Throwaway electronics - Re: OT: Re: Audiophilia

----- Original Message ----- From: "Toby Thain" <toby at telegraphics.com.au> To: <cctalk at classiccmp.org> Sent: Friday, April 27, 2012 7:54 PM Subject: Throwaway electronics - Re: OT: Re: Audiophilia Why is that surprising? Lets say your OS is hosed, few people have a clue how to backup their data (or something to back it up to), they don't have an OS CD anymore (you need to burn an image when you get the new PC installed so the maker can save a few cents), and they probably pirated or downloaded the apps they use and don't have a clue where to find them again. If they want to pay somebody its either a kid who doesn't have a clue what he is doing or a local scammer who will snag parts from their machine and sell them off. Lets say the HD died. Where are they going to get another one outside of going to the Geek Sqaud and paying more for a HD install (with a bare OS if they are lucky) all for the cost of more then a new machine. The fact is most computers are so cheap it isn't worth it for the non geek to bother fixing anything they just buy a new one. The fact is with the shift to mobile devices like laptops it isn't economical to repair them when they won't physically last that long anyway. Another issue is people are more comfortable with a fixed monthly bill then a monthly payment PLUS extra cash for instant repairs (people are just living paycheck to paycheck sometimes). I recall a sales guy I worked with in the late 1990's who needed new tires on his 2 year old car that he financed for 4 or 5 years. What the guy did was trade in the "old" car for a new one (same model, the style didn't even change yet) and lost 2 years of payments just because he couldn't come up with the cash for 4 new tires but could live with a few extra years of payments.