Reply #86: The parts were industry-standard...

[Atlant]

The parts to upgrade my PowerBook were perfectly-ordinary
parts, bought off-the shelf. I honestly don't remember the
prices, but they'd be identical to the parts for PC laptops.

So we have the SODIMMs, an IBM, err, now-bought-by-Hitachi
2-1/2" ATA disk drive, a Lucent WaveLAN wireless card, etc.

And yes, I did all the installs myself. The Cardbus cards
are obviously no problem, and the RAM and Disk are
accessed (on this PowerBook) by lifting the keyboard
and removing the processor heat sink. Well, the second
RAM DIMM slot actually requires removing the processor
daughter card, but No Big Deal if you're just a little nervy,
and I've done surface-mount repair and rework using
stereo microscopes, so I'm more than a little nervy when
it simply comes to unscrewing screws and swapping
FRUs. :-)

Seriously, Mac laptops are about as upgradeable as any
laptop. And since the transition to the PCIbus, Mac
mini-towers are about as upgradeable as any other
mini-tower. Your point is more accurate for the iMac
family of systems, but even there, the RAM and disk
are upgradeable in the usual fashion.

Atlant