Monitor went kaput

My Phillips 107T 17" CRT flatscreen monitor finally breathed its last. Banging the top got the image back for 3-5 secs, then it began to flicker and scroll upwards to 1/3 of the screen.

A quick call to the Phillips service center ended up with a decision to buy a new one. A carry-in check had an up-front troubleshooting labour cost of SG$70, not including additional cost for parts replacement and fix cost. The customer representative recommended me to buy a new monitor. It would have been more worthwhile since that included a 3-year warranty.

Still the 107T served me well for 7+ years. To think that I average 15 hours per week of mostly gaming activity (MUD, RPG games, online games). At times I have clocked no less than 24 hours per session (with in-between bathroom breaks, of course!) in a non air-con room. That calculates to a lifespan of 5096 hours. Wow, that equates to spending 5096 hours of my life on gaming. Could have been worse... at least it's not on gambling or drugs.

Is it good? Yeah I guess so. Ugh, I was refering to the monitor lifespan, not drugs.

All these 7 years, I have never encountered faded colors or flickering images. The images were still as sharp as when I first bought it. Until it konked-out. Though it was on the bulky side (WxHxD 15.7"x 14.7" x 16.5", 16.5kg) but it was an above-average-decent-what-I-can-afford monitor at that time. I had a previous 15" one which died within 2 years. Just don't ask the brand name. Yeah yeah, you pay peanuts you get lousy monkeys.

*salutes Phillips monitor* Farewell.

So any good 17" flat panel monitor recommendations?
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Hardware come and go these days and they are not built to last. Technology changes everyday - today that piece of hardware may be popular, tomorrow who knows? So I understand where the manufacturers/suppliers are coming from. Why build something to last when there will not be any demand tomorrow?

Isn't it so common these days? How often have I come across people (myself included) who take people for granted until they pass away? Then we start to regret we actually hadn't spend quality time with them.

What about companies who hire and fire? Human resource is treated no more than a piece of hardware with depreciating value. After 15+ years in a company, these 'oldies' are forced to leave. We don't need you anymore, you have served your purpose. Thank you.

There is no loyalty in us anymore. No wonder each generation gets more self-centered as time passes. You see it everyday - a young couple snuggling together in the MRT train while a pregnant woman or elderly person stands in front of them. Worse, the seat is for the disabled or pregnant ladies only. Or a mother and son sitting on the comfortable the bus seats while the maid is carrying shopping bags and standing along the aisle.

The big 'I', 'ME' and 'MYSELF' syndrome.

In a developed, educated country like Singapore, you would have expected social graces to be better than those of the developing countries. However this seems to be opposite. Just enter a typical HDB lift. Everybody in the lift looks either up or down. Nobody looks nobody in the eye, gives a quick smile or say a simple 'Hello'.

And to top that, we have the Smile2006 campaign. And that's because the IMF is coming to Singapore.

Duh.

In my opinion, any developed country championing courtesy campaigns, smile movements, National Education (hidden name patriotism) programmes is in trouble. Serious trouble. Productive, efficient but clinical and calculative. Most people (even Singaporean locals) rate Singapore:

Efficiency - Excellent
Following process - To the T
Social graces - Zero
Thinking out of the box - Utter failure