well, hoohah! i finally got all the parts and pieces from apple to get the ibook back in proper working order. i’m cautiously optimistic since everything seems to be functioning. it’s recharging right now, so i haven’t been able to put it through the paces.
the whole experience has sullied my impression of apple’s hardware reliability and customer support. i don’t know – in the whole scheme of things two weeks for two rounds of repairs is not completely insane. i’ll reserve final judgement until the next system failure.