🚀 go-pugleaf

Yep.  It is hard work fixing stuff.  I work from home.  Lower
overheads.  Makes it more viable.  I do not think some form of taxation
for environmental reason would cause a ten fold increase in the cost of
say a TV.  I would think a 2 to 20% value would be more appropriate for
an appliance.  A tax of 100% on a low cost, single use item is
feasible.  Lets take ink cartridges for ink jet printers.  They cost
$30-80 or so in NZ.  There are better solutions for supplying ink so son
or daughter can print of rubbish which is quickly discarded.  Slap a
100% tax on it so the item is given more value and is not wasted.

Mind you my mouse pad cost me nothing.  It was discarded.  I ripped off
the peeling top layer and now have a fashionable grey mouse pad.  I have
a discarded 15" monitor that I fixed (cost $40 for a 2nd part).  Now I
found I can get the part for $US9.00 from Hong Kong.  The modem was
discarded by a company I do some work for since it was damaged by
lightning.  I spent an hour fixing it.  Had to cannibalize my perfectly
good old 28.8k modem for an oddball relay.

Alan Liefting

> 
> Quite frankly, I don't know how anyone can make a living out consumer
> gear these days. I guess I contribute to this problem, both from a
> consumer and designer point of view. If I buy something I like it to
> be cheap. I am not going to pay 10K for a tv when I can get one for
> 1K. Likewise when I design something I don;t care about servicing and
> lifetime, I just care about maximising profit and minimising cost.
> Thats how (and why) I get payed.
> 
>