Planned Obsolescence

I found out about “planned obsolescence” about 30 years ago when I was doing insurance restoration work with my (then) husband.  People who suffer from water damage in their home often have a rusted out water heater that just gives away one day.  Now a good water heater has a glass tank, which (of course) never rusts.  It seems that water heater companies quit making them with glass tanks because the water heater would then last forever.  No way to sell new water heaters.  So planned obsolescence is a way for a manufacturer to ruin it’s own product so that the customer will need to buy it again (i.e. water heater without a glass tank, therefor rusts).

Now for my current suspicions about manufacturers and retailers.  It has been known for decades now, by software developers everywhere, that the average human will only stare at a blank screen for 7 seconds.  At the 7th second you need to produce something on the computer screen or your client will look away and start doing something else.

Now software engineers can do just about anything with programming, I imagine that at some point they will produce angels who dance on pin tips, so I do not question ability.  That is why my current cell phone experience is suspect.  Cell phone companies want you to re-sign a contract every 2 years.  They force, lure, blackmail, promise anything to keep people on their calling plans.  Every 2 years, they offer a latest gizmo phone and will discount the price of the phone if you will just sign another 2 year contract.  I do not like the contracts.  Every single time I have been in one, something has happened to make my life difficult( – oh well).  This last time, I went ahead and signed the two year contract, because I needed the phones, the price and the service.  It just happened that way.  Ever since last December, my contract has been expired.  How cool is that?

Well wait ’til you hear this… about six months ago my phone started this odd little delay after I dialed a phone number.  As a matter of fact that delay is 11 seconds.  How interesting is that?  Normally a person would say, gee, my phone doesn’t work, I think I will go and get a new one.  I am so annoyed I do not want to do that!  I think that my phone company has a computer chip in my phone that says – delay phone calls by 11 seconds after 25 months of service.

Yep, I’m a conspiracy theorist.  I think that mega-manufacturer’s will do anything for the almighty dollar, it’s the American way.  I think that includes manufacturing objects that will quit working on a certain date.  Thank goodness that right now at this point in time, I do not need the latest, greatest and fastest phone.  In the meantime, I will find a phone and pay for it myself so that I do not need to sign another contract.  I feel good, they didn’t “get” me this time, ha-ha!