I signed up for this website called Experts-Exchange to find out why my Garmin eTrex Legend Navigator would suddenly die, leaving only a thin vertical line on the display that required removal of the batteries to reboot. I figured it had something to do with the recent firmware "upgrade" I gave it (knowing that these "upgrades" almost always have side effects like "sometimes ruins everything", but this is how corporations make money). Or maybe it was just that the batteries were flaky.

Anyway, at this Expert-Exchange, you can sign up to the service for $12.95/month or cheaper for longer periods. Stepping back once: I had done a Google search and found this as a question on the site with two answers from "gurus" that I could reveal by signing up. There's a 7-day free trial so I figured I'd give it a go.

So what was the "guru"-level answer as to what can be done to fix the problem? Did it include instructions on a firmware upgrade? Did it ask for more details? Did it describe a specific kind of failure that is either user-serviceable or not? Did two different people answer the question — or perhaps offer different advice?

At the risk of violating the terms of service of the site, let me just say it was none of those. The "solution(s)" even failed to include a link to buy a whole new unit. Now, it would be one thing if these answers were listed as "well, pretty crummy but it's something", but apparently this is the cream-of-the-crop — the very best Experts-Exchange has to offer.

Needless to say, I've canceled my free trial.

As a footnote, I also found this page that describes my problem and offers a link to a solution — along with some discussion absent from the page therein linked.