Does what it says on the tin

That's the slogan of an advert on British TV for products that protect household woodwork.

I rarely buy computer programmes that do what I want or expect, and by the time I've figured them out I've lost interest and moved on.

I was having problems uploading music on to my new ebook reader , and I was pretty sure it was because the tracks weren't in the right format. But how to convert them?

I found something in PC World that looked as if it might do the trick, but decided to ask the advice of a couple of salesmen. After some tapping keys and cogitating, they came to the conclusion that I would need some extra software. "Like this?" I said, producing this box from behind my back.

They said yes, so I bought it (for a lot less than it was on Amazon, where I found this picture). Seems I didn't really need their help at all.

It took a while to run all my tracks through it, but then they went straight into the ebook programme, then straight on to the ebook reader. Why can't things always be that simple?