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Products designed to fail, a documentary
nudone:
I didn't know that "lifetime" meant 7 years for a car... Sheesh...
-Renegade (November 02, 2011, 07:27 AM)
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...and so, another example of 1984's Doublespeak taking over our language. Not only will the younger generation(s) expect built-in obsolescence to be the norm, they have an accompanying language to help them think appropriately about it all.
Free = not free.
Lifetime = when you've finally paid enough to own it.
Warranty = find terms to invalidate your guarantee.
And on, and on, and on...
(edit: is it Doublespeak? It's Newspeak and Doublethink in 1984.)
Renegade:
I didn't know that "lifetime" meant 7 years for a car... Sheesh...
-Renegade (November 02, 2011, 07:27 AM)
--- End quote ---
...and so, another example of 1984's Doublespeak taking over our language. Not only will the younger generation(s) expect built-in obsolescence to be the norm, they have an accompanying language to help them think appropriately about it all.
Free = not free.
Lifetime = when you've finally paid enough to own it.
Warranty = find terms to invalidate your guarantee.
And on, and on, and on...
(edit: is it Doublespeak? It's Newspeak and Doublethink in 1984.)
-nudone (November 02, 2011, 08:44 AM)
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Good point.
I forget a lot of the details, but propaganda has been refined since the 1920's or so into a very fine science.
Basically, truth is irrelevant. If you repeat a message long enough, people *WILL* accept it as truth. The in/sanity of the claim is irrelevant.
In the 1930's or 40's, Long Range Penetration Strain was developed to shape perceptions of reality in large populations. i.e. Mass propaganda.
Changing or shifting the meanings of words is a typical tactic.
Whether or not you are sickened by this, it's just a fact of life.
The question is whether you want to accept the system, or change it.
Carol Haynes:
Having watched the film all the way through I found it illuminating (pun intended).
I hadn't realise that the lightbulb industry had intentionally produced a worldwide Cartel to reduce the life span of bulbs (being naive I just though manufacturing was really shoddy). The fact that they fined members of the Cartel huge amounts of money for producing products that were too good says it all.
Getting back to another hobby-horse the built in obsolescence of consumer products such as printers and mp3 players etc. (esp. the very expensive iPod/iPad/iPhone) really makes me boil.
I recently came across the Epson 'print counter' issue on a clients computer and found the same Russian software to reset the counter back to 0.
Its about time all these businesses were taken to task - especially given the huge amount of unsustainable landfill produced by their products. There is no real justification for having a user serviceable waste ink pad in inkjet printers - hell they could have a little refillable alcohol bottle to stop the waste of ink too!
Here's a thought - when a product fails and has to be put into landfill charge the manufacturer double the original purchase price for each item in dumping tax! That would make them think.
Don't even get me started about the 'second hand' goods con turning swathes of Africa and Asia into open sewers!
IainB:
@Carol Haynes:
...'second hand' goods con turning swathes of Africa and Asia into open sewers.
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Could you explain this for me please (maybe in a PM if it is off-topic)?
I Googled the phrase and still couldn't really figure out what it was that you were intending to refer to.
(Thanks.)
mouser:
im only 10 minutes in and i'm already furious. >:(
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