This is why we can't have nice things

This video is about stuff: light bulbs, printers, phones and why they aren't better.

This video generated over 20,000 comments in just three days.

Planned obsolescence should be a crime ... punished by an incredibly harsh sentence:

The older I get, the more I appreciate tools and machines older than me. Easier to repair, and were build with quality and pride. It's not uncommon to see old iron still doing work.


Society kind of has itself to blame with the need to have the latest and greatest whatever.. I mean people have been conditioned to just throw it away instead of repair it. Unfortunately corps have capitalized on people's laziness and just keep producing trash and people are forced to accept it. Trust me, I've had my run in with the issue more times than I should have.

a reply to: Snarl

It's ok, soon we'll have lightbulbs as a service, you can already buy printers as a service. Everything as a service, it's the post-planned obsolescence future.

All the profits for corporations, with none of the waste. Instead of buying new crap every couple months, they'll just charge you perpetually for your license to be allowed to use your crap. Microtransactions everywhere...

If you think I'm exaggerating... this is the top comment on an article about visa accepting crypto payments on a website full.of tech millionaires.

What we really need is for the Fed to enable micro transactions. Make transferring money so easy and cheap that Visa et al can be disrupted. Facebook/Google would also be disrupted—people would be willing to pay $.03 to watch a video or read an article instead of handing over their data.

The future...

life as a service

web-strategist.com...

hackernoon.com...

Being nickeled and dimed for every moment of your existence while you own absolutely nothing.

a reply to: eXia7

U.S. Govt is throwing away people after a certain age. About age 85 now....and trending downward.

a reply to: eXia7

Except now it isn't really about laziness. A lot of times, in most places anyways, you physically can't fix "stuff". You can try, but it will void your warranty; or you buy parts from a third party, it doesn't quite work, and you waste money over and over again.

Capitalism only works if we all keep buying stuff. If everyone was able to fix everything, and lived a more minimalist, slower lifestyle, bye bye economy.

Planned obsolescence is horrible, and it's part of capitalism, which is also kind of horrible, but people do love to cling to it as long as they're the ones making money.

a reply to: Snarl

Planned obsolensence sucks and is very wasteful.
It only benefits the corporations,by design of course.
Its one reason I like old stuff,from cars to appliances-You can often fix them yourself(or with a bit of help).

The EU,who I very rarely agree with on many matters has recently brought in a "Right to repair" law,which is designed to combat planned obsolescencee,and may hopefully lead to less waste.
Feels odd to agree with them for a change

www.bbc.com...

a reply to: Snarl
But they need consumers to keep recycling to "save the environment" rather than make something decent that last year's just keep on consuming and recycling.

That's sarcasm by the way but the same people pushing rampant consumerism seem very keen to try and convince us that they are "doing their bit" to save the worldwhile the pollution etc is all our fault.

Used to be SaaS (Software as a Service).

Now it's LaaS (Life as a Service).

Thanks for the gumball!

originally posted by: Atsbhct
a reply to: eXia7

Except now it isn't really about laziness. A lot of times, in most places anyways, you physically can't fix "stuff". You can try, but it will void your warranty; or you buy parts from a third party, it doesn't quite work, and you waste money over and over again.

Capitalism only works if we all keep buying stuff. If everyone was able to fix everything, and lived a more minimalist, slower lifestyle, bye bye economy.

Planned obsolescence is horrible, and it's part of capitalism, which is also kind of horrible, but people do love to cling to it as long as they're the ones making money.

Agreed, but there have been a few times where a warranty meant nothing.. I basically had extra toilet paper.

a reply to: Snarl
I am so glad you mentioned this. I am 71, a Retired Registered Nurse. Also by design a small engine repairman as a sideline. Medical devices are constantly being upgraded and quickly become obsolete. Some of which were probably designed to be that way.
Briggs and Stratton motors for years made engines intended to run for a very long time. They were powerful and strong. Today, the Carbs are of a nylon, plastic material. [we all know what gas does to plastic and nylon]. But it doesn't end there. I have a generator that runs on points. It is powerful. If there were an EMP, it would still run.
Consider computer hardware. I run old printers on Ubuntu. The ink is refillable, but those same printers are obsolete due to non driver support on new systems. That is deliberate on the part of Microsoft etc. Most other hardware for computer systems have the same issues.
Now consider just one item in your house. Say....a window fan.
Today those fans cost about 15 bucks or a little more. But they are disposable. They last perhaps two years at most and with regular use only a year. No more than two seasons. Better buy two at a time if you wish to not have one die at 3am while you sleep.
So..the wife and I go to garage sales. When I find an old fan made of steel and dirty, I buy it for a buck, clean it up, go over the fan, motor etc, maybe even paint it. the older the fan the better. They were made to last years. I have two in use now and I doubt I will need another. They were made to last.
So now our landfill is full of millions of trashed window fans because they are.....disposable.
I seldom post but couldn't resist this one. It is a sore point with me. So many complain about our landfills being full, and our planet in trouble trash wise. Some of those same people that complain are the root cause of the problem. How many other products and manufacturers are responsible for all of this trash? It is called "greed:.

a reply to: eXia7

Same here. I try to buy big purchases as "dumb" as possible. Preferrably used.

When my dad passed my favorite thing I inherited from him was his collection and his father's collection of old hand tools; saws, miters, hammers etc but all run by human power. Keep them oiled and they will probably outlive the human race. Right to repair sounds like the best idea ever to me. That would dovetail nicely with the open source world of products made to have standardized parts most of which can simply be made with a 3d printer. The world would gain immensely from NOT having business millionaires which is the reason the US and world are currently in the mess we're in.

a reply to: Snarl

And the other pet peeve related to this... the subscription model. I hate paying for things monthly that I used to be able to buy one and done without divulging tons of personal data. I've given up most subscription based software all together.

a reply to: Snarl

But REAL capitalism has never been tried.

Love this clown world right now. End stage corporate capitalism on the verge of enslaving the world yet people still can't see the writing on the wall of the massive flaws in the system that so many uphold as the bastion of freedom and what not.

You will drive the e car, you will use the e monies, you will live in the McCondo, your favorite sports team will be named after a breakfast cereal, and brand of tissues, everyone will carry their device and you will use it. And you'll be happy.
Just keep consuming, that's it!

a reply to: Asktheanimals
I still have some of my Great Grandfathers leather and wood working tools-saws,files,punches,etc.
I don't think i have ever broken one of them,and they are far superior to anything i have bought new which I always break.

From a time when people took pride in doing a good job and crafting quality.
All thats been swapped for garbage and proft these days.

a reply to: Atsbhct

Well, start counting the days because just about all the big software companies are going to this model.

Adobe, Autodesk, etc.

This thread is so true and right on the mark! I recently bought a four-pack of 100 watt light bulbs and three of them blew out the first time I turned them on. So, to replace those, (because I needed light in my house - I'm funny that way), I bought another four-pack from somewhere else. They all blew out within days of each other, all in different light fixtures, after about three months. Talk about planned obsolesence! Sheesh! And that's just light bulbs. Don't get me started on everything else.

a reply to: Snarl

The piece on lamps and planned obsolesce is outdated, manufacturers are making products that last into the tens of thousands of hours now and there is plenty of competition.

Welcome to a consumer society. When I lived in Japan their car registration would go up each years past like 5 years at an exponential level. Being in the US military my registration was a set amount no matter the age of the car, so we would get some really nice cars for pennies on the dollar to drive as Japanese would reach a point it was cheaper to just buy a new one.

originally posted by: TrulyColorBlind
This thread is so true and right on the mark! I recently bought a four-pack of 100 watt light bulbs and three of them blew out the first time I turned them on. So, to replace those, (because I needed light in my house - I'm funny that way), I bought another four-pack from somewhere else. They all blew out within days of each other, all in different light fixtures, after about three months. Talk about planned obsolesence! Sheesh! And that's just light bulbs. Don't get me started on everything else.

What type of lamps? Incandescent, LED? If LED those were under warranty and should have been returned for a refund/exchange. There's also a thing called 'hot starting' which can effect the electronics of some LEDs if you screw them in while the power is on.