Toshiba TV29C90 problem; Image fades to black...

[SMS]

SMS wrote:

Ecnerwal wrote:

The same logic is driving the production of hybrid cars that are less
fuel efficient than some non-hybrid cars. When the battery pack dies
in 8-10 years, the car will be junk (non-economic to repair), clearing
the way for more new car sales.

What's driving the production of hybrid cars is government policy. Tax
credits, and allowing hybrids to use carpool lanes is a powerful
incentive. Some people buy them because of a belief that they pollute
less, though in reality this is not the case.

I forgot to mention, it's not just government policies that drive hybrid
sales, some employers also give credits to employees. I was wondering
why I saw so many Priuses over by Google in Mountain View, then a friend
that works there told me that Google was giving $5000 to employees that
bought a Prius. I think that it's now $3000, as it proved to be so popular.

There is an article about the public and private promotion of hybrids at
"http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,202067,00.html"

Few people would buy hybrids without the perks of single-HOV use, or the
financial credits. The long-term cost of a hybrid is higher than
equivalent non-hybrid vehicles, given the added initial cost, and the
maintenance, though most people don't keep their cars long enough to
have to deal with the big-ticket hybrid maintenance items.

Ironically, the single-HOV use encourages hybrid use on freeways, where
there is no fuel efficiency advantage, plus the HOV lanes are often now
only marginally faster than the non-HOV lanes due to all the single
drivers in the HOV lanes.

 

[SMS]

Mark Jerde wrote:

Your thoughts?

I recall the 1960's:
- TVs going out until a repairman with a bunch of tubes showed up.

Nah, the drugstores all had self-service tube testers and sold tubes.
You opened your TV, put a little numbered sticker on each tube and on
each socket, and took the tubes down and tested them. They had a little
pamphlet that let you match up the symptom to the proper tube if you
didn't want to take out all the tubes.

- Automobiles needing constant maintenance. (Why was there a "Service
Station" on every corner? Hint: Cars needed *constant* service.)
- 20,000 miles on bias-ply tires was more than you could expect.

This is true. Amusingly, you still have some car owners that believe
that they need to change their oil every 3000 miles, just like back in
the days of non-detergent motor oils.

Don't forget the much more frequent plug replacement, replacing the
distributor cap, rotor, and condenser, and setting the timing and dwell.

"They Don't Build Them Like They Used To -- Thank God!" ;-)

At least for cars and televisions.

 

On Wed, 17 Jan 2007 14:58:15 -0800, SMS
<scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote:

Mark Jerde wrote:
Your thoughts?

I recall the 1960's:
- TVs going out until a repairman with a bunch of tubes showed up.

Nah, the drugstores all had self-service tube testers and sold tubes.
You opened your TV, put a little numbered sticker on each tube and on
each socket, and took the tubes down and tested them. They had a little
pamphlet that let you match up the symptom to the proper tube if you
didn't want to take out all the tubes.

- Automobiles needing constant maintenance. (Why was there a "Service
Station" on every corner? Hint: Cars needed *constant* service.)
- 20,000 miles on bias-ply tires was more than you could expect.

This is true. Amusingly, you still have some car owners that believe
that they need to change their oil every 3000 miles, just like back in
the days of non-detergent motor oils.

Especially since normal city driving is, according to your
owner's manual "extreme service" and they recommend you
change your oil every 3,000 miles. . . .

Alan

==

It's not that I think stupidity should be punishable by death.
I just think we should take the warning labels off of everything
and let the problem take care of itself.

--------------------------------------------------------

 

[SMS]

Alan Moorman@visi.com wrote:

On Wed, 17 Jan 2007 14:58:15 -0800, SMS
scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote:

Mark Jerde wrote:
Your thoughts?
I recall the 1960's:
- TVs going out until a repairman with a bunch of tubes showed up.
Nah, the drugstores all had self-service tube testers and sold tubes.
You opened your TV, put a little numbered sticker on each tube and on
each socket, and took the tubes down and tested them. They had a little
pamphlet that let you match up the symptom to the proper tube if you
didn't want to take out all the tubes.

- Automobiles needing constant maintenance. (Why was there a "Service
Station" on every corner? Hint: Cars needed *constant* service.)
- 20,000 miles on bias-ply tires was more than you could expect.
This is true. Amusingly, you still have some car owners that believe
that they need to change their oil every 3000 miles, just like back in
the days of non-detergent motor oils.

Especially since normal city driving is, according to your
owner's manual "extreme service" and they recommend you
change your oil every 3,000 miles. . . .

First of all, many car makers are using 5000 miles for extreme service,
and 7500 for normal service. Some have service indicators that take into
account actual driving and environmental factors in determining the
proper oil change interval. Often the shorter intervals are to
compensate for poorly designed engines that burn a lot of oil, so the
manufacturer can claim that the vehicle burns no oil between changes.

Second, normal city driving is rarely considered "extreme" service.
Extreme service is more than just stop and go driving, it's all stop and
go driving and short trips, it's driving in extreme heat, or in very
dusty areas. There's a big effort by the oil change industry to convince
owners that almost everyone falls into severe or extreme service. It's
resulted in a lot of "recreational oil changes" that do nothing to
lengthen the service life of the engine.

For Toyota:

* Driving on rough, muddy or snow-melted roads.
* Driving on dusty roads.
* Towing trailers, caravans or boats.
* Repeated short trips (less than 8 km) in freezing conditions.
* Extensive idling and or low speed driving for long distance such as
taxis, couriers, etc.
* Continuous high speed driving (80% or more at maximum vehicle speed)
for over 2 hours.

For Ford
* Towing a trailer or using a camper or car-top carrier
* Extensive idling and/or low-speed driving for long distances as in
heavy commercial use such as delivery, taxi, patrol car or livery
* Operating in dusty conditions such as unpaved or dusty roads
* Off-road operation
* Use of E85 50% of the time or greater (flex fuel vehicles only)

 

On Tue, 16 Jan 2007 23:52:57 -0800, SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com>
wrote:

Ecnerwal wrote:

The same logic is driving the production of hybrid cars that are less
fuel efficient than some non-hybrid cars. When the battery pack dies in
8-10 years, the car will be junk (non-economic to repair), clearing the
way for more new car sales.

What's driving the production of hybrid cars is government policy. Tax
credits, and allowing hybrids to use carpool lanes is a powerful
incentive. Some people buy them because of a belief that they pollute
less, though in reality this is not the case.

I don't think that anyone buys a hybrid thinking that they're going to
save money on fuel, versus the extra initial cost, and shorter service life.
In town traffic, a hybrid (toyota or honda design) DO polute less

because they never idle.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

 

On Wed, 17 Jan 2007 16:07:05 -0800, SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com>
wrote:

Alan Moorman@visi.com wrote:
On Wed, 17 Jan 2007 14:58:15 -0800, SMS
scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote:

Mark Jerde wrote:
Your thoughts?
I recall the 1960's:
- TVs going out until a repairman with a bunch of tubes showed up.
Nah, the drugstores all had self-service tube testers and sold tubes.
You opened your TV, put a little numbered sticker on each tube and on
each socket, and took the tubes down and tested them. They had a little
pamphlet that let you match up the symptom to the proper tube if you
didn't want to take out all the tubes.

- Automobiles needing constant maintenance. (Why was there a "Service
Station" on every corner? Hint: Cars needed *constant* service.)
- 20,000 miles on bias-ply tires was more than you could expect.
This is true. Amusingly, you still have some car owners that believe
that they need to change their oil every 3000 miles, just like back in
the days of non-detergent motor oils.

Especially since normal city driving is, according to your
owner's manual "extreme service" and they recommend you
change your oil every 3,000 miles. . . .

First of all, many car makers are using 5000 miles for extreme service,
and 7500 for normal service. Some have service indicators that take into
account actual driving and environmental factors in determining the
proper oil change interval. Often the shorter intervals are to
compensate for poorly designed engines that burn a lot of oil, so the
manufacturer can claim that the vehicle burns no oil between changes.

Second, normal city driving is rarely considered "extreme" service.
Extreme service is more than just stop and go driving, it's all stop and
go driving and short trips, it's driving in extreme heat, or in very
dusty areas. There's a big effort by the oil change industry to convince
owners that almost everyone falls into severe or extreme service. It's
resulted in a lot of "recreational oil changes" that do nothing to
lengthen the service life of the engine.

For Toyota:

* Driving on rough, muddy or snow-melted roads.
* Driving on dusty roads.
* Towing trailers, caravans or boats.
* Repeated short trips (less than 8 km) in freezing conditions.
* Extensive idling and or low speed driving for long distance such as
taxis, couriers, etc.
* Continuous high speed driving (80% or more at maximum vehicle speed)
for over 2 hours.

For Ford
* Towing a trailer or using a camper or car-top carrier
* Extensive idling and/or low-speed driving for long distances as in
heavy commercial use such as delivery, taxi, patrol car or livery
* Operating in dusty conditions such as unpaved or dusty roads
* Off-road operation
* Use of E85 50% of the time or greater (flex fuel vehicles only)

I consider about 75-80% of in-town driving (and in-region in our area)
to be "severe service".. For my vehicles, and the vast majority of my
customers' vehicles while I was service manager, this was the case.
Trated as such, virtually non of my customers' cars had any problems
that could remotely be attributed to poor lubrication.

Can't say that for all those who argued the point and stuck to the
"normal conditions" schedule. Some got lucky, but certainly not the
majority.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

 

[Rod Speed]

clare at snyder.on.ca wrote

SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote
Alan Moorman@visi.com wrote
SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote
Mark Jerde wrote

Your thoughts?

I recall the 1960's:
- TVs going out until a repairman with a bunch of tubes showed up.

Nah, the drugstores all had self-service tube testers and sold
tubes. You opened your TV, put a little numbered sticker on each
tube and on each socket, and took the tubes down and tested them.
They had a little pamphlet that let you match up the symptom to
the proper tube if you didn't want to take out all the tubes.

- Automobiles needing constant maintenance. (Why was there a
"Service Station" on every corner? Hint: Cars needed *constant*
service.) - 20,000 miles on bias-ply tires was more than you could expect.

This is true. Amusingly, you still have some car owners that
believe that they need to change their oil every 3000 miles,
just like back in the days of non-detergent motor oils.

Especially since normal city driving is, according
to your owner's manual "extreme service" and they
recommend you change your oil every 3,000 miles. . . .

First of all, many car makers are using 5000 miles for extreme
service, and 7500 for normal service. Some have service indicators
that take into account actual driving and environmental factors in
determining the proper oil change interval. Often the shorter
intervals are to compensate for poorly designed engines that burn a
lot of oil, so the manufacturer can claim that the vehicle burns no
oil between changes.

Second, normal city driving is rarely considered "extreme" service.
Extreme service is more than just stop and go driving, it's all stop
and go driving and short trips, it's driving in extreme heat, or in
very dusty areas. There's a big effort by the oil change industry to
convince owners that almost everyone falls into severe or extreme
service. It's resulted in a lot of "recreational oil changes" that
do nothing to lengthen the service life of the engine.

For Toyota:

* Driving on rough, muddy or snow-melted roads.
* Driving on dusty roads.
* Towing trailers, caravans or boats.
* Repeated short trips (less than 8 km) in freezing conditions.
* Extensive idling and or low speed driving for long distance such as taxis, couriers, etc.
* Continuous high speed driving (80% or more at maximum vehicle speed) for over 2 hours.

For Ford
* Towing a trailer or using a camper or car-top carrier
* Extensive idling and/or low-speed driving for long distances as in
heavy commercial use such as delivery, taxi, patrol car or livery
* Operating in dusty conditions such as unpaved or dusty roads
* Off-road operation
* Use of E85 50% of the time or greater (flex fuel vehicles only)

I consider about 75-80% of in-town driving (and in-region in our area)
to be "severe service".. For my vehicles, and the vast majority of my
customers' vehicles while I was service manager, this was the case.
Trated as such, virtually non of my customers' cars had any problems
that could remotely be attributed to poor lubrication.

You have no way of quantifying what would have happened
if they hadnt got 'severe service' oil change rates.

Can't say that for all those who argued the point and stuck to the "normal
conditions" schedule. Some got lucky, but certainly not the majority.

Bullshit.

 

[Jeff, WB8NHV]

Rod Speed wrote:

hallerb@aol.com wrote:
Rod Speed wrote:
Too_Many_Tools <too_many_tools@yahoo.com> wrote:

In my opinon...no.

I dont believe it happens in the sense that its actually possible
to design something to fail early and still have a viable product.

And there is plenty of stuff that clearly aint anything to do
with planned obsolescence at all. Most obviously with stuff
as basic as bread knives which are all metal. Those wont
even need to be replaced when the handle gives out.

And heaps of kitchen stuff is now stainless steel, which
will last forever compared with the older tinplate crap.

I intentionally try to have older appliances, vehicles, machines to
lower repair costs and keep overall ownership cost to a minimum.

Your thoughts?

Works fine with some things, but can bite. I just replaced
the switch in the vaccuum cleaner which is about 40 years
old. Cost peanuts and was very easy to find a new one.

The big 9ź" hand held circular saw that I built the house with
35 years ago has just seen the power switch fail and that is
no longer available from the manufacturer. Fortunately its
failed on so the saw is still usable tho more dangerous.
It uses blades with a 1?" hole. The current blades have
1" holes with washers which allow smaller shafts but no
easy way to use them on my old saw. There doesnt appear
to be any readily available source of different collets for that.

Just had the chain adjuster failed on a dirt cheap relatively
new electric chainsaw. I assumed that they wouldnt bother
to supply parts like that, but I was wrong, readily available
and in fact free. Clearly no planned obsolescence there.

And power tools are now so cheap that they are very viable
to buy even for just one job. I had to cut a copper pipe thats
buried in the ground and it costs peanuts to buy a very decent
jigsaw to cut it, just to avoid having to dig a bigger hole around
where I needed to cut it. Its been fine for other stuff since,
no evidence that its going to die any time soon. Could well get
40 years out of that too like I did with most of the power tools
that I used to build the house.

Cars in spades. I've just replaced my 35 year old car that I was
too stupid to fix the windscreen leak with which eventually produced
rust holes in the floor which wont pass our registration check.
While its possible to plate the holes, I cant be bothered, I intended
to drive that car into the ground and decided that that had happened.
No evidence that the replacement new car wont last as long. Its
certainly got more plastic, most obviously with the bumper bars that
the new one doesnt have, but that mostly due to modern crumple
zones, not due to planned obsolescence and might save my life etc.

People were raving on about planned obsolescence when
I built the house and I've had very little that has ever needed
replacement apart from basic stuff like light bulbs and the
occassional failure of stuff like elements in the oven etc.

More below.

Irreparable damage
By Bryce Baschuk
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
January 9, 2007

Bill Jones, after 42 years, is finally closing the
Procter Appliance Service shop in Silver Spring.

That isnt planned obsolescence, thats the fact that its a
lot cheaper to pay a very low wage asian to make you
a new one than it ever is to pay a first world monkey to
repair your existing one with all but quite trivial faults.

"You can't make a good salary to survive on the way you
could years ago," said the 61-year-old owner of the oven,
refrigerator and washer-dryer repair shop. "Everything
has changed in the appliance business."

It has indeed, but not because of planned obsolescence.

Mr. Jones recently sold his home in Laurel and is in the
process of moving to Bluffton, S.C., with his wife, Jeannette.

Sob sob.

Mr. Jones is one of the many Washington-area repairmen who have
struggled to stay afloat as residents replace, not repair, old
appliances.

Because its generally better value to replace.

"It's a dying trade," said Scott Brown, Webmaster of
www.fixitnow.com
and self-proclaimed "Samurai Appliance Repairman."

Wota fucking wanker. Bet he doesnt disembowel himself when he fucks
up.

The reason for this is twofold, Mr. Brown said: The cost
of appliances is coming down because of cheap overseas
labor and improved manufacturing techniques,

So much for your silly line about planned obsolescence.

and repairmen are literally dying off.

They arent in other industrys that are still viable,
most obviously with cars and trucks and houses.

The average age of appliance technicians is 42, and there are few
young repairmen to take their place, said Mr. Brown, 47. He has
been repairing appliances in New Hampshire for the past 13 years.

He should have had a clue 13 years ago.
The writing was on the wall long before that.

In the next seven years, the number of veteran appliance
repairmen will decrease nationwide as current workers retire
or transfer to other occupations, the Department of Labor
said in its 2007 Occupational Outlook Handbook.

Must be rocket scientist shinybums.

The federal agency said many prospective repairmen prefer work
that is less strenuous and want more comfortable working conditions.

They actually prefer a decent income.

That claimed 'prefer work that is less strenuous and want more
comfortable working conditions' clearly hasnt affect car, truck or
house repair and the construction industry etc. Tho there will
always be some of that with a 5% unemployment rate.

Local repairmen said it is simply a question of economics.
"Nowadays appliances are cheap, so people are just getting new
ones,"

Yep, only a fool wouldnt if the new one costs about
the same as the cost of repairing the old one.

said Paul Singh, a manager at the Appliance Service Depot, a repair
shop in Northwest. "As a result, business has slowed down a lot."

"The average repair cost for a household appliance is $50 to
$350," said Shahid Rana, a service technician at Rana
Refrigeration, a repair shop in Capitol Heights. "If the repair is
going to cost more than
that, we usually tell the customer to go out and buy a new one."

Must be rocket scientist apes.

It's not uncommon for today's repairmen to condemn an appliance
instead of fixing it for the sake of their customers' wallets.

If they decide to repair an appliance that is likely to break
down again, repairmen are criticized by their customers
and often lose business because of a damaged reputation.

Mr. Jones said he based his repair decisions on the 50 percent
rule: "If the cost of service costs more than 50 percent of the
price
of a new machine, I'll tell my customers to get a new one."

What makes a lot more sense is to factor in the failure rate of that
appliance.

"A lot of customers want me to be honest with them, so I'll tell
them
my opinion and leave the decision making up to them," he said.

In recent years, consumers have tended to buy new
appliances when existing warranties expire rather than
repair old appliances, the Department of Labor said.

Hardly surprising given that they are now so cheap.

Mr. Brown acknowledged this trend. "Lower-end appliances which you
can buy for $200 to $300 are basically throwaway appliances," he
said. "They are so inexpensive that you shouldn't pay to get them
repaired." "The quality of the materials that are being made
aren't lasting,"

Pig ignorant silly stuff.

Mr. Jones said. "Nowadays you're seeing more plastic

I had some reservations about my 35 year old
dishwasher that does have a plastic liner. Its lasted fine.

and more circuit boards, and they aren't holding up."

Bullshit.

Many home appliances sold in the United States
are made in Taiwan, Singapore, China and Mexico.

And now china.

"Nothing is made [in the United States] anymore," Mr. Jones said.
"But then again, American parts are only better to a point,
a lot of U.S. companies are all about the dollar."

Fortunately for the next generation of repairmen, some of today's
high-end appliances make service repairs the most cost-effective
option.

The Department of Labor concurred. "Over the next decade, as more
consumers purchase higher-priced appliances designed to have much
longer lives, they will be more likely to use repair services than
to purchase new appliances," said the 2007 Occupational Outlook
Handbook.

Bet that will have fuck all effect on the employment prospects.

Modern, energy-efficient refrigerators
can cost as much as $5,000 to $10,000,

Pig ignorant drivel. You can buy plenty of modern energy efficient
fridges for a hell of a lot less than that. I've done just that a
month ago.

and with such a hefty price tag, throwing one away is not an option.

Bet the fools stupid enough to buy those will anyway.

In some cases, repairmen can help consumers reduce the
amount of aggravation that a broken appliance will cause.

Consider the time and effort it takes to shop for a new appliance,
wait for its delivery, remove the old one and get the new one
installed.

I did mine in 30 mins total, literally.

In addition, certain appliances such as ovens and
washing machines can be a bigger hassle to replace
because they are connected to gas and water lines.

Just changed washing machines over too, with a free
one I inherited. Changing the water over took minutes too.

"It takes your time, it takes your effort, and if you don't
install the new appliance, you'll have to hire a service
technician to install it anyways," Mr. Brown said.

Only the incompetant fools that cant change the washing machine over.

Some consumers bond with their appliances like old pets,
and for loyalty or sentimental reasons, refuse to let them go.

Mr. Rana said some of his clients have appliances that are
more than 30 years old. It makes sense, he said. "A lot of old
refrigerators are worth fixing because they give people good
service.

Wrong, those are normally lousy energy efficiency.

They just don't make things like they used to."

Yeah, they make them much better today energy efficiency wise.

And much better design wise too with the shelves and bins etc too.

did you know theres all qualitys of stainless, some will last literaLLY FOREVER

Yep, and all of my kitchen stainless will do that fine.

not so for kitchen stainless,

Wrong.

try a magnet on stainless the better quality is non magnetic

The magnetic stuff will last fine too with that use.

I have an Aiwa bookshelf stereo system which I bought new seven
years ago. One of the cassette decks developed a problem recently, so I
took it to a local repair shop. Left it there over a weekend, then went
back today to pick it up--unrepaired. One of the technicians told me I
had made a wise decision not to have it repaired because the thing is
so old (he also cited NLA--no longer available--parts for the cassette
deck and other parts of the system). I figured this way. I have most of
my CDs stored on my computer, which is hooked up to the stereo (sounds
much better than the stock speakers), and use Winamp (v5.32) to listen
to them. All I'm really using the stereo for now is as an amplifier, so
why should I spend more money than the system is probably worth to have
the cassette decks repaired? As it is, one deck will work but sometimes
jams; I can clear the problem in seconds--the thing works perfectly
once started. (I can always connect a Panasonic boombox with cassette
deck into my system if the one remaining deck quits altogether, so I'm
not concerned about it in the least.) The CD player still works great,
as does the AM/FM digital tuner. As long as the amplifiers work, I
won't put any more money into the system. Even if the amps do go
belly-up eventually, by that time the entire stereo will probably be so
old it won't be worth fixing, period. Then and only then will I
consider getting a new one. I've looked at some of the newest USB
stereos from Aiwa on their website (model BMZ-K1/BMZ-K2), and these
don't even have one cassette deck, let alone two. I think Aiwa, at
least, is realizing that cassettes are all but obsolete. Just watch.
Some day Aiwa, and every other manufacturer of compact audio systems,
will design their very newest systems to download mp3 files from the
Internet exclusively, perhaps with no CD players at all (the BMZ-K1/K2
systems have slot-in 5-CD changers). The BMZ-K1/K2 systems, with USB
ports, are the new generation of compact digital audio systems which
have no cassette decks--and the new ones are getting more sophisticated
all the time. (Other manufacturers are sure to follow suit shortly if
they haven't done so by now.) These -will- render today's digital and
analog bookshelf systems obsolete in no time, if they haven't already.

 

[Madness]

aemeijers@att.net wrote:

"Jeff Jonas" <jeffj@panix.com> wrote in message
news:eof5u2$nln$1@panix5.panix.com...
The main thing I detest with modern products is keyboards. I used
to be able to buy proper double injection moulded keyboards in the
pre PC days but they arent even buyable now even with the branded
produces like Microsoft and Logitech and the stupid cheap stuck on
lettering never lasts very long at all.
I'm pleased to agree with that comment since it's on topic
and something that's near and dear to my heart.
I use my computer keyboard every day so it's not just an appliance,
it's a tool. It ought to fit my hand and operate reliably.
You'll have to pry my original IBM PS/2 space-saving keyboard
from my cold dead hands - I ain't giving' this up for anything!
The keys FEEL RIGHT and really click, not fake springs here!
It's survived a lot of pounding and frustration
and NONE of the keycap legends are smudged.
Only recently I noticed that the matte finish has rubbed off
the left shift key and the "A" key, making the surface smooth.
The keyboard has been in daily use for perhaps 10 years.

Chuckle. I'm still using my 1988 or so Northgate (back when they were an
actual company, not a Pacific rim brand name) Omnikey keyboard. Yeah, it
cost me over a hundred bucks back then, but it has paid for itself several
times over. (I'm on like my 5th or 6th PC since then, of course.)When the
real Northgate went belly up, I understand somebody else bought the keyboard
line, and was selling them under another brand for awhile. No idea if they
still exist. I also have a crate of Zenith z248 keyboard, which use the same
mechanical Alps key mechanisms. (From when Zenith was still a real company,
of course.)

Luddite and proud of it.

aem sends....


Hey, I still have an IBM Model "M" 101 "clicky" from the original PS/2

line. Has some weight to it and won't slide around while typing (which
the main thing I hate about those modern "cheapies"). Also, a Microsoft
optical mouse which is about 8 or 9 years old and still going strong.

 

[Madness]

lsmartino wrote:

Rod Speed ha escrito:

clare at snyder.on.ca wrote
Rod Speed <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote
Too_Many_Tools <too_many_tools@yahoo.com> wrote
What explains the electric toothbrushes that don't have
replaceable batteries? You have to toss a $60-$120
device just because a $5 battery has failed.
Using the battery to enforce product obscelence
is standard practice in the industry.
Mindlessly superficial. The reality is that its a lot easier to
allow battery replacement with some items than with others.
I totally disagree.
Your problem.

No reason they can't make a new standard - Lithium Polymer battery
pack about the size of a SD card that just snaps into a device.
Wrong again. There's a real problem with Lithium anything
and separate chargers. Thats why you dont see the standard
AA and AAA cells in Lithium anything format either.


Sorry but you are missinformed. Check here
http://www.energizer.com/products/lithium/default.aspx
These are AA and AAA lithium batteries.

I was assuming he was referring to rechargeable lithiums (Li-Po). But I

use those E2 lithiums in my digital camera -- they last for months!

 

[Rod Speed]

Jeff, WB8NHV <jeffhs@ameritech.net> wrote

Rod Speed wrote
hallerb@aol.com wrote
Rod Speed wrote
Too_Many_Tools <too_many_tools@yahoo.com> wrote

In my opinon...no.

I dont believe it happens in the sense that its actually possible
to design something to fail early and still have a viable product.

And there is plenty of stuff that clearly aint anything to do
with planned obsolescence at all. Most obviously with stuff
as basic as bread knives which are all metal. Those wont
even need to be replaced when the handle gives out.

And heaps of kitchen stuff is now stainless steel, which
will last forever compared with the older tinplate crap.

I intentionally try to have older appliances, vehicles, machines
to lower repair costs and keep overall ownership cost to a
minimum.

Your thoughts?

Works fine with some things, but can bite. I just replaced
the switch in the vaccuum cleaner which is about 40 years
old. Cost peanuts and was very easy to find a new one.

The big 9ź" hand held circular saw that I built the house with
35 years ago has just seen the power switch fail and that is
no longer available from the manufacturer. Fortunately its
failed on so the saw is still usable tho more dangerous.
It uses blades with a 1?" hole. The current blades have
1" holes with washers which allow smaller shafts but no
easy way to use them on my old saw. There doesnt appear
to be any readily available source of different collets for that.

Just had the chain adjuster failed on a dirt cheap relatively
new electric chainsaw. I assumed that they wouldnt bother
to supply parts like that, but I was wrong, readily available
and in fact free. Clearly no planned obsolescence there.

And power tools are now so cheap that they are very viable
to buy even for just one job. I had to cut a copper pipe thats
buried in the ground and it costs peanuts to buy a very decent
jigsaw to cut it, just to avoid having to dig a bigger hole around
where I needed to cut it. Its been fine for other stuff since,
no evidence that its going to die any time soon. Could well get
40 years out of that too like I did with most of the power tools
that I used to build the house.

Cars in spades. I've just replaced my 35 year old car that I was
too stupid to fix the windscreen leak with which eventually
produced rust holes in the floor which wont pass our registration
check. While its possible to plate the holes, I cant be bothered,
I intended to drive that car into the ground and decided that that
had happened. No evidence that the replacement new car wont last
as long. Its certainly got more plastic, most obviously with the
bumper bars that the new one doesnt have, but that mostly due to
modern crumple zones, not due to planned obsolescence and might
save my life etc.

People were raving on about planned obsolescence when
I built the house and I've had very little that has ever needed
replacement apart from basic stuff like light bulbs and the
occassional failure of stuff like elements in the oven etc.

More below.

Irreparable damage
By Bryce Baschuk
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
January 9, 2007

Bill Jones, after 42 years, is finally closing the
Procter Appliance Service shop in Silver Spring.

That isnt planned obsolescence, thats the fact that its a
lot cheaper to pay a very low wage asian to make you
a new one than it ever is to pay a first world monkey to
repair your existing one with all but quite trivial faults.

"You can't make a good salary to survive on the way you
could years ago," said the 61-year-old owner of the oven,
refrigerator and washer-dryer repair shop. "Everything
has changed in the appliance business."

It has indeed, but not because of planned obsolescence.

Mr. Jones recently sold his home in Laurel and is in the
process of moving to Bluffton, S.C., with his wife, Jeannette.

Sob sob.

Mr. Jones is one of the many Washington-area repairmen who have
struggled to stay afloat as residents replace, not repair, old
appliances.

Because its generally better value to replace.

"It's a dying trade," said Scott Brown, Webmaster of
www.fixitnow.com
and self-proclaimed "Samurai Appliance Repairman."

Wota fucking wanker. Bet he doesnt disembowel himself when he fucks
up.

The reason for this is twofold, Mr. Brown said: The cost
of appliances is coming down because of cheap overseas
labor and improved manufacturing techniques,

So much for your silly line about planned obsolescence.

and repairmen are literally dying off.

They arent in other industrys that are still viable,
most obviously with cars and trucks and houses.

The average age of appliance technicians is 42, and there are few
young repairmen to take their place, said Mr. Brown, 47. He has
been repairing appliances in New Hampshire for the past 13 years.

He should have had a clue 13 years ago.
The writing was on the wall long before that.

In the next seven years, the number of veteran appliance
repairmen will decrease nationwide as current workers retire
or transfer to other occupations, the Department of Labor
said in its 2007 Occupational Outlook Handbook.

Must be rocket scientist shinybums.

The federal agency said many prospective repairmen prefer work
that is less strenuous and want more comfortable working
conditions.

They actually prefer a decent income.

That claimed 'prefer work that is less strenuous and want more
comfortable working conditions' clearly hasnt affect car, truck or
house repair and the construction industry etc. Tho there will
always be some of that with a 5% unemployment rate.

Local repairmen said it is simply a question of economics.
"Nowadays appliances are cheap, so people are just getting new
ones,"

Yep, only a fool wouldnt if the new one costs about
the same as the cost of repairing the old one.

said Paul Singh, a manager at the Appliance Service Depot, a
repair shop in Northwest. "As a result, business has slowed down
a lot."

"The average repair cost for a household appliance is $50 to
$350," said Shahid Rana, a service technician at Rana
Refrigeration, a repair shop in Capitol Heights. "If the repair is
going to cost more than
that, we usually tell the customer to go out and buy a new one."

Must be rocket scientist apes.

It's not uncommon for today's repairmen to condemn an appliance
instead of fixing it for the sake of their customers' wallets.

If they decide to repair an appliance that is likely to break
down again, repairmen are criticized by their customers
and often lose business because of a damaged reputation.

Mr. Jones said he based his repair decisions on the 50 percent
rule: "If the cost of service costs more than 50 percent of the
price
of a new machine, I'll tell my customers to get a new one."

What makes a lot more sense is to factor in the failure rate of
that appliance.

"A lot of customers want me to be honest with them, so I'll tell
them
my opinion and leave the decision making up to them," he said.

In recent years, consumers have tended to buy new
appliances when existing warranties expire rather than
repair old appliances, the Department of Labor said.

Hardly surprising given that they are now so cheap.

Mr. Brown acknowledged this trend. "Lower-end appliances which you
can buy for $200 to $300 are basically throwaway appliances," he
said. "They are so inexpensive that you shouldn't pay to get them
repaired." "The quality of the materials that are being made
aren't lasting,"

Pig ignorant silly stuff.

Mr. Jones said. "Nowadays you're seeing more plastic

I had some reservations about my 35 year old
dishwasher that does have a plastic liner. Its lasted fine.

and more circuit boards, and they aren't holding up."

Bullshit.

Many home appliances sold in the United States
are made in Taiwan, Singapore, China and Mexico.

And now china.

"Nothing is made [in the United States] anymore," Mr. Jones said.
"But then again, American parts are only better to a point,
a lot of U.S. companies are all about the dollar."

Fortunately for the next generation of repairmen, some of today's
high-end appliances make service repairs the most cost-effective
option.

The Department of Labor concurred. "Over the next decade, as more
consumers purchase higher-priced appliances designed to have much
longer lives, they will be more likely to use repair services than
to purchase new appliances," said the 2007 Occupational Outlook
Handbook.

Bet that will have fuck all effect on the employment prospects.

Modern, energy-efficient refrigerators
can cost as much as $5,000 to $10,000,

Pig ignorant drivel. You can buy plenty of modern energy efficient
fridges for a hell of a lot less than that. I've done just that a
month ago.

and with such a hefty price tag, throwing one away is not an
option.

Bet the fools stupid enough to buy those will anyway.

In some cases, repairmen can help consumers reduce the
amount of aggravation that a broken appliance will cause.

Consider the time and effort it takes to shop for a new appliance,
wait for its delivery, remove the old one and get the new one
installed.

I did mine in 30 mins total, literally.

In addition, certain appliances such as ovens and
washing machines can be a bigger hassle to replace
because they are connected to gas and water lines.

Just changed washing machines over too, with a free
one I inherited. Changing the water over took minutes too.

"It takes your time, it takes your effort, and if you don't
install the new appliance, you'll have to hire a service
technician to install it anyways," Mr. Brown said.

Only the incompetant fools that cant change the washing machine
over.

Some consumers bond with their appliances like old pets,
and for loyalty or sentimental reasons, refuse to let them go.

Mr. Rana said some of his clients have appliances that are
more than 30 years old. It makes sense, he said. "A lot of old
refrigerators are worth fixing because they give people good
service.

Wrong, those are normally lousy energy efficiency.

They just don't make things like they used to."

Yeah, they make them much better today energy efficiency wise.

And much better design wise too with the shelves and bins etc too.

did you know theres all qualitys of stainless, some will last
literaLLY FOREVER

Yep, and all of my kitchen stainless will do that fine.

not so for kitchen stainless,

Wrong.

try a magnet on stainless the better quality is non magnetic

The magnetic stuff will last fine too with that use.

I have an Aiwa bookshelf stereo system which I bought new seven
years ago. One of the cassette decks developed a problem recently,
so I took it to a local repair shop. Left it there over a weekend, then
went back today to pick it up--unrepaired. One of the technicians told
me I had made a wise decision not to have it repaired because the
thing is so old (he also cited NLA--no longer available--parts for the
cassette deck and other parts of the system). I figured this way.
I have most of my CDs stored on my computer, which is hooked up
to the stereo (sounds much better than the stock speakers), and use
Winamp (v5.32) to listen to them. All I'm really using the stereo for
now is as an amplifier,

Yeah, I do too.

so why should I spend more money than the system is probably
worth to have the cassette decks repaired? As it is, one deck
will work but sometimes jams; I can clear the problem in seconds
--the thing works perfectly once started.

I gave up on cassettes decades ago, basically when CDs showed up.

(I can always connect a Panasonic boombox with cassette deck
into my system if the one remaining deck quits altogether, so I'm
not concerned about it in the least.) The CD player still works great,

I gave up on that too, prefer mp3s now.

as does the AM/FM digital tuner.

Havent bothered with that in decades either.

As long as the amplifiers work, I won't put any more money into the
system. Even if the amps do go belly-up eventually, by that time the
entire stereo will probably be so old it won't be worth fixing, period.

Yeah, I blew the shit out of the speakers a decade or more
ago and havent bothered to replace just the speakers yet.

Then and only then will I consider getting a new one.
I've looked at some of the newest USB stereos from
Aiwa on their website (model BMZ-K1/BMZ-K2), and
these don't even have one cassette deck, let alone two.

Cassette decks are WAY past their useby date.

The world's moved on forever.

I think Aiwa, at least, is realizing that cassettes are all but obsolete.

So is everyone else.

Just watch. Some day Aiwa, and every other manufacturer of compact
audio systems, will design their very newest systems to download mp3
files from the Internet exclusively, perhaps with no CD players at all

Likely, but not necessary from the net, there'll still be local storage.

Even ipods do it that way.

(the BMZ-K1/K2 systems have slot-in 5-CD changers).
The BMZ-K1/K2 systems, with USB ports, are the new
generation of compact digital audio systems which have
no cassette decks--and the new ones are getting more
sophisticated all the time.

Yep, in spades with ipods etc.

(Other manufacturers are sure to follow
suit shortly if they haven't done so by now.)

Been around for a long time now, most obviously with ipods etc.

These -will- render today's digital and analog bookshelf
systems obsolete in no time, if they haven't already.

They have already, most obviously with ipods and media players.

 

[Alex]

Would you recommend a particular commercial vacuum cleaner?

He sold me a simple upright Panasonic with no extra bells and whistles but and
was not a commercial model. He said I can expect 10 years of service from this one.

 

[SMS]

clare at snyder.on.ca wrote:

I consider about 75-80% of in-town driving (and in-region in our area)
to be "severe service".

You may consider it severe, but the manufacturer doesn't. There is no
evidence that doing twice as many oil changes as the manufacturer
recommends has any effect on engine life. It doesn't really hurt
anything to change the oil at 3000 miles, or 1000 miles for that matter,
but all the independent tests of engine wear versus oil change interval
have proved that there is no advantage to following the severe service
interval for non-severe service.

 

[gerryu21220@gmail.com]

Oh, man... really? Is that the same as the infamous "Skippy"?

I'm curious: if this guy is such bad news, how did he ever get a 1500+
positive feedback rating on eBay? Wouldn't he get a lot more negative
feedback? Not trying to defend him - don't know this person, nor dealt
with him. Just puzzled.

Gerry

DeserTBoB wrote:

On 17 Jan 2007 16:05:23 -0800, "elkhound" <elkhound68@yahoo.com
wrote:

http://cgi.ebay<snip

This spam, from Charlie Nudo, 160 Bear Run Dr. of Drums, PA, aka
"66fourdoor" on eBay, violates eBay's rules regarding Usenet spamming:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/usenet_policy.html

It also violates Google's Terms of Service regarding spamming. Please
take a moment to forward this well documented spammer/fraudster's
spam, along with headers, to:

spam@ebay.com (be sure to include a link to their own Usenet policy,
above)
abuse@epix.net (main Epix account email address:
thenudofamily@epix.net)
groups-abuse@google.com

More information on this notorious fraudster and spammer can be found
on:

http://nudowatch.blogspot.com

 

[Tim Shoppa]

Too_Many_Tools wrote:

I got one of those for free because the motor controller had failed and
the repair was supposed to cost $400.


The Neputune washer is a typical case of how companies plan for
enforced obscelence.

Make the repair cost so high that you are forced to buy another
appliance.

Their mistake is that many of the problems surfaced during the warranty
period.

Their other mistake was to outsource much of the design to consultants
who took their money and ran leaving the company with a poor design
that was rushed to production.

The CEO and MBAs still got their bonuses as the company sank.

IMHO... the problem with the Neptune (and similarly high-priced
"unique" product lines from other companies) is that as far as I could
tell there was nothing standard about ANY part of it.

I mean, if a knob falls off my stove, I know I can go to the appliance
part store and get a new knob that'll fit (might not be right color
but...). Or if a element fails in the oven. etc.

With the Neptune it seemed to be a design goal to make every part
completely non-generic. And then charge a lot for the whole thing as if
it were some really premium "high-end" appliance. They set the bar
really really high and then guaranteed they'd never live up to it!

Tim.

 

On Thu, 18 Jan 2007 16:02:27 +1100, "Rod Speed"
<rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> wrote:

clare at snyder.on.ca wrote
SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote
Alan Moorman@visi.com wrote
SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote
Mark Jerde wrote

Your thoughts?

I recall the 1960's:
- TVs going out until a repairman with a bunch of tubes showed up.

Nah, the drugstores all had self-service tube testers and sold
tubes. You opened your TV, put a little numbered sticker on each
tube and on each socket, and took the tubes down and tested them.
They had a little pamphlet that let you match up the symptom to
the proper tube if you didn't want to take out all the tubes.

- Automobiles needing constant maintenance. (Why was there a
"Service Station" on every corner? Hint: Cars needed *constant*
service.) - 20,000 miles on bias-ply tires was more than you could expect.

This is true. Amusingly, you still have some car owners that
believe that they need to change their oil every 3000 miles,
just like back in the days of non-detergent motor oils.

Especially since normal city driving is, according
to your owner's manual "extreme service" and they
recommend you change your oil every 3,000 miles. . . .

First of all, many car makers are using 5000 miles for extreme
service, and 7500 for normal service. Some have service indicators
that take into account actual driving and environmental factors in
determining the proper oil change interval. Often the shorter
intervals are to compensate for poorly designed engines that burn a
lot of oil, so the manufacturer can claim that the vehicle burns no
oil between changes.

Second, normal city driving is rarely considered "extreme" service.
Extreme service is more than just stop and go driving, it's all stop
and go driving and short trips, it's driving in extreme heat, or in
very dusty areas. There's a big effort by the oil change industry to
convince owners that almost everyone falls into severe or extreme
service. It's resulted in a lot of "recreational oil changes" that
do nothing to lengthen the service life of the engine.

For Toyota:

* Driving on rough, muddy or snow-melted roads.
* Driving on dusty roads.
* Towing trailers, caravans or boats.
* Repeated short trips (less than 8 km) in freezing conditions.
* Extensive idling and or low speed driving for long distance such as taxis, couriers, etc.
* Continuous high speed driving (80% or more at maximum vehicle speed) for over 2 hours.

For Ford
* Towing a trailer or using a camper or car-top carrier
* Extensive idling and/or low-speed driving for long distances as in
heavy commercial use such as delivery, taxi, patrol car or livery
* Operating in dusty conditions such as unpaved or dusty roads
* Off-road operation
* Use of E85 50% of the time or greater (flex fuel vehicles only)

I consider about 75-80% of in-town driving (and in-region in our area)
to be "severe service".. For my vehicles, and the vast majority of my
customers' vehicles while I was service manager, this was the case.
Trated as such, virtually non of my customers' cars had any problems
that could remotely be attributed to poor lubrication.

You have no way of quantifying what would have happened
if they hadnt got 'severe service' oil change rates.

Can't say that for all those who argued the point and stuck to the "normal
conditions" schedule. Some got lucky, but certainly not the majority.

Bullshit.

Actually, I do. I serviced over 600 vehicles anually on a regular

basis. ONLY the ones that did not follow the recommended "severe"
schedule had any problems - period. There were NO other common
conditions that were not met. A large enough sample, over 10 years, to
be significant and more or less reliable.
I also serviced hundreds more per year on a not so regular basis.
In TEN years I NEVER had a vehicle maintained to my recommendations
suffer a lubrication related engine failure.Not even a camshaft or a
timing chain, and some of these vehicles went over 300,000km.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

 

On Thu, 18 Jan 2007 09:07:44 -0800, SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com>
wrote:

clare at snyder.on.ca wrote:

I consider about 75-80% of in-town driving (and in-region in our area)
to be "severe service".

You may consider it severe, but the manufacturer doesn't. There is no
evidence that doing twice as many oil changes as the manufacturer
recommends has any effect on engine life. It doesn't really hurt
anything to change the oil at 3000 miles, or 1000 miles for that matter,
but all the independent tests of engine wear versus oil change interval
have proved that there is no advantage to following the severe service
interval for non-severe service.

I'll agree under "normal" service - but under extreme service it DOES
make a difference - and I know extreme service.

Also, the legendary "coking" problem on Toyotas and Chryslers is NOT
an issue if the oil is changed on the severe service schedule. Nor is
using 10W40 oil.
I will continue to follow and recommend the severe service schedule
for any vehicle that does not go 5000 km in 3 months, as well as any
that get high speed/heavy load use or drive the dirt roads of rural
Waterloo County.
I will also use 10W40 oil in these vehicles where 10W30 is
recommended, and in the summer wher 5W20 is recommended.
It will cost about half a mile per gallon in fuel economy, at worst.
It will NOT hurt the engine.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

 

[Meat Plow]

On Thu, 18 Jan 2007 13:38:35 -0800, Paultop6 Has Frothed:

Hey, i have jus moticed a small belmish on my monitor, its about 3
pixels square. It is just scratched on the surface layer on the
monitor but one or two of the pixels affected are only shoowing up as
white. It may be small but it is very noticable, especially on darker
background colours and when gaming. Anybody know how to fix it????

Any attempt to "fix" it would result in making it worse. You'll probably
get used to it. My son scratched the screen protector on my rear
projection tv many years ago. For awhile I noticed it but no more.

--
Pierre Salinger Memorial Hook, Line & Sinker, June 2004

COOSN-266-06-25794

 

[SMS]

Alan Moorman@visi.com wrote:

Then this is a recent change.

It isn't recent.

"normal" stop and go driving, short trips, etc. are
considered to be severe service by every manufacturer of
every car I've bought. And the recommendation for that is
the shorter oil-change interval.

No, it's the oil change industry, such as companies like Jiffy-Lube,
trying to convince people that nearly all driving qualifies at severe
service. The vehicle manufacturers make it pretty clear what constitutes
severe service, and it isn't stop and go driving by itself. It's solely
short trips, because the moisture in the oil never gets vaporized.

The 3000 mile myth has been passed on from generation to generation,
even as oils have progressed from single-weight non-detergent oils, to
multi-weight detergent oils.

Since more frequent oil changes don't have any negative effect, the
whole "cheap insurance" rationalization took hold. Of course if you
carry that to it's logical end, why not change the oil every 1000 miles,
or every 500 miles. There is as much evidence that 500 mile oil changes
are beneficial to engine life as there is that 3000 mile oil changes are
beneficial to engine life.

Read:

"http://www.cartalk.com/content/advice/oilchanges.html"
"http://www.xs11.com/stories/croil96.htm"
"http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story.jsp?section=yd&subject=yd_myth&story=ydMyths&referer=advice&aff=national"
"http://nordicgroup.us/oil.htm"

"Changing the oil every 3,000 miles is a very American thing to do. In
Europe, people would look at you and think you're crazy. It's a good
example of how the oil industry (well, at least certain parts thereof)
have kept the consumer uninformed/uneducated in regards to the true
quality and performance of their product."

 

[b]

MI5Victim@mi5.gov.uk wrote:

Persecuted by the Security Service

Since June 1990 the British security service MI5 has waged a campaign of harassment against a UK citizen,
through the broadcast and print media, verbal abuse at work, and molestation in public and during travel.

Despite widespread knowledge of the campaign in the UK and discussion of its characteristics on Usenet for
over three years, it continues today both in Britain and North America. Its cause and basis is xenophobia
on the basis of the genetic accident of mental illness, coupled with discrimination against an inferior
"foreigner" whom they condemn as "not up to British Standards".

If this is your first visit to this site, please read the FAQ first. Feel free to contact the author with
any questions.

Frequently Asked Questions article outlines the parameters of the persecution. Who is involved, and why?
What technical and social means do they employ? What response have I made, and why has their campaign yet

--- crap snipped
Oh no, not THIS again.
this person has been at it for the best part of a decade with his
unfounded, laughably flimsy claims of being 'harassed ' (usually by tv
presenters in the pay of the security services supposedly lancing tacit
but threatening references in his direction ) . Living example of a
couch potato with a persecution complex ;-)

-B.