Computer fasteners (was Re: Apple Lisa 1)

From: Ian Primus <ian_primus_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Thu Nov 13 19:48:18 2003

On Thursday, November 13, 2003, at 06:12 PM, Tony Duell wrote:

>> Yes, but in my experience the thumbscrews on the Daybreak are
>> sometimes
>> murder on your fingers to turn. But yes, the Daybreak and Lisa are
>
> True, which is presumably why they're slotted for a screwdriver :-)...
>
> Actually, one thing that really annoys me is 'quick release' clips that
> break when you undo them (some plastic cases are well-known for these,
> I
> think there's an IBM printer with exactly 1 screw in the entire
> machine..). They're a lot harder to repair than replacing a screw....
>
> -tony

Those plastic clips annoy me too. There are a lot of things that rely
almost entirely on little plastic tabs to hold them together (modern
Dell computers come to mind). Another thing that I really hate are
those little plastic tabs that hold DEC VT100's together. More and more
modern equipment is switching to the method of plastic clips to hold
everything together. Sure, it's easier to manufacture, since all the
parts can be slammed together with no screws, but then they don't come
apart without considerable effort (or a hammer). Then, of course, there
are those things that are _glued_ together, which can't be disassembled
without a lot of pounding (wall wart power bricks...). Of course, the
quality of consumer electronics decreases exponentially at the same
rate as Moore's Law increases the technology.

Ian Primus
ian_primus_at_yahoo.com
Received on Thu Nov 13 2003 - 19:48:18 GMT