15 Hacker News comments link this video. Each one links back to its thread.
somenameformeMay 2022Strongly recommends
Veritasium has an awesome video on planned obsolescence here. [1] The problem in many cases isn't that it costs so much more to make products that last, but rather that making products that break is just way more profitable when you can effectively control the market to such a degree that you don't need to worry about some party pooper (1) coming in and making stuff that does genuinely last and (2) gaining significant marketshare. The example of the light bulb cartel that had unquality assurance, spot testing, and a formal structure of fines and penalties for any members who made too long of lasting lightbulbs is just hilariously dystopic. [1] - ▶ this video
in “Engineers investigating NASA’s Voyager 1 telemetry data” · View on HN
deltasevennineAug 2022Recommends
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 nowadays is literally designed to break earlier then they usually do. Companies in certain cases actually spend more money creating a design that ensures that a product will break early so that consumers will buy a new thing within some years. This includes cars, computers, phones, microwaves, lightbulbs. Etc. Your personal need to buy a new car, new phone and new clothes is the result of market manipulation over the last 10 decades or so... morphing our culture from one where we kept tools around for years into one where we need to buy new things all the time. It was not like this at least 1 or 2 generations ago. The result of this endless buying behavior is good for business and the economy but it has devastating effects on the environment and our resources. Worth watching if you have 15 minutes: ▶ this video The actual story of how companies colluded to make lightbulbs not last as long.
in “Electronics are built with death dates. Let’s not keep them a secret” · View on HN
deltasevennineAug 2022Recommends
This is called planned obsolescence, and it's not just electronics. Practically every product nowadays are designed with a death date to perpetuate a repeating buying cycle from consumers. It's very real. To learn more here's an interesting short video about it: ▶ this video
in “Electronics are built with death dates. Let’s not keep them a secret” · View on HN
somenameformeMay 2022Recommends
In modern times planned obsolescence is a normal part of business. The comments for the linked video [1] are awesome because it has so many people from different areas of industry (and academia) sharing anecdotes. So cartel? Probably not. Built to fail? Almost certainly. If we view things only through the lens of profit, then MTTF (mean time to fail) is just another curve to maximize against profit. If it's too short then your reputation will suffer and you'll lose money. If it's too long, then you're just leaving money on the table. In our society the brilliant engineer is not the one who makes a thing that last for 50 years, but one that lasts for just long enough to avoid damaging your brand image, and also fails in a way that makes the consumer more incentivized to buy a new thing than try to repair their current one. The guy who came up with the idea of slowing old iPhones "to save battery life" is who the bonus+promotion is going to. One of the biggest problems that has to be understood is that there is every incentive for money-driven governments to actively support planned obsolescence. Planned obsolescence drives factors that we believe are indicators of a strong economy, like GDP. If people were able to stop endlessly buying the same things over and over, the "economy" would take an absolutely massive hit. And with it there would also be declines in employment, tax revenue, and everything else. This is one of the many examples where the socially detrimental relation
in “Engineers investigating NASA’s Voyager 1 telemetry data” · View on HN
ComradePhilMar 2022Recommends
This is a very good start. If they did the same for screens, I wouldn't be surprised if the phone sales dropped to half or even less. There is no way companies like Apple and Samsung will be OK with this. I expect big pushback from them. If these steps go through, it will be interesting to see what other planned obsolescence [1] methods will these companies go for. The one big tool Apple has is the full control of the software ecosystem. They can simply make newer apps unavailable for old phones for example. That will need to be tackled at some point. [1] Veritasium video on planned obsolescence which is interesting: ▶ this video
in “EU to make it mandatory to use customer-replaceable batteries in household items” · View on HN
infogulchApr 2021Recommends
Veritasium made a video that reviews the history and presents the topic in an engaging way. "This is why we can't have nice things" - ▶ this video
in “Phoebus Cartel” · View on HN
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plewdAug 2024Cites it
Not exactly the most reliable supporting evidence, but Veritasium has a video which talks about this stuff. ▶ this video
in “East Germany invented 'unbreakable' drinking glasses” · View on HN
shagieMar 2023Cites it
This goes into the "actual conspiracy - not a theory" category. Veritasium - This is why we can't have nice things - ▶ this video The Great Lightbulb Conspiracy [link] > On 23 December 1924, a group of leading international businessmen gathered in Geneva for a meeting that would alter the world for decades to come. Present were top representatives from all the major lightbulb manufacturers, including Germany’s Osram, the Netherlands’ Philips, France’s Compagnie des Lampes, and the United States’ General Electric. As revelers hung Christmas lights elsewhere in the city, the group founded the Phoebus cartel, a supervisory body that would carve up the worldwide incandescent lightbulb market, with each national and regional zone assigned its own manufacturers and production quotas. It was the first cartel in history to enjoy a truly global reach. [link]
in “There's something off about LED bulbs” · View on HN
quaintdevDec 2022Cites it
This exact behavior drives planned obsolescence. This has led to so much waste over past century that it's going to be very hard to go back. I was baffled that we invented a bulb that could last 100 years over a century ago and I still have to change bulbs every year or two. There are nice documentaries about this [0] The end of ownership [link] [1] This is why we can't have nice things ▶ this video
in “Ask HN: Anyone tired of everything being a subscription now?” · View on HN
lglNov 2022Cites it
Most likely yes, as it is also done by many electronics companies. It's called "planned obsolescence" [0]. There's a particular video from Veritasium [1] that comes to mind regarding this. [0] [link] [1] ▶ this video
in “Ask HN: Are iPhones designed to last for a couple of years?” · View on HN
anthropodieAug 2022Cites it
We need to find a way to move on, once something is perfected. Because if we don't we kinda ruin what we have already perfected. It's called planned obsolescence and below are some resources on the same. It is widely used across industries for over a century and kinda plays a huge role in climate change. Veritasium ▶ this video DW (mostly about phone) [link]
in “Android 13” · View on HN
adhesive_wombatFeb 2022Cites it
There are in fact LED bulbs that aren't overdriven to a deliberate and premature thermal death, but you can only buy them in Dubai: [link] Lightbulbs have a long and very successful history of artificially driving lightbulb lifetimes down though a cartel system: ▶ this video If you're building your own LED fixtures, you can probably underdrive the LEDs and run them at a radically cooler and slightly more efficient operating point, at a higher upfront cost: you need more LEDs for the same output.
in “Someone should probably start a bright home lighting company (2019)” · View on HN
neonologicalMay 2021Cites it
Consumer grade products are deliberately designed to fail. This is why: ▶ this video If you're older, like really old, you can actually remember a time where products were of a much much higher durability before the industry figured out that low durability products were more profitable. So in actuality some of the suggestions on that site aren't necessarily overkill as industrial products aren't deliberately engineered to fail.
in “Overkill objects for everyday life” · View on HN
qartApr 2021Cites it
The cartels were for incandescent light bulbs [1], rather than other kinds of lighting. It's harder for cartels to exist now, given that we can buy alternatives from other countries on Ebay and AliExpress. [1] ▶ this video
in “A campaign to make environmental destruction an international crime” · View on HN
kenmacdApr 2021Cites it
> Light bulbs don’t illuminate. I find this one especially funny as it's pretty much the lack of regulation that made the 'old' bulbs burn out much too quickly [1]. And before someone says "but my LED bulbs keep burning out", also the free-market/lack of regulation. To see how they should be built watch Clive on how bulbs are made for Dubai[2]. 1. ▶ this video 2. [link]
in “How Government Wrecked the Gas Can” · View on HN