The ultimate hardware solution

It has finally arrived. The one you've all been waiting for. at least, the one y'all who've broken ipods, computers, televisions, palm pilots, game boys, or anything of the sort have been waiting for. the ultimate tech solution. ok, scenerio #1: You're listening to music on your ipod. suddenly, you drop it and the screen pops out and the speakers stop working. it costs something like a hundred bucks to fix, so you unscrew the back (can you do that? i don't have one) and start poking around. big problem: ALL YOU SEE IS A BIG GREEN DISK WITH WIERD WIRES AND METAL PARTS STICKING OUT OF IT. You have NO IDEA what you're doing. you're afraid to break something. what do you do?
ANSWER: stick a rubber eraser in it. that's the key. Just unscrew whatever it is, stick a rubber eraser in it, and screw it back shut. don't worry if the thing start randomly squeaking, or sparking, or if little purple dots start dancing across the screen. it's better than the alternative, right?
I discovered this when trying to fix my palm pilot. I have a Tapwave Zodiac, which is a nifty little device that i do believe would have toppled Sony, Nintendo, and all the other major outlets if Tapwave hadn't gone bankrupt a couple months back. pity. well, my zodiac is about 2 years old and showing it. the buttons are popping out, the casing is scratched and deformed and dented, and it doesn't respond well to headphones. none of this bothers me. however, recently the backlight for the screen died. it just stopped working. i didn't even drop it. after consulting some online techies, and also some of my friends and family (who know what they're talking about), and started beating the thing against a woodeen desk. this has actually worked in the past. but this time was different. my efforts were wasted. unperterbed, i borrowed a hammer from one of my freinds at WITS and started bashing the thing. I think i got some of the dents out. but the backlight still didn't work. the screen was unviewable.
finally, i did the unthinkable. since I'm not exactly afraid of the warranty expiring (see "Tapwave went bankrupt", above) i got a tiny little screwdriver, opened up the back and started poking around. I immediatly encountered the problem that all the buttons, lights, cables, switches, or anything else in the device that could POSSIBLY need fixing or be fixed, was locked away behind a large green chip. the chip is unmovable. it takes up the entire case, with just a small hole for the battery, which is also unmovable. i was unable to reach the backlight. not ready to give up, i started gently tapping the various parts with the hammer. no effect. i tried sticking the tiny screw driver into every hole i could find and jerking it around. still nothing. then i just starting moving things around with my fingers. I 'd like to thank the Zodiac (or as i call it, "the Z") for being so resilient throughout my little expedition into its inards, and not crumbliong into a hopeless pile of broken parts and microchips. i really appreciate its cooperation.
finally, i struck gold. the green chip has, every here and there, these little square black pads sprouting up. i don't know what they are, some of them have writing on them, some don't. whatever. well, the biggest one i could see had "DM X1" clearly printed on it. i think it's the video card or something. curious, i started shoving the thing with my index finger as hard as i could (dont try this at home). suddenly, the backlight went on. i backed away, astonished, and the light went off. I experimetned a bit and found that when i shoved the thing in as hard as i could, the light went on, but whenever i removed my finger, it went back off. jackpot. obviously, whatever was loose in there was beneath it, unreachable. what do i do? i got a rubber eraser, stuck it right on top, and screwed the back on. it didn't fit. i mean, it REALLY didn't fit. the Z started bulging and squeaking in protest, but i wouldnt let out. Finally i reinserted everthing i'd taken out, and turned it on. THE LIGHT WORKED! HALLELUKA! only one small problem, one half of the screen is somewhat dark, and in the center of that half is a not-so-small black spot the shape of an eraser. oh well. nothing i can do about that. i'm certainly not going back in there. i mean, better than the alternative, right?
i think this just shows that you don't need to be a techie genius to fix hardware stuff. you don't even need any brains at all. just a tiny screw driver and a rubber eraser. the hammer's contribution remains somewhat questionable.