Advice for tape drive repair / maintenance

[Gordon JC Pearce]

Christian Corti wrote:

> You really don't know what you say. Do you think it's progressive to 
> download firmware updates into your TV set? Having to boot it? Fighting 
> against all kind of software bugs?

Do you think it's acceptable to be forced to live with faulty equipment 
because there's no way to "take back" bad or faulty design decisions?

What people want and expect out of equipment has changed.  If it hadn't, 
we'd all still be driving around in Morris Minors.  That's actually a 
good example - it's impossible to achieve modern emissions figures from 
a car engine fitted with a carburettor, and there is a lot to go wrong 
in one.  Fuel injection systems keep better track of mixture giving 
cleaner emissions and better economy, and there's less to go wrong.  If 
anything does go wrong, it will tell you what's upset it.

Look at household appliances, too - how much do you think it costs to 
make that big cam switch inside a washing machine?  It's much cheaper to 
replace all that with a PIC microcontroller (most common MCU I've seen 
in washing machines) and a few triacs, maybe a relay or two. 
Furthermore, if it turns out that there's a problem (Hey, the half-hour 
wash cycle doesn't rinse properly!) it's easy to fix.

Gordon.