Hi Jim:

Gladdens my heart to see a writer doing things the way they should be done.
Kudos to you and please keep up the good work!

I'll toss in three points: (1) The price point on some consumer items is
now so low that manufacturers are forced to cut quality in order to compete.
VCRs and DVD players fit into this category The realiability of electronic
products could keep increasing, as they did from the 1950s when TVs failed
about once per year ... this failure rate dropped to once per nine years a
while back. (2) The throw-away mentality is supported by high repair costs,
lack of easy access to qualified and quick-turnaround service, and ever
expanding features that make the old stuff less attractive. (3) The false
failure issue is getting worse. Have you noticed that starting a DVD movie
can take on several, and rather different, procedures and that some folks
are getting more confused? I sure have noticed this and think it would make
an excellent article ... perhaps something for you to think about. How
about cell phones with those darned buttons that get pressed in normal
handling and put the phone into an unrecognized mode?