The Anti Planned Obsolescence Thread

OfficePants

OfficePants

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In this thread, you juxtapose throw away culture trash products with stuff that is meant to last a lifetime.

If you need context on it, you can read up, but it's history is very old. The most egregious example in history is the light bulb cartel which basically took a product that could last 100 years and set 1000 hour limits on it. And now we have the mobile phone, the perfect convergence of the perpetual purchase.

For me, I'll start with furniture and the Ikea culture.

Sam Maloof, one of the finest furniture artisans ever.



VS.

Ikea piece of shit

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Oh yes.
The wonderful fountain pen. The nib barely wears over decades, the ink can always be refilled. Even with different colors. Hey, you can add water in a pinch. Repairable, modifiable, comfortable. Beautiful.
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The ballpoint. Runs out of ink? Dries up? tip damaged? Throw it in the landfill, where it has always belonged!

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I get your point entirely, and I do despair at today's disposable culture.

However, not everything made by Ikea is trash. The father of one of my friends bought a couple of their Poang chairs 30 years ago and he's still using them and they're still in good condition. So, whilst they make some stuff that's cheap and disposable, they also make some good stuff that stands the test of time.

Also, it's worth remembering that things are often made to a price. In an idea world, we'd all be able to afford well-made, solid wood furniture but such furniture often costs quite a bit. Therefore, it's understandable that some people will choose to purchase cheaper veneer or laminate furniture (or clunky, farmhouse-style pine furniture instead of something that is well-designed and well-made) due to their income level.

Finally, with regard to technology (as you mentioned mobile phones), while there's certainly an element of planned obsolescence at play, there are two other issues. One, the issue of cost and price point - mobile phone manufacturers realise that not everyone wants to pay $1000 for a phone (whether that's upfront or as part of a plan) and so they make phones at different price points. Secondly, no matter how much technology you might manage to stuff into a mobile phone, it will become largely obsolescent over time, simply because of technological change.

Having said that, I do know some people who still use boxy, old Nokia phones with small screens and which only have the ability to make calls and send text messages. In the sense that they can do that, they're not obsolete but their technology clearly lags far, far behind the latest generation of Samsung Galaxies and iPhones.
 
Journeyman said:
Having said that, I do know some people who still use boxy, old Nokia phones with small screens and which only have the ability to make calls and send text messages. In the sense that they can do that, they're not obsolete but their technology clearly lags far, far behind the latest generation of Samsung Galaxies and iPhones.
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Journeyman said:
I get your point entirely, and I do despair at today's disposable culture.

However, not everything made by Ikea is trash. The father of one of my friends bought a couple of their Poang chairs 30 years ago and he's still using them and they're still in good condition. So, whilst they make some stuff that's cheap and disposable, they also make some good stuff that stands the test of time.

Also, it's worth remembering that things are often made to a price. In an idea world, we'd all be able to afford well-made, solid wood furniture but such furniture often costs quite a bit. Therefore, it's understandable that some people will choose to purchase cheaper veneer or laminate furniture (or clunky, farmhouse-style pine furniture instead of something that is well-designed and well-made) due to their income level.

Finally, with regard to technology (as you mentioned mobile phones), while there's certainly an element of planned obsolescence at play, there are two other issues. One, the issue of cost and price point - mobile phone manufacturers realise that not everyone wants to pay $1000 for a phone (whether that's upfront or as part of a plan) and so they make phones at different price points. Secondly, no matter how much technology you might manage to stuff into a mobile phone, it will become largely obsolescent over time, simply because of technological change.

Having said that, I do know some people who still use boxy, old Nokia phones with small screens and which only have the ability to make calls and send text messages. In the sense that they can do that, they're not obsolete but their technology clearly lags far, far behind the latest generation of Samsung Galaxies and iPhones.
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I'm glad you posted this because it helps to frame the thread better as well as challenge the notion I'm articulating.

Firstly, planned obsolescence is a strategy, not a consequence. Printer cartridges come with a chip that stops them working after x prints, when you replace the chip, some cartridges print 3x as long. This is designed obsolescence. The phone is the same thing: culturally you are conditioned to aspire and in the minds of many, the latest and greatest smartphone is that aspiration personified. Those monkeys that wait for Apple are it. Guys with the iPhone 5 are camping out 3 days waiting for the iPhone 5s so they can what, have the thumbprint thing? Is that phone so much better that you wait 3 days on a cement block to have it? No. You're a tool, a product of consumerism that will forever and always suck Apple's dick. The perfect customer.

The flip phone, small screen... by all means, upgrade. But look at the research, far and away the majority of buyers already have a performant smart phone. They're consumerist monkeys.

Of course I recognize a $5000 Maloof chair is a different world than Ikea junk. That's beside the point. Ikea stuff's REAL lifespan is irrelevant... Ikea knows what encouraged obsolescence is, and they play to our aspirations the same way Apple does:





This thread is not about Ikea (or anyone else) making garbage... its about designing/planning/encouraging/mobilizing us to replace things that could easily be designed to last. You said it yourself... 30 year Ikea chair... its not about it breaking, its about them breaking your will to use it.

Proof? Have you ever tried to refill a laser printer cartridge? Good luck. They are intentionally designed not to be easy to refill. They are designed to be disposable.
 
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The perilous straight razor was perfected to something that admittedly forced you to buy flat little universal blades by the box every so often.
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Oh, no. Let's make expensive proprietary cartridges with delicate little blades that don't hold an edge. And throw on some foam to deteriorate. Wait, let's toss in a battery to go dead!
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Russell Street said:
The perilous straight razor was perfected to something that admittedly forced you to buy flat little universal blades by the box every so often.
03debafd0fd11878fe5eb84c2b92e1f0.jpg

Oh, no. Let's make expensive proprietary cartridges with delicate little blades that don't hold an edge. And throw on some foam to deteriorate. Wait, let's toss in a battery to go dead!
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Russell, you will never become obsolete. Excellent work, Marine.
 
Russell Street said:
The perilous straight razor was perfected to something that admittedly forced you to buy flat little universal blades by the box every so often.
03debafd0fd11878fe5eb84c2b92e1f0.jpg

Oh, no. Let's make expensive proprietary cartridges with delicate little blades that don't hold an edge. And throw on some foam to deteriorate. Wait, let's toss in a battery to go dead!
thumbnail.asp
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Talk to MFDoom MFDoom about this.
 
Last one for the night.
Cast iron skillets. These will last generations on end. Find one from a century or two ago, sand the rust off, cure it with a little shortening and it will offer greasy cooking that rarely sticks and is utterly indestructible.
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Oh hai, it's awesome non-stick coating! It's super tough. Unless you use metal utensils. Or scrub it. Hey, maybe the handle will come off first. Health effects of that coating? We'll get back to you.
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More crappy rechargeable batteries that last few years at best here, and you can barely hold the thing without accidentally pressing keys.
 
JimmyRustler said:
Torx screws. How I hate torx screws. Fuck you, Jeep.
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I had to buy the securtiy bit set from Harbor Freight when I wanted to but a slightly longer power cord on my coffee maker. For some reason, they used not just Torx screws, but the anti-theft ones with the peg in the center.

And when my friend took a spill one night in his Harley, it was fine except the throttle was stuck open. No big deal, let's open the throttle housing...Torx. Needed a tow.
 
JimmyRustler said:
Thank Baby Jesus for Kawasaki.
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Everything's relative. I've had bike mechanics curse Kawi (my current steed as well) for using a snap ring groove to secure the fork springs or something, whereas the rest of the world used threaded caps of superior ease that cost more...

Anyway, I want to drag in the ultra-modern idea of reverting us to indentured servants by replacing ownership with "subscriptions" and services that must be continually paid.

The VCR- you could tape anything that was on TV. You could take the tape with you and watch it elsewhere. Mail it to a friend. Put it on the shelf for years and have it still there. For all the convenience of the DVR, you lose the portability and the transferability. But you pay every month. Or you lose it all.

Same thing with music. You owned a CD. You could copy it, sell it. Itunes or the like, you pay for the right to have the song on one of a few devices... and good luck when they crash or you upgrade. So sorry, please pay again. Not for one song, but for every single thing. Even more asinine is this notion of paying some service for streaming audio.
 
How about sealed beam headlights vs. the integrated headlights with replaceable bulbs.

Sealed beams were easy to change.

I think Ford petitioned to have the safety regs. Changed to allow them to use the "Euro" style. Allowed them to use more plastic.

My issue is that with a glass sealed beam, it was cheap and easy to keep the glass clean and it resisted pitting and maintained the quality of the light.

Now, while you can swap out bulbs, the plastic lenses are far less resistant to being degraded by the perils of normal driving.

You can polish the plastic lens but it is not an easy job for the average driver.

Want new lenses (lens?), you cannot replace them without replacing the entire headlight array and fascia.

Had a late 90's Jeep Cherokee once. Enquired as to the cost of new lens. "Sorry, we cannot just replace the lens, you have to replace the whole array". $1300 was quoted. Fuck that.
 
One more. I use an Otter Box case. Fabulous protection. The first models's rubber shell stretched and got saggy after a year. So, plastic case is fine but you had to chuck the whole case to buy another because of the cheap as rubber outer.

No replacement rubber.

To add to the problem. The screen protector has no way to be replaced and degrades far quicker than the rubber.

No replacement parts or plastic screen to protect the screen protector from Otter Box.
 
thruth said:
How about sealed beam headlights vs. the integrated headlights with replaceable bulbs.
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On my old Bimmer, I got some sealed beam adapter that allowed you to swap out H1/H4 halogen bulbs while still having nice round glass lens.
Basically anytime a simple, standardized and interchangeable unit gets replaced by unique proprietary parts, it's a step downhill toward high prices, poor availability, and zero chance of the item being improved upon any further as you are now locked into buying from one supplier.
 
This is a brilliant 3 part documentary about this topic. 3 hour investment, but very highly recommended.







 
Ey my Panasonic air condition got broken not the compressor or any mechanical part, but the electonic sheet!!!

At same week, the fridge!!! Both with a couple of years only. Prior ones lasted 20 years.
 
acidboy said:
I've always appreciated sturdy classic desktop staplers
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hell yea. Metal. Antique stores and junk shops will have old metal staplers from the 50's or so that are perfectly fine. New plastic shit fails in a few years.
Sartodinapoli said:
Ey my Panasonic air condition got broken not the compressor or any mechanical part, but the electonic sheet!!!
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I see little friggin LCD screens on appliances that totally don't need them like steam irons, coffee makers, toasters. Thanks for taking a brutally simple device and polluting it with a non-serviceable proprietary and delicate electronic chip, assholes.

I think modern refrigerators are victim to the bleeding edge of efficiency. A nice heavy and mildly inefficient refrigerator lasts decades. Push the edge and make it light and cheap while aiming to save $15 of electricity a year and the lifespan drops to five or six years. Again, no thank you, dickwads.
 
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Russell Street said:
hell yea. Metal. Antique stores and junk shops will have old metal staplers from the 50's or so that are perfectly fine. New plastic shit fails in a few years.
I see little friggin LCD screens on appliances that totally don't need them like team irons, coffee makers, toasters. Thanks for taking a brutally simple device and polluting it with a non-serviceable proprietary and delicate electronic chip, assholes.

I think modern refrigerators are victim to the bleeding edge of efficiency. A nice heavy and mildly inefficient refrigerator lasts decades. Push the edge and make it light and cheap while aiming to save $15 of electricity a year and the lifespan drops to five or six years. Again, no thank you, dickwads.
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This x 1000
 
Still making my way through the BBC documentary, but fascinating so far.

Let's not skip the obvious here. Clothing items can be durable and repairable or cheap disposable crap too.
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ha, who wants to resole? have some crummy "leather" that flakes apart. You know that elastic that wears out in your underpants? Let's put that in shoes!
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Maybe this is not new, but I've never heard of it.

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I've meant to post this thought here a few times, but to me, the best way to fight planned obsolescence is to buy used stuff.
 
OfficePants said:
I've meant to post this thought here a few times, but to me, the best way to fight planned obsolescence is to buy used stuff.
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I haven't bought a new mobile (or cell) phone for eleven years or more. My wife upgrades every couple of years as part of her plan as she can deduct a large chunk of her phone plan as part of her business expenses, and she passes her last phone on to me. I'm happy without the latest and greatest phone and it means that I can connect the phone to a cheap plan with no handset charges, so it works well for both of us.
 
As a frugalist, I actually enjoy my items and want them to survive. That newer stuff is available is irrelevant. I want what I have and am familiar with. In fact, I just replaced my lost Randolph Engineering sunglasses with an identical new old stock pair. The new ones have visible logos that I don't like. The only new cellphone I ever had was my first one in 2001.

The acceleration of technology is maddening for the long term consumer, because your careful choices are rendered meaningless in the short term. I have several clothing items that are two decades old. They don't seem too dated, and often the quality surpasses newer items. I don't think I know a single person with a five year old computer that works satisfactorily.

I'll have to dig it up, but it is documented that Toyota realized they were making their cars better than necessary, and it was costing too much. Well, they said it was inefficient, meaning they could do it cheaper. Anyway, that's why late a late 90s model Camry is properly revered as a bullet proof car and the newer ones are less distinguished and esteemed. They will likely not be on the road as long either.
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/20...w-toyotas-success-caused-killer-decontenting/

Lastly, a short piece on how the joy of owning the state-of-the-art ne plus ultra supercar is just a passing fancy that fades in due time.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/voices/columnists/avoidable-contact-sic-transit-exotica-66-1-roa0814
 
Russell Street said:
I'll have to dig it up, but it is documented that Toyota realized they were making their cars better than necessary, and it was costing too much. Well, they said it was inefficient, meaning they could do it cheaper. Anyway, that's why late a late 90s model Camry is properly revered as a bullet proof car and the newer ones are less distinguished and esteemed. They will likely not be on the road as long either.
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/20...w-toyotas-success-caused-killer-decontenting/

Lastly, a short piece on how the joy of owning the state-of-the-art ne plus ultra supercar is just a passing fancy that fades in due time.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/voices/columnists/avoidable-contact-sic-transit-exotica-66-1-roa0814
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Tell this to the Arabs that invade London every summer and fly their cars (some fly 3 and 4) with them. They drive the residents crazy screaming those cars thru the narrow streets.

The city doesn't do shit because of all the money they spend while there.
 
OfficePants said:
Tell this to the Arabs that invade London every summer and fly their cars (some fly 3 and 4) with them.
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It won't be the same car in three years. They are playthings, toys that literally are put away and forgotten after a while.
I could swear that I'd seen a total pictoral on this, but one can read about the essentially abandoned dealership-sized underground parking garage full of ultra rare and ultra expensive cars with little use just rotting away.
http://grind365.com/swag/cars/the-sultan-of-brunei’s-rotting-supercar-collection/
 
Russell Street said:
It won't be the same car in three years. They are playthings, toys that literally are put away and forgotten after a while.
I could swear that I'd seen a total pictoral on this, but one can read about the essentially abandoned dealership-sized underground parking garage full of ultra rare and ultra expensive cars with little use just rotting away.
http://grind365.com/swag/cars/the-sultan-of-brunei’s-rotting-supercar-collection/
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I read the entire thing. Pretty shocking waste, and we wonder why people hate the 1%.
 
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