Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/135388
VOICES The 'new and improved' blues I'm old and wise enough to have figured out the "new and improved" lie. This is a crime against mankind, carried out by evil mass-marketing overlords whose only desire is to make mankind miserable. You find a product to love, develop a relationship with it, and just as things get serious enough for you to wear the T-shirt in public, it becomes "new and improved." This is code for: "The company found a cheaper way to make it, and doesn't care if it involves feeding babies plutonium death crystals. If it makes more money, it's 'new and improved.' Sell it!" Most of the general qualityof-life improvements we've made in the past 100 years have done us no favors. We're fat from convenience, full of cancer from chemicals, and stupid because we don't have to think for ourselves anymore. Hell, we're improving ourselves into extinction. I'm currently suffering the "new and improved" laptop blues. I'm pretty sure if I return one more laptop to Best Buy, they're going to arrest me. My demands for a new machine are basic. I want the exact same computer I had before, with the exact same hardware – only new and not bashed up from 30K miles in an 18-wheeler. Simple, right? Try explaining this concept to one of The Borg who man the Best Buy counters. They're all 11 years old and have distracting facial piercings. Twice now, these festooned children have talked me into buying a "new and improved" version of my old computer, and twice I've returned it with thinly veiled threats to kill the person who suggested Windows 8 ever be unleashed on mankind – me in particular. So if anyone has an Acer Aspire, model 5532, with Wendy Parker chronicles her Windows 7 and in journey on the the box, hit me up. road with her Until then, I'll sufowner-operator husband, George, fice by "new and in the George improving" my lapand Wendy Show blog on top back together OverdriveOnline. with duct tape. You com. Scan the can't improve on QR to read more from her on your duct tape. phone or tablet. Take a tough hand with techs Readers responded to blogger Wendy Parker's frustration in trying to replace her old laptop. These highlights are edited from comments at OverdriveOnline.com. At Alliance Truck Parts, we only partner with the best suppliers to manufacture our all-makes parts. We're so confident in our parts that we back them with a minimum 1-year/unlimited-mile nationwide warranty.* In an industry that's tough to predict, look to the Alliance black-and-yellow for quality you can count on. Better Parts. Good Prices. Visit alliancetruckparts.com * See warranty for complete details and limitations. Scott Baker: The "techs" are taught to push what's available at the time. If you have a preference, push back! It's your cash! If you want Windows 7 on your new machine, let the techs know you will not purchase that machine if you don't get exactly what you're paying for. Danny Murdock: They make a cell phone for contractors that is water-resistant and nearly indestructible – why not a laptop designed to be bounced around by 79,600 pounds? Zachary Bell: My 14-inch Lenovo ThinkPad SL410 has survived 167,000 miles in an 18-wheeler and is still going strong. DTNA/PSM-A-806. Specifications are subject to change without notice. Copyright © Daimler Trucks North America LLC. All rights reserved. Alliance Truck Parts is a brand of Daimler Trucks North America LLC, a Daimler company. 9 | Overdrive | June 2013 Voices_0613.indd 9 5/28/13 10:42 PM