A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now • Hacker News Board

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#101

Post by jrochkind1 » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:12 PM UTC

starbugs wrote: post #3

> Thing is, producing crappy, cookie-cutter, uninspired, overpriced junk that falls apart within 5 years (generously speaking) pays more to the shareholders. That's how we got from there to here. This summarizes it quite well for me.

I mean, in general, things we buy today are a lot more "affordable" while being lower quality.

Googling says the average cost of a refrigerator in 1950 was $250 to $400 (for 10 cubic feet -- a fridge today is 20 to 30 ft^3), which would be $3K to $5K in 2023 dollars.

If you pay $3K to $5K for a fridge today (for a fridge 2-3x as big as the 1950 fridge), do you get a better longer-lasting one? I'm not sure.

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#102

Post by cmsonger » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:12 PM UTC

I wonder what it would cost to make / sell.

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#103

Post by K0balt » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:12 PM UTC

But, those are all physical features that cost money to produce each one!

Surely an app that can be cobbled together from some no code framework that we will stop maintaining in 18 months (but you can’t defrost or adjust your temperature without it) will add just as much value, but at zero marginal cost!

Plus, we can’t harvest data from useful physical features!

Bits > bolts!

But the worst part is , bits>bolts is actually very applicable in many cases.

It’s just universal enshitification that has made that axiom in to a sad joke.

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#104

Post by mholm » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:12 PM UTC

drcongo wrote: post #43

vGPU wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

See: Samsung fridges. A huge touchscreen and a water pump/ice maker that will fail in <5 years are standard.

My Samsung fridge is the worst thing I've ever bought.

The worst part is that sometimes less price conscious customers will also get tempted in, because they're the only ones trying to push fridge features forward. The 'beverage center' door with a 64oz pitcher that gets refilled on close, allowing you to quickly pour whatever you want, then stow it back in the door to be refilled, is the greatest feature I've ever experienced on a fridge. It just pains me that if I get the fridge, I know it'll only last a few years.

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#105

Post by CivBase » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:12 PM UTC

AlecSchueler wrote: post #65

passwordoops wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah but I'd bet the one we see in the video is probably still working, while I'm on my third fridge in 20 years. I think that negates any energy efficiency gains

Why doesn't everyone have old fridges then? You only buy new when the old one breaks down right? But if the old ones were so sturdy why were they all replaced? I expect there's some survivorship bias at play here.

Because it's more convenient to buy a new fridge than to seek out an old one in good condition on the used market? And because they don't manufacture old fridges so the remaining good ones fetch a much higher price? And because there's no way for a consumer to reasonably determine the longevity of a new product before purchase?

I don't necessarily think that's why people aren't buying this fridge but those are reasons why new products can still be successful even when they're worse than the old ones.

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#106

Post by FirmwareBurner » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:13 PM UTC

3cats-in-a-coat wrote: post #59

hotpotamus wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, I'll be the cranky old man today - I just want a box that keeps my food cold enough not to hurt me. That's really all I need and I imagine all I will need 20 years from now.

You don't even want to tweet from your fridge? Dude.

You mean Xeet from your fridge?

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#107

Post by momirlan » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:14 PM UTC

random_savv wrote: post #76

ilyt wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a level where you don't care about more improvements. Fridge is a box of cold stuff. I don't need much more than that. Sure it could be slightly more efficient but even 20 years old ones are pretty efficient, and I'd rather just slap an extra solar panel or two on the roof rather than replace whole fridge and junk the old one.

When I did the math on replacing a 10-15 year old fridge, I was able to amortize the cost of the new fridge in 2.5 years, from the energy savings.

assuming the new one will last 2.5 years...

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#108

Post by mholm » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:15 PM UTC

AlecSchueler wrote: post #65

passwordoops wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah but I'd bet the one we see in the video is probably still working, while I'm on my third fridge in 20 years. I think that negates any energy efficiency gains

Why doesn't everyone have old fridges then? You only buy new when the old one breaks down right? But if the old ones were so sturdy why were they all replaced? I expect there's some survivorship bias at play here.

> You only buy new when the old one breaks down right? In my experience it's half and half. Sometimes people have a nice old reliable fridge that just looks ugly and dated to their tastes, so they upgrade. Same with older energy inefficient fridges.

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#109

Post by bena » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:15 PM UTC

marricks wrote: post #57

photonerd wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve had 8 fridges in 22 years, up until my latest I’ve they were all from this supposedly better age. All failed, in some cases disastrously. The only one that’s survived longer than a few years for me ? The new one. Going 6 years strong. Not everything on my new one is perfect—I managed to break the built in water jug—but I feel a lot of the replies here need to take into account survivorship bias.

What do you do to your fridges??? I'm in my 30's and have never had to replace a fridge. Never had a "modern" fridge except as a kid. All looked like low budget fridges from the 80's or 90's.

I've purchased two fridges in my life.

I've had one fridge fail on me in my life. The compressor (I think) failed and no longer cooled the fridge. The difference in replacing the compressor or getting a new fridge was negligible.

Other than that, I've only changed fridges when I moved. The house we bought didn't come with a fridge, so we had to buy one.

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#110

Post by jxramos » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:15 PM UTC

faitswulff wrote: post #12

rascul wrote: post #4

A lot of those features are available in today's fridges. Also, they use less power today. And you really don't have to get one with wifi and a touchscreen.

I just really want that vegetable box. Any recommendations?

OXO Good Grips GreenSaver Produce Keeper is a pretty good lil product.