🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <2843@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU> henry@garp.mit.edu (Henry Mensch) writes:
>hearing this is scaring me a bit, because i plan on buying a
>complicated-disk player sometime soon.
>
>if the bloody things cost so much to fix, why is it unreasonable to
>simply toss the old one out and buy a new one?

It is *not* unreasonable, and in fact, this is probably what Sony expects
you to do. I guess the auto manufacturers are not the only ones who have
discovered the selling power of planned obsolescence. 

It's kind of like buying a battery or a set of tires with an XX,000 mile
guarantee. The only thing that is "guaranteed" is that you will continue
to buy that brand of battery or tire for the rest of your life (or at least
until you sell the car :-). The difference, of course, is that Sony must
rely on brand loyalty, whereas the battery and tire guys basically have
you on a hook unless you decide to bite the bullet and shop elsewhere.

However, most folks in this situation will just get "PO'ed at Sony" and go 
buy a Technics or something - there is still a lot to be said for "voting 
with your feet". If you are willing to foot the bill :-), then Sony (or any
company that markets "disposable" electronics) will be more than happy to 
fix your old <whatever> for you. Caveat emptor.

						Jim Greenlee
-- 
Mr. News (aka Jim "the Screw" Greenlee)                 jkg@gatech.edu
Instructor, School of ICS, Georgia Tech                 ...!gatech!jkg

Tipper Gore Food: "Race with the Devil on Spanish Highway", "Bush in `88"