The simple things may become profitable for some

June 29, 2026

We now often hear complaints about how much tradies charge and this is a result of these innovations.

Many years ago my new school teacher neighbour on a Sunday introduced himself and enquired if I was an electrician because he had no power in his house. I found he had a blown fuse and he was quite indignant “he could have fixed that”. I had not charged him but what could I have charged for some expertise and a little fuse wire? Recently another neighbour was charged $900 to fix a leaking pipe – a shifter and a little sealant – and another handyman neighbour changed a light fitting and then the light would not turn off – all simple jobs for tradies in the know. All reason to complain about the charges.

As for data storage, which I don’t in the least understand, but it seems like there is going to be a need for a lot of unless data is stored akin to the time when every household was pressured into buying a set of encyclopaedias – when one in every school and council library was sufficient – not to mention phone photos stored and new car data.