Apple screws users with new screw
p2pnet view P2P:- Hey! Want to buy an iPhone 4 liberation kit? Only $10?
Because you might need one.
The pic on the right isn’t some strange new gender symbol, or some such.
Clipped from a Gizmodo Australia story, it’s a representation of one of Apple’s latest ways to screw its customers.
Literally.
On the left is what the top of a traditional Philips-head screw looks like.
On the right is Apple’s new ‘pentalobular’ screw, says the story, pointing to an ifixit (maker of the above-mentioned liberation kit) post which outlines the gruesome details.
Apple is switching to a new type of tamper-resistant screw”, saysc ifixit.
“This is not a standard Torx, and there are no readily available screwdrivers that can remove it.”
Oh, rilly?
But “This isn’t the first time they’ve used this type of screw”, it says, going on, “it first appeared in the mid-2009 MacBook Pro to prevent you from replacing the the battery — and Apple is using a similar screw on the outer case of the current MacBook Air. This screw is the primary reason the 11″ MacBook Air earned a lousy repairability score of 4 out of 10 in our teardown last October.
Apple “chose this fastener specifically because it was new, guaranteeing repair tools would be both rare and expensive”, says the story, stating, “Shame on them.”
Indeed.
“They picked an obscure head that no one would have”, says the post. “This screw head clearly has one purpose: to keep you out.”
But there is an answer, it says. Get rid of “these pesky screws so you can use a normal Phillips screwdriver on them”.
Thus, ifixit says it’s come up with replacement Phillips screws so you can “reverse Apple’s dastardly handywork”.
It says it’s found a driver that works for the 5-point “Pentalobe” fasteners on the iPhone 4 case, adding:
“It’s not a true Pentalobe driver — the tip is more star shaped than ‘flowery,’ so there may be some slight play in the fit when using. This screwdriver gets the job done, but we don’t recommend it for repeated use. It’s really just a hack to get the screws out and then replace them with standard screws.
“So go ahead, set your iPhone free with our iPhone 4 Liberation Kit! Rid your phone of those terrible Pentalobe screws forever. The $9.95 kit includes a Pentalobe driver, 2 replacement PHILLIPS screws, and a regular #00 Phillips screwdriver.”
Now you know. 
(Cheers, Filip)
Gizmodo Australia – Apple’s Making It Impossible To Open Up Your iPhone By Secretly Swapping Its Screws, January 21, 2011
ifixit – Apple’s Diabolical Plan to Screw Your iPhone, January 20, 2011
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
World War III will be a global information war with no division between civilian & military participation ~ Marshall McLuhan
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January 21st, 2011 at 12:33 pm
“…it first appeared in the mid-2009 MacBook Pro to prevent you from replacing the battery.”
And yet, some people still wonder why Apple is always in the position of having to fend off a bad rep, despite the frequency they’re shown to be doing bizarre things like this.
Why stop users from replacing the battery?
Is it to cause people to have to pay “authorized” service outlets to do it for them?
And, when the battery does need to come out, what of the inconvenience to the user, who would then have to find a place to take it, and wait for the “Jobs ticket” to go through?
Some business models I just refuse to support.
Mapple is certainly one of them.
January 21st, 2011 at 4:37 pm
It would seem lately that Apple has shown a repeated pattern of exercising total control over what users of their devices can do
with them. Screwing them over (literally in this case) is just another example at that attempt to control its users.
I for one refuse to have anything Apple. No iPhone or iPad, no iTunes, not even Quicktime. The only exception to that is a 3rd gen.
iPod I got in 2003. I use an alternative to iTunes called Ephpod.
January 22nd, 2011 at 2:20 pm
On top of that, the new screw will have little torque, since after a few twists the small stubs outlining the “five-leaf clover” would become smooth forming the shape of a circle. Not only is Apple exercising total control over its users, but it is also forcing its users to buy a defective product.