Now, yes. Was there any technical/manufacturing reasons for those 5-point screwheads? Better performance? I love the mac as much as you do. I run one at work and 2 at home. I'm just worried that they start making it suck. And i don't think apple fans saying "you should get applecare" like in the comments for this article are helping.

I think the main reason that Apple(and a lot of other manufacturers) use these is because they simplify automated assembly. Since they're using torque wrenches to screw it in, it's better to have a screw head that won't allow the bit to fall out. Since the Torx screws can be flush with the surface they're preferable to using a hex bolt.

On another note, this is perhaps the first time ever that a DYI advocate is complaining about needing to buy a new tool. At this point, if you're a remotely serious electronics hobbyist, you should have one anyway.

EDIT: Grammar fail.

This is exactly the reason why they are used. You can set the torque on a screw gun and go to town on an automated or semi-automated assembly line.

Phillips type screws are designed to do exactly the opposite and are terrible when used in automated assembly. Phillips was invented when it was expensive to make clutch assemblies for screw guns. Instead of the screw gun slipping the screw just made the bit slip out of it.

Can't you use a torque wrench with the far more common Torx fasteners? It seems to me that they selected Torx TS fasteners for a reason, and that reason had nothing to do with automated assembly.

There isn't a post in these, though. So they're not the secure(TS) version, just a 5-point.

A "security torx" has a small post in the center so that your torx driver requires a hollow center.

Screw head escalation and countermeasures seem to have a lot in common with DRM.

In fact, I'm going to coin the term "Physical Rights Management", or PRM :)

Apple's not the only company that uses "non-standard" screwheads to discourage opening hardware. Fewer people opening cases -> fewer warranty repairs for user error. That allows Apple to continue to be liberal with good warranty service. I'm not the only one with the experience of walking into an Apple store and getting a replacement iMac for a failing one with few questions and little hassle.

As for applecare, they seem to be pretty lenient with those policies as well. My iMac was replaced in under a year but I've also replaced an iPod after the standard 1 year by paying just for the price of applecare (after the year had already passed). In any case, I feel pretty good about not having to worry about my Apple products. I'm ok with paying for an $8 driver once in a while if I really need it to swap parts.

I do not love computers and I certainly hate the MBA (for its glossy screen). Bringing up those screws strikes me as pedantic and disingenuous, though.

The ability to buy non-standard screwdrivers does not justify the use of non-standard screwdrivers where a standard is just as good.

The "standard" you're referring to is simply not as good. Older screw heads are dated designs that are more likely to strip out than a torx or hex design. They're mostly still in use because the benefits of being common outweigh the downsides for many applications, especially in materials like wood that are more forgiving.

Torx is an accepted standard (just not one commonly found in homes.)

Lots of manufacturers use torx screws in locations where there is very little chance a home user will ever see them. They do it because it makes for a better product initially and easier repair by a professional later on.

...but the pentalobular screws in question are not standard 6-pointed Torx screws.

You're right. I was thrown off by the message higher in this thread that called them Torx screws. These are not Torx, they're pentalobes, and yeah, it's a non-standard by any reasonable measure.

That said, I'm still not agreeing with all this carping. You buy a product that's not advertised as having user-serviceable parts inside, then complain it's hard to service. I don't see folks complaining that the inside of their Android phone or Dyson vacuum are hard to hack, and that's what the iMac is equivalent to - it's an appliance. You trade away the flexibility of a desktop form factor for the coolness of the all-in-one.

Those are standard screwdrivers.

This is how I imagine the story playing out: Someone at Apple thought it would be a good idea to have fewer of those cases where someone cracked open his laptop for fun and ruined it and then was bitterly disappointed when Apple wouldn't fix it on warranty. That's a lot less likely to happen when nobody has the correct screwdriver just in the basement and has to order it from somewhere.

Whether that's the right or a useful thing to do I don't know but it's also no big deal.

I even got one of those as my local dollar store. Not the best quality, but good enough to do the job.