Inevitably the items that we buy will break. With the way things are designed these days, the attitude is frequently that it is easier to just get rid of the item and replace it with a new one than spend the money for repairs. This is understandable as often times the costs for repairs can end up being more expensive than buying a completely new item. For very small items like cell phones and tablets, they may also be made such that they are sealed so repairs are not possible.
The problem is that there are many cases where the item in question can be repaired for less than it costs to get something new or it is more affordable to do it on your own then pay a professional. In a six month period, I had three cases of things breaking on me that I was able to repair or hack them back into working condition. Find out what they were and what resources I was able to use to get up and running.
Rant: DRM For Your Coffee Maker
Near the start of the year, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters announced that they would introduce a new to update its popular K-Cup makers that are so popular these days. They are touting the advantages of the new system by it having the ability to brew a full pot of coffee in addition to just a single cup. This is their new K-Carafe feature that would use a new K-Carafe pack in addition to the traditional K-Cup pods for single brew. The most interesting part about it is what essentially comes down to a final line of the press statement that reads:
K-Carafe™ packs will only operate in new Keurig® 2.0 brewers, which will use proprietary interactive capabilities to identify the Keurig® pack that is inserted and to brew that pack optimally every time.
While it talks about it being able to optimize the brew based on the new interactive capabilities, what it really means is that the system will check to verify that only Keurig branded packs are used, essentially introducing a form of DRM into the world of coffee makers.
DRM or digital rights management is a term that is used regarding digital media such as music, video and ebooks to prevent them from being copied. It is an unfortunate fact of life that the holders of copyright have used this to try and control the distribution and payment for their work at the restriction of how legitimate owners can use what they have purchased. The term is now used by people to describe any product system that essentially tries to limit the user to only using one brand of item with a product. This is the classic economic case of the razor and the blades. Lots of companies do this, whether it is for razor blades, vacuum cleaner bags or even printer ink cartridges. It is economically advantageous for them limit consumers to a single source of expensive replacement items. Often the item that uses the consumables will then be sold for a low price and the price for the consumable is then higher than it really costs to produce.
So what is wrong with a company like Black Mountain Coffee Roasters trying to prevent a third party from selling coffee packs for their coffee makers? Well it certainly doesn’t benefit the consumer at all. Rather than having choice and competition, they are restricted into paying more for a product. It is the same reason that the computer printer makers wanted to restrict their printers to only using their cartridges. Of course it is still possible to get third party ink and toner cartridges for most of them.
Here’s the thing, consumers should have the ultimate say in what they can and can’t buy. I understand if the product is patented that it should get the standard protections from competitors but we are talking about coffee here. Is it really that innovative to have a special pack or filter to hold the coffee for the water to flow through to brew it? How is that any different from a razor blade in a razor, a bag in a vacuum cleaner or ink in a printer cartridge? Make a better product that makes consumers want to buy yours over the less expensive alternatives.
Let me give you an example. I own a Miele vacuum cleaner and just love it. What I don’t love so much is the cost of the FJM bags to use with the canister. A standard 4-pack of replacement bags costs $20, or about $5 per bag. On the other hand, I can buy 3M Filtrete bags that work with the vacuum at just $11 for five. That is over half the cost. They work just as well as the Miele bags. If they didn’t I would continue to use the official ones.
So in closing, Black Mountain Coffee Roasters needs to call this new Keurig 2.0 system for what it really is, a restriction to prevent consumers from using alternatives and not a new innovative way to brew a pot of coffee. After all, you can just use a standard coffee maker to do a pot or single cup and it will cost you a lot less than a Keurig brewer with its disposable pods and packs.