2009/8/14 Scott Gomez <scott@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> It was C.H.'s recommendation of Samsung monitors some time back that lead
> me to purchase a Samsung Syncmaster 2243 BWX, and I have been very pleased
> with it. Pleased enough to have bought a second for my spouse, and a third
> for my daughter-in-law. It does pivot.
>
Scott
What is it with the Syncmaster 2243BWX that you like? Can you be a bit more
specific? Thanks. K.
> In these days of commodity hardware, I can't see why having a "brand
> name" system is any advantage at all. Most parts that die under warranty
> die of "infant mortality" so length of warranty is usually irrelevant.
> Individual parts are often inexpensive as replacements, interchangeable,
> and available from a wide variety of vendors. In fact, it's the brand
> name vendors who have, most often in my experience anyway, been guilty
> of some sort of proprietary twist that results in one having to return
> to them for spares.
Market dynamics vary from country to country, Scott, and I think that might
at least partly explains why one approach is better for one country but not
necessarily for another. When it comes to branded systems, the support
services provided by the manufacturer are usually the most important
advantage over here. Unlike the case in the US where lawsuits are a serious
cautionary against any vendors intending to be errant, in Malaysia, laws
are difficult to carry out even if they are available. Lawyers will tell us
that it's just not worth pursuing even though you're in the right and the
vendor is really ripping us off.
Now that pricing has come to a point where branded and non-branded PCs are
very much closer, people are actually buying more of the former and less of
the latter. At least this is the case with corporate and business sectors.
And usually these are the types of customers who appreciate 'mundane'
factors such as reliability, stability, support services etc etc - the sort
of things that a home user might not find important.
As for warranty issues based on 'infant mortality,' I agree with you to some
extent but don't discount those that 'mysteriously' die the very moment the
warranty expires! These happen quite often in my experience from PC
components to even good shoes (Hush Puppies for that matter!)!
> My question for you, Khen, is why limit yourself to Windows? On almost
> any hardware, you can save yourself the cost of all the software you'll
> need for photo editing (and internet use, and general word processing,
> and spreadsheets, and etc). Current versions of Ubuntu Linux, for
> example, are easy to install, easy to use, and the GIMP is a fine
> editor. All free. I use digikam for cataloging (it will open your editor
> of choice) and have had no issues in opening Olympus RAW files (my
> wife's brand-new Olympus E-620's ORF files work just fine) which is more
> than I could have said for Adobe's product without pricey upgrades. Add
> to that support for more RAM than XP's 3GB RAM limit, lack of malware,
> few viruses... yadda yddda yadda and we've had no reason to regret
> switching over and ditching Windows.
Good question, Scott, but let me explain...
In Malaysia the ratio of Windows to non-Windows users is staggeringly
one-sided; certainly dramatically more so than it ever will be in America.
Therefore the amount of technical support (paid and freely available ones)
is also extremely one-sided. So are the prices. A good example is Windows
versus Apple. Apple in Malaysia continues to charge horribly for anything
and everything to do with Apple products and the only reason I can think of
why they're doing this is niche market dominance.
Sadly I'm a victim of being very proficient with MS Word. I'm proficient
enough to be able to use it blindfolded and work my way around most of the
common issues. No sir, it's not perfect. Every now and then, complex tables
get screwed up so badly that it irritates me to no end! But for me, it is so
flexible because of the many many years I have been using Word (since the
5.25" diskette based program days!).
Because of my utter dependence on Word, it's difficult for me to change OS
without going through a learning curve that I don't have enough time for. I
tried that once some years back when I decided - probably out of insanity! -
to swap MS Office for Lotus Smartsuite and regretted that move. I have
people telling me how great Open Office is and I admit I haven't really
given it a chance.
With MS Word, I know my shortcut keys, I know my hotkeys - I know all these
so fluently that I breeze through anything with extreme high speed. I feel I
will lose this advantage if I migrate to a different word processing
program. Do tell me if I am correct here, any of you.
Scott I love to be able to wean myself off Windows. I am aware that I might
even lower my cost of computing (although I have read something to the
contrary on this issue also). Other than the problem of Linux properly
supporting MS Office products, local Linux support in general is not good
enough for me to feel peace of mind, which leaves me to have utter
dependency on Listees here who are what I would term 'resident experts.'
This level of dependency would leave me feeling unnerved (!) because at
times, I might need a local sense of immediacy in wanting problems solved
and I won't get this with Linux here.
Scott, I REALLY love the open market environment that America and much of
Europe enjoys and Marianne and I look forward to this when we make our way
to Iowa but for now, it's something we can only dream about unfortunately.
Sorry for my long-windedness!
>
>
> ---
> Scott Gomez
>
> --
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>
--
Khen Lim - Zone-10 LLC, Des Moines, Iowa, USA
"To sin by silence when we should protest makes cowards of people” - Emily
Cox
"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them" - Walt
Disney
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