Poll: So I found out something interesting about Apple today, along with other companies of course..

[Lexodus]

Considering I'm still using a 1st gen iPod Video classic 160GB, I don't really buy into getting the new thing every year. Same reason I think FIFA games are stupid, because it's the same thing with marginal changes and a new skin.
That said, my iPod, my baby, has finally broken. It's been through literally everything, it's been in a coat that was on fire, dropped out of a window, run over, and it's fine, mostly; the problem is, the audio input that the headphones go into only works on the left channel. I know it can be replaced but nowhere I know does it, and I am loathe to pry open my musical companion for fear of mangling something else in the process. Any ideas?

 

[Gearhead mk2]

No. It's just extorting money out of customers, loyal customers that may one day get fed up with you and move to a competitor.

 

[BishopofAges]

Honestly, the whole ideal we're chattering about does go beyond Apple, it even existed before Apple. The entire ideal existed and was in practice long before anyone even uttered the phrase "Internet? feh, it's a passing trend."

The idea of selling something that 'lasted forever' is bad for business. Back in the day in a town of 400 people you could only say you've sold 400 units maximum, as an example. If everyone bought a cast iron, wood-burning oven/heater that would never break, but only require the occational cleaning then you would have to charge more for production costs to make ends meet and hopefully profit.

Now a cast iron oven/heater isn't the same as an iPod or the like, because technology evolves so often that even if the tech was built to last that if you had paid extra for the production cost to 'make it last' then when it becomes obsolete you'd feel tricked if your tech didn't hold up to current trends after 5 years, but still worked to its specs.

Honestly, I have an AT&T GoPhone, a nice lil throw-away I use for calling friends or emergencies. I can say for sure that this thing was 'built to last' because I have dropped it, thrown it, even cleaned a vaccum cleaner with it and it still works like it did on day 1. However, I have to continue paying for service so in this case, AT&T don't lose money for making it tough, they actually make slightly more because I don't get mad at my phone and throw it away for a new-fangled model for some other company.

Sorry for the long post, I found this topic really interesting both in reality and philosophically.

 

[Wushu Panda]

No, I live in a house.

And I work in business, albeit the retail industry and as such I haven't seen this aspect of manufacturing. So of course I found it shocking, I didn't think a company could deliberately outdate their own products every year and still manage to trade without someone taking a step back from buying their "new" product and thinking, "hang on a second, is this wrong for a company to extort me by deliberately making my current bit of tech unfashionable and outdated just so they can make more money?"

I mean people rant about games being released yearly with little to no real additions and that costs, what, £40? I'm talking about tech that costs literally 10 times that, why does nobody care?

Because people as a whole are stupid, ignorant, and want to be controlled rather than think for themselves.

The few people who do think for themselves and dont let themselves get suckered into buying all the latest crap get shunned away as being "weird".

 

[Jaeke]

OP:No. But it's gonna happen anyway, People=$$ and thats what matters for them.

Go Windows!... I guess.