On Sat, 2007-09-15 at 23:37 -0400, Michael Semcheski wrote: > When I read this, the first thing I thought of was bad caps and > capacitor plague. > > Basically, there is a formula for making the electrolyte solution in > the capacitors. A rival manufacturer used industrial espionage to > steal the formula, but didn't get it exactly right. The result was a > formula that worked for three years or so, then stopped working. > > So, when you buy the knock offs, you're not necessarily getting what > you think you're getting. > > Of course, in the case of the bad caps, it was pretty much all of the > major computer manufacturers (e.g. HP and Dell) that ended up > unknowingly buying the bad product and putting it on motherboards. To > their credit, they generally extended the warranty on these products > well beyond the original date once the problem became well known. So I get three years of use out of a thumb drive instead of maybe the 5 I would have gotten from a so-called name brand. OK. Three years ago, I thought a 256MB thumb drive was MASSIVE. Today I wouldn't take one for free. I keep circling around the idea that for a little solid state thing like a thumb drive, for only $60-70, it is probably worth the risk to buy a cheap one. I am considering buying one just to test it out. Anyone ever used one of the cheap ones off eBay? Thomas
