Oh hell, is this what the world is coming to?

Onkel Neal · 04-09-17, 12:34 PM

First, let me set the scene. I began to notice my awesome Dell laptop touchpad was not clicking
and was raised 2mm above the rest of the palm rest. Weird? Is the touchpad faulty? Is it trying to immigrate to Sweden?

A search shows that the problem is the battery beneath it.
Seems high end laptop batteries are prone to swelling... not good.

(Don't say anything about the size of the pictures, it gets better)

Ok, so I order a new battery, and of course the teeny Torx screws, well, my smallest tool is T6 so I need a T5.
I didn't really think anything smaller than a T6 was real, more like a myth, but you live and learn so off I goes to Best Buy.

I enter the Best Buy and to speed up the process of finding their PC tools,
I ask the young fella at the door, "Can you point me to your PC repair and tools section?"

He says, "Sir, we don't stock tools, we are an electronics store."

Me: "Say wha, you don't have tools to work on PCs? Like small Torx and screwdriver kits?"

"No sir, you may want to try Home Depot, we are an electronics store."

Resisting many primal urges including one where I leap upon him and bite him furiously in the
jugular, I croak, "Ok, you sell computers here, still, right? You don't have any computer toolkits?"

"No, you may want to try Radio Shack if they are still in business but we're an electronics store..."

"Gah! I know, you've told me. Look, let's talk to one of the techs here, maybe they can help me."

I'm sure he rolled his eyes at this point and was thinking 'what's the deal with this old dude?
Maybe I can upsell him on a Lil Wayne CD....'

He found a substantially nerdier looking guy hunched over his phone and said, "This customer wants
some tools for his computer, do we have anything?"

The nerdy guy looked up, said, "We may have a kit in the (something) department". We went over and
there on a rack, alone and forlorn, was a cheap tool kit with some screwdriver bits, but it was so crap it
would have looked more in place in the $2 grab bin at a Dollar store. It didn't even list the size of the bits on the box.

I ended up getting a kit from Lowes hardware, it wasn't great but it worked. I tell you, WTH is the world
coming to when a guy cannot go into a computer store and get a basic set of tools to work on his PC?

Von Due · 04-09-17, 12:41 PM

This is the planet where gas station attendants know nothing about cars but can tell you the exact time a hotdog needs heating, a planet where the post office is where you need to go if you want CDs, and if you want to fetch that parcel from auntie, you better head over to the groceries.

It's called specialization and improved services. Another way services are improved: The local bus services here improved their services by replacing 4 lines by 1 hourly line.

Next year you be lucky to find anything electronic in an electronics store. Probably stocked up on tractor tyres, fishing nets and real estate contracts.

Mariner1 · 04-09-17, 01:50 PM

There's half a generation out there who've never made or mended anything in their lives - long live self-reliance!

Buddahaid · 04-09-17, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mariner1

There's half a generation out there who've never made or mended anything in their lives - long live self-reliance!

Even among highly paid professionals, there are those who can't figure out how to install AA batteries.

Jeff-Groves · 04-09-17, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Onkel Neal

Me: "Say wha, you don't have tools to work on PCs? Like small Torx and screwdriver kits?"

I can see the exact look on your face at that moment!

ValoWay · 04-09-17, 06:04 PM

I figure, because of amazon local businesses only have in stock what they're sure of people gonna actually buy regularly??

Gargamel · 04-09-17, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ValoWay

I figure, because of amazon local businesses only have in stock what they're sure of people gonna actually buy regularly??

I wouldn't even consider buying something like this from a local shop, unless I knew specifically they had them in stock, or else I would spend for ever trying to find it. And because it's a 15 minute drive to the closest cash register, and 30 minutes to anyplace that sells anything worthwhile.

I try to only shop IRL when the cost of shipping would be prohibitive, as in bulk lumber, or groceries. I'd have to say I do 98% of my shopping online, most of through amazon Prime (of course using the SubSim referal link).

Reece · 04-09-17, 07:59 PM

Quote:

WTH is the world
coming to when a guy cannot go into a computer store and get a basic set of tools to work on his PC?

And these stores wonder why we buy online instead of locally!!

ikalugin · 04-09-17, 08:06 PM

Quote:

I tell you, WTH is the world
coming to when a guy cannot go into a computer store and get a basic set of tools to work on his PC?

I never knew the time where you could buy such tools in the PC store to begin with.

And for any repairs on my electronics I would get specialised help. But then I am too lazy to even zero my rifles, so who am I to talk?

Onkel Neal · 04-09-17, 08:11 PM

Really? You must be much younger than me. In the 90s computer stores were everywhere; Circuit City, Radio Shack, CompUSA, Computer City, Incredible Universe.... and you could always count on support stock like tool kits, internals, and adapters. I guess Fry's is all that's left of the old world of computers.

ikalugin · 04-09-17, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Onkel Neal

Really? You must be much younger than me. In the 90s computer stores were everywhere; Circuit City, Radio Shack, CompUSA, Computer City, Incredible Universe.... and you could always count on support stock like tool kits, internals, and adapters. I guess Fry's is all that's left of the old world of computers.

I was born in 1992, go figure. 1990s were a dark age for me, especially the short band between 1998 and 2000.

Buddahaid · 04-09-17, 08:26 PM

They do still exist.
https://www.santarosacomputers.com

Onkel Neal · 04-09-17, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ikalugin

I was born in 1992, go figure. 1990s were a dark age for me, especially the short band between 1998 and 2000.

Haha, I was in Russia before you

ikalugin · 04-09-17, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Onkel Neal

Haha, I was in Russia before you

Technically RSFSR/USSR

Kptlt. Neuerburg · 04-09-17, 10:19 PM

Honestly as my family tech nerd, Best Buy is garbage when it comes to finding what are now considered "specialty computer items" like the toolkits and such. These days if I can't find it on Newegg then chances are there's no way in hell Best Buy would have it.

04-09-17, 12:34 PM	#1
Onkel Neal Born to Run Silent Join Date: Jan 1997 Location: Cougar Trap, Texas Posts: 21,383 Downloads: 541 Uploads: 224	Oh hell, is this what the world is coming to? First, let me set the scene. I began to notice my awesome Dell laptop touchpad was not clicking and was raised 2mm above the rest of the palm rest. Weird? Is the touchpad faulty? Is it trying to immigrate to Sweden? A search shows that the problem is the battery beneath it. Seems high end laptop batteries are prone to swelling... not good. (Don't say anything about the size of the pictures, it gets better) Ok, so I order a new battery, and of course the teeny Torx screws, well, my smallest tool is T6 so I need a T5. I didn't really think anything smaller than a T6 was real, more like a myth, but you live and learn so off I goes to Best Buy. I enter the Best Buy and to speed up the process of finding their PC tools, I ask the young fella at the door, "Can you point me to your PC repair and tools section?" He says, "Sir, we don't stock tools, we are an electronics store." Me: "Say wha, you don't have tools to work on PCs? Like small Torx and screwdriver kits?" "No sir, you may want to try Home Depot, we are an electronics store." Resisting many primal urges including one where I leap upon him and bite him furiously in the jugular, I croak, "Ok, you sell computers here, still, right? You don't have any computer toolkits?" "No, you may want to try Radio Shack if they are still in business but we're an electronics store..." "Gah! I know, you've told me. Look, let's talk to one of the techs here, maybe they can help me." I'm sure he rolled his eyes at this point and was thinking 'what's the deal with this old dude? Maybe I can upsell him on a Lil Wayne CD....' He found a substantially nerdier looking guy hunched over his phone and said, "This customer wants some tools for his computer, do we have anything?" The nerdy guy looked up, said, "We may have a kit in the (something) department". We went over and there on a rack, alone and forlorn, was a cheap tool kit with some screwdriver bits, but it was so crap it would have looked more in place in the $2 grab bin at a Dollar store. It didn't even list the size of the bits on the box. I ended up getting a kit from Lowes hardware, it wasn't great but it worked. I tell you, WTH is the world coming to when a guy cannot go into a computer store and get a basic set of tools to work on his PC? __________________ SUBSIM - 26 Years on the Web

04-09-17, 01:50 PM	#3
Mariner1 Suavely concerned Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: South Coast, England Posts: 16 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Yup! There's half a generation out there who've never made or mended anything in their lives - long live self-reliance!

04-09-17, 08:11 PM	#10
Onkel Neal Born to Run Silent Join Date: Jan 1997 Location: Cougar Trap, Texas Posts: 21,383 Downloads: 541 Uploads: 224	Really? You must be much younger than me. In the 90s computer stores were everywhere; Circuit City, Radio Shack, CompUSA, Computer City, Incredible Universe.... and you could always count on support stock like tool kits, internals, and adapters. I guess Fry's is all that's left of the old world of computers. __________________ SUBSIM - 26 Years on the Web

04-09-17, 08:26 PM	#12
Buddahaid Shark above Space Chicken Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 9,319 Downloads: 162 Uploads: 0	They do still exist. https://www.santarosacomputers.com __________________ "However vast the darkness, we must provide our own light." Stanley Kubrick "Tomorrow belongs to those who can hear it coming." David Bowie

04-09-17, 10:19 PM	#15
Kptlt. Neuerburg Admiral Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Florida Posts: 2,279 Downloads: 54 Uploads: 0	Honestly as my family tech nerd, Best Buy is garbage when it comes to finding what are now considered "specialty computer items" like the toolkits and such. These days if I can't find it on Newegg then chances are there's no way in hell Best Buy would have it. __________________ "When you're born into this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show. If you're born in America you get a front row seat." - George Carlin

04-09-17, 12:41 PM	#2
Von Due Sea Lord Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 1,690 Downloads: 30 Uploads: 0	This is the planet where gas station attendants know nothing about cars but can tell you the exact time a hotdog needs heating, a planet where the post office is where you need to go if you want CDs, and if you want to fetch that parcel from auntie, you better head over to the groceries. It's called specialization and improved services. Another way services are improved: The local bus services here improved their services by replacing 4 lines by 1 hourly line. Next year you be lucky to find anything electronic in an electronics store. Probably stocked up on tractor tyres, fishing nets and real estate contracts.

04-09-17, 06:04 PM	#6
ValoWay Lieutenant Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: TubeONE Posts: 250 Downloads: 103 Uploads: 0	I figure, because of amazon local businesses only have in stock what they're sure of people gonna actually buy regularly??