Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT Strips 3516 to 3520 (3rd to 7th July 2017)
DaiJB:
--- Quote from: Drunken Hamster on 08 Jul 2017, 05:30 ---Well, if I were in the industry and designing/producing said hands, the mechanism and superstructure would be sealed. Even if only for durability's sake. After all, I bet there are soldiers with bionic replacements. What if the coverings are melted/torn/shot off [etc.] and they have to treck hundreds of miles through the desert to get to the nearest base to be sent home?
--- End quote ---
I used to work with a company that put together computers for military use. The process consisted of dismantling ordinary home computers, scrapping the original, less robust cases, connectors, mountings and cables, then replacing them with more robust components, e.g., metal cases, heavy-duty cables etc. Probably cost a mint, but that's what the military pays for - military-grade equipment.
My point is - do we get military-grade stuff? - no, we get cheaper and (often) nastier. Military-grade is better quality for a reason.
--- Quote from: Drunken Hamster on 08 Jul 2017, 05:30 ---Can't have their bionics giving out because they weren't dust proofed. It seems like a poor marketing strategy to me. "Hey, our robo-hands work just like real ones, but a firm handshake will crush them, and we force you to wear coverings because they weren't finished enough to be resistant to particle ingress! :D "
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Well, that's the world of marketing as it actually exists!
For instance, look at cars - you can get everything from a Bugatti or Maserati down to a Pinto or a Yugo!
I can get a Samsung or iPad tablet - or I can buy the thing that I actually did buy... (You get what you pay for :roll: )
Business will sell what people will buy - and if we can't afford a better machine, we might be buying something more dodgy.
I suspect Clinton's family isn't exactly rich - maybe his hand is simply the budget model? ("Budget" often being a euphemism for "cutting corners" :wink: )
Is it cold in here?:
--- Quote from: pwhodges on 08 Jul 2017, 02:39 ---In this forum, we try to show the same respect to the fictional characters as we do to real people. It's a form of practice for real life, perhaps, but more importantly it's also true that real people can be hurt by the treatment of fictional people that they identify with in some manner.
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People here have identified very strongly with the characters.
Another issue, which might make more sense to a writer, is that these are somebody else's characters.
TheEvilDog:
--- Quote from: DaiJB on 08 Jul 2017, 08:08 ---I suspect Clinton's family isn't exactly rich - maybe his hand is simply the budget model? ("Budget" often being a euphemism for "cutting corners" :wink: )
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Bear in mind as well that Clinton lost his hand years ago due to a fireworks accident, so that probably happened in his late childhood or early teen years. Just a brief check on the net and a company has produced a new myoelectric prosthetic hand that costs on average $11000 (or €9000), to put that into perspective that's designed to be "affordable", other more advanced replacements could almost hit $100,000. Prosthetics have to be replaced every couple of years both due to wear and tear and to account for the growth of an individual. So multiply that a couple of times.
Now consider that Clinton's hand doesn't seem to be an overly basic model - autonomous function and all, which I doubt their insurance would cover, unless its really good! I think the Augustus family would have essentially been buying something as expensive as a secondhand car every couple of years. And factor in Clinton and Claire both being in college and Claire transitioning and I think its safe to say that the Augustus family would have been cutting corners where they could - "Well Clinton, you could have the covering for your hand, or we could pay the heating bill for winter..."
OldGoat:
--- Quote from: DaiJB on 08 Jul 2017, 08:08 ---I suspect Clinton's family isn't exactly rich - maybe his hand is simply the budget model? ("Budget" often being a euphemism for "cutting corners" :wink: )
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^^^THIS^^^
They aren't wealthy, but they do okay by managing what they have well. For example, Claire is the only QC cast member we know of who owns a car, an older Mazda - which I reckon she saved up for and purchased outright for cash*.
They didn't go cheap on Clinton's current hand (as TheEvilDog points out, the prosthesis has been replaced at least a couple times), but it's not top of the line, either. It's a white collar worker's hand. If it have been designed to be used by a pipefitter, he may have matched or even injured Elliott. As a plot device, it serves to reinforce Elliott's status as the gentle giant. Damaging a prosthesis is on the margins of what we can believe Elliott's capable of, but still on the credible side of the line.
*I see Claire as debt-adverse to the point she considers carrying a balance on a credit card a personal failing. As the relationship progresses, this will contrast with Marten's empty-the-savings-account-for-a-guitar tendencies.
bhtooefr:
Worth noting that in 2013 when that comic was published, that Mazda was available new.
It was, however, very cheap for a new car, partially because it got mediocre fuel consumption for its class.
My headcanon is that there's quite a bit of money to go around despite the divorce, though - Clinton's hands, Claire's car, Claire's transition, and a nice house in Massachusetts.
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