Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for January 22, 2016

You should see if they have a job for you, Rat.

This is yet another reason why I’m glad I just use a flip phone.

Most of these “improved” models aren’t really that improved. And if their put out by a certain company their deliberately released with a number of known flaws so that company can really stick it to you. Not only did you just pay for their last model a year or two ago (or as it’s becoming, just a few months ago), now like a sheep you pay for their new model that you don’t need and then have to pay for all their supposed upgrades to fix the flaws in the new model. Which they say their shocked to suddenly discover exists but then a half year down the road admit they knew perfectly well the flaws were there when they released it.

You’re just learning this now?

This is an incredibly old joke. Back in the 90s we used to say that by the time you got your new computer out to your car at the store, it would be obsolete.

Is the fine lady there Ms Pastis?

I currently have a Galaxy S5 and have no intentions of replacing it. When it fails or gets lost (hopefully not for a long time), I’ll see what’s available then and I’ll get the best available phone in the interest of future-proofing…but, until then, I see no reason to “keep up with the Jonses”. The S5 replaced a Galaxy Nexus that got replaced prematurely due to failure; had the hardware held up, I would have been content with the Nexus.

Until they make one that can wash your car and take out the trash, I don’t feel the need to upgrade every time a new model comes out.

Planned obsolescence pre-dates the tech companies. They are but the most egregious current manifestation.Still, I do agree with Rat’s sentiment….

If it is not broke don’t fix it !………………..but then how would you gin-up sales ?

“Tech companies are evil.”Yes they are,Rat.They made me upgrade from a rotary dial to a pushbutton…

I’d be happy with an obsolete smart phone if they just kept on working. Unfortunately, mandatory system and software upgrades seem to slow them down to the point where they become useless in a couple of years. I’d be happy without any phone, but people seem to think that I should be reachable.

Don’t worry Rat. Only Apple fanboys drool over the latest and greatest iphone. The rest of us use last years model just fine.

I have kept cell phones for as long as 8 years. None have ever broken, but the batteries become unable to hold a charge after a time, so you have to replace them. The new cell phones, however, have non-replaceable batteries to prevent you from keeping them more than 3-4 years.

So, what does the sign at the left edge of panels 1 & 3 say? “Sale on Artphones”? Or something else . . . .

You can tell this is fiction, because it says “Sale on Smartphones” outside an Apple store. I don’t think those ever go on sale.

A light year is a measurement of distance. Always was & always will be.

Absolutely brilliant and so true.

but… but… but… they’re so “compelling”

barf

Yes, Rat, they are evil. I succumbed and upgraded my perfectly good iPhone 5s for the allure of the big screen lusciousness of the iPhone 6+s. And now I have a phone that randomly reboots at the worst times – such as in the middle of a conversation or while following GPS instructions to a new destination.

And Apple’s response as to what causes the reboot pretty much amounts to “You’re using it wrong.”

Bah humbug.

The iPhone6 may be parsecs* ahead of the iPhone5, but it still can’t measure up to the Samsung Galaxy. *If we’re going to use distance as our unit for measuring smart phone value, we might as well use something larger than a paltry li’l ol’ light year.

Today’s Spanish version of this strip has a totally different joke. I don’t know why, though, because I think this joke should work OK in Spanish. However, the joke in the Spanish strip won’t work in English.

I have a Sony Xperia E4g which I’ve had since July. It’s my first Smartphone.

I don’t regret waiting.

xxx

talk about the pot calling the kettle black! really rat

My first Pearls strip up until then I was Normal

Sure, they could certainly do something like that if they don’t want the 6 to not sell as everyone would just be getting the 7 unless there was a big difference in price.