Off Topic Discussions

[johnnyenglish]

I had a debate at work because of programmed obsolescence, many live in fear because of this.

I said, you can partially avoid it or at least not contribute for it, because changing phones every two years or less in some cases can mean more E-Waste.
I was pounded really hard because everyone says: My laptop with 2 years is now a piece of junk and the cell phone is just trash. Some even change TV every 3 years or so.

I don't blame the ones that really want to be surfing on the edge of technology with a flagship model all the time but that is not the majority.

I made a Video with no success saying how could you at least mitigate this programmed obsolescence and here it goes:

- I don't like updating all the time, unless my security is at risk, if the update log just says: Minor Bug fixes, I will skip it.
Updating your devices all the time may bring support for new games and what not but most of the times if it works, don't try to fix it.
The added functionality, features and code will make your devices allocate more processing power and reduce performance overall.

- Now the battery. This is a common mistake that lots of people do. Constant full charges, keeping it plugged all the time and complete discharges. If you do this every day, you will have a dead battery in no time, most devices will adjust performance based on the battery health too, making them slow.

- Bloatware free is a great way to make all the difference in the world, from phones to computers. Fill your computer with lots of trash on startup and you will get a performance penalty on your games and operative system overall.

There are obviously more to help mitigate this "programmed obsolescence", but make no mistake, it exists. Think how Microsoft just raised the requirements for Windows11, lots of big companies will have to do larger LCM due to this, leaving a great number of good computers in ready to be recycled.

My takes as a Hoarder:
I still have a SONY Xperia XZ2 working flawlessly and even being faster than a Galaxy A53 today, charging every 2-3 days. My old Xperia M4 from 2015 works just fine for dedicated home smart device. The RX480 was so good that it really outlived my expectations lasting like 6-7 years.

But the best example of good support is: I have a Sony Bravia from 2013, still getting updates. The last one bricked Youtube and lots of posts appeared on reddit.
No one had faith and shouted real loud "programmed obsolescence" but what you do know, they fixed it!

What do you think, any ideas to help with this "programmed obsolescence"?


PS: I should've put this in OFF TOPIC. Maybe its best to move the post?
 

[BigAl01]

First - I moved this discussion topic to the 'Off Topic' section.

Second - With regard to 'programmed obsolescence', I agree it exists and I think the main reason is to increase company profits.  But on the other hand, technology is moving so fast that older systems struggle to keep up with the software changes and performance degrades.  On top of that, new technology improves the user experience (faster gaming for example) and in order to compete, you are forced to acquire the latest tech.

My concern is the inability to fix many devices by yourself.  Cell phones that are glued together is one example.  But also a problem is the availability of replacement parts.  As technology moves quickly, designs change and older parts like cell phone cameras or displays are soon surpassed with a better solution.

[TR2]

Well until recently you could build a better computer than you can buy. I mean that even with better parts mine would still perform better all around. I have taken retail computers and made them a lot faster by just wiping the drive and do a fresh install to get rid of bloatware. Most folks just want it to work and that is why a%%ple designed it's OS and its phones to work for any person and no tech needed. Once your involved with a device you will want the newer and brighter tech instead of fixing the one you have. I have fixed a slew of computers that have just exceeded or topped out their drives--- the fix: delete stuff or get more space. As such we have created a tech trash problem and I am not sure of a good fix. We could make it so a company must recycle anything it makes but then that  company would probably go out business or a least dissolve on paper.

[Vynski]

Gateway did go out of business anyway @BigAl01 .

[Vynski]

Sorry TR2, I clicked the wrong icon.

[Vynski]

@johnnyenglish  I agree with every word that you have entered here.  So much it's almost as if I had typed it.  I can't believe how our thoughts are that correlated.  Here is a laptop that takes hoarding a bit far. GATEWAY SOLORunning Windows 98

It actually had Windows 95.  I purchased this about 1996-97.  State of the art.  Has a rewritable CDROM.  Now for the highlights: a 6GB HDD, 96 MB RAM.  The battery is dead as a wedge and you have to reset the BIOS every time you start it up, plugged in of course.  Truthfully it is no more than an $1800 door stop.  Yes that is what I gave for it.