>By the way, am I not, accidentally, at a site called "Hacker News"?

The parent's point wasn't that Apple was trying to lock out the standard HN reader, or that an HN reader shouldn't try to repair the device. His point was that Apple is putting an obstacle in the way of a nontechnical person shooting themselves in the foot.

>The clock thing above isn't a fair comparison, a computer doesn't fall apart into two hundred pieces once you unscrew the case

I think it's a good comparison. As the grandparent mentions as an example, removing the battery risks slicing the trackpad I/O cable. While that's not falling apart into hundreds of pieces, it certainly hinders use of the computer.