Andrew Pollack's Blog

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How many times a week does having access to the internet save your bacon or change your life?

By Andrew Pollack on 04/12/2008 at 09:24 PM EDT

My oldest daughter, Ari, tripped and fell while carrying her Nintendo DS-Lite. This is something she saved for for a long time. A broken top screen led to tears. Because we all know that I'm way too soft when it comes to such things, I told her I'd see if it was something I could fix.

Enter the Internet.

Within seconds I'd found multiple sites with instructions for replacing the top screen of a Nintendo DS-Lite including a full write up at Instructables. The instructions even recommended getting the replacement screen at eBay. They said it would be much cheaper, but come from Hong Kong so it would take several days.

As predicted, the replacement screen -- as well as the special screwdriver required (yeah, I already have a full set of security bits, but I'm told there are many of you out there who don't own your own set already) -- were purchased for $9.95 + shipping. They'll be here soon.

Pre-Internet: $200 device thrown away as broken.
Post-Internet: $200 device saved with an hour of work and a $10 part.

The geeks may not inherit the earth, but they're going to make it a better place.


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    re: How many times a week does having access to the internet save your bacon or change your life?By Craig Wiseman on 04/12/2008 at 21:51 EDT
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    ConstantlyBy Turtle on 04/12/2008 at 22:14 EDT
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    re: How many times a week does having access to the internet save your bacon or change your life?By Danny Lawrence on 04/14/2008 at 11:17 EDT
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