Bowing Down To Technology

The Sony CD Player... Gone With The Wind :(

My uncle always told me, "Never pay for what you don't want. Never let anyone talk you into parting with your hard earned cash for something you either don't need or really don't want." He's been dead now for close to 34 years and yet, his spirit was right there in Best Buy with me this afternoon.

I wrote a post last year about our lack of choice as consumers and how businesses are forcing their new technology on us whether we want it or not by limiting the choices we have. Sunday morning, my wife and I decided to venture out and get some breakfast. After eating a delicious meal, she suggested that we drive out to Best Buy and pick up another DVD player because our original one went on the fritz a while ago.

I saw several cheap ones by Memorex and some "no name" companies and I decided to pass on them. Then, I saw one by Sony. I asked the sales clerk about it and it turns out that they had a big sale yesterday and the only thing they had left was display models for sale. He mentioned that the particular DVD player that I was interested in had been returned by a customer. At that moment, I looked up and there was my uncle... in his leather jacket and his hat looking at me, shaking his finger, and turning his head from side to side.

I ignored his ghost and asked the sales clerk why it was returned. He told me that he didn't know but, it passed "all of their tests for resale." He then told me that there was no box for it and that the customer didn't return the remote but, he could sell me a universal remote. I saw my uncle's ghost again and with a stern look on his face, he said... "You better not go for the okey doke, boy. What did I teach you?" So, I told the clerk thanks but, no thanks.

I also wanted a new CD player and, as much as I don't like them, I was going to get a five disc CD changer, if that's all they had. We were told that they were all gone and companies aren't manufacturing them anymore. So, I said to the salesperson... "But, you sell CD's so, how are people supposed to listen to them if you don't sell the equipment to play them?" He pointed to some "boom boxes" and small CD systems that you could use on your desk at the office. He then told me that you can play CDs on a DVD player. I had heard enough so, we left Best Buy.

I went to K-Mart, which wasn't any better. Then, I went to a Target and decided to buy a Blu Ray disc player. The salesperson there informed me that, if I didn't have an HDTV, I would be wasting my time and money buying a Blu Ray disc player. (No, I haven't gotten around to getting an HDTV yet. I don't have a flat screen TV either but, my mother-in-law has one.) Again, I saw my uncle looking at me and nodding his head in agreement. So, I decided not to get the Blu Ray disc player.

Then, the salesmen helped us to find an affordable DVD player that met our needs and played CDs. I also saw a three-CD system that I might purchase in the future. I went on and purchased the DVD player and I saw my Uncle waving goodbye and slowly vanishing into... well, wherever the dead go after they've made sure you're alright.

It angers me that my choices are so limited and that someone somewhere made the decision that I will either have the products they deem I need or I'll just be up the brown creek. It angers me that the "corporate powers that be" expect me to just toss away perfectly good equipment that I spent my hard earned cash on every time they decide to invent something else, regardless of the hardship on my wallet.

I guess "they" want me to stop buying CDs and download all my music onto an iPOD... that's cute but, I really don't like to download music. I spend enough time on my computer blogging and Facebooking. If I spend time downloading all of my music, I might not eat dinner, I might miss my favorite television shows, and I might not get up in time to go to work. It seems as if I'm just ranting to the wind and that, in time, I'll have to bow to technology just like all of the other drones we as a society are slowly becoming.