13 Aug
2002
13 Aug
'02
12:43 p.m.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tony Duell" <ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk>
To: <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org>
Sent: Wednesday, August 14, 2002 8:37 AM
Subject: Re: Dec TU-56 Question
I re-wrote an old 'joke' (about a drop of oil,
originally) the last time
somebody moaned that I'd charged them \pounds 50.00 to replace a 2N3904
transistor. I gave them the following itemised bill :
2N3904 transistor : \pounds 0.07
Figuring out which transistor to replace, considering that I had no
service information, would _never_ be able to find said information, and
had never seen a similar machine before : \pounds 49.93
I can relate to that, my old boss' reaction to customers who bitch about a
$50 bill for an open circuit resistor was "Ok let me show you".
Then he'd take the back off, point at the board, hold up the dead resistor
and say it's "It's 2c for the resistor and $49.98 for
knowing WHICH resistor." This usually got the message across.
The same must apply to software too. Anybody can
retype a line of code
and recompile/reassamble the program. It's figuring out which line to
change, and what to change it to, that takes the time and expertise.
Same same.
Cheers
Geoff in Oz