Goodbye old friend.... (edited with surprise ending!)

Well, I've killed another electronic device. First it was watches. If a watch lasted 90 days with me, then it surely was not going to last 6 months. None of them did. Thankfully I had a good friend who was in the marketing department for Freestyle watches, you know the one with the little shark fin symbol so impossible for me to pass up, and she gave me free or deeply discounted watches all the time. Thanks Terri!

Then I became a destroyer of mobile phones. My first cell phone I got in college in 2000. Wow, 12 years ago I was in college. Freak! So in that 12 years I've had over 18 cell phones. Toilets, chocolate milk, crushing, falling out the car window, falling out of my pocket on a motorcycle and so on. And yet I never buy the insurance.... Now that I have my first 'smart' phone we will see how this works out for me.

For a while point and shoot cameras were essentially disposable to me as well. The elements, crashing, dropping, falling off make shift mounts, being buried. You know, the regular things that happened to everyone else's digital cameras until they invented..... ....... .....

GoPro cameras. I've had three of them now. Yes, had, past tense. First one was the original Hero HD. Then I added the first gen as a second camera 'cause I was a filming fool! Then I sold both of them to get the HD Hero 2. Prime time or no time, right Andy and Matt?

Well after two years of heavy use on 3 different continents and a wide variety of sports and projects, my GoPro has died a death of a non functioning power button. Sad day in Rowdysville.

Now they just have the white, silver and black editions of the 3rd gen model. Starting at $200 and going up to twice that amount. Argh. I don't want to spend that money but I love having a small, action proof camera. Sad Sad Sad. And since I don't have a receipt from two years ago, I get no help from them on a warranty claim or help upgrading.

I'm sad this friend of mine is gone, we've shared sooooo much together.

You know what cheers me up when I'm sad though? Cute kittens on the internet. Like this. Well, at least until I break down and get a different camera.


**I'm not taking the cute kittens video away but there has been a twist in the plot. Peep this email I received just seconds ago:
Update for Case #581058 - "power button not working"

Hi Rowdy,

Unfortunately it sounds like there could be a fault with the camera, and we'll need to go ahead with replacing your unit under warranty. Update your address in the link below.

Enter Address Here.

Once we hear back, we'll be able to provide you with a RMA (returns authorization) and returns instructions.

Our apologies for the inconvenience, but we'll do our best to get you a fully functioning replacement as soon as possible.

Many Thanks,
Mark H.
GoPro Support

Now that's good service!