P3D Re: Film redesign

["Greg Wageman" <gjw@xxxxxxxxxx>]

From: Ronald Beck <ronald-beck@xxxxxx>


>There are also thousands of meat grinders (small, home size) around.
>Does that mean that people will go and buy steak just to grind down to
>hamburger?  There are thousands of straight edged razors as well as old
>double sided, single edged razors.  Would you trade your Trac II for
one
>of those?  And, as for your analogy, Detroit may not have switched to
>alternative fuels, however, they did switch to fuel injection.  Isn't
it
>a bit more difficult to get a carburetor repaired today than it was 10
>years ago?  When was the last time you even had a car with a
>carburetor.  Why in the world would anyone want a microwave when their
>oven/stove works just fine?  And who would want a touch tone phone?
>Those dial ones still work just fine.


This paragraph casts me as something of a Luddite, which anyone who
knows me would find a hilarious suggestion.  It's also off the mark as a
commentary on my complaint.  Most of the examples you cite are
improvements in technology: the razor, the microwave, the touchtone
phone.  Some come with drawbacks: I wouldn't choose a turkey cooked in a
microwave over one roasted in a conventional oven for example, even if
it does take less time.  As you yourself point out, the telephone
company did not obsolete the dial phone when they introduced touch tone
dialing.  A rotary phone WILL still work just fine on the public
switched network.

And carburetors are alive and well in California, thanks very much.
There are lots of vintage car fans who love the things.  Last I knew
lawnmowers hadn't gone to fuel injection, either.  No need to make
things more complicated than is required to suit the intended purpose,
eh?

>The majority of consumers want convenience.  An APS cartridge is more
>convenient than a 35mm cartridge.  A 35mm cartridge is more convenient
>than a 127 roll film.  A camera you can carry in your purse or pocket
is
>more convenient than one you have to carry on a strap.  Consumers also
>want "bells & whistles".  Thus, an auto everything camera is more
>desirable (for the majority) than a "plain jane" manual camera.


The APS system will ruin your negatives over time if you repeatedly
unspool and respool them, the image area is too small, and the magnetic
coating could just as well have been applied to 35mm.  I agree the 35mm
cartridge is an improvement over rollfilm in terms of ease of use, but
Kodak didn't have to discontinue 127 film just because it invented 35mm,
nor have they discontinued all rollfilm, just as the phone company
hasn't discontinued support of the rotary phone.

I'm not complaining about advances in technology when they truly ARE
advances, I am annoyed by gratuitous obsolescence of functioning
hardware by a company that once had a near-monopoly on the market.

     -Greg W. (gjw@xxxxxxxxxx)



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