warren@ihwpt.UUCP (warren montgomery) (12/10/85)
The optimal solution of course is to buy whatever quality is just adequate for the use that you put it to. It makes equally little sense to buy something that is overkill for your needs, and is generally a large waste of resources and money. I have an el-cheapo timing light to tune my car, and for the 2 times a year it gets used it works just fine, and has for years. On the other hand, I have lots of poor quality screwdrivers that are inadquate to the use that I put them and should have gone higher in quality the first time. Probably the right philosophy is to buy a little higher than you think you need, and usually you will do the right thing. Poor quality stuff has another problem which is that it frequently leaves you with the choice of throwing away something that isn't working as well as it should be but does function, or letting it gather dust and occupy space on your bench. -- Warren Montgomery, ihesa!warren