Planned obsolescence- how tech companies are screwing you over

One of those reasons has less to do with planned obsolescence but with financing technology.

If you would spend millions to invent and or perfect a new technology so it´s customer friendly, you would want your share from the cake, too. You don´t do business for fun normally.

Blue-Ray was available as a working technology, even before most households had DVD. But the development has to be paid, too.

Every thing has Planned obsolescence!
the TV, washing machine, cars, toilet seat All of it.
a fridge will last 5 years.
but they could easily make it last 100 years.

but this way you Have to Pay for a new one ever 5 years.
more Money for them...

remember recycle!
the Land fills will not fill them self's.

The last couple of generations have been brought up on *consumerism*

And its destroying the planet at an ever increasing speed

- Definition of consumerism. The theory that an increasing consumption of goods is economically desirable also : a preoccupation with and an inclination toward the buying of consumer goods …

Equating to making Corporations and thereby the rich ........ever richer[b]

a reply to: buddha

Every thing has Planned obsolescence!
the TV, washing machine, cars, toilet seat All of it.
a fridge will last 5 years.
but they could easily make it last 100 years.

My LG TV is from 2007.
My AEG tumble dryer is from 1996.
My Siemens wash-machine is from 2001.
My Torro lawnmower is from 1988 or 1989
My FESTOOL power track saw is from 1994
My Bosch impact drill is from 1992(?)
My STIHL gas-chainsaw is from 197?
My Honda 250cc Enduro is from 1972 and has 100k on the counter.

all of those are still working. All of those are not off-brand and well maintained. So I clearly disagree. Stop buying crap and you´ll have something that lasts.

But there are some parts that will naturally wear out such as brake pads, saw blades, igniters... You can´t stop that. Where I agree is that ytoday you need to have some knowledge about the stuff you buy.

You can buy a 450€ high pressure washer that has PVC pump encasement or you buy the 300€ high pressure washer that has the magnesium case. The cheaper one will last you longer in this case.

Know what you need it for and then buy. I would never buy a high-brand anything, if I only need it a couple of times.

You can repair stuff too. Often it´s the part where the 200 pound gorilla meets the tool (the switch). Stole that from AvE.

originally posted by: Thecakeisalie
These devices are designed to be replaced, not repaired.

Yes, I agree. My washing machine broke down last week. To get it repaired would probably cost more than a new one. I could probably give a washing machine a go if I could get the parts, but an iPhone would be out of most people's league.

There was something I read about things being beyond most people's comprehension to fix. When I was younger my car was something I could fix myself, but nowadays I can't even change the headlight bulb, let alone open the engine casing.

Sadly, there is no commercial model that provides for a long-life product. If an iPhone lasted three years instead of two, then Apple's revenues would collapse.

How is anyone screwing you over?

You're the idiot buying their worthless s#.

Who do you blame for that?

Read the Ted Kaczynsk Manifesto. I spent a couple hours reading this recently. Outside of the whole bombing campaign he makes some good points.

originally posted by: Scifi2424
Read the Ted Kaczynsk Manifesto. I spent a couple hours reading this recently. Outside of the whole bombing campaign he makes some good points.

I skimmed it and he does not seem to understand that movements are people being independent (within an industrial and technological environment) and that if we all went back in time, we would end up behaving as they did in the medieval times or the 'independent lawlessness' of the wild wild west. Maybe the latter is where his head was at?

a reply to: Thecakeisalie
I agree that our civilization is saturated with planned obsolescence in many forms, but your example falls short regarding resistors and electronics, at least in the 21rst century. Modern electronics manufacturers avoid using resistors as much as possible because of energy loss. Electronics have actually become far more efficient than they used to be.

Nevertheless, planned obsolescence is definitely a part of the industry, because everything you buy already has a "better" successor waiting to be released after enough of the predecessor has been sold.

It was intended. Silicon Valley CEO's were complaining about people holding onto old hardware two decades ago. Those people who didn't upgrade CPU's, memory, motherboards and graphics boards were holding the industry back. Vendors had to spend millions on customer support for oddball combinations of hardware. Get everything welded onto the same motherboard and the customer has to upgrade the entire device, but the vendor only need a fixed combination of device drivers and one system to support. They hated Linux because it was competition and kept old hardware in use.

Now the majority of supercomputers use Linux.

15 years ago I had a laptop that I constantly bought spare parts for. Hard disk drives were upgraded from 40GB to 80GB, 250GB and then 500GB. Memory went from 1GB to 2GB. OS went from one version of Linux to another. Replaced cooling fan assemblies, keyboard, LCD screen with fluorescent tubes (exchange price for return of old LCD screen cost 1/2 price of the original laptop).

originally posted by: Flatcoat
Or the Apple way of deliberately slowing down old devices with dodgy firmware updates.

Apple also uses soaftware updates that will purposely deplete the battery.

Imagine the wonders we could create, if the engineers and technicians from manufacturing, and all of the sharp marketing folks, would have dedicated their brilliance to the betterment of all mankind, instead of enriching the greedy.

Does anyone else see the potential?

Are we not fools?

a reply to: Nothin

So, they're supposed to work for free?

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: Nothin

So, they're supposed to work for free?

What do you figure folks are 'supposed' to do, and why?

Can we not imagine the possibilities? You know: a thought exercise?

Is not our society short-sighted, and individualistic often-times?

Do not folks sometimes work, unmotivated by financial gain?

a reply to: Nothin

Do not folks sometimes work, unmotivated by financial gain?

Indeed they do.
But they also need to have a place to live, and to eat. And they need to buy equipment and have assistants who also need a place to live, and to eat.

It adds up.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: Nothin

Do not folks sometimes work, unmotivated by financial gain?

Indeed they do.
But they also need to have a place to live, and to eat. And they need to buy equipment and have assistants who also need a place to live, and to eat.

It adds up.

Do you think that carrots ($), drawing the cart of innovation and development: does not restrict the subsequent research to the interests of the financiers?

We don't need a lab to research how to make a longer-lasting light-bulb, 'cause we got it down already.
Yet we are investing in research, to reduce product life.
Not impressed, personally. Sorry.

a reply to: Nothin

I see the problem.

You are linking research and manufacturing. They are not one and the same.

Alas, it is true that manufacturing depends upon profit (we are capitalists, are we not?) and profit depends on sales and if something lasts forever sales do not continue.

I do my best. I've jury rigged my dishwasher a couple of times now. To start it, I short the green wire to the black wire. To reset, I short the red to the black.

I'll show them!

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

None of what you posted makes much sense.

Yes, good cooling on a desktop is a luxury, and becomes much more important with overclocking but laptops, tablets and smartphones don't have that luxury since overclocking is obviously power hungry as are more hefty cooling options. Being that those three are mobile, it goes against it's design.

a reply to: hombero

Maybe research why and who had major input into building nuclear in japan, which naturally includes the 'where'. Here's a hint: General Electric.
Sorry OP. Off topic. But can't let subtle stabs like that go unchecked.

On topic. OP:
Planned obsolescence, absolutely. Maybe mention it to Elon, he seems about the only mainstream entity capable of breaking that particular trend. Resistors havent really been a problem though. Personally I've had phones, laptops, tablets that have lasted ages, and some that havent due to bad handling. Battery seems to be the usual culprit over time for me.

Even with PC's, a PC of mine with an ASUS P5B deluxe that has only just died, and to be honest...I think it's the Corsair TX650 Power supply, or maybe not. It is an overclocked Q6600.

Tablets, Laptops, all of the above, and below, generally become obsolete rather quickly, with the rapid increase in technology. I think the real tragedy is the idea that they possibly restrict the release of the latest technology in order to make a profit.

a reply to: hombero

Sorta sense some sort of mild, slight bias there lol.

Post a source and I'd be happy to read but that seems like straight up BS.

en.m.wikipedia.org...

There's even a documentary about it, and it involves General Electric.

The Japanese at the time were hardly making anything in industry to even have planned obsolescence lol.