I spoke to the good folks at the Apple Store yesterday about my iPod predicament. The Mac Genius there confirmed my fears, saying I basically have three choices:
- Open the back of the iPod with a thin blade (best done by pressing down on the center of the back plate first; apparently this causes just enough flex to open the seams on the sides slightly) and attempt to use a soldering iron (or duct tape, I suppose) to repair the broken FireWire connector, OR
- Spend $250 for an even exchange—a working 5 GB original iPod, OR
- Spend $299 and get a new base model iPod. As of yesterday this was a 10 GB model.
I hoped that the iPod updates today would provide additional incentive for option 3; alas, the base $299 model is unchanged, though the 20GB model for $399 is suddenly a very attractive option. But I can’t resist the chance to do a little soldering. As soon as I exhaust my current charge, I’ll be out on my workbench, taking pictures and warming up the old iron…