Planned Obsolescence is Getting Annoying

[elbowgrease]

I think of it as something like "forced obsolescence", or maybe prematurely enforced obsolescence (I do get the idea and expressed sentiment of the op, though).
There is a reasonable rate of technological progression which does make things become outdated, eventually, but the way many (or most) companies seem to plan their manufacturing does not follow the same rate of progress. And it sucks on many levels.
I like what AMD seems to be doing with socket AM4, I wish intel would get on board with that, too.
I think it would be cool (and likely also be possible if pursued on a large enough scale) if the chip manufacturers could come up with a way to either retrofit new chips to old sockets for otherwise outdated laptops, or come up with drop in replacement mobos for old laptops to bring them back up to date, and plan to use one socket (maybe even for both intel and amd) for as long as is reasonable.
I like laptops. I understand that they aren't the performance machine that a desktop could be, but I like to travel, and I like that I don't have to be roped to a desk with a laptop. I can set it up basically anywhere, if I need to change positions, I can move the thing somewhere else. I also think they make computers and information accessible than desktops do.
Lenovo seems to make pretty nice ones (thinkpads). I have one that even has a socketed cpu. Got it pretty cheap and it's a beast for a nearly ten year old laptop. Also really easy to work on (which laptops usually aren't). I think it's pretty cool that, until recently, they made the only laptop certified for space flight. HP has apparently also earned that rating now. I've never used an HP yet, so I can't have an opinion about their hardware.
I wouldn't say that I'm a fan of lenovo, but I do appreciate the nice hardware, and the fact that they made one laptop with a cpu that is socketed rather than soldered. It would be nice if they would make more like that but it doesn't seem like they're going to.
I heard of one company recently that intends to make a fully modular laptop (framework), but they haven't released it yet.
I can't say I like macs. I'm pretty sure I've heard some messed up things about them (practices as well as products). I haven't used one in a long time. They tend to be more difficult to remove the factory os from and install one of the *nixes on, so even though I don't come across them very often, I avoid them when I do.

 

[Slyfox]

I know this isnt a reply specifically to me,

but imagine me replying specifically to this anyway by dramatically bowing and waving at the video I posted earlier.

People who are ready to complain about a company are those who havent been sucked in by the brand loyalty trap I mentioned. And these companies get so many complaints for very good reason.

Just being dead serious for a moment: You REALLY need to think about this stuff, all this about brand loyalty and the psychological aspect. I'm not trying to be mean. I'm saying this because I've seen the end result of what this crap can do to someone. Believe me, it aint pretty. It can lead to massive wastes of funds, ruined friendships and relationships (yes, that really does happen), people immediately getting a bad impression of you due to your attitude, and all sorts of other things.

All for the sake of a company that genuinely sees you as nothing more than a statistic to profit from. Just like every other corporate giant.

Does that sound healthy to you?

Just... seriously. THINK about it. Use your head... independent thoughts.

see this replyis exactly my point. so because I and others choose to buy apple we've been sucked into brand loyalty.
people act like apple is nazi germany. its ridiculous. all while ignoring anything the other companies do like samsung is a perfect angel.

I buy apple products cause they do what i need and last forever. I avoid andriod stuff cause they suck. its simple as that. I don't think people who buy android are brainwashed suckered fools.
anyone who unfriends someone cause they buy apple products isn't a friend. I've never meet people who prefer apple that go after those who use android its allways the android people are are so anti apple. its like they think they fighting a war and are soldiers for android. google samsung lg, don't care. they work with apple alot. sony and microsft work together too. they aren't fighting a console war. why do you care so much that people buy apple? to insult me for buying it?
news flash. google,lg, chinese companies and samung care less about their customers than apple.

apple removes the headphone jack, everyone attacks them, google and samsung do it and they get praised by the same people who attacked apple for doing it. if samsung and google made a phone that had 6 month life spand people would still praise them. It's like when you get an android you join the cult of android and have to constantly attack non believers. Every android person I meet degrades me for having iphone. again i've never seen an apple owner do that to android people.

so maybe you should think about why you have such loyalty to google.

 

[Misery]

see this replyis exactly my point. so because I and others choose to buy apple we've been sucked into brand loyalty.
people act like apple is nazi germany. its ridiculous. all while ignoring anything the other companies do like samsung is a perfect angel.

Actually, you've got that one 100% wrong, and have completely missed the point of what I was getting at.

I dont care what you buy. That's not the thing I'm talking about. You buy an Apple product? Great. Super. That's nice. Lots of people do that, without the brand loyalty effect. Heck, I have an iPhone. But I've no loyalty to Apple.

The brand loyalty shows in the fact that you are constantly talking about them, saying they're the best ever, ignoring or giving rather fiery replies to negative (or even neutral) opinions about them, acting like they have no problems, and sort of getting... clearly emotional about this. Look, I'm a REALLY fiery individual with a very short fuse. I can tell when someone is getting fired up because it happens to me all the time (usually when discussing specific games).

Heck, you said this:

Every android person I meet degrades me for having iphone. again i've never seen an apple owner do that to android people.

That is a pair of rather wild blanket statements that make no logical sense, and I very strongly suspect that on some level... you know they arent true. This is the sort of emotional statement that someone says when they've got a rather unhealthy attachment to something. Dude, I've seen PLENTY of Apple fans attack Android fans. And I've seen PLENTY of Android fans attack Apple fans. And I've seen BOTH attack those who have no preference! Isnt THAT ridiculous? NEITHER SIDE IS BETTER. And really, the fact that there even ARE "sides" is ridiculous!

THESE ARE SIMPLY PRODUCTS MANUFACTURED BY A COMPANY. There shouldnt be any battleground here, there shouldnt be any "sides", and all of this ridiculous arguing and brand loyalty does one thing, and one thing only: Makes some group of rich fatcats even richer. That's very literally the point. A company like Apple, Google, Samsung, freaking Sony, whoever... they spend INCREDIBLE amounts of money researching ways to generate brand loyalty, because once they've got you in their grasp... you'll ignore all bad things they do, overlook problems and flaws with the products, and JUST KEEP SPENDING. It is *beyond* profitable for them.

Yet it does not benefit the CONSUMER even one tiny bit. Rather, it harms them.

The one-sided relationship I mentioned is VERY clearly there. You've got all the signs, and I have no doubt about it. I strongly suspect I'm not the only one here that has noticed this, and the fact that you said you've been insulted about this before in other places also supports my appraisal.

I repeat: There is NOTHING wrong with liking a given product. There seriously isnt. If you like your iPhone... great! You have a thing you like using, I'm happy for you.

But you need to SEPERATE that from the tribalistic tendency to form relationships with things that are only out to use you. Apple is a corporation... nothing more, and nothing less. They aint your friend, they aint your buddy. To them, you are a STATISTIC. A walking wallet, at best. And their only interest in you is to get that wallet opened, and grab what they can.

Just like any other corporation. I mean, this is business 101, dude. It seriously is.

so maybe you should think about why you have such loyalty to google.

This is also a problem. Going along with that emotional tendency to make unfounded blanket statements, you also make assumptions about others if their comments and opinions go against the company you love.

I have no loyalty to Google. Or Samsung. Or Nintendo. Or Microsoft. Or... anything. Any of them at all.

When I see a big company, I see a manufacturer that acts as a potential hostile force. I see them as a deceptive threat to be wary of. I do not like them, I do not trust them. ANY of them. Because I know what corporations are for, and I know how business AND marketing work.

Oh, I'll buy products, sure. Just like everyone else. But I dont stick to a brand. I dont go "well I'm going to get this because it's made by HyperDerp" or whatever. Instead, I look at a very wide range of products of the type I'm looking for. I look at reviews, I examine stats, I search for flaws. The brand means next to nothing to me... and it should mean next to nothing for most people, because it is NOT what determines the quality of the final product.

But when you've got high brand loyalty going, you arent going to do that smart, careful shopping. And THAT is a problem. When it comes to your hard-earned money, careful shopping should be the norm! I suspect, though, that you simply buy Apple devices because they are Apple, without REALLY thinking about them. And even if you do look at other devices, you do so with a VERY biased eye. Again, it aint just you. Lots of people do this.


Look, I aint trying to insult you here. As many on this forum could likely tell you, I dont DO that. I try to help, and when I spot a problem, I'm the sort to attack it head on... whatever that takes. Sometimes it can really result in helping someone, and that is worth the effort... which is why I'm posting about this at all.

I dont think any less of you because of all of this. But I DO think you are doing yourself a grave disservice. And I think you could very much benefit from getting more of an understanding of the whole thing.


Anyway: That's enough outta me for a bit. Earlier today I did a drive up to the lake house, and that means I'm stuck with my junky laptop for awhile... it is actually very hard to type on here and if I keep this up too much my arm is going to give out. If you want to keep talking to me, that's fine (about this, or even about something else, I'm always up for a chat) but it's going to take me awhile to make replies for a couple of days. When I'm at this house I only check the forums like once a day.

 

[Thinx]

No: The guy who pays attention to market trends and understands consumer psychology, advertising, and manipulation of consumers by corporations, as well as corporate trickery and backstabbing, is going to tell you why people buy apple products. I'm also the one who has family that works IN sales, and has been listening to related stuff for like the past 25 years, and boy have I learned a LOT. I'm also in the rare position of being immune to advertising tricks myself, making it VERY easy to see how ad campaigns AND product design go together. That is where that is coming from.

Understand: Just because YOU personally buy a given thing for a given reason doesnt mean that's why it's popular. It merely means that's why YOU bought it.

Also: just because I wont buy any further Apple products doesnt mean I wont pay ATTENTION to them. I still watch what is being bought, WHY it is being bought, and so on. Please dont make silly assumptions. Just like how I dont need to buy games from EA, Activision, or any of them, to know that they are godawful companies. But, of course, they arent as bad as Apple. Well... Activision, MAYBE.



Look, here's the thing: There's other stuff I could reply very specifically to, in terms of what you've said. But there's something else I want to focus on here, because I do think this is important.


If you're wondering why I'm going on about all of this, it's because I've seen this before. You've fallen into the brand loyalty trap, and you've fallen hard. You have this bizarre affection for this giant, faceless, frozen-hearted entity that couldnt care less about you. It's a one-sided relationship, but like everyone that falls into the brand loyalty trap, you are at this point unable to see that.

Rather than me rambling about it, there's something I'd like to show you, and frankly this is something I wish everyone would watch:

This video is about the odd relationship between corporations, and consumers, particularly of the sort that you appear to have formed. Blizzard is merely used as an example here... really any major company that has "fans" of any sort could fit in here. Obviously the one I'm sticking in there is Apple, but it could also be Nintendo, or Sony, or Bethesda, or whoever. Listen to what the guy says, and think carefully about it. Think CAREFULLY about it. And compare it to your relationship with Apple.

I'm showing this video to illustrate a point. You've formed a completely ONE SIDED relationship with a corporate entity. A corporate entity whos one and only reason for even existing is to make money for its shareholders. It has NO OTHER FUNCTION... that's what a corporation is! Much like what the guy in the video says though, people get attached to that corporation anyway. They form a one-sided relationship with it... JUST like the corporation wants them to. Part of Apple's marketing strategy... and the reason I mentioned FOMO... is all about this, and it has been for a very long time.

Like the video says, they are not your friend, they are not your pal, they are not your buddy. "They" are a corporation. A machine that exists to make money. There might be some nice people that work FOR Apple, but that doesnt make Apple a nice company (and believe me, the guys at the top of the pyramid are DEFINITELY not nice). One way or another... Apple is not your buddy because it is not even a person. It cant form relationships, and it doesnt like you, because it doesnt care about you. It CANT care about you! It's not a person! But it CAN abuse the fact that YOU care about IT.... and it DOES, because that creates profit.

Do you see what I'm getting at here? When people insult you for being an Apple fan, or for being part of the "cult of Apple" (I'm going to take a guess and say you've heard that one before), that's what they're getting at. You've formed this relationship that has NO PURPOSE other than filtering more money into this gaping metal jaw of a thing that absolutely doesnt even know (or care) that you exist. It's like getting attached to a freaking vacuum cleaner! It's a MACHINE! A machine made of workers, but a machine nonetheless. You argue in its defense, but if YOU were in trouble, would it defend you? Of course not! Because IT IS NOT YOUR FRIEND. It is a company... it is a machine. It DOES NOT CARE.

Look, I've been a video gamer since I was a kid. Nintendo was like, my whole EVERYTHING. I had the NES way back then, I have the Switch now. Even though I'm a PC gamer, I still have Nintendo stuff. By your logic, I should LOVE them as a company.... right? But no, I dont. Nintendo makes some stuff I like, but that doesnt automatically make them a good company. I'm mature enough to recognize that now. I see that while they can make some neat products, they sure do have their freaking problems, oh yes they do. They can be a real snot of a company sometimes. My enjoyment of the Switch, or my age-old love of the NES, doesnt mean I *must* create a one-sided relationship with them... so I havent. And believe me: it is healthier that way.

It's not wrong to enjoy a particular product. But it's incredibly silly to form that one-sided, brand loyalty relationship with them because of it, and it's equally silly to assume that they must be somehow "good" because they created something you personally like. That's what I'm getting at. That's what I'm ALWAYS getting at. The sort of things you've said, the attitude you've shown? I've seen it all before, over and over and over and over again. I've run into a LOT of people/groups who are all afflicted with brand loyalty, and it always, ALWAYS works the same. And it's not one bit healthy... for you OR your wallet.

I'm not bringing all this up to create this long continued arguement. I'm bringing it all up in the hope that it gets you to THINK a bit about all of this. And maybe it gets others to think about it too.

Just... just ponder it for awhile. This isnt brought up so that you can argue with me about it. This is just for you to THINK about, as I said.

Great video, thanks for posting this. Yes, branding has become an all important part of running a successful business, to the extent that it's fairly crucial for even small businesses and charities to try to put over a brand image now, which is an added burden for them.

Although branding at it's best has the potential to express the values and purpose of an organisation, it's very clear that the majority of organisations that are profit making use it to enhance profits. Buyer beware!

 

[Joshua the Writer]

there is and that's where the dust gets in.

That's why you dust computers.

 

[Joshua the Writer]

Aluminum doesn't weigh much more then plastic others use. the iphone isnt' heavier then samsungs phones.
the rumored switch pro is suppose to be metal. plastics just aren't considered to be premium products. if the current switch was metal i't wouldn't be melting lol. people with original switchs had top of their switch melt. it also wouldn't warp from being too hot in the dock.

you can probably replace the shuffles battery and it'll work again. want to replace a samsung phjones battery? no luck. samsung doesn't do that.

This site needs a disagree button just so I don't have to reply to say that I disagree.

Also, I have never heard of peoples' Switches melting, either. Which makes me think that the complaints about that are people living in really hot areas leaving their switches in their cars (which is a bad idea to begin with considering somebody could steal if they look through the window and see an unconcealed Nintendo Switch lying about out in the open). This is such a rare thing, that even me, an avid user of Nintendo's stuff, has never even heard about it until you said so.

The only issue with the Switch was the joycon drift, but that happened 2 years after the Switch's release, where, with the PS5, the joystick drift on that happened less than 3 months from release.

I had to replace the controller my brother gave me when he gave me his Xbox One because the left joystick was drifting (which is not a good thing to happen considering I play MHW), and it made sense for that to drift because it was an older controller used on an older system (the system is the basic Xbox One).

However, with PS5, the fact that joystick drift happened only a few months after release convinces me I should never buy a PlayStation 5, as well as any later PlayStations.

 

[Slyfox]

That's why you dust computers.

Wasn't saying you don't, but whats more water proof a sealed box or one with hole in it? The macbook air being sealed means it'll probably last longer, it also doesn't have a fan to fail. I still wanted the pro but the people pointing this out are right.

 

[Slyfox]

This site needs a disagree button just so I don't have to reply to say that I disagree.

Also, I have never heard of peoples' Switches melting, either. Which makes me think that the complaints about that are people living in really hot areas leaving their switches in their cars (which is a bad idea to begin with considering somebody could steal if they look through the window and see an unconcealed Nintendo Switch lying about out in the open). This is such a rare thing, that even me, an avid user of Nintendo's stuff, has never even heard about it until you said so.

The only issue with the Switch was the joycon drift, but that happened 2 years after the Switch's release, where, with the PS5, the joystick drift on that happened less than 3 months from release.

I had to replace the controller my brother gave me when he gave me his Xbox One because the left joystick was drifting (which is not a good thing to happen considering I play MHW), and it made sense for that to drift because it was an older controller used on an older system (the system is the basic Xbox One).

However, with PS5, the fact that joystick drift happened only a few months after release convinces me I should never buy a PlayStation 5, as well as any later PlayStations.

so when the switch is in its dock it gets hot, so hot that the hot air coming out of its plastic vents melts the vent. It also caused alot of plastic screen protectors to melt and glas ones to fall off. I follow a lot of tech and gaming channels. you won't hear about it much now as the newer switches have metal vents.
It was such a problem that Nintendo redesigned the switch to fix it. they still get really hot when docked. mine get quite hot in handheld too.
I've never had joycon drift, doesn't mean it isn't happening
the ps5 lawsuit was filed day ps5 launched. I haven't seen any cases of it. now there have been cases of the triggers breaking. the lawsuit is being filed because the joysticks in the ps5, and series x controllers is the same one in the switch. they all use the same manufacturer. thats their logic behind the lawsuit. seems rather silly is there no other maker or designer of joysticks. the company says their joysticks are good only for 400 hours. I'm glad I didn't buy a xbox elite controller.

then you shouldn't buy any controller. it seems all controllers get their joysticks from that company. xbox,playstation,nintendo, google, amazon, all the 3rd party ones. if there is a drift issue with that design we may be facing a disaster in the gaming world.
that said I have 6 ps4 controllers, 1 xbox one, 3 360, 3 ps3, switch pro, luna, stadia, 2 seriex x controllers. I've never had stick drive. I've had way over 400 hours on all the p4 controllers. ony issue i have is the older ones are bit gritty, could probably be fixed if taken part and cleaned. they still get good battery life too. my xbox controllers have issues with their play and charge kit where it disconnects for some reason.

maybe the design has more problems when its shrunk down for the switch. I don't think the ps5 will have as wide spread issues. the ps4 didn't and its the same joystick.

 

[dhl02]

I actually prefer MacOS to Windows, but refuse to make the switch for this reason.
You can buy a Windows license for a personally designed computer, but you cannot buy a MacOS license.
The laptop that I have is the last one I'm ever buying. I'm switching to tablets for portable browsing and will build my own desktop for future use.

I just don't wish to spend the time playing videogames anymore, so the PS4 I currently have will be my last system. I will make a new retropie and that will be good enough for me.

 

[Slyfox]

mean thats why macos is so good and windows has problems. same reason ios beats andriod. one can be built to work with few products the others have to work with cheap barely able to run products and with tens of thousand dollars high end products. one is able to take full advantage of hardware other isn't.

 

[Joshua the Writer]

mean thats why macos is so good and windows has problems. same reason ios beats andriod. one can be built to work with few products the others have to work with cheap barely able to run products and with tens of thousand dollars high end products. one is able to take full advantage of hardware other isn't.

I use an Android and have not had any problems yet. My only complaint is that my Samsung S20 doesn't have a headphone jack.

 

[dhl02]

I use an Android and have not had any problems yet. My only complaint is that my Samsung S20 doesn't have a headphone jack.

iPhones don't either, and haven't for a while. Apple started that crap.

 

[Slyfox]

I use an Android and have not had any problems yet. My only complaint is that my Samsung S20 doesn't have a headphone jack.

andriod phones come out with specs that should slap apple around but in reality perform worse. this is because the software isnt' optimized for the specs. it has to work on a $30 phone sold at walmart. theres thousands of different andirod phones it has to work on all of them. ios has to work on 10, which means they can optimize it for them and take full advantage of the hardware. just like games can run better on consoles then pcs.

 

[Slyfox]

iPhones don't either, and haven't for a while. Apple started that crap.

least apple is honest about it. samsung mocked them and said look we have headphones, why would you remove headphone jack, headphone jack for life......... few months later....... our new samsung phone without headphone jacks cause its the future people.
they did same thing with apple not including the charger. if you plan to do it yourself it looks really bad for you to mock others doing it. samsung is a giant bumbing hypocrite. but aft i've learned how their company operates it makes more sense. tim cook, controls everything apple, buck stops with him. you won't see one part of apple doing something that will hurt another part of apple.
samsung display just told samsung electronics to **** off we wont' make you the screens anymore for samsung products. this would never happen to apple. it'd be like if part of apple that designs chips suddlenly said nah we won't make chips for iphones anymore. tim cook would go down there and fire the lead and say hell you won't
samsung now has to give its technology to chinese companies so they can make screens for them. each part of samsung acts like its own company. they are a mess. its no wonder they falling behind and losing ground on stuff. they need to fire all the sub division leaders and make it a top down like most companies. my feet don't tell my brain where were going.

people buy samsung tvs cause they made their own very good and quality control panels. I don't want to pay high prices for a chineses hit and miss quality tv. you can get the same tv from the chinese company for half as much.