Quality Uncontrolled

Well, now that the holidays have passed and our girls are settling into their new roles with some slightest bit of predictability, I've been left to gather my thoughts into some consistent themes. First, and foremost, we strive to live out our faith. But an ever increasing secondary theme is that technology is swirling up around us everywhere, while the quality of technology products continually spirals downward and out the drain.

I already wrote about the cantankerous nature of our Roomba robot vacuum, which has been on a roll now for two weeks, and today cleaned up our dining and living room. Other recent products that have demonstrated fleeting quality standards have been ATI's HDTV-Wonder recording software, Panasonic's TC-32LX700 HD television, and Magnavox's MWD7006 DVD player.

The faulty ATI product is effectively nothing more than VCR software. Any standard old-school VCR is capable of being programmed to record a channel at a given time for a given duration on a repeating schedule. Through trial and error, I discovered that the ATI software could not launch in order to record; the software had to already be running in order to record. Beyond that, I discovered that it could only record the requested channel if it was not already tuned to the requested channel. And after the recording, it remained on the channel it had just recorded but indicated that it was tuned to the channel it had come from before the recording. So, after one successful recording, another successful recording could only be made if the channel was changed (and not to the channel to be recorded) or if the software was restarted.

We discovered this while trying to record Teletubbies for Julia for our trip back when she was around fifteen months old. In two weeks of trying to record Teletubbies, I finally did not successfully record a single one. I did get a Caillou and a Curious George, which she watched over and over. Part of the problem in this case was that Channel 9 didn't have the right line-up on their online TV schedule (yet another technology quality issue).

The Panasonic and Magnavox products, both brand new, were both defective. One is a high-end cutting edge product, and the other is a low-end, waning technology product. The TV worked at first, and let me edit channels but within 48 hours it was locking up and then returning with a message stating "An error has occurred and recovered." Finally, it just conked out completely. Panasonic first tried to get me to go through a service center for repairs, but ultimately I was able to get it lined up to be returned and replaced. I had ordered it direct from Panasonic.

The Magnavox DVD player refuses to open its tray. We can manually open it, but when we put a DVD in it and close it, nothing happens. It's hard to imagine how something like this could be a problem at this stage. We will take it back to Wal-mart and exchange it when we get a chance.

As a software developer, I have a pretty good idea what it takes to ensure that a product is of the highest quality. Maybe this sums it up best:

• Fast
• Good
• Cheap

(Pick any two)

Actually, I think we may be only able to pick one these days...

Time, Gadgets

Finally finding time to post here...speaking of which...

Time is beginning to fly by for us. In two weeks, Isabelle's sister Medgeé will arrive to be with us until February. Two weeks after she arrives, she'll visit Aunt Monique and her clan in Quebec for about two weeks. Then, after she's back with us for about two weeks, we are expecting Chloe to arrive. My dad will join us for Thanksgiving, and my mom, who will be newly retired as of November 1, will join us for Christmas and probably more than that.

And now for some truth about a time saver that also has wasted plenty of time along the way...

Last night, one of our most interesting gadgets, our robot vacuum, cleaned our living and dining room floors. When I first got this guy, a Roomba made by iRobot, I expected them to take over the world. But by now I have learned why they haven't. What's the opposite of a perfect storm? Conditions have to be just right for our Roomba to succeed. Maybe it's a little like flying a blimp. Isabelle can't understand how I can have enough patience to put up with all the little gotchas we've discovered. In order to have a successful vacuuming, we must have charged the Roomba no less than about 36 hours, and no more than about 72 hours. If we're outside this window, then, irrespective of the green light battery indicator, we will find that the battery becomes suddenly depleted. Also, we have to clean the long hairs and debris out of the brushes. Battery operation requires that brushing rather than suction be the primary source of collecting dust and debris. The latest discovery we made was that sometimes the Roomba would suddenly act like the battery wasn't there even when it was. So our final requirement is that we have to remove the battery, hold the power button for 20 seconds to recycle the battery charging mechanism, and place the Roomba upside down and on an incline to insure that the battery gets charged fully.

There are also periodic mechanical cleanings that have been necessary. I found out from iRobot that now that I'm outside the warranty, about all they offer is a discount on my next Roomba. I have had to blow forced air so the cliff sensors don't constantly go off and cause the Roomba to start, jerk backward, stop, start, jerk backward, stop, start, etc. I also had to open up the whole case and clean the leftover beagle hair out of everywhere. The dimensions of the filter and collection compartment seem to have been designed without pet hair on the radar.

However, there is nothing quite like having a robot do our chores for us. We set it to work in a room every couple of days, and it cleans every inch, including under the bed and certain other low riding furniture.