Expensive Accident

I'll be damned if I'm going to give Apple $80.

A few months ago, I shook out a blanket that was crumpled on the footrest of my POÄNG chair, not realizing that the remote control for our Apple TV box was stashed within the folds. The tiny device went flying, struck the tile around our fireplace, and fell to the floor, where it hit more tile, landing upside-down.

I could see tiny shards of glass on the tile as I reached to retrieve the control. I couldn't believe how smashed the touch-sensor area was.

I tapped the device against the palm of my hand and more pieces came off, I placed those pieces, along with the pieces on the tile, in the garbage, wondering if all the cracks on the surface spelled the doom of the controller. But first, I wanted to apply a layer of tape over the sensor area to protect fingers.

That done, I turned on the TV and was relieved when the remote control still worked.

Over time, though, the tape started to peel and when it finally lifted off of one corner, I took the tape away. More pieces of glass came with the tape. Carefully, I ran my finger over the bare surface and while it did grab my skin, sometimes also loosening some of the cracked pieces, I found I could use the controller relatively safely without any tape in place.

But every once and a while, I'd stab myself with a tiny shard.

DW and I went to the Apple store, in mid-February, when her phone stopped working, and while I was killing time, I noticed some Apple TV remote controls on a shelf. They were the new generation, with a circular, buttoned control, rather than the touch-sensor area of our device.

The replacement cost: $79.

I did a search on Kijiji and found someone who was selling my generation (which I think is 3rd) of Apple TV, with the remote, for $100. I could probably talk them down to $90, would have the replacement remote and another TV box.

Someone once told me, jokingly, that "Microsoft wants your money: Apple wants your soul." Maybe they want your soul but they also want a large chunk of your hard-earned cash.

I'll use our broken controller until it no longer works. And then we'll go from there.