Hi gang,
I got my Newton MP 2000 back from Apple yesterday, and wanted to drop you a
note so you can share in the Odyssey.
I broke my MP2K screen with a little too much pressure, while it was riding in
my bag.
The crack spread from the cover latch to both opposite corners.
I felt sick.
I called Apple, and after arguing about paying the $49.00 "per incident tech
support" fee, I got Customer Service to see sense, and they made an exception,
since all I wanted was to be dispatched to Newton repair to have the screen
replaced.
I sent the unit off via FedEx on March 15th 2000, and the package was picked
up at about 4 pm.
FedEx reported delivery to Apple on the 17th.
Apple apparently didn't start repairs for a week after that, then was unable
to tell me where my MP was, exactly, but that I should hear something by
Friday.
"Great," I think, "they've lost my Newton!"
But, unexpectedly, my Mailbox Etc. place calls me on Wednesday (March 29th,
2000) and says "Hey, you got in that FedEx you were waiting for," and it turns
out it's my Newton.
I'd included a note in the box asking that they replace the little grippers
which hold the door back (which fell out not long after I got the thing, more
on this later) and return the broken part for inspection.
THEY ACTUALLY DID IT!
When I got the Newton back, the door-grippers were replaced, the whole thing
was nice and clean and the broken part was included in the box. Wow, cool!
Now for the uncool part, the part about which I need your advice...
Below the screen, visible between and behind "Names" and "Dates" is a dark
smudge, as if there is some cruft between the screen and the backlight.
Now, I've taken my MP2000s apart before. I actually switched bodies with my
wife's MP so I could back up and brainwipe before I sent off my broken Newton.
But I haven't disassembled the screen and backlight before.
Here's the question: Do I complain to Apple, send the thing back in and wait
another two weeks before they get it back to me again?
Or do I first disassemble completely, hoping to be able to clean whatever's
wrong with the screen or backlight, and complain to Apple if I can't?
Note: the backlight was working perfectly before I sent it off, and there was
no damage or smudge in that area of the screen before I got it back from being
repaired.
To those of you who have dealt with the screen/backlight assembly before, how
delicate is it? Is this smudge or cruft something I'm likely to be able to
correct myself?
I'm afraid if I damage anything, that Apple will deny responsibility, even
though they caused the problem while doing a repair.
I'd really like some advice before I proceed in either direction.
Note to whomever wanted pictures taken inside the case of a Newton, I'd be
happy to oblige.
~Rick
ps. Regarding the discussion about replacement case parts and the "Frozen
Newton" project, I'd like to tool up for replacement parts like the door
gripper and door hinge parts that seem to suffer wear and abuse most often.
I'm not terribly interested in re-creating the entire case, though. Would
anyone be interested in Third-Party spare parts?
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