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https://www.iafrikan.com/2020/06/30/do-we-really-own-our-digital-possessions/
During 2019, Microsoft announced that it will close the books category of its digital store. While other software and apps will still be available via the virtual shop front, and on purchasers' consoles and devices, the closure of the eBook store takes with it customers' eBook libraries. Any digital books bought through the service – even those bought many years ago – will no longer be readable after July 2019. While the company has promised to provide a full refund for all eBook purchases, this decision raises important questions of ownership.
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We Don't Really Own the Digital Possessions That We Buy Online
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Another good night not to sleep in a eucalyptus tree.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by MostCynical on Wednesday July 01 2020, @09:29PM (7 children)
I have tried to repair many many things, but modern stuff is designed to be thrown away, from the moment the designer starts thinking about it...
Some experiences from the recent past:
1. washing machine - 8 years old. Failure on main board, main board no longer manufactured. To remove panel, break plastic one way lugs (mushroom shaped force fit). So can't replace broken part, and can't put it back together even if you could get the part
2. house intercom/doorbell. 15 years old, so has lots of screws, come apart, but has machine soldered tiny parts - how many hours with an oscilloscope to find the broken/burned out part?
3. toy remote control car - one wheel broke - whole axle/bearing assembly is a single moulded lump.. no amount of special glue can reinstate the required structural integrity.
4. plastic insert/cover on vegetable drawers in fridge. Thin plastic. floppy. Small, shaped clips hold it in. Removing the try to clean it breaks the clips. Tray now falls down and jams drawers.. Clips cannot be purchased. Making your own is... interesting (too strong and the can't be pushed into place, to week and they don't support the tray)..
Why make it last 40 years, when you can get a new sale when it breaks after 5..
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 02 2020, @02:56PM
That's a happy side effect. The main reason why they go through models so quickly is that it makes it impossible to properly research the item you're looking to buy. By the time the major issues are known and posted, they're just about ready to discontinue the model for a new one that's only slightly different and may or may not have the same set of issues.
Forcing people to buy a new one because there aren't any parts available is just a happy side effect for the manufacturers. In most cases, there's little stopping them from reusing parts in newer models other than their desire to sell a new product rather than have you fix the one you've got.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Thursday July 02 2020, @07:29PM (5 children)
The other side to this is: how much did you pay for these things? Would you be willing to pay 3-5x as much for something designed to last longer, and be more repairable? Most consumers aren't willing to pay 1.2x as much for something better, so manufacturers are giving them what they want.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Friday July 03 2020, @02:19AM (4 children)
The thing is, many of the sins we're talking about couldn't have even saved 1%. Some even cost more than doing it right. People buy only the cheapest because most of the time, the more expensive turns out the be the cheapest with a shinier badge tacked on it.
If you're going to be ripped off, you might as well be ripped off for as little as possible.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Friday July 03 2020, @03:57PM (3 children)
Yeah, so you have expensive stuff that's just overpriced junk, and you have expensive stuff that's better than the cheapest junk. How are consumers supposed to know the difference? Doing research only goes so far; I've seen tons of product reviews for things giving them 5 stars, from people who've only used the product a short time, and then a few poor reviews from people who've had it longer. It's like this XKCD comic [xkcd.com]. Lots of great reviews doesn't mean the product is actually good, or lasts a long time. I imagine a lot of people just gave up and go for the cheapest after being burned.
Also, there's the issue that a lot of people don't *want* to keep things a lot time. What's the point of paying extra for something that'll last 40 years if you don't plan on keeping it more than 5? Especially when newer items will likely be more efficient, have better features, etc.?
(Score: 2) by sjames on Sunday July 05 2020, @07:12PM (2 children)
Exactly. Then there's the constant churn. By the time a model has been on the market long enough for the first buyers to realize it fails way too soon, that model is replaced by a nearly identical model )that's probably built even more poorly) and so the later (all bad) reviews of the old model just disappear as "moot".
When good products lifespans exceed the owner's needs, they sell it on. That only works if there is good reason to believe the thing that should last 20-40 years isn't on it's last leg after 5. It keeps waste out of the landfill and allows people who are less well off to afford what they need.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Monday July 06 2020, @08:50PM (1 child)
When good products lifespans exceed the owner's needs, they sell it on. That only works if there is good reason to believe the thing that should last 20-40 years isn't on it's last leg after 5. It keeps waste out of the landfill and allows people who are less well off to afford what they need.
I think part of the problem here is that people just don't expect to get much money from (for instance, ~10 year old) used appliances in a secondhand sale. It's not like a car, where you do want your car to last 30 years so you can drive it for 5-10 years, then resell it for thousands of dollars to someone else. People just don't seem to expect that with appliances; when they buy a new one because the old one is ugly/dated-looking, or making some noises and not worth repairing because it's ugly or doesn't have newer features, they just get the new one delivered and the old one is taken away by the delivery people. In reality, it does seem like a lot of these end up going to places that repair them and resell them as refurbished, but this probably depends on the model. If you check out Craigslist, you can find people reselling refurbished appliances, so they are out there. But unlike cars where it's pretty common to either resell your car yourself, or to do a "trade-in" (which doesn't usually net quite as much resale value), there's just no such thing for appliances that I've ever heard of, nor have I ever heard of this (and I'm old enough to remember appliances lasting more than 3 years).
(Score: 2) by sjames on Monday July 13 2020, @10:37PM
It's a bit of a chicken and egg problem. People don't get much for used appliances because due to 'value engineering' potential buyers know they're more likely to be used up.
Sort of like the perceived value of a used car in the '70s with 150,000 miles on it, the general advice was just drive it into the ground then scrap it. By comparison, today, SOME makes have an actual resale value at 150,000 miles.