@steakster
It might help to know my perspective is also that of a service technician. I started working at the Allied Radio service department near my house the day after I graduated from high school. I continued to work in consumer repair while I put myself through college; after I got my degree I continued working consumer repair well into the 1980s.
Some equipment I serviced was extremely well-built internally and often I had to marvel at the pride that companies like MacIntosh or Tektronix obviously took in their work. Knowing what's under the hood has always been a curiosity of mine and I still do repair work on occasion just because I enjoy it.
It might help to know my perspective is also that of a service technician. I started working at the Allied Radio service department near my house the day after I graduated from high school. I continued to work in consumer repair while I put myself through college; after I got my degree I continued working consumer repair well into the 1980s.
Some equipment I serviced was extremely well-built internally and often I had to marvel at the pride that companies like MacIntosh or Tektronix obviously took in their work. Knowing what's under the hood has always been a curiosity of mine and I still do repair work on occasion just because I enjoy it.