101.708 INGLS

101.708 INGLSReport on Planned Obsolescence

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION2Formal Definition of Obsolescence, Origin and the Problem that Originates2Types of Planned Obsolescence3Technical or Functional Obsolescence3Systemic Obsolescence3Style Obsolescence4Damage to Environmentally4Obsolescence in Companies5Alternatives and Solutions to Planned Obsolescence6CONCLUSION7BIBLIOGRAPHY7

INTRODUCTIONHave we ever questioned ourselves for what reason cell phones remain obsoletes a year after being put on Market? Is it normal that when we buy an iPhone 2, six months after its put on Market appears a new model of the same product? Has anyone of us seen a light bulb functioning for more than 5 years? If the answer it is negative, it is obvious that there are a phenomenon hidden until our days, which we called Planned Obsolescence.Formal Definition of Obsolescence, Origin and the Problem that OriginatesWe denominated obsolescence as a useful life of a product or service, in other words, is the default lifetime that the company decided before its production. This programming is performed before the design of product have finished. An exhaustive study is carried out to determine the optimal time that will be useful to use the product, and when this useful life finish, the consumer will buy the same product without lose faith into the trademark. This obsolescence is implemented into the creation process, what feed up a cycle which follows the patron to buy, to throw away, and to buy, thereby causing an overproduction of trash worldwide. This phenomenon dates back to the 1920s and 1930s, at the hand of Bernard London, a promoter who proposed the obsolescence as a way to out of the Great Depression, a several worldwide economic depression.The only possible solution to solve a solution where the economic system had collapsed, leaving a great crisis never seen, was fanning the production with a sure future of purchases. These future purchases were possible by the insurance of renewal that offered the obsolescence, forcing the consumers to buy more and more when the product have failed. This decision influences the internal enterprise architecture, especially into the administration plan of production and the management of resources. The problem that originates is the high amount of waste, which result a polluted air, contaminated water, and therefore a poor environment which hasnt been protected. Every obsolete product is more rubbish. It is and obvious problem with the current system of production and economic, it does not fit at all to the harmony and balance of nature in which we live, which is limited and is being exploited by a system that could only exist with inexhaustible resources. There are more than 7.000 thousand millions of inhabitants into the world, and we know that is generated for each person 1Kg of rubbish per day, consequently we are creating 7.000 thousand millions tonnes per day. The higher percent of this trash it is not recyclable, and moreover, some components are not biodegradable. So we are talking about a period that some materials need for disappear, for example the plastic bottles that need 500 years, most elements are made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a hard material to crack: the microorganisms have not mechanisms for attacking, polypropylene takes 1,000 years to decompose. Lead batteries, heavy metals such as mercury and lead, among other toxic substances. And throughout this time, site contamination increases, resulting in many cases the sterility of the soil or water contamination.The waste electrical and electronic equipment that some companies throw contain materials that can be recovered, for example copper, aluminum, etc. There are countries like Benin, Ivory Coast, Nigeria that are used as dumps, and the local population see into the trash a means to make money.These people can extract elements and repair them, reusing what other people treated like trash. We cannot forget that obsolescence is an added plus, adding social injustices that plague Africa. The saddest is that the most of childrens are which make the work of sifting through trash.Types of Planned ObsolescenceTechnical or Functional ObsolescenceA common method of planned obsolescence is to use inferior materials that are prone to eventually breaking or otherwise becoming damaged. In the case of wheeled can openers, colluding manufacturers make the can opener's teeth out of relatively soft metal that is prone to deformation (and consequent malfunction due to flattening of the teeth) after using the opener for a while. Some can opener manufacturers make one-wheeled 'butterfly' can openers with a rotating axis piece made of poor-quality plastic that is very prone to breakage. Similarly, some manufacturers of ear protectors and some manufacturers of sunglasses use poor-quality plastic that is prone to embrittlement and breakage. Screws are often made with a combination of relatively soft metal and an opening that is too shallow to grip the screwdriver head well, such that deformation of the metal gripping the screwdriver head (and consequent malfunction due to the inability of the screwdriver head to grip the screw) is highly likely.Planned obsolescence is made more likely by making the cost ofrepairscomparable to the replacement cost, or by refusing to provide service or parts any longer. A product might even never have been serviceable. Creating new lines of products that do not interoperate with older products can also make an older model quickly obsolete, forcing replacement. Examples include change of formats and peripheral devices in computers, change of formats in home audio recordings and movies (gramophone recordtoMagnetic tape sound recordingsto CDs and VHS video to DVDs toBlu-ray).Some products are powered by a battery (cell) that issolderedinto the circuitry or enclosed in a sealed housing, instead of being easily replaceable by a new battery. Although the product owner could resolder in a new battery, most owners will not bother or do not have the required skills. Some products containrechargeable batteriesthat are not user-replaceable after they have worn down, so that consumers are required to pay for a service of battery replacement or to buy a new product.Planned obsolescence is sometimes achieved by placing a heat-sensitive component adjacent to a component that is expected to get hot. A common example isLCD screenswith heat-sensitiveelectrolytic capacitorsplaced next to power components which may be 100C or hotter; this heat greatly reduces the lifespan of the electrolytic capacitor. Another example is computers in which heat-sensitive capacitors are placed exactly in the hot air flow which results from cooling the processor.Planned functional obsolescence is a type of technical obsolescence in which companies introduce new technology which replaces the old. The old products do not have the same capabilities or functionality as the new ones. For example a company that sold consumer video tape decks while they were developing DVD recorders was engaging in planned obsolescence. They were actively planning to make their existing product (video tape) obsolete by developing asubstitute product(recordable DVD) with greater functionality (better recording quality). Associated products that arecomplementsto the old products also become obsolete with the introduction of new products. An example of this is video tape holders which became obsolete when video tapes and video tape decks became obsolete.Systemic ObsolescencePlanned systemic obsolescence is the deliberate attempt to make a product obsolete by altering the system in which it is used in such a way as to make its continued use difficult. New software is frequently introduced that is not compatible with older software. This makes the older software largely obsolete. Even though an older version of a word processing program is operating correctly, it might not be able to read data saved by newer versions. The same thing may be said of printers and refill cartridges, for example.Another way of introducing systemic obsolescence is to eliminate service and maintenance for a product. If a product fails, the user is forced to purchase a new one. This strategy seldom works because there are typically third parties that are prepared to perform the service if parts are still available. To combat this third party repairing say in the case of replacing a laser assembly in a DVD drive soldered points are on the printed circuit board without explanation so, unless the user knows which ones to remove, the item cannot be repaired. In turn, third parties can overcome this byreverse-engineering(a legal practice), but at added expense which may drive up the price of third-party repair to the point that it is economically unattractive to consumers.Style ObsolescenceMarketing may be driven primarily by aesthetic design. Product categories in this case display a fashion cycle. By continually introducing new designs, and retargeting or discontinuing others, a manufacturer can "ride the fashion cycle". Such product categories include automobiles (style obsolescence), with a strict yearly schedule of new models; the almost entirely style-driven clothing industry (riding the fashion cycle); and the mobile phone industries with constant minor feature enhancements and restyling.Planned style obsolescence occurs when marketers change the styling of products so customers will purchase products more frequently. The style changes are designed to make owners of the old model feel out of date.Damage to EnvironmentallyPlanned obsolescence is therefore required in order to set up a consumer society and thus a booming market. The period to use our products, namely, its useful existence, defines the amount of shopping that is made. In this manner when the producers develop a product assign it a lapse of working time just to break down when that time finishes, forcing the customers to buy one again, since repairing the broken one would cost almost as much as it would take to buy a new one with better features, also considering that the product we had would already be obsolete in the market. However, this consumption method issue is directly reflected in the nature, as it has being calculated that the 80% of the products and materials that pass through the hands of a consumer turn into rubbish six weeks later. There are some points that consider the problems that all this rubbish carries. 1. The extraction. In the first place, the raw materials for product fabrication can be also understood as resources exploitation. The countries where the product is sols have almost finished the raw materials, which have forced them to pull out the raw materials from less developed countries, e.g., African ones. The raw materials on the Earth are about to end, a third of them has been already used. 2. The production.Through the production of the final products pollution is originated because of the combination of chemical products with natural resources. Using these process toxic and environmental-harmful wastes are created. The introduction to the natural cycles of these wastes is really difficult, and they trigger the death of many workers as they have been exposed to carcinogenic substances. 3. The rights.An average American originates 726 kg of rubbish every year. These products transformed in waste are buried under the earth, some of them being previously incinerated. The electronic waste generates some specific problems. For example, they are toxic, because they are made with plumb, mercury and cadmium. They also has selenium and arsenic, among others. When these materials are molten they release toxins, to the air, earth and water, and they even promote the climate change. There are some electronic landfills where all these wastes end up. The biggest one can be found at Guiyu (China).Obsolescence in CompaniesToday, the market is full of cheaper products, the quality controls are absent, for products placed on the market must be "patched" to solve problems of origin, especially where technology is the foundation. There are many products that are returned shortly be tested soon after buying it, because failures are detected and that society has become accustomed to this happening, "Failure, I change and I returned the other, with the hope that will not fail again", the case is that if there are quality control "product by product", the costs that would be higher, therefore the prices are lowered at the expense of considerably lower, both the quality and the duration thereof, assuming can fail with a certain ease.Today is so normal that every company use the planned obsolescence, but now we will centre in one: APPLE.Case 1: A guy from the U.S.A. bought an iPad1 six months after came out. it costed one thousand dollars with insurance.Now since Apple has rolled out their new iOs6 (Around June 2012), the iPad1 is no longer being supported. In return applications that he has paid money for are no longer being supported and ultimately they stop working like several applications have so far. So basically we can see clarity that Apple is now planning when they make their devices obsolete so those pesky non-apple sheeple will start purchasing their products a little quicker. Now here comes the kicker, the apple sheeple will defend apple by stating the iPad1 cannot handle the graphics the iOs6 displays. But, even if it cant handle all the aspects, what is so wrong with having a light update so the users can continue using the apps they paid for.Here comes the comparation, cause the same boy on this case has his xbox for 6 years and Microsoft still updates it. His home screen looks like windows 8, they have updated the look/feel about once a year. He can now use the internet, netflix, hulu, hbo, etc on his XBOX. All on the same hardware!! But to Apple, that is not possible because supposed to be the superior company.Case 2: Its about Brazilian lawsuit accuses Apple of 'planned obsolescence' with fourth-gen iPadApple's legal troubles in Brazil grew on Thursday, as news emerged that the company has been hit with a class-action suit alleging that the quick release of the fourth-generation iPad constitutes "planned obsolescence" with regard to its predecessor. Brazil's Jornal do Comrciao reports that the Brazilian Institute of Politics and Law Software (IBDI) has filed suit against the iPad maker, claiming that the company could have, when launching the third-generation "New iPad," implemented all of the technological upgrades it introduced in the fourth-generation model. Apple's failure to do so, the suit alleges, amounts to planned obsolescence and unfair business practices."Consumers thought [they were] buying high-end equipment," said IBDI attorney Sergio Palomares, "not knowing [it] was already an obsolete version."If Apple is found guilty of unfair business practices, the company could be forced to compensate all Brazilian customers who bought the third-generation iPad. The newest model of iPad debuted in October alongside the iPad mini. The new model was largely acknowledged as an incremental upgrade to the third-gen model, which it replaced after only six months. Following the introduction of the fourth-gen iPad, some Apple Stores began allowing customers to exchange their slightly older models for slightly newer ones, though this was not a nationwide company policy.The newer iPad does offer a faster A6X processor, a FaceTime HD camera, and a port compatible with Apple's new Lightning connector standard. These are the features, the IBDI suit claims that could have been built into the third-generation model. Alternatives and Solutions to Planned ObsolescenceA) To personal level: Recognize that you are not fully in control of your actions. Manufacturers, retailers and marketers understand human psychology better than you (unless it is your job as well). Youre being manipulated. Although youre being manipulated, you can adjust your behavior to compensate for the direction in which youre being subconsciously pushed. Consider whether the product youre interested in purchasing is a need or a want. Its fine to buy products that are nothing more than wants, but its better to do so after youve given some thought to the alternatives. How many hours did you need to work to be able to afford this product, after taxes? If a new mobile phone, not including the two-year contract, costs you one hour of work, it may be a better choice than a phone that costs twenty hours of work. What percentage of your net worth are you spending to make this purchase? If your net worth is negative and you owe more in debt than you own, how far back will this put your debt-reduction progress? Choose products that arent designed to fail quickly.B) To global level: Selecting all the best technology out of all the available variants is a good tactic. Some old technology that many thought was history has been revived. One of these is the phonograph record player that enjoyed a revival with the emergence of rap. Recycling absolutely everything is an axiom that we still have to learn to take to heart. We should not make anything that cannot be recycled. A good example of this is nuclear waste. Unless we can invent a way to recycle nuclear waste without harm, we should not be making any. All metals, glass, paper, wood, some plastics, fabric and organic "waste" are totally recyclable. There is no excuse whatsoever to not reuse them. As an example, it takes only 10 percent of the energy to recycle aluminum as it does to mine and process aluminum from raw ore, the same is true for iron. The problem about CO2 produced for contamination is now so severe that planting trees alone is not enough; we will have to take direct action. Removing carbon from the atmosphere has been done by shellfish for eons as they turn it into calcium carbonate in their shells; we do this when our bodies make bone. The process that nature uses can be duplicated in the lab and scaled up in order to gobble up all the CO2 that we have been injecting into the atmosphere. We must develop better energy source like: solar, piezoelectric, wind, etc. Some of the ideas are centuries old and have been successfully used by people like the Dutch who were using windmills as long ago as the 12th century, Solar energy has been used to cool cities and homes in Iran for centuries or, Iceland runs most of its power needs on geothermic energy.CONCLUSION How are we contributing with these types of systems to maintain them? Or even better, what are we doing wrong that makes us want to feed a destructive system? These are some questions that we ask ourselves, because we are who feed up this problem, we are directly responsible and we are not conscious about it because we are who shopping, or changing our mobile phones when it have broken. But we preffer incriminate to the companies such as only responsable, but we are wrong, we have the last word on this problem changing our lifestyles. BIBLIOGRAPHY http://www.forbes.com/sites/moneybuilder/2012/11/06/resist-planned-obsolescence-or-accept-the-financial-consequences/ http://syzygyastro.hubpages.com/hub/End-Planned-Obsolescence http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence The Story of Stuff, Annie Leonard, 2007 http://distrito.wordpress.com/2011/06/05/sabias-que-la-obsolescencia-programada http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread923404/pg1Universidad de salamanca | INTRODUCTION1