3 ms·

Yes. Did you use it for your job? How many hours did you use it? Well worth the $50

by 89a 14y ago

jlgreco 14y ago
That is a terrible way to measure utility, there are so many other factors to consider. I use my keyboard for work constantly, but it is not worth more than maybe $10 to me.
- Goronmon 14y ago
  That is a terrible way to measure utility, there are so many other factors to consider. I use my keyboard for work constantly, but it is not worth more than maybe $10 to me. I'd say his measurement of utility makes a lot more sense than yours.
  - jlgreco 14y ago
    I can grab 5 to 10 more keyboards just like the one I am using right now for free. No history of use is going to bump the value of this keyboard. It is a piece of infinitely replaceable crap that bends like a paperback book.
    - alxp 14y ago
      And if you get RSI from always using a bargain basement keyboard then the utility gotten from paying extra for an ergonomic one would be lost.
      - jlgreco 14y ago
        ...I am not advocating cheap keyboards. I am saying that you cannot offset paying too much for a cheap keyboard by using it more often.
- rpwilcox 14y ago
  Until you get RSI from your crappy keyboard. Which is why people will pay $100+ for a keyboard. I've bought 3 Microsoft Natural 4000s (about a $60 keyboard) over the past 3 years simply because I was away from my office for an extended period of time and my wrists started hurting.
  - jlgreco 14y ago
    No see, you are including more sensible factors in your calculation of utility. The issue is just justifying price with "how much have you used it for work related activities", which is silly for just about everything except maybe soothing buyers remorse. I have an old Model M at home that I value at a hell of a lot more than $10; I am not here to argue the merits of expensive keyboards. My point though is that the cheap keyboards I have around that have gotten a lot of use are not worth more because I have gotten a lot of use from them. No matter how much work I have gotten paid for while working on a $10 keyboard, it is still a $10 keyboard.
    - 89a 14y ago
      what a strange world you live in
      - jlgreco 14y ago
        So you think if I use a shitty keyboard for a long time, that would justify paying more money for it in the first place? Sounds almost like a sunken cost fallacy to me. You should not feel obligated to continue using something because you regret paying so much for it. Had I paid too much for my keyboard, I would not attempt to comfort myself by using it more. Similarly, I would not find comfort in looking back at how much I used it. The intrinsic values that the keyboard itself has should set its worth, not the value you extracted from it in the past. It is a keyboard, not an heirloom.
    - Legion 14y ago
      I downvoted your original response, but your point became better articulated as you went. The value is in replaceability. It comes down to the question, "if I take this away from you, what will you do then?". Textmate was valuable because it was a piece of software that its users could not easily replace to their satisfaction. If I take your $10 keyboard away, your next move would be to pick up some other $10 keyboard. Hence why the value is $10. Some pieces of software are valuable even if you barely ever use them. It may be something you use once a year to complete a project, but if it's not easily swapped out for some other replacement, and completing that project is something of high value to you, then that piece of software is valuable - much more so than the small amount of time you spend using it would indicate.
- robotresearcher 14y ago
  Surely it's worth no less than its replacement cost, which is the price of the replacement keyboard plus the work lost due to the time spent getting it and plugging it in. This is only going to be <$10 in general if you have a pile of spares right to hand, with unit cost <($10 - epsilon). Not having a spare, it'd cost me a lot more than that to replace my keyboard. Gulp. Better get one...

Yes. Did you use it for your job? How many hours did you use it? Well worth the $50

by 89a 14y ago

Yes. Did you use it for your job? How many hours did you use it? Well worth the $50

That is a terrible way to measure utility, there are so many other factors to consider. I use my keyboard for work constantly, but it is not worth more than maybe $10 to me.

Goronmon 14y ago
That is a terrible way to measure utility, there are so many other factors to consider. I use my keyboard for work constantly, but it is not worth more than maybe $10 to me. I'd say his measurement of utility makes a lot more sense than yours.
- jlgreco 14y ago
  I can grab 5 to 10 more keyboards just like the one I am using right now for free. No history of use is going to bump the value of this keyboard. It is a piece of infinitely replaceable crap that bends like a paperback book.
  - alxp 14y ago
    And if you get RSI from always using a bargain basement keyboard then the utility gotten from paying extra for an ergonomic one would be lost.
    - jlgreco 14y ago
      ...I am not advocating cheap keyboards. I am saying that you cannot offset paying too much for a cheap keyboard by using it more often.
rpwilcox 14y ago
Until you get RSI from your crappy keyboard. Which is why people will pay $100+ for a keyboard. I've bought 3 Microsoft Natural 4000s (about a $60 keyboard) over the past 3 years simply because I was away from my office for an extended period of time and my wrists started hurting.
- jlgreco 14y ago
  No see, you are including more sensible factors in your calculation of utility. The issue is just justifying price with "how much have you used it for work related activities", which is silly for just about everything except maybe soothing buyers remorse. I have an old Model M at home that I value at a hell of a lot more than $10; I am not here to argue the merits of expensive keyboards. My point though is that the cheap keyboards I have around that have gotten a lot of use are not worth more because I have gotten a lot of use from them. No matter how much work I have gotten paid for while working on a $10 keyboard, it is still a $10 keyboard.
  - 89a 14y ago
    what a strange world you live in
    - jlgreco 14y ago
      So you think if I use a shitty keyboard for a long time, that would justify paying more money for it in the first place? Sounds almost like a sunken cost fallacy to me. You should not feel obligated to continue using something because you regret paying so much for it. Had I paid too much for my keyboard, I would not attempt to comfort myself by using it more. Similarly, I would not find comfort in looking back at how much I used it. The intrinsic values that the keyboard itself has should set its worth, not the value you extracted from it in the past. It is a keyboard, not an heirloom.
  - Legion 14y ago
    I downvoted your original response, but your point became better articulated as you went. The value is in replaceability. It comes down to the question, "if I take this away from you, what will you do then?". Textmate was valuable because it was a piece of software that its users could not easily replace to their satisfaction. If I take your $10 keyboard away, your next move would be to pick up some other $10 keyboard. Hence why the value is $10. Some pieces of software are valuable even if you barely ever use them. It may be something you use once a year to complete a project, but if it's not easily swapped out for some other replacement, and completing that project is something of high value to you, then that piece of software is valuable - much more so than the small amount of time you spend using it would indicate.
robotresearcher 14y ago
Surely it's worth no less than its replacement cost, which is the price of the replacement keyboard plus the work lost due to the time spent getting it and plugging it in. This is only going to be <$10 in general if you have a pile of spares right to hand, with unit cost <($10 - epsilon). Not having a spare, it'd cost me a lot more than that to replace my keyboard. Gulp. Better get one...