On Thursday 02 June 2005 13:42, dave wrote: > I guess Simon is trying to say that if I buy a car and everytime it > breaks down they will send someone to fix it (even from germany) and he > thinks thats a BAD thing? I guess it would be better to take it down to > jimmy joes house and confer with the locals about what to do with it, maybe > google the problem a bit, maybe find a half-assed answer and then try it > and if it gets messed up to bad cause there is really noone to back it up. > Sounds good to me, guess i'm gunna ditch cfm and go with that cause gee it > sure sounds swell wally.................
Well, you gotta figure that there are people who *prefer* that approach. If you want to keep the hood of your car welded shut, that's fine with me, and have fun with your 'Vette. I'm personally not going to give you grief about it, because you're probably quite a capable driver. There are those of us, though, who aren't too sure about the mechanics. Seems like every time we call them out to fix the car, they end up breaking something else, then putting in a whole bunch of stuff that I don't want or need and that just hinders what I want to do. Automatic transmission may be nice, but I know I can maximize my standard transmission to get better performance from the car, and I resent the fact that I can't even *get* manual transmission. There's also the fact that I don't really want my car reporting back to the manufacturer, making sure I'm driving it properly. And when I open the hood of my car, I can see exactly what's going on, where all the parts are, what they're doing to each other, and so on. If I don't want that fancy flywheel that does nothing but sit there looking pretty, I can take it out. If I'm having a problem with a specific component, I can open the hood and fix it myself; or I can Google the problem, or contact other experts who have better insight into the problem than I do, and I can do it for free. (To be fair, though, you can do the same with your sealed-hood 'Vette, so comparing how the two different approaches set up and maintain support systems and knowledge bases is probably irrelevant. I *could* pay lots more money for a dedicated help system for my 'Vette, but why bother when the help I can get for free is just as good?) And, of course, there are the issues of security. The 'Vette may have a sealed hood, a nice support system, may go fast and have great performance, but it does me no good if the lock is broken. I could keep putting new keyholes in the same lock, but I'd prefer the option of opening the lock mechanism and fixing it directly. So I think it's all a matter of philosophy, worldview, and personal preference. You like your shiny 'Vette which you pay good money to maintain, and I prefer my old Dodge which is cheaper and older but seems to perform just as well and which I built myself and maintain myself. Where it breaks down -- and where I personally take offense -- is the point where I'm no longer given the choice. Just as I resent the fact that I cannot buy a car with manual transmission, I seriously resent the manufacturers who tell me that a sealed hood is my only option. I don't resent those who tell me that a sealed hood is the *better* option (because I tell them that an open hood is the better option), but if I don't even have a choice to invest in a cheaper option that I can maintain myself, then I'm going to get mad. I'll stop this rant short, though, before I get into issues of politics and economy. ;-) -- Richard S. Crawford Programmer III UC Davis Extension Distance Education Group 2901 K Street Sacramento, CA 95816 (916)327-7793 http://unexdlc.ucdavis.edu ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Logware (www.logware.us): a new and convenient web-based time tracking application. Start tracking and documenting hours spent on a project or with a client with Logware today. Try it for free with a 15 day trial account. http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=67 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:4:208443 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/4 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:4 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.4 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
