How you treat your hardware and software

[Harrison]

One thing I used to really hate regarding books was when lending a reference book to someone and you see them licking their finger to turn the pages! Why do people do that?

I loved the bit in that film "Name of the Rose" where the corners of the book were impregnated with poison, so that when the reading licked their finger and turned the pages it was game over!

Another regarding books is bending the spine backwards or creasing the pages.

[Stephen Coates]

I always try to be careful with stuff, but I usually tend to get stuff that doesn't need to be taken care of too much. e.g. CRT monitors, stuff that isn't shiny, stuff that isn't flimsy.

It is hard to be careful with CDs. I don't mind minor damage as they are bound to get a bit scratched eventually but if the CD belonged to someone else I would be more careful with it. Alot of my old tapes (VHS and audio) are in much better condition than alot of my CDs.

[Sharingan]

Another regarding books is bending the spine backwards or creasing the pages.

Heh ... just read that bit, and I have to admit I'm quite obsessed with keeping my books (the few that I have anyway) in pristine shape. I absolutely HATE it when people borrow my books and ruin them in the way you describe.

You should see me reading a paperback - I open them up only a tiny bit, just enough to be able to read the text, for fear of ruining the spine!

[RMK]

I know where you are coming from and don't lend things to people because they don't take proper care of things. The problem is, we live in a disposable society. People who buy an XBOX 360 only want it until the next model comes out and then it will end up on Ebay. My original A500 is mint and although it has been taken care of had developed a fault with the keyboard-it's just a case electronics failing with time.

I bought a NES, Mega Drive and CD32 from Ebay and always try to buy the consoles and games in as good condition as I can. My Wii is like the day it was opened as are all the games and paperwork. I even have plastic Nintendo storage boxes for the NES game carts and keep the boxes empty to cut down on wear and tear.