Kodak Memorial 2008

I have always liked Kodak digital cameras. But this week, someone at work had one that wasn't working and asked me to take a look at it. The Kodak EasyShare C703 went for about $149, so it's not a very expensive camera. The one I checked out would not turn on and the lens would not retract. The owner said that the camera had not been dropped, but that the batteries may have been installed backwards at one point. I tried several different batteries with no luck. I was able to retrieve the photos by connecting the camera to a computer, but nothing appeared on the camera's LCD screen.

I did a search online and found many people with the same problem. There is a web site that will give you an estimate on a digital camera repair. The fact that someone made a web site that can give you an instant repair quote, tells me that digital cameras are not built very well. The camera was out of warranty, so the repair estimate was $98, very close to the price of a newer Kodak C713. Built in obsolescence? Sure looks like it to me.

This week gas prices over here hit $3.98 per gallon. Is this the beginning of the end? I heard that if oil prices do not stabilize soon, the economic damage could take decades to repair. I think they need to start rationing gas, if the world demand is outpacing supply. Listening to congress grill the oil execs this week was laughable. Those guys know that we will run out of oil soon and they are just trying to make as much money as they can while it lasts, never mind the consequences. Unless things change soon, I'm predicting that we will be in an economic depression by 2010.