digitalboy

Gamergirl


Greetings Bretheren And Sisteren,

It has been some time since I have raised my voice in these bright realms, as I prefer to visit silently and take in information, rather than produce it. If indeed it can be said that there is a problem with information in the world today, I believe we can all agree that any problem lies in the perception that there is too much, rather than too little, of said. If you will permit me the fleeting whimsy of a literary personification and forgive the banal silliness of it, then you may perhaps find yourself at the very least somewhat amused, and at the most perhaps a bit more enlightened than you were before yhou happened upon this author's humble Thread.

Of course, the previous statement is an oversimplification of the true nature of the problem, as I suddenly realized even as I typed that sentence, therefore, first permit me the qualifying statement that and I have found, O. Verse, that the dread Imp 'Flickashin' - particularly when accompnied by Her nagging, ever-present companion and husband, Gross General I. Xation, to be quite  in error. I say this, naturally, with all due respect to the General and that afforded his rank, and in saying which gives one to wonder how one fits a Gross of stars on one's lapel. Perhaps I err in assuming Gross to be a numerical value, however.

Anyways, now that I'm through being absurd, let me cut to the point. I just bought a BRAND NEW Unopened Mackie Universal Control Pro for my modest SONAR-powered studio. Imagine my shock when, after opening the box, and following a thorough inspection of all its contents, I failed to locate a User's Guide ANYWHERE. I mean, NOT so much as A Quick Start Guide could be located. This, after Spending a Damn GRAND on a lousy control surface, which I had reservations about from the GITGO.

Okay, that was bad enough, but it was perhaps dealable. That is, until I discovered the document explaining WHY mackie failed to include a manual with the Control Pro. THIS DOCUMENT VERY VERY NEARLY MAKES THE LACK OF A MANUAL A DEAL-BREAKER.

This document (and I use that term loosely) was what I can only begin to describe as this insufferable, patronizing, extra thick, CARDBOARD politco pin-up flyer explaining to the purchaser that SOME CORPORATE BIG-WIG EXECUTIVE OR CEO OR WHATEVER at Mackie, Inc., who remains quite safely nameless (and therefore lawsuit-proof, I presume) and is referred to on the cardboard as "THE VP"- while at the same time making it clear that said individual is NOT "THE VP", but rather that he's just some nameless Important Big Deal who is referred to by the moniker "A  VP". However, the punch-line here is that this "A VP"-according to this flyer- has had some sort of- and brace yourself, b/c you are likely to be overcome by a fit of laughter here that cannot be easily dispelled, if you are like I was-- anyway apparently this "A VP" has for somereason had some kind of Generic Spiritual Awakening, this time not about alcohol or drugs but about "The Environment."

Now, finish laughing before you read on, because trust me, it gets even BETTER ! This nameless Wall-Street executive type person not only has had this Great Spiritual Awakening about this nebulous political cause known as The Environment, but- get this--- he has decided to pass  his awakening on through the practices of his company.

I'm sure you can guess the rest. The reason there's no manual in the Mackie Universal box is, of course, because as we all know, had they chosen to put one in there, then Trees would have had t o be killed, and that would have HURT this nebulous Star-Wars like Force for All Good in the Galaxy known as "The Environment.'

Before I continue, please understand, I AM A VEGAN. I have been doing my best to reduce my personal carbon footprint on this planet for the past 10 years by working my rear off to change my bad habits as a consumer and to reduce the amount of physical waste I'm forced to throw away. Working to save the environment is a (usually) thankless, difficult, and PERSONAL job. That means the only way to make a difference is to change your PERSONAL habits (eg, use less toilet paper, recycle, reduce the amount of toilet flushing, ration paper towels and products, COOK INSTEAD OF EATING OUT-ESPECIALLY FAST FOOD. The most effective way, however, has been demonstrated time and time again to so dramatically negate a given individual's carbon footprint, however, is to stop eating ANIMAL AND DAIRY PRODUCTS.

Now, to the business at hand, which is heaping upon Mackie every last shred of ridicule that they so richly deserve for choosing to screw their own customers like this.

HEY MACKIE!!! You are NOT fooling anyone !!!! You quit putting printed manuals in your products for one reason and ONE REASON ONLY, and that is TO SAVE ONE MORE LOUSY MISERABLE BUCK.

You didn't do it for The Environment. You did it to save a few cents to a dollar on production.  Please hear me here, and don't misunderstand. I am not your typical free-love peacenik hippie. I am a hippie, yes, but I am also a scientist, an author, and a philosophical pragmatist. Hippie is only a stupid (but sometimes useful) label that serves to describe a colleciton of qualities and general beliefs that I adhere to. However, Hear This:  THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH TRYING TO SAVE PRODUCTION COSTS.

Also, TRYING TO SAVE PRODUCTION COSTS Just So Happens to also "BE GOOD FOR 'THE ENVIRONMENT'" , YES !! All this IS TRUE.

But what I object to is being TOLD THAT you are no longer giving your customers printed manuals BECAUSE IT IS GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT. Poppycock And Balderdash !!!

Okay, so to recap, I have been deprived of my rightful owner's manual by you, and not only that, I have been patronized, condescended to and finally I have weathered a nearly unendurable beachhead of assaults upon my intellect so massive as to nearly rival the actual famed Allied beachhead at Normandy. .

All of which, however, I might possibly find tolerable if it actually did something-anything, really, for the environment. But perhaps the biggest Lemon off all here is that this decision will, after all is said and done, have such a negligible effect on total 'carbon production' (which is an unfortunate misnomer, too, but that is a rant for another time but one which we WILL have, so important is it).

You may well ask* HOW? Well, because the Big Studios who purchase this item are going to want a reference in print. Reading and looking up stuff on line is still inconvenient when compared to the handiness of carrying around a manual. Therefore, they will log on to the provided site where the PDF version of the manual is. What will they do, then? Will they index it, perhaps, so all the I Phone  and IPad-weilding  employees can log on at willl when they need to consult the manual?

In a pipe dream, perhaps. In reality, though, they will PRINT OUT the manual using a laser or inkjet printer.

IT IS A FACT, HOWEVER, THAT DUE TO THE WASTEFUL NATURE OF THESE PERSONAL PRINTERS AS COMPARED TO THE STREAMLINED, COST-EFFECTIVE PROCESSES DEVELOPED BY PROFESSIONAL PRINTERS AND SUPPLEMENTED BY COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY, AS WELL AS BEING HONED TO A FINE ART FORM BY CENTURIES OF EXPERIENCE BEGINNING WITH CHARLES GUTENBERG, THE USE OF SUCH PRINTERS WILL LEAVE A CARBON FOOTPRINT THAT IS SO MASSIVE AS COMPARED TO THE ONE THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN LEFT HAD MACKIE SIMPLY CONTRACTED AN EXPERIENCED PRINTER TO DO THE MANUAL FOR THEM, LIKE EVERYONE ELSE STILL DOES, THAT THIS DECISION BY MACKIE WILL ACTUALLY DAMAGE THE ENVIRONMENT.

Let me say that again: Mackie's decision will CAUSE A MUCH LARGER CARBON FOOTPRINT TO BE MADE than what would have resulted had they simply continued to include printed manuals like a REAL Music Recording company, such as ROLAND, does. Personal printers are some of the most wasteful devices still in use on the planet. IN FACT- get THIS- The ink that personal printers use, that is being sprayed DIRECTLY into the environment as it splashes off the paper in the form of vapor and said paper is in most cases eventually tossed away and hauled to land fill, not to mention the millions upon millions of empty ink cartridges being buried in landfills where they decay and are broken, their contents mingling with the moisture whenever it rains and eventually seeping into the groundwater itself.

Anyway, this INK is almost PURE CARBON !!! That, my friends, is the punchline of Mackie's little joke.

IF Mackie had simply stated something like this: "We, Mackie, Need to Cut Costs Or We may loose profits- ergo investors, etc, etc, leading eventually to our demise and failure to offer you anymore of our fine products. Therefore, we are asking you, the customer, to assume the cost of printing the manual yourself, or even better, if you can afford it, purchase a device like an Amazon Kindle, that you can use to COMFORTABLY READ THE MANUAL ON WHILE IT REMAINS DIGITAL, tthen you will not only be helping us and saving yourself some dough, you'd be helping the environment too."

Had Mackie put a flyer in saying something like htat, then they would have not only gained my respect, retained my patronage, and that of many others, they would have also ACTUALLY DONE SOMETHING TO HELP THE ENVIORONMENT.

What they Chose To Do only pays lip service to helping the environment, and it embodies everything that the political enemies of clean air and water hate about our movement.

Mackie, I expected better of you.

Take a hint from Roland and Cakewalk, Mackie. Roland actually HELPS THE ENVIRONMENT by their actions.

More about how, if you guys are interested, in my next. Please, pass the word on.
Also, tell me what you think:

Should I keep my Universal Pro Controller? Or should I send it back in the face of this insult and buy something else from a company that is ACTUALLY HELPING the environment instead of PRETENDING to help it while actually damaging it even more?

Please let me know what you think!!!

Courtney Patricia "GuitarGamerGirl" Parsons


This I would
* You might also ask as well as WHO is this girl to say these things? She might e and idionsd hold a BS in Chemistry and Physics, and a MS in Quantum Bio-Physical Chemistry  (also known as 'Computational Physical-Organic Chemistry' from North Carolina. That is not really what qualifies me here, though. My actual title at Oak Ridge was Environmental Analytical Research Chemist, and in PA I worked as what is known as an Industrial Hygienist. Is that enough to qualify me?

Wow...How long did it take you to write all of that ? 
 
I am right in assuming that there was no manual included with the product ?