living in a disposable world...

[unclej]

a couple of years ago i purchased a hewlett packard digital camera from walmart..it has worked well and i've had a blast with it...a few weeks ago i was trying to download some pictures into the computer and the computer laughed at me and said it couldn't do it...nothing wrong with the program means either the cable or the connection at the camera...ok, cheapest fix, new cable...go to walmart and get blank stare..."we just sell the cameras, not the cables"..."ok, where do i send it to get it fixed?"...another blank stare..."sir, i don't know about fixin' stuff...we just sell it"...e-mail hewlett packard...."for replacement, go to your local retailer."...called staples..."it would probably be easier just to buy a new camera."

this throw away mentality just bugs the livin' shit out of me...when i buy something i'll use it and fix it until it doesn't even resemble the original product and then i'll steal parts off of it until it's gone...a mr. coffe has two heating elements in it...when one goes out most folks throw them away and buy a new one...i rob parts off of the ones that my mother has that quit working but she hoards...you can buy a brand new vcr for 75.00...if it breaks it'll cost you $50.00 just to have it looked at if you can find someone to bother with it...irons, electric shavers, blenders, tv's...no one fixes anything any more...

when's the last time you saw a neighborhood "fixit" shop, if ever...the most fascinating place in the world to a young teen with an interest in how things work...

oh well, just ranting i suppose...feel free to ignore or rant right along with me...by the way, found a card reader for 15 bucks so i'm back in the photo business but it still pisses me off that i can't find a replacement for the one i purchased...

 

[LadyDarkFire]

It's tough, but it's one of the prices we pay for rapidly changing technology. The example you have, about a digital camera, is a good one to show this. A couple of years ago, digital cameras were nowhere near as technologically advanced as they are now. You have to remember a good rule of thumb is if it's over two years old, and related to a popular form of computer equipment, it's outdated, and you're probably not easily going to find parts for it. Plus, with data storage becoming such a neccissary item for things like digital cameras, and MP3 players, Module specific cables aren't a sensible thing to have around. They clutter up your workspace, take up valuable ports, and aren't multitask friendly. Your best bet in technology is to stick to fixing things that are within your tower, and moniter, and keep things that are inexpensive, and easily replacable updated. Coffee pots? We have two different modles, and both are high quality. If the thing breaks, I know how to fix it, but it's not as likely to as a Mr Coffee from a large store. If you do want fixable, not replacable, be ready to fork out for it. You're going to be paying for better, more user friendly engineering, and you're going to be paying for better parts. Right now, we're going through the process of starting to set up our home for automation. It's interesting to see the projected advances coming so fast, and it also helps us look at the systems. Planning two steps ahead in the technology for any purchase you make that's expensive and rather permanent is a good idea, because you can see what you'll need to do in the future to bring your things up to date. I'm sorry that you're ticked, but it's something we learn to live with, I guess.

 

[unclej]

you're right, of course..(love the av, by the way) and i guess this is just the mumblings of someone that grew up with simple things...i can't imagine what my life would be like without a computer now...i e-mail my daughter daily, design cd lables, burn my cd's, do flyers for the store and talk here but i don't have a lot of other high-tech stuff...i like things that i can take apart, understand, fix and put back together..

and i don't mean to sound like a total techno-phobe but maybe i am a little...i may actually be the only person left in texas that doesn't own a cell phone...

like i said, just mumblin' and grumblin'....

 

[LadyDarkFire]

Thank you for the kind compliment.

I don't know about Texas, but you are definately in the minority compared to California. We live in a fast developing world, and in some cases, you CAN take things apart and fix them. If you learn how to, you can take apart your computer, drop in new memory, new hard drives, etc. This costs a fraction of what replacing it will. Cell Phones? I replace parts on mine all the time. Since it's over a year old, I have replaced the battery, the face plate (they get remarkably scratched up after a while), etc. Alot of things that have disposability in certain ways, can be fixed, for instance, you're generally better off replacing the cable with a memory card reader rather than throwing the baby out with the bathwater and ponying up for a new camera. It's just learning to recognize what's disposable, and what's fixable that's sometimes very confusing.