Yes, there is a lot of Boeing bashing going on recently but much of it may be deserved. First, let me say that I have always been a Boeing supporter and thought they made the best airplanes in the world. However, things changed at Boeing after the McDonnell Douglas merger, and not for the best. Upper management changed and started cutting costs by cutting corners and people. Speed and costs became more important than quality and safety. Boeing management became obsessed with keeping and maintaining the stock prices as high as possible. Their focus shifted from keeping customers happy and safe to keeping Wall Street happy.

This was exposed after the 737 Max crashes. Documents have been released that Boeing knew (and later lied about) the possible dangers with the MCAS system. Boeing knew all along that MCAS could be a problem but hoped they could "update" it and fix the issues while the aircraft was in service. Even after the crashes and Boeing knew that MCAS was at fault, they tried to shift blame to the airline and pilots.

MCAS description or operation was not described or even mentioned in the 737 Max manuals. Pilots and FAA inspectors did not even know it existed. In fact, Boeing employees were forbidden to mention MCAS to anyone outside the company, including the FAA. This was done by Boeing to speed up the certification of the Max aircraft by telling the airlines and pilots that the 737 Max flew exactly like the older 737s and required no additional training, an expensive cost for the airlines. All this has been revealed in released Boeing documents.

The door plug on Alaskan Airlines appears to be much the same. Boeing's first response was to blame its fuselage builders, Spirit Aerosystems, for shoddy build quality and poor quality control. Recently obtained documents now reveal that Boeing itself removed the door plug at its facility in Seattle and failed to reinstall the bolts that held the door in place. It also violated its own quality policies by NOT properly documenting the action of the door plug removal and replacement. Proper documentation would have ensured that an inspection of the reinstallation of the door plug would have taken place and the missing bolts would have been discovered. But this never happened.

Again, I am a Boeing supporter, and I truly hope they get their act together, but when they lie about their operations, and hide problems while not accepting responsibility for their actions, this becomes a huge problem for me. This is especially true when people's lives hang in the balance. These actions tell me they value money or share prices over the lives of the people who fly in and on their airplanes.

Management issues may also be apparent in other Boeing projects. The 777-9, the Air Force KC-46, and the Boeing Starliner commercial spacecraft have all experienced quality issues delaying their deliveries. I am sure regulators and customers of these aircraft are taking a much closer view of Boeing after the recent events.

Thanks to all who responded with suggestions. A reboot helped and the thumbnails did show but it took several seconds for all of them to morph from logo image to thumbnail. A second reboot did the trick. Now when I bring up a file of photos, all the thumbnails pop up immediately! I've learned my lesson to not be lazy about keeping things running correctly. I will now do a weekly reboot of the system to shut down unwanted programs that may be playing in the background. I already learned that about cell phones. If you don't close down the multiple windows that are stacking up during the day, it slows down your phone.

Sometimes I see a lot of meanness on this site. People without understanding the economies of other members, throw out recommendations about buying like they are the ultimate authority on a subject, or right out boast like they think others are stupid for not buying the best on the market. Some people skimp whenever they can due to their financial situation. Obviously, you can't buy a generic Nikon, Canon, Sony, or Olympus body so while someone may have funds for that, they may need to skimp elsewhere. Someone in another post actually said they would not buy a non-OEM battery because it might be made in a foreign country! Guess what -- your OEM batteries are made in a foreign country! Other answers berate members for buying 3rd party items like battery grips. Hey, maybe they don't need the grip that can fall off a 100 ft. cliff and survive, maybe they just like a grip that affords a better hold when using the camera in a vertical orientation. Someone else said they would only buy HP cartridges -- I have an answer for that -- professional equipment like printers using eight or more cartridges notwithstanding, if you own a printer that you paid a couple of hundred dollars for, you didn't buy a printer, you bought into a very expensive ink program. Those lower-priced printers are so cheap because when you buy one, HP, Canon, or any others the manufacturer has you by the balls! You will be paying through the nose for your ink. Epson, and now Canon and HP have printers that use tanks which are easy to fill and cost a fraction of what cartridges do. Another possibility is that when it comes to batteries who knows who makes them? There may only be two plants in Japan/China/Taiwan that make all of them and just put different names on them. Look at the round head flash from Neewer, Bolt, and Godox they are all the same unit, just a name change. When someone asks for advice, it would be nice to see people respond with their recommendations and not put others down for things like not using OEM equipment. I would bet 75% of people here who act like people are stupid for not spending the extra bucks for a Nikon/Canon/Sony battery, use a flash that is not OEM. I work part-time at Sam's Club and I've had people tell me they would only buy Everyready Batteries over the store brand. Guess what -- they are the same battery! They don't understand marketing -- they can't believe Everyready would sell us batteries that would undercut the name brand. I explain that most big retailers will have an inhouse brand and Eveyready knows if they don't sell us a generic, someone else would! This way they get all the business. Ever see two gas stations owned by the same company across the street from each other -- it's about limiting competition. While I understand some of the group has the money to buy top-drawer on all their equipment, I think putting others down (and that is what you are doing when you state I would only buy xxx) is insensitive and is an opinion you should keep to yourselves. When I was 15, I worked in a manufacturing jewelry shop. We sold Rolex watches both 14 kt. and gold plated. They looked identical so one day I asked Mr. Hays (the owner) why anyone would spend 1200 or more for a Rolex when they could have an identical watch in gold plate for a third of the price. I said no one would know the difference. Mr. Hays looked me in the eye and said, "Oh, but the owner would know". That has stuck with me for the last 58 years and I have tried to live life in a way so as not to flaunt what I have but to just respect my good fortune when something good comes my way. So UHHers, lighten up. Respect each other, give recommendations when asked, and don't come down on others for their choices. (If you are wondering about the cheap prices for Rolex Watches -- while I worked at the jewelry shop the US went off the gold standard. One day gold was 37.00 an ounce, the next day it was like 387.00 an ounce!)