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CurtesyFlush
Bababooey, fafafooey, tatatoothy.
Premium
join:2002-08-23
Fontana, CA
| reply to BlitzenZeus
Re: [Rant] Logitech Quality has gotten far worse
I bought a cordless keyboard and mouse in Jan of 07... by the 6th month, the paint had worn off the heavily used keys. I hate that.
That and the fact that they were both battery hogs put them on the shelf in retirement before the first year had passed.
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Mr Neutron
Hopped up on what you mopped up
Premium
join:2005-05-30
Gorham, ME
| said by CurtesyFlush  :I bought a cordless keyboard and mouse in Jan of 07... by the 6th month, the paint had worn off the heavily used keys. I hate that. I believe that tampoprinting (silk screening?) the letters onto the keycaps is that way that many (most?) keyboard manufacturers go these days, even reputable ones. At least, if the now-common complaint of keycaps losing their lettering in a fairly short time is any indication.
Granted, it sounds like you're not interested in resurrecting the keyboard anyway, but I find myself wondering if its key caps aren't swappable with those of another keyboard. I don't know how common/rare it is nowadays, but at least some manufacturers still insist on laser-etching their key caps.
»park16.wakwak.com/~ex4/kb/tech_laser.htm
Not that you should really have to do that or anything to keep a keyboard that hasn't even passed the year-old mark working or anything. Just saying it might be a possibility. ::shrugs::
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We could use the £5,000 to buy a spoon. And then fill up with ice cream. | |
BlitzenZeus
Burnt Out Cynic
Premium,MVM
join:2000-01-13
Beaverton, OR
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| Well I think it's methods like this which might save the company a little money, but take away from the longevity of the device, however the irony is they want you to buy another later from them again.
The true irony is cheaply made devices must ruin a companies reputation, so they don't save $.30 in manufacturing, but the devices get better reviews leading them to more future sales.
I remember when devices were made to last, and not designed so badly that they only give a 90 day warranty since they decided to save a few pennies, but still charge the same prices. I still have some of those devices, but I don't use my old keyboard anymore for reasons like the loud clicking keyboards.
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Mr Neutron
Hopped up on what you mopped up
Premium
join:2005-05-30
Gorham, ME
| said by BlitzenZeus :I remember when devices were made to last, and not designed so badly that they only give a 90 day warranty since they decided to save a few pennies, but still charge the same prices. I still have some of those devices, but I don't use my old keyboard anymore for reasons like the loud clicking keyboards. I think that's what it might come down to nowadays: the only way to keep from constantly having to replace peripherals is to use the old-school stuff that was built to last.
For example, I currently use a Logitech product, but the particular product I use is more than a decade old. Same deal with my "workaday" keyboard: it's going to turn 17 this year.
Peripherals like mice and keyboards have come down quite a bit in price since I started computing (and the earth was newly cooled). But the flip side of that is that they've also come down a lot in terms of expected service life, too.
Of course, it's only fair to point out that most systems purchased nowadays are only expected to be on someone's desk for a year or three, so the stock mice and keyboards that come with them aren't expected to last much longer than that. And third party peripherals, as a whole, seem to be more about making fashion statements rather than actually building something rock-solid that will be in service for years. However, from what you're telling us, it sounds like Logitech might be getting a wee bit carried away with the whole "peripherals are throwaway devices"-mentality. 
The cost-cutting measures you've described don't sound like the Logitech I once knew, but then, I haven't bought any of their stuff brand-new for quite some time so I have no idea what they've been up to lately in terms of shaving pennies. But one look at what's out there (Apple's latest atrocities keyboards come to mind) tells me that the bean-counters are hard at work just about everywhere, not just Logitech.
As an aside, I have to ask: can you not use your old school clicky keyboard for fear of annoying cow-orkers? Or is there some other reason you don't use it?
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We could use the £5,000 to buy a spoon. And then fill up with ice cream. | |
BlitzenZeus
Burnt Out Cynic
Premium,MVM
join:2000-01-13
Beaverton, OR
·Verizon FIOS
·Verizon Online DSL
| If it wasn't obvious the problem hasn't been the keyboards, it's the mice for me, however the best mouse I bought from them was not optical. It was their old three button right handed ergonomic design wireless that worked great for seven years, but I did get tired of having to clean the rollers, however if that was still working today might might have considered that a viable trade off. If you read the first comment yet again you will see it's been something cheap going bad all the other times.
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My hourly rates:
$25 per hour.
$35 per hour if you want to watch.
$45 per hour if you want to help.
$75 per hour if you tried to fix it, and failed.
$125 per hour if you called tech support, and didn't fix the issue while making things worse | |
Mr Neutron
Hopped up on what you mopped up
Premium
join:2005-05-30
Gorham, ME
| said by BlitzenZeus :If it wasn't obvious the problem hasn't been the keyboards, it's the mice for me, Yes, I understand that. It's just that this comment:
I still have some of those devices, but I don't use my old keyboard anymore for reasons like the loud clicking keyboards.
...led me to understand that you have an old school (or at least older) keyboard lying around unused. And I was curious as to why that was the case (i.e. if you're not using it, and likely won't be using it, why not sell the thing and get it out of the closet?)
said by BlitzenZeus :however the best mouse I bought from them was not optical. It was their old three button right handed ergonomic design wireless that worked great for seven years, but I did get tired of having to clean the rollers, however if that was still working today might might have considered that a viable trade off. If you know the model number for that device...eBay is your friend. You might also be able to find it on Amazon.
True, cleaning the rollers is a bit of a hassle, but how often did you have to do that? Once a week?
said by BlitzenZeus :If you read the first comment yet again you will see it's been something cheap going bad all the other times. Right. And I think your first few words summed things up nicely:
Their quality used to mean something...
Only now, apparently, the bean counters are running things at Logitech. It's exasperating, I know, but this seems to happen with just about every corporation, sooner or later. IBM, for example, no longer makes Model M keyboards for a reason.
It sounds as though Microsoft might be a better company to start handing your money to. Although if you see something you like, you may want to ask around, first, and make sure that what you're hoping to buy will last so you don't run into the same problem with them. I've heard good things about their keyboards and mice, but that doesn't mean the bean counters haven't started shaving pennies with their stuff, too.
Maybe you'd better go with one of these:
»gemsres.com/story/apr08/536976/E···se_3.jpg
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We could use the £5,000 to buy a spoon. And then fill up with ice cream. | |
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