Having a conversation with redd_foxx about her struggles with computers reminded me of lproven's rant the other day about modern day operating systems, which one could extend to modern gadgetry in general. Devices do more things but would seem to be made much more cheaply, break more often and more terminally.

A few years ago I bought a DBA (sp?) radio, something called 'Pure' from John Lewis. Only four or five years on the thing switches itself off or fails to switch on or loses all the tuning at random times. The £8 radio I bought in 1993 or so from Dixon's is still alive and well and doing good service as kitchen radio, so in 'the room' (what do you call 'the room' in a studio flat?) I listen to radio on the TV set (which feels somehow wrong) or on the iPad (which does work ok). OTOH, the enormous wood and cloth fronted radio with two enormous round dials and half a dozen buttons that my granddad bought in the '40s was still working just fine by the time he died in '82...

Tags: life, stuff