Companies create faulty/substandard products to make more money?

You've probably seen it all the time in news. A new version of a software/OS that's supposed to be the holy grain of its predecessors is plagued with issues. All those fanboys who bought theirs first now have to buy something extra to fix it. Microsoft has a terrible reputation for this (Well they have been dominating the PC Market!).

Firstly they overcharge ridiculous amounts of money for their OS: Windows 7, and softwares: Office. Secondly, you would think that with all their money, they would make software thats different in a way that computer users would want. Not so, Windows 7 is just a 'less buggy' version of 7. Its still designed moronically. Any virus can easily render all the restore options useless. There's too much security even though I SPENT $300-600 BUYING IT AND I'M THE ADMINISTRATOR!. Office 2010 and 2013 are not only expensive, but for no reason at all. They still have a few features added on to them. but all for such a high price?
Even with all that they still try and milk you out of every cent they possibly can. I tried changing the main language of Office, found out it would cost $24.


Tech Companies arent the only offenders. Clothing companies do this. They all seem to have the same level of quality. Shoppers are fooled by different prices which don't mean much when in Gap, Forever 21, and all those average/low quality brands.

But of course, its not the companies fault for wanting to profit. Morality is the last thing on their minds. It's up to the consumer
to make an informed decision

Planned obsolescence its been happening for decades, Nintendo are one of the worst offenders

haven123
Planned obsolescence its been happening for decades, Nintendo are one of the worst offenders

Darn it! you beat me to it! Nintendo! star for you. yes there are companies that do that. Microsoft comes to mind! I've relaoded windows 7 more times than i can remember. and gates said it was "really stable"! (like XP hahahahahahahah ! ! ! ! ! !! ) anyway, it might be cool for software or game consoles. it really sucks when it's space shuttles and MIRV's !

reply to post by depleteduranium92


We will not be able to progress spiritually, politically and technologically until we strip ourself of money.

The day we burn our money in the street, will be the day every human being will be free.

reply to post by iRoyalty


I gotta tell ya, I applaud your sentiment, but no matter how "straight" the human race EVER gets itself, if they start burning money in the streets, when they could be burning "one" made from something else then that's total dark ages bro ! !

There is a good documentary about this if you ever have time to spare and nothing to watch.

It's called The Light Bulb Conspiracy



It goes into great detail on how things are "made" to break or need to be upgraded. It started off with the light bulb which used to have an extraordinary life span until the company noticed they weren't making enough money because people didn't need to replace them every month. They actually paid people to go in and figure out how to make the filament more fragile, so it would blow quicker.... making the company a nicer profit.

It's worth a watch and goes well with what you are noticing.

Bill Gates saw how governments, namely the USA create huge but not truly essential infrastructures to support some stated need that actually just embeds a permanent infrastructure that rewards those that implanted it for many years after their elected positions are finished, but the whole thing creates a whole new economy and requires more taxes to keep it going like a pyramid scheme in a way.

Look at how every new OS that Microsoft kicks out changes so many things that it requires class time and testing to figure it all out again since they "mixed it all up" in order to make it "be" a new product. Then getting certified in that all over again. It guarantees that billions will be spent in support of the entire economies generated from that keep on going.. This is that huge forced infrastructure I mentioned.

Plus it is all protected by them by instituting the "certification" system and it only rewards those that spend money on it. (Without those certs, no company will hire you.) Even if you are more able and knowledgeable than the people that are certified. The industry has protected itself to only work for those that participate with it, and in the way they want you to.

It insures itself to have tons of third parties beholden to keep that all propped up and continuing. And look at all the other economies that spring up around it like special schools that cost thousands just to get certified and re-certified in Microsoft products.

I think Bill Gates is socially a very dangerous person where individual freedom is concerned, but he sure knows how to create an empire, he just mirrored his own politics into his plans and there we are. He copied the way our government makes financial slaves out of us and built it up just like that. It seems a lot of companies are doing similar things.

That's just my take on it though..

tencap77
reply to post by iRoyalty

 

I gotta tell ya, I applaud your sentiment, but no matter how "straight" the human race EVER gets itself, if they start burning money in the streets, when they could be burning "one" made from something else

then that's total dark ages bro !

!

Very true!

If we get to a point where we can free all humans from the need to work, then there will be no need for money and no dark ages!

Probably been posted a million times on ATS, but I love this utopian idea: The Venus Project

I suspect there's a conspiracy with food too.

You can't just buy it once, and be done.
No, you have to eat food and even drink stuff at least to some degree once or twice a day.

If they could just design the food to last like maybe a week, that would be better and it wouldn't be so disgusting having to put stuff inside your face, mash it up, swallow it, and then, even more disgusting what happens later.

I think quality food that lasts a week or even a month should be more important than gadgets.
Maybe we could have luxury food items that are engineered by hand where you won't have to eat anything for a whole year?

Otherwise, this whole food design where it has to be eaten every single day is just unsustainable.

Having designed a number of bits of consumer equipment some of you might actually own, one of the issues I have is designing things crappily enough to meet specs.

We usually do designs for aerospace or military, and we design the things to last. However, we don't (generally) have tight cost constraints in those designs. It can be really challenging to come up with circuits for consumer products that are dog cheap AND have MTBFs such that 95% of the units will exceed the warranty.

But I definitely agree, when designing consumer electronics, they give you a design target for longevity and want you to design to it. Whether that's 10 years (some mfrs) or just a red hair past the end of the warranty. It's not that they ding you for designing for a longer service life, but that "if it's that good, you have designed too much cost in"

Wow. Everyone is ganging up on Bill Gates? Really!? Ok... Bill Gates is an asshole, and he has certainly engaged in this sort of activity (as have a lot of other companies), but how has NOBODY mentioned apple? I mean really... The iphone? It's specifically engineered to be replaced every year. It's the most ridiculous cash cow ever, and people freaking love it. They line up around the block to have their money taken from them annually for a substandard product. Even their computer systems aren't fully upgradable or customizable and people shell out THOUSANDS of dollars for them simply for brand name alone.

Yes, this conspiracy exists. Yes, it is obvious. However, the fact nobody has pointed the finger at apple yet is hilarious to me. They are one of if not THE worst offenders.

reply to post by haven123


Well the jokes on them! I still have my NES!

But yeah, this has been going on for quite a while. There was a thread on ATS the other day with a video called, "The Story of Stuff" which went through all of this. Go check out Youtube for the video. I'm sure you'd like it.

reply to post by Kangaruex4Ewe


Some incredible info in that video. Thanks for sharing. I can only sum up my thoughts after watching it this way:

Considering the vast amount of hardware windows is expected to work with its no surprise there will be bugs, in all fairness theres not a lot you cant do with windows, its a pretty powerful OS. I do agree its pretty shady phasing out windows 7 though and replacing it with that garbage windows 8, DO NOT WANT my gaming rig turned into a mobile phone OS thanks.

Anyway use a linux distro like Arch and customise it anyway you like for free, problem solved.

I don't appreciate the way Microsoft thinks it can interact with my computer after I have bought my software. I now use a Mac which is also expensive but so far I haven't had much trouble except getting to learn how to use the dam thing but computers are a necessary evil with their good points and bad.

Build in obsolescence is a part and parcel of our lioves because new products simply keep the manufacturing lines of people working and earning so up to now we have had to live with it for better or worse.

However now that resources are running low, a new means of making things last and recycling have to be found. Looking at the jump piles in China and probably many other countries us humans are going to have to get our act on the road sooner rather than later.

I have to wonder if past civilisations didn't use a better technology and power sources that perhaps we can access, were we to get rid of the slave mentality of many of our industrialists and the institutes they support. Humanity for me needs to have time to enjoy life and the earth rather than merely slave to scratch a living which we are all seeing as our standard of living slips and slips and there are more and more mouths to feed and clothe.

AliceBleachWhite

I suspect there's a conspiracy with food too.

You can't just buy it once, and be done.
No, you have to eat food and even drink stuff at least to some degree once or twice a day.

If they could just design the food to last like maybe a week, that would be better and it wouldn't be so disgusting having to put stuff inside your face, mash it up, swallow it, and then, even more disgusting what happens later.

I think quality food that lasts a week or even a month should be more important than gadgets.
Maybe we could have luxury food items that are engineered by hand where you won't have to eat anything for a whole year?

Otherwise, this whole food design where it has to be eaten every single day is just unsustainable.



If the above is not sarcasm, the human gut was designed to consume food every day, all day, as humans first only ate nuts, berries, tubers, and seeds, so once meat was ingested, humans had time to do other things, which eventually lead to the space shuttle.

I wonder if Bill Gates will ever discuss his business strategies with the. LOL

It'll be the second coming of Christ before Gates ever admits his motto is 'profit over people'

reply to post by depleteduranium92


Recognisizing poor quality used to be taught in home ec and shop classes. When was the last time you saw those classes in high school?

I think they do.

It isn't just tech either, basic things like toasters, irons, vacuum cleaners, washing machines, fridges, furniture, clothes etc, it has made a disposable culture that ramps up commercialism by thousands of percent.

If you look back to when things were made to last there wasn't such vast consumerism and people were happier with their lot, contented to keep things, make do and mend, things were passed from generation to generation and there was far more VALUE placed on items.

And society wasn't so heavily leaning on competitive commercialism, ie, who has the best phone etc and judging people by their belongings.

Quality matters and as such I always seek the best quality items designed to last, it makes sense, responsible consumerism is the way forward.

I can agree with most of this, electronics, clothing and basically anything else that you buy is junk.

If you have not noticed in all the things that have been said lets look at why they all are junk, I look at this way. We are a throw away society. We buy a TV have it for a few years and the power button goes to hell, its just cheaper to buy a new one than sending it in or finding a TV repair man. ( is there such a person anymore?). You go to the GAP and buy a pair of Jeans and two weeks later after you washed them the Zipper is ruined, do you take them in and get a new Zipper put in? (Who doe this anymore?) you wear a pair of socks and your big toe goes through the front, instead of having grandma sew it up for you, you toss it in the garbage. Your computer is only 3 years old and you like to play games, surf the web but its to slow so you get a new one and throw that one away.

I guess you get the point, from what I have seen its so hard now a days for the average person to fix anything on their own, and if you mange to find the part you need to fix what is broken you have to pay through the nose to get it. How many of you have bought something at the beginning of the year and buy the end of the year that model has been discontinued ( good example Cell phones)

Back in the days you made items last and repaired them until you could not repair them anymore, today corporations don't want you to repair they rather have you buy new. This is the conspiracy