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Electronics are built with death dates. Let’s not keep them a secret

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Re: Electronics are built with death dates. Let’s not keep them a secret

#131

Post by what-imright »

deltasevennine wrote: post #112
what-imright wrote: post #101

Stop trying to make hardware last forever. Who here would like to use hardware from 2017? iPhone x anyone? The lifetime of these devices is defined by the reasonable update schedule of the consumer, which is based on moores law. 5 years is a reasonable update schedule. Then put one in a museum and live in the now. You get this much time forget the nostalgia https://www.bryanbraun.com/your-life/months.html

I don't think you understand the extent of what's going on. It's not that people are trying to make hardware last forever. It's that these devices are being deliberately designed to break down in a couple years. There are actual design decisions to force consumer behavior into purchasing new things every couple of years. This doesn't just apply to things that follow moores law. Almost every product in existence nowad…

Yes the lightbulb conspiracy and planned obsolescence. Here’s why that’s no longer a threat; it’s bad business. It’s a PR nightmare, and totally unnecessary. For instance my last (17 inch) MBP lasted a full decade including the battery without any service required. In fact it became a problem for me in that I was waiting for it to break so I could go by a new one. Apple learned that having products with planned obsolescence was bad for business and just stopped doing it. Other manufactures are still learning that, sure. But Apple simply ends updates to macOS for certain models and the user can decide if they want to keep running what they have, or update. Because what you’re really purchasing is software and updates, not the hardware. The hardware is just the packaging it is delivered in.

So what about those companies that still include planned obsolescence? You need to vote with your money. Simply don’t buy their product. If you do, if you’re fooled twice, that’s on you.

Re: Electronics are built with death dates. Let’s not keep them a secret

#132

Post by pca006132 »

scarface74 wrote: post #111
pca006132 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think quite a lot of Windows laptop works fine with Linux nowadays? Perhaps not out-of-the-box, but they works fine after installing the OS manually (which doesn't really take much time TBH). I'm not sure what software you need for work, but if they are open source they are usually fine with Linux (iirc Mac exclusive projects usually have alternatives) . For cloud stuff, I don't know what you are using so can't rea…

As long as you don’t care about things like battery life, heat, or your laptop sounding like a 747 under load.

I'm using a Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 with a Ryzen 7, which works fine, battery lasts for more than 6 hours if I am not doing computationally intensive work, not as good as a Mac but works for me. The heat is also fine, the fan is not too loud and it doesn't run usually.

I think you just have to avoid gaming notebook.

Re: Electronics are built with death dates. Let’s not keep them a secret

#133

Post by aimor »

userbinator wrote: post #46

Sadly, I found many other devices are also designed to become trash. The battery in my Philips Sonicare toothbrush not only can’t be replaced — it’s fixed so firmly inside that the manual says you have to take a hammer to it just to throw it away (because batteries can cause trash fires). “The battery is firmly placed, in a water-resistant handle, to ensure safety, durability, longevity and robust performance,” says…

I have a disposable electric toothbrush. The bottom just screws off to reveal the bottom half of a AAA battery. (An O-ring keeps it dry) I'm pretty sure with a little finagling I could swap out the battery. Now if only someone could figure out how to make the top replaceable.

Re: Electronics are built with death dates. Let’s not keep them a secret

#134

Post by ThunderSizzle »

kazinator wrote: post #114

> But buying gear with batteries sealed inside is kind of like buying a car where you can’t change the tires. We just don’t realize we’re doing it, or how it’s contributing to our climate and sustainability crises. Changing tires is better than throwing away a car whose tires are worn out, but it's not without impact. Tires don't recycle into anything useful; there are only so many bouncy playgrounds you can build fr…

What's the reasonable alternative? For most people who currently need a vehicle, that vehicle will need tires.

Perhaps there's breakthroughs that can be made, but you can't expect people to just start trying to drive without tires.

Re: Electronics are built with death dates. Let’s not keep them a secret

#136

Post by tgsovlerkhgsel »

JohnBooty wrote: post #129
fragmede wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thankfully USB-C charging on my laptops has made that less of an issue. Of course the good chargers are like $80 instead but still.

$80USD? GaN 90/100W chargers from manufacturers like Anker and Monoprice can regularly be had for half of that. Right now there are a lot of 90W ones from unknown-to-me manufacturers for ~$32 on Amazon. I'm not trying to correct you here; I'm just wondering if there's something I'm missing.

I value the absence of house fires too much to buy no-name power banks and chargers (chargers also come with the extra risk of yummy 230V on the output).

Re: Electronics are built with death dates. Let’s not keep them a secret

#137

Post by 2OEH8eoCRo0 »

deathanatos wrote: post #87

It's not even just batteries. Every laptop I've ever owned comes with a AC to DC converter. Every laptop I've ever owned has outlived that AC-to-DC converter. Every converter that has failed has failed in exactly the same way: the plug/cord connection at the laptop end becomes unreliable. And every single one of them, across a range of manufacturers, has had the cord not be detachable from the brick. So what could ha…

You have horrible luck. I've never had an AC-to-DC converter die and I've owned 6 going back to 2006 timeframe. Two of them are still used daily and they're from 2011 and 2013 respectively.

Re: Electronics are built with death dates. Let’s not keep them a secret

#138

Post by folkrav »

tgsovlerkhgsel wrote: post #136
JohnBooty wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$80USD? GaN 90/100W chargers from manufacturers like Anker and Monoprice can regularly be had for half of that. Right now there are a lot of 90W ones from unknown-to-me manufacturers for ~$32 on Amazon. I'm not trying to correct you here; I'm just wondering if there's something I'm missing.

I value the absence of house fires too much to buy no-name power banks and chargers (chargers also come with the extra risk of yummy 230V on the output).

Anker is pretty reliable and far from a no-name IMHO

Re: Electronics are built with death dates. Let’s not keep them a secret

#139

Post by osigurdson »

deathanatos wrote: post #87

It's not even just batteries. Every laptop I've ever owned comes with a AC to DC converter. Every laptop I've ever owned has outlived that AC-to-DC converter. Every converter that has failed has failed in exactly the same way: the plug/cord connection at the laptop end becomes unreliable. And every single one of them, across a range of manufacturers, has had the cord not be detachable from the brick. So what could ha…

It is nice that laptops are now often USB-C powered.

Re: Electronics are built with death dates. Let’s not keep them a secret

#140

Post by osigurdson »

2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #137
deathanatos wrote: post #87

It's not even just batteries. Every laptop I've ever owned comes with a AC to DC converter. Every laptop I've ever owned has outlived that AC-to-DC converter. Every converter that has failed has failed in exactly the same way: the plug/cord connection at the laptop end becomes unreliable. And every single one of them, across a range of manufacturers, has had the cord not be detachable from the brick. So what could ha…

You have horrible luck. I've never had an AC-to-DC converter die and I've owned 6 going back to 2006 timeframe. Two of them are still used daily and they're from 2011 and 2013 respectively.

I've had two XPS laptops die due to worn out power connections. I doubt these kinds of issues are rare.
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