Hardware vs. service
Jan. 18th, 2008 01:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
greatbearTimes have changed. At one time, people would purchase durable goods for the long run. Televisions, radios, telephones, etc. The value was intrinsically in the device, as well as what you did with it and what it was capable of. An AM transistor radio was a durable companion that provided entertainment wherever you happened to be. The big console entertainment system with it's AM/FM stereo, the turntable and rich sounding speakers were for more listening intensive or relaxed use at home. The television, if it were not integrated into the latter console, was a centerpiece of family life for decades, and still is for many today. But in the past, that piece of gear was bought for what it was, and it's value was tied mostly to the item's quality, features, appearance. And it's cost was directly related those attributes.
Fast forward (or pick the needle up and move it) to today. Look around at many of the items you use in a similar capacity as above. For the most part, the emphasis is not primarily on the device's attributes themselves, but on what you do with it, especially if it requires subscribing to a service. In many cases, the value of the hardware is downplayed, perhaps not even a consideration. Subscribe to cellular phone service, get the phone itself for free. The costs of the hardware are subsidized by the carriers, and paid for over time with the service. Change providers, and that perfectly good hardware becomes useless to you. The same goes with satellite TV/radio, PVRs, IP telephony sets, etc. Without the service, the hardware is useless.
Then there is perceived value. The cell phone business is the worst offender here. Handsets are touted for their fashion and plethora of features, each designed to separate you from you hard-earned cash. Support for last year's models tends to be nonexistent, and attempts at prolonging their useful life by replacing worn batteries and other accessories proves futile as these items are no longer available, or cost more than replacing the device itself. So it's off to VeriSprinTMobiNexT&T for the next big thing and that two-year service contract with the substantial termination fee.
Now you have a new handset, and the old one is either left at the store, or taken home and dropped in the junk drawer in the corner of the kitchen. Eventually this gear will find itself in the trash or hopefully at a recycling center. The service, with it's accelerating, changing nature, renders the hardware obsolete and useless, without regard for the costs involved. Resources, productivity and energy gets wasted, the environment suffers.
The upcoming switch to digital television broadcasting represents the nadir of this consumption cycle. Never in the history of television has an entire class of receivers made useless by a change in broadcast features. Today you can take one of the first televisions made, and if it's functional, plop a set of rabbit ears on it and pick up a VHF channel like the day it was made. Every addition to the broadcast standard, save for perhaps the addition of UHF channels in the late 50s/early 60s, has never rendered the previous generation of sets unusable. Stereo sound, color, closed captioning, teletext, the V-chip, it's all cleverly worked into the existing broadcast signal in a way that it never destroyed the function of the previous sets. By 2009, almost every set that was in existence before the last couple years will be functionally obsolete. It's by the purchase of converter boxes and the mercy of cable/satellite companies that this vast majority of televisions will still be useful.
"Useful" is a relative term here. "Usable" is probably more apt a description, as you now will have an extra remote that is required to select from broadcast stations. Other functions on the set and ancillary devices like VCRs and DVD recorders will cease to function, and frustrations will grow, prompting people to toss perfectly usable gear that was made useless by the service.
The costs of all this, of course, is borne unto the poor consumer. The 'service providers' in such scenarios gets off scot-free. Landfills become overwhelmed with toxic waste contained in all that discarded hardware. Recycling centers might pop up, but some will eventually charge for the service, prompting many to toss their stuff in alleyways and dumpsters. All those wasted resources.
I appreciate the value, feel and durability of things meant to last a long time. Fine furniture, professional tools, vintage audiophile gear, smart architecture, craftsmanship. Too much of that is lost these days with the emphasis constantly being on 'cheap' and 'the next big thing'. Stop and think about what you do with those favorite gadgets, and what those same gadgets end up doing to you. You're in for an eye opener.
To be continued.
Fast forward (or pick the needle up and move it) to today. Look around at many of the items you use in a similar capacity as above. For the most part, the emphasis is not primarily on the device's attributes themselves, but on what you do with it, especially if it requires subscribing to a service. In many cases, the value of the hardware is downplayed, perhaps not even a consideration. Subscribe to cellular phone service, get the phone itself for free. The costs of the hardware are subsidized by the carriers, and paid for over time with the service. Change providers, and that perfectly good hardware becomes useless to you. The same goes with satellite TV/radio, PVRs, IP telephony sets, etc. Without the service, the hardware is useless.
Then there is perceived value. The cell phone business is the worst offender here. Handsets are touted for their fashion and plethora of features, each designed to separate you from you hard-earned cash. Support for last year's models tends to be nonexistent, and attempts at prolonging their useful life by replacing worn batteries and other accessories proves futile as these items are no longer available, or cost more than replacing the device itself. So it's off to VeriSprinTMobiNexT&T for the next big thing and that two-year service contract with the substantial termination fee.
Now you have a new handset, and the old one is either left at the store, or taken home and dropped in the junk drawer in the corner of the kitchen. Eventually this gear will find itself in the trash or hopefully at a recycling center. The service, with it's accelerating, changing nature, renders the hardware obsolete and useless, without regard for the costs involved. Resources, productivity and energy gets wasted, the environment suffers.
The upcoming switch to digital television broadcasting represents the nadir of this consumption cycle. Never in the history of television has an entire class of receivers made useless by a change in broadcast features. Today you can take one of the first televisions made, and if it's functional, plop a set of rabbit ears on it and pick up a VHF channel like the day it was made. Every addition to the broadcast standard, save for perhaps the addition of UHF channels in the late 50s/early 60s, has never rendered the previous generation of sets unusable. Stereo sound, color, closed captioning, teletext, the V-chip, it's all cleverly worked into the existing broadcast signal in a way that it never destroyed the function of the previous sets. By 2009, almost every set that was in existence before the last couple years will be functionally obsolete. It's by the purchase of converter boxes and the mercy of cable/satellite companies that this vast majority of televisions will still be useful.
"Useful" is a relative term here. "Usable" is probably more apt a description, as you now will have an extra remote that is required to select from broadcast stations. Other functions on the set and ancillary devices like VCRs and DVD recorders will cease to function, and frustrations will grow, prompting people to toss perfectly usable gear that was made useless by the service.
The costs of all this, of course, is borne unto the poor consumer. The 'service providers' in such scenarios gets off scot-free. Landfills become overwhelmed with toxic waste contained in all that discarded hardware. Recycling centers might pop up, but some will eventually charge for the service, prompting many to toss their stuff in alleyways and dumpsters. All those wasted resources.
I appreciate the value, feel and durability of things meant to last a long time. Fine furniture, professional tools, vintage audiophile gear, smart architecture, craftsmanship. Too much of that is lost these days with the emphasis constantly being on 'cheap' and 'the next big thing'. Stop and think about what you do with those favorite gadgets, and what those same gadgets end up doing to you. You're in for an eye opener.
To be continued.
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no subject
Date: 2008-01-18 08:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-18 08:33 pm (UTC)Apple is becoming rather evil in these respects. Granted, a lot of the above is done to appease 'content companies'. But to charge the early adopters of the iPod Touch twenty bucks to add features that are included with the current versions at the same price as the previous ones? That's a tad much, especially seeing that nothing else at all has changed. Previous updates of older gen models added features that newer ones of the same gen or even next gen ship with, withing the hardware capabilities. The latest versions have added encryption in the internal file database that was done solely to thwart third-party management utils like Winamp and ephpod.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-18 08:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-18 08:55 pm (UTC)So many 'tools' nowadays have made the craft more dependent on the tool than the knowhow and aptitude. This is not always a bad thing, of course, there is time savings and increased accuracy.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-18 11:31 pm (UTC)That bit about encrypting the database really sucks, because not only will it affect management utils, it's also going to be a problem for RockBox, the replacement firmware... at least until they finish the USB stack and is no longer dependent on the manufacturer's firmware for loading music. Even then, it'll become an "either or" - switching between the firmwares will no longer be possible. (This assumes that no one effectively breaks the encryption on the database.)
The unreplaceable battery isn't a design thing anymore - I'm sure that Apple could design a unit with a replaceable battery that was just as sleek and exposed-screw-free as the current models... they just don't WANT to, or perhaps I should say Jobs doesn't want them to. The man adores sealed boxes for some bizarre reason.
And people wonder why I don't like iPods.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-19 02:35 am (UTC)Another thing that bugs me, buy a portable CD player or iPod or some such and then carry the damned thing in your hand, cord dangling from it to your ears instead if spending just a few bucks for a small belt clip or similar to carry it? Geez, what if you need both hands? doesn't make sense.
But I hear ya, much of my audio gear is 9 years or older, the only things that are newer is the Toshiba DVD player I bought in 2003 and the Panasonic DVD recorder in 2005 and so far, they still work just fine even though the DVR gets much more use.
But I hear ya though.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-19 12:31 pm (UTC)More writing of this quality, please - you're in danger of giving blogging a good name.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-19 03:51 pm (UTC)I need to know WAAYYYYY more about the tv stuff.Over the next year or two we are going to be getting 2 flat screens of some sort,one "largeish" set for the living room at home, it's a narrow room and mounting the set on the wall would allow us to get rid of the entertainment stand...and one for the trailer for winter that I planned on being a bit smaller and only for Rich to game on while I absorb tv...the plan was to put it on top of the entertainment stand here. Should I be planning on the current jvc tv being the xbox tv and the new flat screen being for tv??? We have satelite tv through bell here and regular cable at home....Am I going to have to replace the dvd players????AAARRRGGGHHHHHH please help...
no subject
Date: 2008-01-19 05:21 pm (UTC)