Planned Short Life Span of Products

[The Prowler]

Is it likely that some products are manufactured with known defects intended to break shortly after the warranty period is up?

If so, what are the short, mid, and long term effects of this practice?

 

[Joe]

Is it likely that some products are manufactured with known defects intended to break shortly after the warranty period is up?

If so, what are the short, mid, and long term effects of this practice?

...computers and cellphones clear examples of Planned obsolescence

 

[The Prowler]

Is it likely that some products are manufactured with known defects intended to break shortly after the warranty period is up?

If so, what are the short, mid, and long term effects of this practice?

...computers and cellphones clear examples of Planned obsolescence

Planned obsolescence is different than planned breakdown.

When something is obsolete, it does not mean that it does not work. For example, a lot of people are still using Windows 7 machines that are 10ish years old. A lot of people consider these machine obsolete, but they are still adequate machines for some users.

But if a products breaks, usually the best option between repair or replace is to replace it.

I am talking more about products that are no longer being made obsolete due to emerging technologies. Washing machines, dishwashers, air conditioners, etc..

Manufacturers are implementing some new tech into these products, like being able to be controlled by a smartphone, but most people will not replace their working washing machine with a "smart" washing machine because the new technology does not provide enough benefit to justify the cost.

The thing that got me thinking about this was my TV. It only lasted a year and 4 months before it went kaput. We got it at Costco so luckily it came with a second year warranty. A local repair guy picked it up and diagnosed it and told the warranty company how much it would be to fix it. The warranty company decided the repair was not worth it so they refunded our money. While talking to the repair guy, he told me that new TVs were not lasting long. A couple of years is all you can expect, he said.

Well up to now, TVs were much like cell phones and computers - they were constantly improving with new technology. So there was always a good incentive to upgrade every few years.

But we might be at the point where we are not going to see significant improvements.

They are already very thin.

They already have great brightness and contrast and colour reproduction.

And they are at 4K definition.

Definition is what they always improved before, but now we are at the point where higher definition will not make a noticeable difference.

Do you know the recommended viewing distance for a 65" 4K TV?

Without Googling, give it a guess.

 

[Levon]

Is it likely that some products are manufactured with known defects intended to break shortly after the warranty period is up?

If so, what are the short, mid, and long term effects of this practice?

Yes, very likely. And if you google "planned obsolescence" you'll note it's been a Thing since the mid to late 1950s.
Books have been written. It's a short sighted game, selling shit with advertising instead of quality, but as long as the corporate managers get a big enough grift out of it and the stock keeps going up, no one gets hurted except the peons and the dumbasses.

 

[wizer]

When I was single, many or even most of my first dates were like that.

 

[The Prowler]

Is it likely that some products are manufactured with known defects intended to break shortly after the warranty period is up?

If so, what are the short, mid, and long term effects of this practice?

Yes, very likely. And if you google "planned obsolescence" you'll note it's been a Thing since the mid to late 1950s.
Books have been written. It's a short sighted game, selling shit with advertising instead of quality, but as long as the corporate managers get a big enough grift out of it and the stock keeps going up, no one gets hurted except the peons and the dumbasses.

Is that why I still see beer fridges that were made in the 1960's and never serviced, but keep chuggin' away?

Why I still see people putting 27" CRT televisions on the boulevard with signs that say "Works Fine!"?

This is a whole different ball game now. Stuff is breaking quickly.

no one gets hurted except the peons and the dumbasses.

So tossing 65" televisions into the landfill by the boatload is not harmful to anyone?

Are you one of those "Pollution does not hurt the Earth!!" guys?

Doubling and tripling production is cool.

"More smog? No problem!!"

 

[Levon]

Don't start in with me, Prowler. And don't put words in my mouth. I'm trying to support your thread.

Some American corporations took longer to start trading on their names. Or, take Maytag... whose sixties washers and dryers were crazy good, and pretty durable. I was still using them as recently as a few years ago. But Maytag did sell out to Whirlpool who is now the monolith appliance company that owns a dozen brands that have all become crap, while Whirlpool trades on their names by selling them at different price points.

 

[The Prowler]

Don't start in with me, Prowler. And don't put words in my mouth. I'm trying to support your thread.

Some American corporations took longer to start trading on their names. Or, take Maytag... whose sixties washers and dryers were crazy good, and pretty durable. I was still using them as recently as a few years ago. But Maytag did sell out to Whirlpool who is now the monolith appliance company that owns a dozen brands that have all become crap, while Whirlpool trades on their names by selling them at different price points.

And now the second part.

If so, what are the short, mid, and long term effects of this practice?

 

[Admin.]

Is it likely that some products are manufactured with known defects intended to break shortly after the warranty period is up?

If so, what are the short, mid, and long term effects of this practice?

Yes, very likely. And if you google "planned obsolescence" you'll note it's been a Thing since the mid to late 1950s.
Books have been written. It's a short sighted game, selling shit with advertising instead of quality, but as long as the corporate managers get a big enough grift out of it and the stock keeps going up, no one gets hurted except the peons and the dumbasses.

Is that why I still see beer fridges that were made in the 1960's and never serviced, but keep chuggin' away?

Why I still see people putting 27" CRT televisions on the boulevard with signs that say "Works Fine!"?

This is a whole different ball game now. Stuff is breaking quickly.

no one gets hurted except the peons and the dumbasses.

So tossing 65" televisions into the landfill by the boatload is not harmful to anyone?

Are you one of those "Pollution does not hurt the Earth!!" guys?

Doubling and tripling production is cool.

"More smog? No problem!!"

lol, who buys teeveez anymore, it's all VR now baby!

 

[Admin.]

Don't start in with me, Prowler. And don't put words in my mouth. I'm trying to support your thread.

Some American corporations took longer to start trading on their names. Or, take Maytag... whose sixties washers and dryers were crazy good, and pretty durable. I was still using them as recently as a few years ago. But Maytag did sell out to Whirlpool who is now the monolith appliance company that owns a dozen brands that have all become crap, while Whirlpool trades on their names by selling them at different price points.

And now the second part.

If so, what are the short, mid, and long term effects of this practice?

The Market will adjust accordingly, some facets of the market will wither away and die, while others are born and bloom freshly anew for the next period of micro-market time.

 

[The Prowler]

The Market will adjust accordingly, some facets of the market will wither away and die, while others are born and bloom freshly anew for the next period of micro-market time.

Any impact on pollution?

I thought you were a leftist. I thought you guys cared about pollution.

Any impact to the slave labour mining industry?

I thought you were a leftist. I thought you guys cared about the downtrodden.

Any impact on depletion of natural resources?

I thought you were a leftist. I thought you guys cared about resource management.

Is it always "The Market The Market The Market" with you leftists?

 

[Frood]

Is it likely that some products are manufactured with known defects intended to break shortly after the warranty period is up?

If so, what are the short, mid, and long term effects of this practice?

Yes, very likely. And if you google "planned obsolescence" you'll note it's been a Thing since the mid to late 1950s.
Books have been written. It's a short sighted game, selling shit with advertising instead of quality, but as long as the corporate managers get a big enough grift out of it and the stock keeps going up, no one gets hurted except the peons and the dumbasses.

Is that why I still see beer fridges that were made in the 1960's and never serviced, but keep chuggin' away?

Why I still see people putting 27" CRT televisions on the boulevard with signs that say "Works Fine!"?

This is a whole different ball game now. Stuff is breaking quickly.

no one gets hurted except the peons and the dumbasses.

So tossing 65" televisions into the landfill by the boatload is not harmful to anyone?

Are you one of those "Pollution does not hurt the Earth!!" guys?

Doubling and tripling production is cool.

"More smog? No problem!!"

Our 2009 era Samsung 32 8nch LED TV is still going strong.... but it hardly ever gets turned on...

I do like that it has no smart features...

No smart appliances are allowed in this house.

 

[Joe]

Is that why I still see beer fridges that were made in the 1960's and never serviced, but keep chuggin' away?

Why I still see people putting 27" CRT televisions on the boulevard with signs that say "Works Fine!"?

This is a whole different ball game now. Stuff is breaking quickly.

....lack of or non-existent quality control now.

Plus corporations likely eliminated those people or departments.

Those overseas places don't care about what they produce for us cuz they know they're not eaccountable.

ie - Dr. Martens shoes used to be made in England.
They were tough as a rock, lasted for years and were waterproof.
Fast forward to the present - Doc Martens sent all their manufacturing overseas.

Now their shoes are porous and leak.

I had that experience recently.

so if you want a quality Doc Martens shoe, you gotta search on CraigsList for the remaining pairs which were made in England not Thailand or China.

They don't know how to make them properly anymore.

Same with you $200 running shoes, they all fall apart so quickly now -stuff that's made in 3rd world countries.

 

[Joe]

Stuff made in the 3rd World is often 3rd world quality.

Cheap poorly made.

Cameras, shoes, clothes everything.

 

[DDT]

People want cheap, and aren't willing to pay the equivalent price today for what a 1950's Kelvinator fridge would've cost, even though the Kelvinator would run for 50 years...

 

[The Prowler]

Our 2009 era Samsung 32 8nch LED TV is still going strong.... but it hardly ever gets turned on...

I do like that it has no smart features...

No smart appliances are allowed in this house.

Yeah, I think they were built better just 10 years ago. I think they are at the point now where there is not a lot of room for improvement, so they cannot count on people upgrading. Now, once you have one large enough for your space, there is no real reason to upgrade. I do not think they are going to be able to make the picture noticeably better.

 

[The Prowler]

Is that why I still see beer fridges that were made in the 1960's and never serviced, but keep chuggin' away?

Why I still see people putting 27" CRT televisions on the boulevard with signs that say "Works Fine!"?

This is a whole different ball game now. Stuff is breaking quickly.

....lack of or non-existent quality control now.

Plus corporations likely eliminated those people or departments.

Those overseas places don't care about what they produce for us cuz they know they're not eaccountable.

ie - Dr. Martens shoes used to be made in England.
They were tough as a rock, lasted for years and were waterproof.
Fast forward to the present - Doc Martens sent all their manufacturing overseas.

Now their shoes are porous and leak.

I had that experience recently.

so if you want a quality Doc Martens shoe, you gotta search on CraigsList for the remaining pairs which were made in England not Thailand or China.

They don't know how to make them properly anymore.

Same with you $200 running shoes, they all fall apart so quickly now -stuff that's made in 3rd world countries.

I did not know that about Doc Martens. Are you an old school skinhead, Joe?

 

[The Prowler]

People want cheap, and aren't willing to pay the equivalent price today for what a 1950's Kelvinator fridge would've cost, even though the Kelvinator would run for 50 years...

I wonder if that is what is going on...they could build them better, but they do not think they could get the sales with the higher price.

I mean, it makes sense - if they could make a television that lasts 4x as long, they would just have to build in enough profit for the sale of 4 cheap televisions.

This is something that should be run by marketing departments. Because I think we are at the point where upgrades to picture quality is not going to be as quick and significant as we have seen over the last 20 years or so. So sell a unit that is build to last and charge significantly more. I have to think the SJWs who all claim to be concerned for the planet would be willing to pay a lot more if they could keep crap out of the landfills. Sell it as The Green Option.

I asked this question before and was rudely, and predictably, ignored:

"Do you know the recommended viewing distance for a 65" 4K TV? "

The answer is about 4 feet.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Apparently at 4 ft, you cannot tell the difference between a 4K screen and real life.

"The naked eye can't differentiate individual pixels when watching a 4K TV from this distance. This means that pixels effectively disappear when viewing 4K images. Thus, creating an impression of watching the image with the same detail and resolution as real life."

I do not think that most people would want to sit that close to a 65" television. You would literally be turning your head from side to side to see the edge of the screen. So we really should be pretty close to the point where we can buy a television and be happy with it for 10-15 years.

 

[Joe]

Is that why I still see beer fridges that were made in the 1960's and never serviced, but keep chuggin' away?

Why I still see people putting 27" CRT televisions on the boulevard with signs that say "Works Fine!"?

This is a whole different ball game now. Stuff is breaking quickly.

....lack of or non-existent quality control now.

Plus corporations likely eliminated those people or departments.

Those overseas places don't care about what they produce for us cuz they know they're not eaccountable.

ie - Dr. Martens shoes used to be made in England.
They were tough as a rock, lasted for years and were waterproof.
Fast forward to the present - Doc Martens sent all their manufacturing overseas.

Now their shoes are porous and leak.

I had that experience recently.

so if you want a quality Doc Martens shoe, you gotta search on CraigsList for the remaining pairs which were made in England not Thailand or China.

They don't know how to make them properly anymore.

Same with you $200 running shoes, they all fall apart so quickly now -stuff that's made in 3rd world countries.

I did not know that about Doc Martens. Are you an old school skinhead, Joe?

LOL! could be.

But I don't think skinheads would wear that kinda stuff.

They usu get those tough looking thck shitkicker boots that show they're read for action.

i



Me thinks Doc Martens too prissy their needs.
It's an Urban Shoe Prowler. Wouldn't be good for fights or protecting the toes in case something fell on them or some opponent stepped on their foot or likewise stabbed their foot with a knife or hammer.
Mark Work Warehouse more their style I should think - with steel toe.
Made in Germany made to last.

 

[Frood]

Docs were functional wear in the sixties and got adopted by many groups... I own three current pairs.... different styles... two dressy, one modelled after a mesh military boot.

I had a pair of traditional black leather boots in the early 2000's... they were very uncomfortable in the toe box area.

 

[Joe]

This is probably what Prowler has in mind....

...this dude would never have been caught dead in a Doc Marten Shoe.

BTW, he died when somebody came in from behind and stabbed him several times in the back. They found his body hunched over the bathroom sink

But at least he died with his boots on.

 

[The Prowler]

Joe is clueless.

 

[The Prowler]

More, Joe?

 

[The Prowler]

Right from Doc Martens' Web Page:

"It is impossible to recount the history of Dr. Martens without reference to Skinheads. Around in some form as early as 1964, this youth subculture were the first to adopt… "

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

 

[Adam Hitler]

I bet it was a fun time being a kid in the 70's and 80's as a skin head. Those drippy hippies look like the equivalent of today's beta soyboys.

 

[Levon]

Don't start in with me, Prowler. And don't put words in my mouth. I'm trying to support your thread.

Some American corporations took longer to start trading on their names. Or, take Maytag... whose sixties washers and dryers were crazy good, and pretty durable. I was still using them as recently as a few years ago. But Maytag did sell out to Whirlpool who is now the monolith appliance company that owns a dozen brands that have all become crap, while Whirlpool trades on their names by selling them at different price points.

And now the second part.

If so, what are the short, mid, and long term effects of this practice?

The question is simply too large and complex for a forum like this. People will answer you either in sweeping generalities for other people to counter with OTHER sweeping generalities, or in micro examples that illustrate only one or two facets of the issue (which others will try to shoot down with a variety of tactics that won't lead to a useful discussion.)

All I'll say is that in the short and mid terms, business decisions are usually based on expected profit that's calculated by bean counters. Long term, some of the errors of prior business and "green" models will get hung out to dry. Overall, the prospects ain't appetizing.

I had a great-uncle who did really well for himself using a very simple business model. His wife inherited nearly a section of land that was farmed out and pretty worthless agriculturally (the prior prior model) and since he had a useless geology degree he strongly suspected there was a lot of limestone under this land. He leveraged himself into some trucks and some digging equipment and opened a limestone quarry which produced very well and ending up supplying all the concrete aggregate, driveway rock, etc for a 3 or 4 county area over a 50 year span. The quarry is so deep at this point that it's driving up the production costs to a less competetive level, but that's no problem because his descendants will happily spend the next 50 years charging people to bring in all their junk TVs and washers/dryers and fill their hole back up. From quarry operators to landfill operators, in one generation.

And since it's private land, not the kind of nuisance you get with say, a hog farm, regulations are minimal and oversight is marginal and nobody gets to ask "how does Gaia like THEM apples?"

 

[The Prowler]

The question is simply too large and complex for a forum like this.

Is it the type of forum, or is it the quality of posters?

I did want to see if some of the people here can put two and two together and come up with some of their own thoughts. Even just something general like "Well that is a waste of natural resources. Things should be built to last for the sake of the environment."

Some people here consistently post up articles and do not even lend their own thoughts or criticisms or anything.

They seem to have this attitude "Look, it says <something> right here in black and white. It must be true. I agree 100%."

It is interesting to me that many people here will "tackle" complex issues that are current discussions amongst their favourite celebrity commentator (and just "so happen" agree 100% with whatever they heard from that commentator), but they will not even attempt to tackle a complex issue that is just as relevant to our current society, but not trending with their leadership.

 

[SirSuperSouthern]

The solution
to polution
is dilution



SSS
- Just look at our atmosphere and bodies of water.

 

[Lily]

Don't start in with me, Prowler. And don't put words in my mouth. I'm trying to support your thread.

Big of you. I've seen his new threads the last day or so and thought it best to stay away from his unpleasant ass.

 

[Levon]

Don't start in with me, Prowler. And don't put words in my mouth. I'm trying to support your thread.

Big of you. I've seen his new threads the last day or so and thought it best to stay away from his unpleasant ass.

I try not to jump to conclusions prematurely, where people I've known before are concerned.