Sunday, January 31, 2010

Implied Warranty

Your book gives an example of an "implied warranty" -- a rock-polishing device being used by a child. Please consider the ethical idea of the implied warranty. Can you find any product images -- produced by a company and included on their website -- that might be conceived of as an implied warranty that is suspect, ethically, for some reason? Provide a link to the image you find and give me and your classmates an explanation of what you perceive as the problems with the image and/or text.

15 comments:

  1. I found an image of the Tesla Roadster that I feel does not honor the implied warrenty.

    http://www.teslamotors.com

    There are several pictures that are rotating but the first picture is the one I find misleading: "Performance with a clean consciense." However, that is not accurate.

    The Tesla Roadster is one of the first electric cars that is marketed towards the general public rather then to a niche market. The problem is that the Tesla Roadster uses a large bank of batteries that wear out and must be disposed of. At this point, there isn't a way to recycle these batteries and are, therefore, waste.

    Another problem is that a large portion of electrical energy produced for the grid is created using coal power. An increased electrical demand caused by electrical cars could lead to more coal power plants. This would ultimately defeat the point of an electric car.

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  4. www.powersports.honda.com/2010/cbr1000rr.aspx

    Shows people racing motorcycles, and I couldn't find anywhere where it says it is dangerous.

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  5. http://mantis.com

    This product implies that one does not have to wear any safety equipment other than glasses. Lokks pretty dangerous. No safety warnings on the website.

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  6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzWwBuc-5Ms

    This is an orbits gum video. It's a wedding where the bride drinks red wine, causing her teeth to turn red. She chews the gum to turn her teeth sparkling white.

    This implies that orbits gum will whiten your teeth after drinking red wine.

    Also: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Fisher-Price-Power-Wheels-Ford-Mustang-Ride-On/11303659

    This car shows a boy driving with a girl in the passenger seat. If you scroll down, the car is for boys only, even though the picture shows a girl in the car. This is an ethical problem because it is discrimination against girls.

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  7. This ad implies it is safe to use a cross bow in a bikini or half naked. It also might imply that the cross bow is easy to use.

    http://www.crossbowwarehouse.com/images/example.jpg

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  8. http://www.blackanddecker.com/ProductGuide/Product-Details.aspx?ProductID=15636#

    This is a page for a cordless power drill and all the action pictures imply that the drill can be operated safely with one hand. If you've used a drill before, you know that using one hand usually is unsafe and not efficient.

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  9. I found this ad for a tax software for Farmers. In this ad it implies that you will be able to do a handstand while balancing on a skateboard, if you use their software. No where in the ad does it say that this was done by a stunt man. It also does not say not to try to do a handstand while balancing on a skateboard. www.adrants.com/images/REPRINT_FP07_skate.jpg

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  10. http://www.qwest.com/residential/internet/speedcomparison/index.html

    Here is an advertisement for high-speed internet with an advertised download speed of 20 Mbps. In reality, the actual download speed is always much lower. The animation also makes their basic 1.5 Mbps service look incredibly slow, when that is sufficient bandwidth for most users.

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  11. http://www.daisy.com/index.html

    This is a website for a maker of BB guns. There are images all over the website of children using these BB guns without safety glasses. There is a safety section of the website and is does not address safety glasses at all. I feel this does not support the implied warranty. I'm sure that safety glasses are important here.

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  12. http://feetinthepaint.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/ipod3.jpg
    This ad implies that you can listen to music on your iPod. While this is technically true, the ad doesn't say you have to buy and put music onto the iPod after you buy the device.

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  13. http://hungeraway.com/

    The marketers of this over the counter weight loss medication promise that you will be able to lose weight and keep it off. The pill is supposed to reduce your appetite. While this may or may not be true, the FDA has not approved this medication. The marketers make no mention of this lack of approval or potential unknown safety issues.

    The marketers of Hoodia imply that anyone can take this pill safely but have no evidence that it is in fact safe.

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  14. http://www.wreckthetapedeck.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/american-apparel-ad-vice-socks-250205.jpg

    These must be some comfy socks!

    Well we have a mostly nude attractive woman wearing not much more than a pair of tall socks. This could definitely imply that these socks not only feel good, but they also look good enough to show off. They're saying these socks could be used with or without other clothes and are best on attractive women. And they are, I bought my girlfriend a pair. I am pleased with the results.

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  15. http://www.lilimay.com/software/tools.php

    There is a picture on this page with the image of a baby in front of a laptop. The website is advertising software for expecting mothers. This image implies that babies could use the software when obviously they couldn't.

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