"The Lesser You Know, The Better"

I didn't agree with the saying.

I mean, knowledge is limitless. It doesn't hurt to know more, right? An extra scoop of information is always useful. As some people put it, two is better than one, and one is better than none.

For this reason, consumers will always try to get as much information about the products they are reviewing before actually forking out a sum of money (small or large) from their wallets/purses/credit cards.

I still remember the time mum was buying our third computer. She was so anxious about the computer she asked quite a number of questions about it.

"What is the power rating of the speakers? 60W?"

"Does the mouse has a scroll-wheel?"

"Is the mouse an optical mouse?"

At times I couldn't help rolling my eyes upon hearing those questions. I pity the computer guy, having to answer so many questions to a middle age woman, who knows nuts about computer.

Well, at least that's better than a case like this.

Customer: A Fillet-O-Fish McValue Meal, please.
Cashier: OK, regular, or large?
Customer: Um, what are the differences?
Cashier: Well, large is er, larger, and it costs RM1 to upgrade from a regular meal to large.
Customer: How much larger?
Cashier: The burger is the same, but you get a large box of fries and bottomless soft drink.
Customer: How large are the fries? What is the net weight?
Cashier: Uh...
Customer: What about the Fillet? What is used to made the buns? Is it white or whole meal? Is it Omega-3 enriched? Does it have sesame seeds?
Cashier: ...
Customer: And the fish fillet? How big exactly is it? What fish is it made from? Where was it caught? Was it contaminated with mercury? How long was it cooked? Was it fried, steamed, or baked? How do you...

'Fast'-food, indeed.

Yet, if you know too much, it can be bad too.

I still remember how easy buying a computer was. I didn't even have to say what I want. I just need to state my budget.

"RM2500, please." And I expect them to recommend the best machine within my price range.

Today, however, there are much more to think about before buying a laptop.

Brand? Processor? Dual core? 32-bit? 64-bit? L2 cache? Nanometre scale? Intel? AMD? RAM? RAM frequency? SDRAM? DDR SDRAM? DDR2 SDRAM? FSB? HDD? Hybrid Drive? OS? Vista? XP? Mac? Linux? Graphics Card? nVIDIA? ATI? GPU frequency? Pipelines? GPU dedicated RAM? DDR3 SDRAM? 256-bit? 128-bit? 64-bit? TFT screen? XGA? WXGA? Refresh rate? Maximum resolution? Wi-Fi? Bluetooth? Infrared? Giganet? Ethernet? Modem? USB2.0? IEEE1394? DVI? RGB? Serial? 3.5mm audio jack? Dolby Digital Surround? CD? CD-R? CD-RW? DVD? DVD-R? DVD+R? DVD-RW? DVD+RW? DVD-RAM? BD? BD-R? BD-RE? Webcam? Webcam resolution? Microphone? Card reader? Battery? Battery life? Battery stability? Price?

Oh, goodness. It takes longer to answer the questions than to wear out a laptop. So you've got to start planning for your next next laptop now.

The thing is I'm thinking of getting a new phone. I'm currently trying to answer a lot of questions too.

Brand? Processor? RAM? OS? Windows Mobile? Linux? Non-smartphone? PDA? Screen size? Screen resolutiion? VGA? XVGA? Touch screen? Multi touch screen? Stylus? Anti touch screen? Glossy screen? Transreflective screen? 64k colours? 256k colours? 16M colours? Triband? Quadband? GSM? HSCSD? GPRS? EDGE? 3G? 3.5G? HSDPA? HSUPA? 3.6Mbps? 7.2Mbps? Wi-Fi? Bluetooth? Bluetooth 2.0? Bluetooth with AD2P? Infrared? USB? USB2.0? USB charging? TV-out port? Dual-sim?

*Takes deep breath*

Camera? Megapixel ratings? Flash? Xenon flash? Video flash? Autofocus? Camera lens cover? Focal length? Optical zoom? Dedicated camera keys? Video quality? Video fps? Video resolution? Second video call camera? Available on board memory? M2 slot? MicroSD slot? MicroSDHC? Maximum capable memory? Multi-tap buttons? Full QWERTY keyboard? Joystick? D-pad? Buttons layout? Buttons tactile feedback? Metal? Plastic? GPS? A-GPS? Geo-tagging? Ambient light sensor? 3D video processor?

*Pant, pant*

Candybar? Swivel? Slide? Flip? Size? Weight? Audio quality? Audio formats supported? WAV? MP3? Ogg Vorbis? WMA? 3.5mm audio jack? Dedicated audio keys? Audio player? FM tuner? RDS? Maximum storable stations? FM transmitter? Transmitter strength? Polyphonic ringtones? Videos? Phonebook size? Calendar? Java? Multiple alarm clock? Screensaver? Browser? Accelerometer? Auto UI rotate? Battery life? Charging time?

*Wheeze... wheeze...*

Pr... pr... price?

*Faints*

Hmmm. So, the Fillet-O-Fish is made of which fish again? The lesser I know, the better? You're probably right.