Tech Repairs All Around

On Monday, March 6th, my iPod died. The battery was just too old, and it wasn't going to charge for me any more, no matter how I begged. I know - it's so sad! But it was 3 years old, and it had a good run, it did. It's a 3rd-gen custom painted 20gb model that I bought through Colorware.

OK, so now I had a decision to make, and here's what I thought that decision was: send my iPod somewhere to be fixed, or dump it and buy myself a sexy new video iPod. I asked my friends at lunch. I did mention that I work at the corporate I.S. headquarters for a major U.S. company, right?

Me: My iPod died!
Friend 1 (process guy): My wife bought me one of those, a Nano. I don't know what to really use it for.
Me: You use it for listening to music, dork.
Friend 1: I have CDs for that.
Friend 2 (guy with EE degree): What do you mean, died?
Me: Battery. 3 years old, Kaput.
Freind 2: Send it back for a new battery.
Me: It's old. No warranty. Won't that cost me?
Freind 2: I think about $100 bucks (I never checked this figure, btw)
Friend 3 (hardware guy): You don't get your own back.
Me: What do you mean I don't get my own back?
Freind 3: When you send it to Apple, they don't promise to send you back the one you sent in. They could send you back any reconditioned working iPod.
Me: That's no good, mine's custom painted. I want that back!
Friend 2: It's custom painted?
Me: Do you ask useful questions? Yes. I bought it from Colorware PC, and it's an excellent metallic colorchange thingy that goes from green to purple. They don't even sell that paint choice any more, I checked.

(awkward silence)

Me: So, do you think I should get it fixed, or go buy a new one?
Friend 3: Change the battery yourself.
Me: Really?
Friend 2: Unless you just want to buy a new one (and you're wasting our time is what he was implying, there)
Me: How do I change the battery myself? That thing's not designed to be opened.
Friend 3: Look on the Internet, web chick.
Me: I am now ashamed.

So I went out on the Internet, and I found that I could purchase a battery for $36, includign shipping, from Laptops for Less. Heck, they even include a tiny screwdriver to pry the thing open, and step-by-step instructions. It turns out they included a tiny philip's head which I wound up not using, anyway, because how the hell do you pry with a philip's head? But everything else was golden.

I successfully replaced my iPod battery! My pretty purple/green changing iPod works again! I am very happy!

Good thing my gearhead friends shamed me into doing some actual work, there. I am sad that I find myself so busy that it took me until the 18th to do it, but hey, 12 days of down time is nothing in the world of procrastination that is my "to do list".

Very happy!