Far from being luddites most of us are technology dependent in some way. Our dependence on technology does not only mean that we â??forgetâ?? or â??looseâ?? abilities to work without technology â?? an example of this is the rapid decline in the ability of people working in shops to calculate change since this feature was implemented in cash registers. Our dependence also makes us tolerate bad or annoying technology â?? from the wastefulness of standby devices to the ugly design of big bulky plastic boxes.
Not too long ago I got a new mobile phone. I became the happy owner of a sleek, slim and elegant black Motorola Razr
Changing technology is always a bit traumatic and as expected I was annoyed by having to learn how to use it and that it did not work in the way my previous phones (all Nokia) did. But what struck me was the smell. At first I thought this was a new phone smell but after a few months the smell remains.
OK â?? in most cases I try to be positive towards technology taking the â??its not a bug, itâ??s a feature approachâ?? but my phone SMELLS! And the problem is that I cannot ignore it since every time I use it I stick it under my nose. I think that I have found my tolerance threshold â?? smelly technology is not good. I would take it back to the shop but I doubt whether I can claim that the telephone does not fulfill what it promises. Can smelly tech be cause for returning the item to the seller? Can the guarantee cover this?