Is your iPod broken? Think you can fix it yourself? This story we found on ipastudio.com might change your mind.

Someone named Chris T tried to open his broken iPod Shuffle. He's just a project manger with no real engineering experience, but he wanted to give it a try. He grabbed a metal knife and started to pry open the iPod. Apparently he hit a small capacitor or the battery with his knife because "the iPod basically exploded in his face and caught fire." Moments later the room was full of black smoke, sparks and girlish screams. The end result was something that can only be described as a Kentucky Fried Shuffle.

Francis, a friend of Chris T who blogged about this story, feels there are 2 morals or lessons to be learned from this experience:

1. Apple made the iPod Shuffle in a way for it not to be opened... there is a reason for this!
2. Project Managers should never think of themselves as "Hardware Engineers"
   

If you have a problematic iPod, here are some trouble shooting tips you can try. But always consider sending a broken iPod to a professional before grabbing a knife.

digg story | methodshop