Boredworkers.com

Last month, I sent my monitor back to the shop under warranty after discovering that it was having problems with its resolutions setting (which caused me two weeks worth of trouble in January). The lady at the counter at that time told me that it would take about a month since they would be sending it back to the manufacturer (Samsung) via their own vendors. So I waited a month. True to her word, I received an SMS two days ago telling me that my monitor was ready for collection.

UR “MONITOR” IS READY FOR COLLECTION FROM SRI COMPUTERS S/B <WARRANTY>
- SMS From Sri Computers -

That was good news for me, as I was using an old 14″ CRT monitor as a temp. The CRT monitor’s nearly 20 years old and had come with a 286 system way back when DOS was still the defacto OS and Windows 3.1 was just introduced. It was running with a maximum resolution of 800×600. Barely enough for Windows XP. My 15″ CRT was slightly better at 1024×768. But after using my 17″ LCD at 1280×1024, everything else seems a little small and lacking.

Anyway, going back to the age of monitors and lifespans. Remembering the age of that prehistoric monitor and comparing it with my previous and current monitors, got me thinking. What is it about the old monitors that give them such a prolonged lifespan compared to the newer monitors models?

Consider the following:

• The old prehistoric CRT is almost 20 years old. I’ll give it a predicted lifespan of 25 years.
• My previous unbranded OEM 15″ CRT monitor lasted about 10 years before contracting what I like to term as the blue-line-syndrome (where the display gets compressed to a single line of light spanning the width of the screen).
• My brand spanking new Samsung 17″ LCD monitor went under after 6 months of service

Do you notice a pattern? (1985) 25 years -> (1995) 10 years -> (2005) 0.5 years. Its an inverse exponential graph of sorts (maybe a hyperbolic except that I have yet to notice the uptrend). So lets assume that it is just that. According to my guesstimates, monitors purchased in the year 2015 will last approximately 5 minutes before it burns out. Just enough time for vendors to let you test drive the monitor and close the sale. I can just about imagine the sales pitch.

Vendor points to the newest model that’s only a day in the market.
Vendor: I recommend this monitor. Its the latest model that’s just come off the production line and we’ve already sold a ton of them.
Client: Is it any good?
Vendor: We haven’t received any complaints yet.
Client: That sounds fair. Can I try it out?
Vendor: Sure you can. (proceeds to plug it in and lets the customer fiddle with it for 4 minutes and 59 seconds before it burns out).
Client: Looks good to me. I’ll buy it.
Vendor: How many will you need?
Client: (Pulls out a calculator, punches in some number and declares). I have about 10 hours of assignments to go. So I’ll have a gross of these, thank you…

Imagine a world where computer monitors were like light bulbs and you swap them out every time they burn out. That’s a glimpse of the future there.

Here are some images of the classic David and Goliath:

Now I’m sure we all know how that story turned out. Goliath was slain and David went on to become king. I wonder if the same is true in this tale. What do you think?