"Rod Speed" wrote in message
...
Mark Jerde wrote:

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

No they didnt.

Rod -- Please realize newsgroup messages about "The Good Old Days" (we
weren't good, we weren't old, and we're talking about the nights --
(someone)) have certain artistic license. ;-) Of course most vehicles
could make it more than from one corner to the next. But there is also no
denying the fact I froze my buns & fingertips off many a South Dakota winter
evening working on "Timing" and "Points" and "Condenser" in the 1970s.

(Why was there a "Service Station" on every corner? Hint: Cars needed
*constant* service.)

And you dont need one on every corner even if they did.
Even you should have noticed that they did manage to
get further than the next corner the vast bulk of the time.

Sigh Of course I was exaggerating. These are newsgroups. ;-)

But the essense of my post is true. My dad's cars (when I was a kid) needed
*constant* servicing compared to mine (as a grown up).

- 20,000 miles on bias-ply tires was more than you could expect.

And that is a lot more than to the next corner.

Maybe knot -- ;-) -- I know people that live more than 6 miles from
their next door neighbor.

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

I stand by this. I have three TVs in my house and their _combined_ _cost_
is less than IMO an inflation-adusted *repair* of a 1960's B&W console TV.

I recall $600.00 CD players, and it wasn't that long ago. I also know
modern portable CD players: one chip and a bunch of membrane switches.
If/when something goes wrong, toss the $35 player & get a new one. You
can't repair a single-chip device.

-- Mark