Mona on high-tech gadgets

Lucy Kellaway hits the nail on the head every time. She is the business reporter in the Financial Times and also talks on BBC world service. She has a friendly voice- the type of person I would have liked to have been friends with if I went to her school at the same time as her. She talks a lot of sense and has the confidence to put her point of view across in a business world dominated by men.
Recently she talked about the pen being mightier than high-tech gadgets. She was glad that there was still such a thing as customer service when it came to pens- Cross replaced her pen lid when it broke (even though it was a conference give away in the pre credit crunch days). I have had a similar experience with the valve in a Prestige pressure cooker, although I was told that next time I would have to pay for the replacement- a tiny little rubber thing. (Who uses a pressure cooker these days anyway?)
High tech gadgets such as ipods and Sony Vaio laptops, Canon printers and Sony Eriksson cell phones on the other hand are a different kettle of fish. Lucy is right when she says there is always a Genius Bar in the retail outlets where we try to return the product just when it has reached its warranty expiry date. The genius always explains that it cannot be fixed, “nah, it’ll be cheaper to buy a new one…Have you seen our latest model…that one is obsolete now anyway… this new one has much higher spec than the old one.”. If you wait a couple of weeks, we will have a new delivery of the Canon IP4750.999”. Of course the new model requires completely different print cartridges which Game (where they always win) haven’t got in stock and the difference in quality? You have to buy 5 print cartridges instead of 4.
I have never been a Gerty gadget market leader. I’m what’s described as a 'late adopter'.
Remember that fish that sang “Take me to the river”? I Only just discovered it 2 years after it first hit the shops (thank god). I’m still using my Panasonic Digital (In 1990, digital was a modern word) portable stereo CD system RX-DS303 MASH. It has a depth of sound no ipod nano could ever match. Never been able to work out the MASH aspect of it though.
The $1,400 Sony Vaio does not come with Microsoft office the genius tells me, you can’t get that sort of spec at that sort of price with Microsoft Office thrown in, he says (but not at the point of sale). Couldn’t even give me a Sony Vaio bag to go with it but he could throw in this cheapo one for free.
Did you know also that the new ipod nano cannot be recharged on the Bose docking station? Why? So you have to buy a new updated version of the docking station or yet another adaptor to add to the cupboard full of redundant adaptors, leads, connectors and USB cables. These are what are known as 'late adaptors'.
What needs to be tackled is this constant updating of gadgets- I’m all for technology, R&D but only if it improves my life. At the moment, my life is too complicated, very expensive and the sound hasn't improved. I’m all for the recession if it is going to stop this supply of marginally updated this season's must-haves that already my children think are "so one second ago”.
I have bought them a fountain pen each; perhaps they will be new market leaders and provide a tipping point for an epidemic of quality, longevity and customer service.