A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch
After a year of cult worship of the iPad, the iPad 2 is now being sold. There isn’t a lot of difference in the two models. The iPad 1 is now $100 less than before (but I’m sure consumers weren’t being gypped before the price reduction). The new model has a couple of cameras and a dual core processor. The technology was available a year ago. Why didn’t they use it then?
When I read about the iPad 2, I was reminded of a MAD magazine article I read about thirty years ago. It was a satire of Thomas Edison. There was a picture of him in his lab working on the phonograph. On the shelves behind him was a reel to reel tape recorder/player, which at that time was the latest audio technology. The caption said that Edison didn’t get rich by patenting his best products right away.
Ever notice when you buy a new phone, there will be a new model or major update long before you complete the contract? Same thing for computers. You can bet that within two months of buying one, there will be a better model released. Even though it sometimes appears suspicious, I don’t believe that companies would stoop so low as to profit by withholding their best. I think they bend even lower.
How old is your cell phone? Does it work as good as it did when you first bought it? How much longer do you think you’ll be using it? How about your cassettes. Do you still listen to them? Maybe you listen to your phonograph records instead. No? It must be the reel to reel tapes that you like to listen to. Why is it that you can buy a new computer, set it up and find that it is already out of date?
The answer to all of those questions and many more like it is planned obsolescence. That is why so many things work great until about the time the warranty expires? I think it is because companies deliberately design their products to fail early. Is it a coincidence that printers quit printing when the ink is low, but not empty. Doesn’t it seem that a lot of software isn’t compatible with prior programs or files? Didn’t automobiles made fifty or sixty years ago last a lot longer than modern cars?
It isn’t just electronics technology that manufacturers plan to become obsolete. Textbooks are revised every year even though with most topics there isn’t much change in the subject material. When I was younger, my Mother had a Hoover canister vacuum cleaner that she must have used for at least twenty years. These days, it seems like my wife needs to replace the vacuum every three years or so. The cuckoo clock in my living room is at least 100 years old. I wonder if I could buy a new model that would last as long.
I could probably rant on for another ten pages or so, but I think you probably know what I mean. Companies plan for their products obsolescence so they can make more profit by selling new stuff. Of course, that’s just my opinion.
Now that I think about it, it’s not just manufacturers that plan for obsolescence. After all, next month this column will be obsolete.
Thanks for reading.