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What I don't understand is why manufacturers were able to do something as crazy as reverse-engineer the lightning bolt encryption mechanisms so they could start
by ghshephard 14y ago
What I don't understand is why manufacturers were able to do something as crazy as reverse-engineer the lightning bolt encryption mechanisms so they could start selling after-market lightning bolt cables, but something as simple (to my uneducated mind) as reverse engineering a screw driver just hasn't happened.
I would think by now there would be at least _one_ vendor in a country with fewer qualms around intellectual property who would be willing to violate whatever licenses/patents/copyrights there are on this pentalobe screwdriver form, and make them available at a very healthy markup to the many, many iphone/ipad repair shops out there (not to mention those interested hobbyists who would like to open up their own phone)
Particularly if that vendor was already manufacturing an assortment of other screwdriver bits, I would have to believe the marginal additional cost of analyzing these new screws, and creating a screw driver that could map to it properly, shouldn't be that great a challenge.
Are there any mechanical engineers with more knowledge than me who might be able to explain why this hasn't happened?
- ovi256 14y agoYou can find pentalobe screwdrivers on iFixit's online store, or Amazon. They're exotic but not that hard to find. BTW, this article is a submarine (see Paul Graham's submarine PR essay) for iFixit, at least partially.
- revelation 14y agoIf thats submarine PR, then this [1] article is the nuclear option :) [1]: http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/10/13-macbook-pro-teardown-easy-ssd-trackpad-access-no-room-for-ram/ http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/10/13-macbook-pro-teardown...
- ghshephard 14y agoMy reading from the story was the iFixit guys hadn't found a screwdriver they were happy with yet. "iFixit is doing what it can to source screwdrivers to work with the new screws, though it notes that there doesn't appear to be a single reputable supplier that carries the same tools Apple technicians use." "Wiens notes that the pentalobe driver isn't perfect—"the tip is more star-shaped than "flowery"—but it can remove Apple's pesky replacements and "liberate" your iPhone."
- xiongchiamiov 14y agoThe article is from Jan 20 2011; since then we've designed our own.
- doe88 14y agoI'm not sure about it but as mentioned in the linked ars article I think the main point in both cases is to raise the price of entrance. The pentalobe screw driver might remain less cheap than others more common screw drivers, and in the case of the thunderbolt cable maybe they knew the authentication chip would be cracked but in any case it will raise the manufacturing cost of the cable by making it more complex.
- TruthElixirX 14y agohttp://www.amazon.com/Silverhill-Tools-Pentalobe-Screwdriver-generation/dp/B004IU9EDM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351186246&sr=8-1&keywords=pentalobe http://www.amazon.com/Silverhill-Tools-Pentalobe-Screwdriver...
- misnome 14y agoWhat encryption mechanisms? I hope you don't mean the CRC...