-06-19 04:27 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, those customer reviews definitely put me off my feed. :( I think I've got a temporary solution at least, and said dude in Michigan said I should have the new one within a couple days so...all is not lost.

[identity profile] schwap23.livejournal.com 2007-06-19 12:32 am (UTC)(link)
There's always microcenter. They're bastards of their own kind, but they do have power cables and such, and they are also an apple re-seller, so it's possible. However, I would recommend calling them first, so as to save time...

[identity profile] vulgarweed.livejournal.com 2007-06-19 04:28 am (UTC)(link)
Oh yeah. I've ordered one from some guy linked at Low End Mac - seems trustworthy. In the mean time...well, as they say, duct tape is like the Force...

[identity profile] ithilwen.livejournal.com 2007-06-19 01:10 am (UTC)(link)
You can also check Computer Discount Warehouse, in Vernon Hills. I know they used to stock Apple computers, but I don't know if they'd have the right replacement cord for you. You could always give them a ring and find out.

[identity profile] vulgarweed.livejournal.com 2007-06-19 04:29 am (UTC)(link)
Thanks! If this MI dude falls through I'll give them a try. I hope they're not out of CTA range, though, or my carless ass is out of luck.

[identity profile] ithilwen.livejournal.com 2007-06-19 02:03 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm sure they are out of CTA range, but all is not lost if you have to pick up the cord from them. You can take the METRA north from Union Station to Libertyville, then a cab from the Libertyville station to the CDW store in Vernon Hills, if worst comes to worst. Libertyville and Vernon Hills are pretty close together. Here's hoping, though, the MI fellow comes through, and all this becomes academic!

(Maybe you ought to buy two cords from him, just to be safe? I seem to remember this happening to you once before, and I suspect it's only going to get harder to find replacement cords in the future.)

[identity profile] blueeyedtigress.livejournal.com 2007-06-19 03:53 am (UTC)(link)
I might have a perfectly functional desktop Apple that I can smuggle bring you next month, if you'd like a home unit to go with the laptop? That doesn't help the current issues, I know, sorry ... 8P

[identity profile] vulgarweed.livejournal.com 2007-06-19 04:31 am (UTC)(link)
Ooooo, thanks for the offer! But my laptop is my home unit...it's great, in an apartment this size, with a router cord as long as the one I've got, even without wireless I can surf the web in the living room, in the kitchen, in bed...:D (Theoretically even in the bath, but that seems profoundly unwise.) I'm so used to it I don't know what I'd do with a desktop model now. They take up so much space.

[identity profile] blueeyedtigress.livejournal.com 2007-06-19 02:12 pm (UTC)(link)
You're most welcome! (I wonder if Merlin would like it? Hmmm.) The beastie in question was a gift/castoff from [livejournal.com profile] lartist, but I am seriously not Mac-literate.

And handing a computer over to my fascinated-but-non-computer-literate Dad that I can't teach him nor reliably troubleshoot was, in retrospect, sheer folly. So at the moment, it's not even taking up so much space usefully. 8P