Wondering about Chronic Issues

[PeterT]

Something I've seen a few times in threads here, and have no explanation for...

Some people seem to have chronic issue with their devices, even after their devices have either been replaced, or brand new ones bought.

Anyone have any thoughts as to why this might happen?

[eschwartz]

This is not Kobo-specific. I can think of a few members who were cursed with replacement faulty-frontlight KPWs, for example.

It is basic narrative causality, I think. It happens because of irony.

[TechniSol]

Could be they get their replacements from vendors who recycle returns...(Yes Virginia, it happens. Never accept a replacement from a retailer that does not look appropriately sealed.) Could be "bad luck". Could be Pilot Error. Could be the IDI07 error... Tough to pin it down without individual software, hardware and pilot assessments...

OTOH, every now and then one gets the notion that the poster may lack patience, or have not put in enough time to make the adjustment between how they think something might or should work, rather than how it actually does. In all fairness, sometimes the level of difficulty required exceeds the level of participation the user feels should be required.(judgement call) With Kobo, that can sometimes be a fair assessment.

I am, in all humility -just ask me, an enormous bastion of patience, and a tiny little bit of a perfectionist.(whacko nut job obsessed at times) I am the guy who reads manuals before he plays with new toys, often downloading them prior to purchase. I am unafraid to admit more than passing frustration with Kobo, mostly just firmware issues, but nonetheless... That said, despite my occasional bitching, the Kobo readers work pretty well with very minor exceptions or bugs, or so I've found on a personal basis. YMMV.

Or "Chronic", or the use thereof, might be the exact explanation for some...

[Dr. Drib]

This is not specific to Kobo so - in all fairness - to all owners of Readers, this thread has now been moved to the General Discussion Forum.



Don
(Moderator)

[murg]

Originally Posted by PeterT

Something I've seen a few times in threads here, and have no explanation for...

Some people seem to have chronic issue with their devices, even after their devices have either been replaced, or brand new ones bought.

Anyone have any thoughts as to why this might happen?

There's a highly technical term for this phenomenon: Lemon

[DrNefario]

It might simply be that some people have an unusual set of requirements or settings that make them prone to firmware glitches.

My own experience with my kobo is that when they've messed something up in the firmware again I can usually find some stable settings I can live with, and then I don't update it again unless I have to (which used to be when I ran the kobo desktop application; something I've stopped doing), or unless there's a really important improvement. Some irritations will remain, such as the handling of widows and orphans*, but I will put up with them.

My experience with my Nook is that it works pretty well, except when it suddenly doesn't like a book. In which case I use the Kobo.

My experience with my Kindle that I've barely had an issue with it, and it's the reader I use the most. I think I confused it slightly once by updating a book that was in a collection, or something.

*I have no idea how recent my firmware is.

[theducks]

In some cases I agree with @DrNefario. Their expectations were more on the wishful thinking side

1)These users may not have fully done their 'homework' before purchasing.

2) When #1 was done with diligence, it may be that the 'specs' were a little vague in that area (for a reason?).


Then there was the more traditional Lemon issue.
My first generation Astak PP would not connect on any USB2 port. (the clock would also reset on power off). The replacement was not much better in that it would connect, BUT not toa system with an Intel 82801 chip . I bought a second, Closeout sale unit. That one (2nd Gen?) did not have the issues that the first batch did.


OTOH Look at all the Calibre/Sigil 'Won't run' on 'OS...' reports showing at the same time as there are many happy users running it on the same OS

Gremlins and interactions

It just seems, that these same users are not great at researching and troubleshooting issues.

[Froide]

Originally Posted by murg

There's a highly technical term for this phenomenon: Lemon

+1 regarding the NOOK Color/NOOK Tablet power cord design. The reviews were so bad and the complaints so widespread that, though those cords cost approximately $20 to purchase, BN would mail a free replacement to anyone who phoned or emailed to complain and request one, even for out-of-warranty devices. The next generation of NOOK media tablets - the HD/HD+ - sport a vastly different type of power cord (and wall adapter), and I haven't read many complaints about them. Nonetheless, BN charges a lower price for the NOOK HD/HD+ cord/adapter ensemble, and has continued the practice of mailing free replacements to anyone who calls or phones them to complain that theirs is faulty.

[6charlong]

Some folks have been duped into thinking that things like computers just turn on and work. Now me, I spent 27 years on Microsoft. Now there, you learn to get comfortable with uncertainty, to trouble shoot and try unconventional solutions (half the time my wife unplugs her PC with the power on, then plugs it back in to get it to start).

Now if Apple would make an eInk iPad Mini, or one just like that except a little bit smaller, it would work out of the box, do what they expect it to, keep working for 5 years and cost $400 plus tax--for the base unit. It would have no SD slot and no port except the power cord which would be a standard that no other manufacturer uses.

But they won't. So I have to ask myself why not? I think your answer is in there somewhere.

Edit: forgot a couple things.

[rollei]

If they have chronic issue with their devices, even after their devices have either been replaced, or brand new ones bought, then it is just pure bad luck or they don't treat their device with care.

[crich70]

I think it's a mixture of things. Not doing enough research, expecting more than is possible and not taking good care of the electronics.

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by crich70

I think it's a mixture of things. Not doing enough research, expecting more than is possible and not taking good care of the electronics.

Or perhaps expectations based on owning or having owned other similar devices with fewer glitches and better/faster overall functionality.

My first computer in the 70's was a wonder and a joy. Windows 3.x was pretty nifty in the 80's. I now cringe at the thought of using either. But some people still do and think they are just fine. Go figure

Helen