low-end octane2? (was: Re: [rescue] octane question)

[Kurt Huhn]

> OK, this would fit better if it weren't MS, but I just think it's funny
> when people complain that making things easy or accessible reduces their
> value.
>

Why funny?  It's true, if you think about *value* in the monetary sense.

Think about how much more valuable you'd be if you didn't have to compete
with evey MCSE boot-camp graduate out there?  If a company can get a freshly
certified MCSE for $35k, or pay a good sysadmin (who knows windows, unix,
and mac) twice that - the powers that be (fincance dept mostly) will opt for
the cheaper alternative.  Now the actual sysadmins have to reduce their
salaries to that level - and MCSE boot-campers are seen as *actual*
engineers, even though they couldn't design a quality system to save their
jobs...

To remove ourselves from the computer industry:
Professional photographers used to get paid big bucks for family portraits,
and there weren't a whole lot of them.  Olan Mills comes to mind, but that
was 20 yrs ago.  The whole family used to got Olan Mills for a family
portrait once a year, and it *cost*.  We were happy to pay it though,
because quality was always incredible.  Now, Wal-Mart has a photo studio in
every (or most) store.  It cost my wife a grand total of $12.95 for an
entire package (like 35) of different sized photos to get christmas pictures
of the kids.  Quality sucked, but hey, it only cost $12.95!  Who the hell is
going to go to a professional photographer and pay ~$60 there?

Automotive:
It used to be that Automobiles were reserved for the extremely wealthy.  The
common man wlaked, or used public transportation (if it even existed).
Henry Ford developed methods to mass produce automobiles, reducing costs,
and making *many* of them in a very short period of time.  He was able to
amortize the costs of tooling and materials over a much shorter time period,
and offer his cars for sale at much lower prices.  The common man was
finally able to affor a car - imagine how much more valuable cars would be,
were it not for the innovation of Henry Ford.

Electronic Devices:
Digital Cameras come to mind.  5 years ago, how many people could afford a
digital camera?  Now, you can get one for under $100.  Even my *kids* have a
freaking digital camera - it says "Barbie" on it, and picture quality
couldn't be much worse, but it only cost me *twenty* dollars!  They're
everywhere, and they aren't as valuable as the y used to be.

If something is easier or more available, by default it becomes less
valuable and less expensive.  There are, of course, other definitions to
"value" - and mine view is very narrow (as it pertains to money) - but that
was the point of my original statement anyway.

Kurt