Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/11/06

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Subject: [Leica] Connoisseurship: Hey, I RESEMBLE that remark!
From: Jeff S <4season@boulder.net>
Date: Mon, 06 Nov 2000 22:38:01 -0700

Submitted for your reading enjoyment-some good observations there! (what
me rationalize?)

==================================
Sony PlayStation2 as a DVD Player and Other Matters of Cultural
Consequence
by Steve Smith, : November 6, 2000

[snip]
Whether it is in cigars, wine, PCs or home theater equipment, we often
like to think we are willing to pay top dollar for top end goods because
it reflects our more educated, discriminating understanding of the
merchandise. We're nobody's fool. We won't be taken in by bargains or
anything but the best. We proudly pay through the nose for our stuff.
We're smart than thou. We're stuff snobs, by God. Well, to some degree
aficionados may demonstrate a greater understanding of their stuff, but
more often than not they are at least as susceptible to hype as the
"mass consumers" they think they're above. Feeling special about oneself
is an ever-moving target in a society of mass production where
yesterday's high-end specialty item is tomorrow's commodity. Chasing 
exclusivity, maintaining one's self-image as cutting edge and apart from
the low-taste masses, gets pretty costly after a while. It also makes
you wonder who is the real mindless goon in the great chain of modern
consumption - the unwashed mass consumer who pays a reasonable fee to
buy something that is good enough for his needs - or the high-end
gearaholic, who almost always buys more power, more brand prestige, more
upgrades than he'll ever really need or use. [snip]

Complete article at:
http://www.sharkygames.com/hardware/console/ps2_us_dvd/index.shtml