Good while it lasted

I owned this camera for 13 months before it stopped working... one month longer than the warranty, unfortunately.  After a period of about 6 weeks that I hadn't used it I found it wouldn't turn on.  I went through several battery options and also the USB/firewire connection and still nothing.  Apparently the on/off switch just crapped out.  A call to Panasonic customer service informed me that they weren't aware of any manufacturers defect with the switch, despite that I'd found other web reports by users with the same problem, and that I'd have to send it in for repair.  I could pay $169 flat rate to repair whatever ailed it--about what it would cost for a brand new camera--or $56 for a diagnostic assessment afterwhich "maybe" management would decide to repair the switch for free.  I decided to save my money and put it into a new camera made by a more reliable company.  My recommendation: avoid this model (and possibly other Panasonic products) like the plague!