Quote:
Originally Posted by meeera
I seem to recall my PowerMac G3 and G4 towers having a big-arse handle to open up the case with, not even a screwdriver required.
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Exactly. Consumers voiced a lot of complaints about machines like the 7100. After that, 2nd-gen G3s, G4s and Mac Pros were easy to open by definition (since professionals have to be able to open and upgrade the computers on which they rely). My G4 was easier to crack than a school desk -- it was harder to keep the latch closed than ajar.
Later iterations of the Mac Pro were similarly easy to open and the third-party hardware industry flourished accordingly. You could even buy and install processor upgrades that weren't made by Apple.
Besides which, parts could always be swapped and RAM added until now. Even that notorious 7100 could be repaired by the user -- just as not easily as a comparable PC.
Apple's efforts to hermetically seal iPods, iPhones, then iPads -- not desktop and laptop computers -- were what led to this turning point for users.
Apple first perfected inviolable hardware in smaller consumer devices, then applied what they learned to their larger computers systematically. This was all very recent.
The 2012 Mac Pro was the final and most conspicuous insult. Apple can justify sealing smaller devices in the name of making them easier to handle, but there's no practical justification for closing off the hardware of a desktop mini-tower.