A simply "Amazon" coda to my recent Sirius/XM Radio and DirecTV tortures: My constant companion, an Amazon Kindle paper-white e-reader, finally gave up the ghost. Early symptoms were longer charging times and more frequent needs to be charged up.
Went through all the usual diagnostics but TBT, the batteries in these things are pretty well shot after five years even in airplane mode with the power-hungry wi-fi shut off.
Finally, it would only work for a minute or two away from its power cable.
What to do? I was in the middle of a pretty good book, so ordered and quickly received a refurbished replacement. Now, what to do with the old Kindle? It needs a new battery but is otherwise in babied shape.
So I called Amazon, which unlike Sudden-Link, Sirius and DirecTV among most service providers, is pretty good at quickly answering the phone in English. My intention was donate the dead-battery Kindle, certain they have some program to re-hab these things and then give them to perhaps disadvantaged school-kids.
The website the young man directed me to had no such option, and insofar as the thing was so far out of warranty, getting any monetary remuneration was out of the question. I just wanted to know how to give the thing away, have Amazon replace the spent battery in the hopes it might end up, working like new, in the hands of some needy person.
No joy.
This took a good half-hour's time, chewing through the Kindle website and being bounced back and forth to its warranty return page. That was enough time for me. So into the trash it goes. Too bad, and a waste. Of course, we treat our elderly the same way, when they could be put to good use. Guess it's a cultural thing. So, Mr. Bezos, hop on your private jet and go raise money for rich Democrat politicians.
Damn those needy schoolkids, anyway.