Alexrd said: My mistake. I thought it was you who had mention a gonk.
No problem! I had to look it up actually. :-) I'm not up on internet speak!
Alexrd said: Yet, you need space on the vehicle for the deliveries.
That's the entire point of the comparison I made! You could do it. Open the sunroof. Have deliveries sticking out of the boot. Make more trips. It's possible, but it's not likely. That's my point. If Anakin's mother needed help, it's possible that he would build a droid specialised in protocol and translation, but it's more likely he would make her a droid more fitted to the purpose.
From the comments of his friends, an astromech is not something that common around there.
So what? He can still build one. If he wants to be a pilot, having him build an astromech would at least make sense.
A protocol droid seems way more pratical for chores than an astromech.
This has nothing to do with anything I have posted. I never argued that an astromech would be good at chores. I argued that a more plausible scenario -- if you want to have Artoo in the film -- is to have Anakin build the droid for himself.