Those in Oz will be familiar with the rollout of laptops to Year 9 students last year – as promised by Kevin Rudd.

Joe/Frank received his about 12 months ago – it’s a quite cute lenovo ideapad and might I just say that it is an absolute flimsy heap of crap that absolutely cannot stand up to an average clumsy teenage boy carting it about.

Long time readers will be familiar with my fanatical devotion to the IBM T-series laptops and their stellar quality. Unfortunately Lenovo taking over has seen the quality dive markedly.

We’ve been through two hard carrying cases, which virtually crack the minute you look at them the wrong way and now the left hinge has broken (the Information SuperHighway tells me this is a known issue) so the screen is hanging on precariously by the right hinge.

Bad computer

In contrast, the eeepc lasted over a year of the same use with barely a scratch!

Because I am reluctant to drop a couple of hundred on replacement, I spent the afternoon attempting to temporarily bodgy the damn thing up with superglue and sundry items from my large stash of screws, bolts and other bits. And then there was much duct tape. Unfortunately my efforts were full of FAIL. Theoretically it is supposed to last until the end of Year 12!

Stash (I have showed remarkable restraint in adding to it over the past several years)

I’m hoping I can acquire a replacement part from IBM, but I may have to just suck it up and pay for a whole new computer (which Joe/Frank will be financing with mucho, mucho chores). And, yes, there have been VERY stern words spoken about caring for your possessions!

Sadly, I’m not a Kiwi, for they are well known for their ingenious repairing (hence the title).

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