Expatiperro

Last week, my lovely 13" black Macbook began to have trouble charging. In order to get it recharged, I had to set the power cord at just the right angle, pushing it into the computer, and I had to hold it there until the battery was recharged, which takes about two hours. Now, I had no real problem doing this- my computer is my baby, it gave me an opportunity to catch up on my 30 Rock watching, and I didnt have anything better to do (the dirty little secret about teaching is that you don't actually work ALL that much)- but I figured that I couldn't keep it up for too much longer. I need my computer for everyday tasks, like emails and lesson planning, but more pressing was the fact that I'm a total computer addict and would suffer horribly if the inconvenience became too great. Sooner or later, I figured, I would have to figure out what was wrong and decide what to do about it to fix it permanently.

This morning, however, my hand was forced when the power cord conked out for good. In order to save my computer (and my sanity), I went to the Apple store to see if they had any power cords in stock. And luckily for me, they did- to the tune of €90!?!? Now, I know that Apple is a classy company, and that their products carry a premuin for being so cool and well-designed, but a €90 power cord? You have to be kidding me. Still, I didn't have a choice, so I was ended up buying it anyways. I guess that Apple knows that their customers are easily persuaded/have low resistances.

The price itself wasn't the worst part. Right after I got home, when curiosity got the better of me and I looked up how much the power cord cost in the US- $75. Which equals... €60. Or 30% less than what I ended up paying. Up to now, I've been pretty good about not comparing the euro to the dollar, and as a result, I've been rather oblivious to the price differences here compared to the US. But this is baaad.

Another point- I found out at the check-out counter today that all Apple accessories come with a two-year warranty. I had my old power cord for... 2 years and 3 months. You really have to hand it to those Apple engineers- it takes skill to design a product that breaks down so close (yet not close enough) to the end of the warranty date.