Thursday, March 23, 2006
The Unique Problems Faced By Early Adopters
Posted by Jon Westfall in "THOUGHT" @ 11:00 AM
"Early adopters of some swanky high-tech products are getting hit with glitches, bugs and recalls. Philips Electronics revealed Friday that it is recalling 11,800 plasma television sets. The Ambilight TVs were sold in the USA from June 2005 to January 2006 for $3,000 to $5,000."
It amazes me that I haven't gone crazy being what some would call and "Early Adopter". No, I'm not the kind of early adopter that buys stuff on Amazon's early adopter list - I'm the kind of early adopter that has bought what is on the list, sold what is on the list, and bought something better than what is on the list (All before it even makes the list...). Being hardcore on this can have its hazards. As the article mentioned above states, the televisions that are being recalled were potentially dangerous, with early adopters most likely being around them longer than others and thus, more probable to be injured. Just yesterday I received a new battery in the mail for a satellite radio I purchased when it first came out. The letter I received stated that some of the batteries may overhead and catch fire, something I was very glad didn't happen in the year of use I've put on the 'dangerous' battery.
And it's not just our health that is at risk. Early adopters also pay more (most likely expected given the territory), have to put up with manufacturers ill-prepared to support their technology (Ever write an email and have to explain that you have a new version of hardware/software to people who don't even know there IS a new version?), and have the burden of playing with awesome new toys before everyone else (Hehe, OK, maybe this one isn't too bad...). What unique problems have you had as an Early Adopter? Anything dangerous? Anything threaten to drive you from early adopting as quickly as possible?
It amazes me that I haven't gone crazy being what some would call and "Early Adopter". No, I'm not the kind of early adopter that buys stuff on Amazon's early adopter list - I'm the kind of early adopter that has bought what is on the list, sold what is on the list, and bought something better than what is on the list (All before it even makes the list...). Being hardcore on this can have its hazards. As the article mentioned above states, the televisions that are being recalled were potentially dangerous, with early adopters most likely being around them longer than others and thus, more probable to be injured. Just yesterday I received a new battery in the mail for a satellite radio I purchased when it first came out. The letter I received stated that some of the batteries may overhead and catch fire, something I was very glad didn't happen in the year of use I've put on the 'dangerous' battery.
And it's not just our health that is at risk. Early adopters also pay more (most likely expected given the territory), have to put up with manufacturers ill-prepared to support their technology (Ever write an email and have to explain that you have a new version of hardware/software to people who don't even know there IS a new version?), and have the burden of playing with awesome new toys before everyone else (Hehe, OK, maybe this one isn't too bad...). What unique problems have you had as an Early Adopter? Anything dangerous? Anything threaten to drive you from early adopting as quickly as possible?
