Kwazy
Shared on Tue, 02/27/2007 - 18:12Reading last month' issue (shit, I'm getting behind again) of Wired Magazine today and came across this in the Rants and Raves section:
“Kris Wagner’s article on gadgets that barely outlive their warranties completely ignores the Wal-Mart effect: the constant downward pressure on price (“Built to Fail,” Wired Test 2007). Product design is a difficult balance of cost and durability. You can have a cell phone that lasts 10 years if you’re willing to pay the price. There’s a nothing diabolical in electronic devices barely outlasting their warranties. It’s just a reflection of our own unwillingness to pay for quality.” Steve Lance - New York, New York.
I had thought something along the same lines when I read the article, but kudos to Mr. Lance for having the free-time to compose a letter.
This concept was especially underscored for me today. The recent snow, ice, and salt that’s blanketed...nay, anally intruded my fair community has left my wiper blades a tattered mess. So I bought some new ones. I chose the best ones the store offered for my vehicle from the varieties that I haven’t yet tried and already deemed inferior. Total cost: $10. While I’m installing these, I can’t help but dwell on the certainty that they’re going to work good for about three months, then quickly degrade right about the time bug season is starting in the summer. I want a good wiper blade, and I want it to last a minimum of six months. I don’t care if I’ve got to pay $50 a piece for them, it would be worth it to me.
Why have we lost the appreciation for quality items at a fair price? It seems that everything is boiling down to one extreme or the other. At the high extreme you’ve got some schmuck paying $400 for a pair of pre-ripped Versace jeans. The needle swings the other way 180 degrees to fall squarely on Old Navy. Here we have clothing that is incapable of going out of style as it will disintegrate by the second time you wash it.
God bless iPod. Bless Columbia clothing. Bless Balvenie scotch. Bless Charleston’s Steakhouses. Bless Toro power equipment.
Now I’m going to play some Halo on my 360...using a controller with a left thumbstick that is already half worn out.
“Kris Wagner’s article on gadgets that barely outlive their warranties completely ignores the Wal-Mart effect: the constant downward pressure on price (“Built to Fail,” Wired Test 2007). Product design is a difficult balance of cost and durability. You can have a cell phone that lasts 10 years if you’re willing to pay the price. There’s a nothing diabolical in electronic devices barely outlasting their warranties. It’s just a reflection of our own unwillingness to pay for quality.” Steve Lance - New York, New York.
I had thought something along the same lines when I read the article, but kudos to Mr. Lance for having the free-time to compose a letter.
This concept was especially underscored for me today. The recent snow, ice, and salt that’s blanketed...nay, anally intruded my fair community has left my wiper blades a tattered mess. So I bought some new ones. I chose the best ones the store offered for my vehicle from the varieties that I haven’t yet tried and already deemed inferior. Total cost: $10. While I’m installing these, I can’t help but dwell on the certainty that they’re going to work good for about three months, then quickly degrade right about the time bug season is starting in the summer. I want a good wiper blade, and I want it to last a minimum of six months. I don’t care if I’ve got to pay $50 a piece for them, it would be worth it to me.
Why have we lost the appreciation for quality items at a fair price? It seems that everything is boiling down to one extreme or the other. At the high extreme you’ve got some schmuck paying $400 for a pair of pre-ripped Versace jeans. The needle swings the other way 180 degrees to fall squarely on Old Navy. Here we have clothing that is incapable of going out of style as it will disintegrate by the second time you wash it.
God bless iPod. Bless Columbia clothing. Bless Balvenie scotch. Bless Charleston’s Steakhouses. Bless Toro power equipment.
Now I’m going to play some Halo on my 360...using a controller with a left thumbstick that is already half worn out.
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Comments
Submitted by Armorsmith76 on Tue, 02/27/2007 - 20:58
Submitted by Kwazy on Wed, 02/28/2007 - 14:51
Submitted by NewBoyX on Tue, 02/27/2007 - 18:16