Not tamper-resistant - tamper evident.

And that's a good point - hinge screws should be tamper evident because a loose or wobbly hinge puts strong forces where they shouldn't go and it's possible to damage a chassis and internal boards if they are not torqued correctly Screen hinges are subject to a lot of forces through use and abuse, and while they are strong, the get that strength when properly attached. Do it wrong and you'll put stresses where they weren't designed to be, which can be a cracked or bent case at the best, bent or cracked circuit boards or screen at the worst. So Apple puts it there to see if you've been fiddling with the hinge and possibly caused damage not covered by the warranty.

Exactly. A short cable that has to be attached like the iPhone 5S means a time-robbing assembly step that's done in tight situations.

Making the cable long may cost 10 cents more in materials costs, but if it saves the worker 20 seconds of time, it increases manufacturing throughput of that worker and thus makes up for the extra cost.

Well, the 27" iMac has a socketed processor because it doesn't need it, so chances are good...

Not to mention that the reason the CPU is soldered in the 21.5" iMac is because it's the only formfactor Intel sells the CPU in with the Iris Pro graphics. You CANNOT get that chip with a socket. No way, no how.

Given this iMac does not need the Intel graphics, Apple went with the traditional socketed design.

Blame Intel for that one, not Apple.

(Though I agree - do people really upgrade their CPUs? Short of enthusiasts who upgrade every 6 months (who would never buy an iMac anyways...), by the time one finds the CPU too slow, it's time to upgrade the entire machine anyhow. Even on a PC you'd probably have to replace the motherboard, so soldered or not...).

Actually, Torx is common *NOW*. A decade ago, it wasn't so easy to get a hold of.

It's only because manufacturers started using them as "security screws" to keep people out that other manufacturers started making them much more common and plentiful that these days they're no trouble at all.

%%&#, you want a good screw - try a Robertson. Problem is, they're heavily patented. One-handed drives (put screw on screwdriver, it stays in there with no magnetic tip required), etc. Of course, now that I've said it, someone will make a robertson security screw.

Exactly.

Tell me, if iFixit will service my Nexus 7 for $50 TOTAL, then maybe we'll have something to their comments. That $50 includes TWO WAY SHIPPING, PARTS snd LABOR.

Face it - when my Nexus 7 breaks in a year, there'll be a new model. If it's going to cost me $100 in total to fix including shipping (both ways), parts and labor, I could probably just buy a NEW ONE for $100 more.

At $50 completely fixed, it's worth it. People who own old cars face the same problem everytime it needs service - will it cost more to fix than its worth?

As for Apple, it's $79 to extend the warranty to two years. At the end of two years, when it breaks, it's probably worth maybe $200 when it works, and unless iFixit can promise to fix it for under $100 all-in, it'll go in the recycle bin as uneconomical to fix.

Fixing stuff is a hobby - where you can write off skilled labour charges ($50/hr min) since your time is "free". Some people can make a living off it - getting broken gadgets for free, fixing them for minimal cost and selling the units, the profit of which is used to pay off the parts and earn a little on the side (because the broken gadget was obtained for free).

And yes, I use iFixit - not for stuff that's still under warranty or compatible devices can still be obtained, for the old stuff that's not only not made anymore, but no one will repair them that needs to keep working. So old PowerPC Macs, for example that are no longer supported but there's some piece of software that needs to run on them (e.g., 68k/PowerPC "MacOS Classic"). For Intels, well, the decision is a lot harder since there are new ones, the only reason to keep an old one going is something like Rosetta.

Obsolete cellphones too - running PalmOS, Symbian, Windows MObile. iOS and ANdroid - forget it while replacements are easily available.

Yeah, having the SD card stick out isn't a bad design. If it inserted flush, then you have to use a fingernail to push it in to activate the eject mechanism (and sometimes it's not easy to push it in far enough). And anyone who has dealt with SD cards knows, they can jam inside the slot, and become difficult to remove without tools.

With it sticking out, a firm grasp will remove it. The only issue I see is RS-MMC cards which if the adapter fails to catch the RS-MMC card, you can be stuck with it inside the slot.