Steve Slatin on sat 20 oct 07
http://store.newpowersupply.com/
Is one of many sources for replacement power supplies (bricks, power cords, call them what you will) for laptops -- mostly in the $25 to $30 range. Generally I keep my computers running for a good long time and then find someone who needs one and can't afford it to pass it on to, but this doesn't always work well with laptops -- screens get dim, the fl lamps that light them up aren't readily replaceable, batteries go past their recycle lifespan and so on.
It can get expensive to fix anything -- including something trivial, like the plastic hinges on a laptop. (I've seen that fix, where you sometimes have to buy other case parts to get the
hinges, go over $200.)
I've got an 8 year old tower that I'm refurbing and setting up for an elderly neighbor. (Got
a good 17" monitor, which is good for older eyes.) An old but legal OS, WP/spreadsheet
package, etc. This will be a useful tool.
My 5-year old laptop has four cracks, one in a hinge. The battery is weak, and though the
power supply hasn't gone totally bad yet, it may soon. Keeping it at a useful performance level -- strong enough so I could still travel with it, etc.) might cost over $300 - and it'd still be a slow, old, laptop.
So last month I performed a 'throwaway culture' act and bought a new laptop for $450. (I could have gotten something sufficient for $100 less.) The calculus was $300 for repairs when a new item was $350 made no sense, and going from $350 to $450 gave me sufficient power to make the laptop probably useful for another 5 years. The laptop, with good screen and perfect mainboard and memory, is probably worth $200 or so parted out on E-bay.
-- Steve Slatin
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