Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!uxa.cso.uiuc.edu!sac90286 From: sac90286@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc Subject: Re: Ridiculous Problems with MS Mouse Message-ID: <111700157@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu> Date: 19 Oct 89 09:40:29 GMT References: <111700155@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu> Lines: 68 Nf-ID: #R:uxa.cso.uiuc.edu:111700155:uxa.cso.uiuc.edu:111700157:000:3292 Nf-From: uxa.cso.uiuc.edu!sac90286 Oct 18 09:57:00 1989 >While I'm not condoning MS's refusal to just send you the replacement cord >for your chewed up mouse, its position is quite usual for any supplier >of any goods. Really? Since when did you have to ship your car back to detroit (or to Japan) just to get a fan belt replaced? >Consider the page in your novel that you spilled coffee on. Would you >expect the publisher to send you just that one replacement page? This is hardly an appropriate example. Pages in a book are not attached to the binding with 9-pin Molex-like connectors. >Consider that gasket that you need to replace in your dishwasher. Would >you expect the manufacturer to send you just that one piece instead of >some kind of fixup kit with a lot of redundant hardware? Yes! Just as I can get a replacement thermostat gasket for my 1972 Mustang without buying a thermostat, hose kit, and replacement heater core (and without having to send my car in to have the parts installed). >The problem boils down to the cost of inventory. There is no way any >profitable supplier can provide a part number for every single part that >comprises his products. I remind you that Microsoft can replace the part, so they obviously have an inventory of them. My complaint is with their insistence on installing the cable themselves, rather than allowing me to do it. I feel it is silly to have to do without an otherwise functional mouse for any length of time when the replacement part could just as easily be shipped to me. Surely this does not sound unreasonable to you? >The following paragraph is pure speculation: How do you know which of >three connectors were used inside your particular mouse to connect the >cable to the rodent? Since the mouse is only known as the MS Mouse, >how can MS know which connector is present unless they look inside? Unless MS has used several radically different connectors which are visually identical, I can simply tell them "It's the white one with 9 wires coming out of it." I find it much more likely that MS has used the same connector on all of its 200DPI InPort mice, (it costs $$$MONEY$$$ to change connectors, so they're likely to have done it only when absolutely necessary). >cable is not normally considered a consumable (like spark plugs), is it >reasonable to set up special bookkeeping to track cat chewing problems? No one is asking them to track cat chewing problems, although I might point out that I have received several email replies from people who have simply spliced/soldered their broken mouse cables. Since the cable is not exactly sheathed in armor plating, I would bet that broken cords (for whatever reason) are a common enough problem. >If the manufacturer did indeed provide for all these possibilities, it >has to be paid for somehow. Should I be elated that my cost for his >product is going to be higher? (And I don't even own a cat.) Most likely, the cost will be passed on to me (in the form of $15 for a cable made from $1 worth of materials). >Please don't get me wrong. Emotionally, I'm on your side with respect >to the needed repair. All I ask is that you consider your problem in >light of everything else that is going on. Ah, Devil's Advocate mode, eh? Well, I should mention that none of your arguments have convinced me ;-)