[NTLK] I'm new to Newton emate purchased on ebay (Cosmo Kain)

James Fraser wheresthatistanbul-newtontalk at yahoo.com
Tue Aug 31 18:50:10 EDT 2010


Hello,

--- On Tue, 8/31/10, Cosmo Kain <cosmokain at yahoo.com.au> wrote:

>I am young, i get anxious 

If it's any consolation, older people get anxious, too. :)  

> who knows what I will get it may look and pass for brand new
> cosmetically like in the photos but it might need a new
> display cable, new replacement LCD display and new
> replacement backlight and battery - 

It's also equally possible that you -won't- need any of those things. Meantime, there's no point in borrowing trouble, sir.

As the man says: Don't Panic.

The thing to bear in mind with tech toys (especially older ones) is that, sooner or later, they -all- give out.  It's an uncomfortable fact of life, (especially if you happen to have a house full of vintage Apple gear!) but there it is.  

The key is not to fret over if/when something is going to go wrong, but to enjoy your toy while it's still up and running.

(Life is like that, too.)

>If the hinge work has to be done, what can I do, take it to an apple shop >and give them an emate apple service manual? I have read stories
>online apple worker's these days don't even know what a newton product / >device is? 

That might be the case, but there are also non-Apple employees who have experience with eMate teardowns and part replacement.

Perhaps this would be a good time to ask the list: is there a NUG in Aus/NZ?  

>This thing might end up costing me over $300 Australian dollars I don't >have! 

Honestly, a display cable failure (the most common eMate problem) is not that big of a deal in terms of cost.  Believe it or don't, someone is flogging replacement cables online for US $25.  

Is it worth it?  Only you know the answer to that one.  But I mention this so you know it's not the end of the world if something goes wrong with your unit.

Meanwhile, I'm wondering if you might avoid the hinge problem simply by leaving your eMate's display open rather than closing and opening the lid.
The non-working eMate I have on hand has a power button, so leaving the lid open would -seem- to be okay.

However, because my unit -is- a non-working one, it would be nice if someone else could chime in and tell us whether this is actually a feasible suggestion or not.  It's just that the hinge problem seems to be brought on by opening and closing the lid, which is why I mention it.


Best,

James Fraser









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