THE BUILT IN OBSOLENCE OF ELECTRONICS IS COSTING PEOPLE MUCH MORE THAN PLANNED

 

Most people get excited when they hear a new gadget has been invented and hits the market.  Salivating at the mouth, the customer goes quickly to check what new quirks and perks the updated gadget entails.

But are we led by our noses?  Yes we are.  What has been happening now for a couple of decades, is that companies that make the nifty little toys, are very much aware that if they withhold a few features here and there, they can then force customers to constantly upgrade.  But that upgrade comes at a staggering cost.

First example: phones.  Each time one gets a new and upgraded phone, the phone company charges oodles for the phone, the service and the connection fee.  Are you getting a whole lot more for your money? Not really.  And have you noticed that as soon as the 2 year cellular phone contract is over, the battery in the phone dies, if it hasn't done it already ahead of the contract expiration? Yeap, we suspect built in obsolescence

Second example: Fiber Optic cables.  They are supposed to be super duper speedy. They also offer nifty combos and packages.  But have you noticed that although they assure the costumer that Fiber Optics will not suffer the same disruption of service as a satellite dish, which can get covered by snow, and is prone to blackouts in storms, then end up havig the same if not worse vulnerability to storms and blackouts as the satellite dish?  If they power goes out, so does Fios.  If the storms are strong, ditto.

Third example: music.  Music is a prime example of how the market knows to exploit the built in obsolescence of gadgetry.  First came vinyl, then tape, then cd, then ......you get the gist.  Every time the medium changes so do all the apparatus and systems needed to play it.

Fourth example: Movies.  Now there's the ultimate collusion of built in obsolence and the congruence of the movie/television/computer industry.  We went from VHS, granted not the best technology - who can forget those gnarly tangles the tape got into?- to dvd to blue ray.  But can your eyes really tell the difference between DVD and blue ray? nope.  Most people, especially those who have bad vision do not get any benefit.  But the new technology sells, and sells televisions, dvrs, blue ray players and computers.  And the next invention is right around the corner.  

One might want to get ready to open that wallet.  

Source : France 24/  7.8.13