However, unlike the decisions that eventually led to Detroit’s downfall, planned obsolescence is a good thing for both consumers and hardware vendors alike.
As I understand it, the original academic paper introducing the concept of planned obsolescence, described it as an economic boon -- essentially a form of stimulus. At the time, the intent was not to sabotage the lifetime of products, but to keep introducing desirable new features.
Now, anecdotally, I think that I've witnessed planned obsolescence of a sort, in some kinds of products. I remember the home appliances in my house when I was a kid, being much more reliable than those sold today. I've had to repair literally every appliance in my house over the past decade, in some cases two or even three times. We're already on our second fridge. The cause may simply be due to relentlessly driving the cost out of those products while keeping an eye on the one-year warranty.
Fridges used to be made out of metal (plumbing, freezer etc). Now they are made out of plastic that cracks after ~2 years, perfect time for warranty to run out and force you to buy new one.
Solid washing machines used good quality stainless metal for the Drum Support/Spider. Nowadays they use specially designed alloy that DISSOLVES in washing powder:
VW answer: this part is non serviceable, whole crankshaft needs to be replaced :D Why is it made out of putty while smaller sprocket (the one taking more force) is still 'working'? Why is it designed not to be replaceable? Good 'old timer/not by the book' mechanic is still able to replace it (heat whole crankshaft, use big hammer).
maybe, but I think that reducing the lifespan by 50% does not produce a reduction of 50% of the price for the seller, but often mean a reduction of 50% of the value of the product for the buyer. It is very bad also for ecology.
Are you sure those appliances weren't repaired? I keep on hearing about planned obsolescence, but between my fridge, oven and washer, I've had one repair in a total of 36 functional years between the three items. I knew the people who lived here before me, and I know they repaired the items I replaced half a dozen times each.
They might of been repaired. Point is things nowadays are designed specifically to be NON REPAIRABLE.
Apple is the perfect example, from using glue everywhere (have fun replacing screens/batteries/keyboards #1) to actively sabotaging servicing by booby-trapping products (screw holes over critical pcb section + carefully selected screw lenght to destroy said pcd section). https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9833205
#1 replacing non splash/liquid proof apple keyboard means ripping out about 70 alu rivets! And we all know nobody ever spilled any liquid on a keyboard, right? Its not like it was designed to make you go out and pay $750 directly to Apple for replacement. Its not like its a solved problem and you could go out and but IBM/Lenovo T410 lapto .. oh wait.
Exactly. Lots of people seem to remember how reliable old appliances were, but it's notable that there are a lot fewer appliance repair shops than there used to be.
Is that a result of appliances becoming more reliable, or just cheaper to replace (disposable)?
Comments
However, unlike the decisions that eventually led to Detroit’s downfall, planned obsolescence is a good thing for both consumers and hardware vendors alike.
As I understand it, the original academic paper introducing the concept of planned obsolescence, described it as an economic boon -- essentially a form of stimulus. At the time, the intent was not to sabotage the lifetime of products, but to keep introducing desirable new features.
Now, anecdotally, I think that I've witnessed planned obsolescence of a sort, in some kinds of products. I remember the home appliances in my house when I was a kid, being much more reliable than those sold today. I've had to repair literally every appliance in my house over the past decade, in some cases two or even three times. We're already on our second fridge. The cause may simply be due to relentlessly driving the cost out of those products while keeping an eye on the one-year warranty.
Fridges used to be made out of metal (plumbing, freezer etc). Now they are made out of plastic that cracks after ~2 years, perfect time for warranty to run out and force you to buy new one.
Solid washing machines used good quality stainless metal for the Drum Support/Spider. Nowadays they use specially designed alloy that DISSOLVES in washing powder:
https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=corroded+spider+was...
Drum spider corrodes and falls apart, incidentally it is often the ONLY internal part not covered with anti corrosion paint :).
Car manufacturers also jumped on this bandwagon. VW group 2.0 TDI BLB Engine is made to fail at ~200K no matter what you do, from oil pump to head micro fractures. crankshaft sprocket after 200K http://lh6.ggpht.com/_m_33vQTtsxM/SyuSlFIeSXI/AAAAAAAAG9o/rt... http://lh3.ggpht.com/_m_33vQTtsxM/SyuSn5YALLI/AAAAAAAAG9s/ul... http://lh3.ggpht.com/_m_33vQTtsxM/SyuSp1yUs4I/AAAAAAAAG9w/mO...
VW answer: this part is non serviceable, whole crankshaft needs to be replaced :D Why is it made out of putty while smaller sprocket (the one taking more force) is still 'working'? Why is it designed not to be replaceable? Good 'old timer/not by the book' mechanic is still able to replace it (heat whole crankshaft, use big hammer).
How can you tell that it was planned obsolescence and not just lowering the quality to lower prices?
Don't know. I agree that your hypothesis is probably the best one. But lowering quality is a conscious decision.
maybe, but I think that reducing the lifespan by 50% does not produce a reduction of 50% of the price for the seller, but often mean a reduction of 50% of the value of the product for the buyer. It is very bad also for ecology.
Are you sure those appliances weren't repaired? I keep on hearing about planned obsolescence, but between my fridge, oven and washer, I've had one repair in a total of 36 functional years between the three items. I knew the people who lived here before me, and I know they repaired the items I replaced half a dozen times each.
They might of been repaired. Point is things nowadays are designed specifically to be NON REPAIRABLE.
Apple is the perfect example, from using glue everywhere (have fun replacing screens/batteries/keyboards #1) to actively sabotaging servicing by booby-trapping products (screw holes over critical pcb section + carefully selected screw lenght to destroy said pcd section). https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9833205
#1 replacing non splash/liquid proof apple keyboard means ripping out about 70 alu rivets! And we all know nobody ever spilled any liquid on a keyboard, right? Its not like it was designed to make you go out and pay $750 directly to Apple for replacement. Its not like its a solved problem and you could go out and but IBM/Lenovo T410 lapto .. oh wait.
Are you 100% sure that the appliances were more reliable?
Exactly. Lots of people seem to remember how reliable old appliances were, but it's notable that there are a lot fewer appliance repair shops than there used to be.
Is that a result of appliances becoming more reliable, or just cheaper to replace (disposable)?
I am absolutely certain that both my grandparents' homes had fully working 40 year old refrigerators and washing machines.
Which doesn't really answer the question without knowing how often they were repaired.
Human memories are not exactly the most reliable form of evidence. Even then, it's foolish to rely on the sample size of 1.
Show me a spreadsheet or a something.