Made to Break: Technology and Obsolescence in America by Giles Slade
Marketeers have faced the challenge of selling more product. A century or two ago, most products were "commodities". It was nearly impossible to determine the provenance of a particular product. Then companies started packaging their products and slapping their brand on it. This made it difficult for customers to touch the product before buying, but provided trust. Marketing was then used to extol the benefits and virtues of a particular band.
Branding was not enough. People must also feel a need to buy. Hence comes obsolescence. At first, psychology was used. Simply putting a year on automobile models encouraged people to go out and buy the newest ones. Small new features also encouraged adoption.
Later quality took a dive. A product should last long enough to get some use, but eventually fail and become obsolete. There is no benefit to long term quality when "just good enough" will allow selling more.
The US even took this to their benefit. When it became clear that the Soviets were copying American technology, the US let them - but made sure it was the version with "issues". The Soviet copies would work for a little while, but then eventually fail. This led to failures in Soviet energy extraction technology as well as weaponry.
Today cell phones are the big technological pariah. They have a very short life span. It is difficult to repair, and many people simply replace. Many other technologies have similar short lifespans. People may be content doing what they were doing before with their devices. However, the apps require the latest technology and no longer work. They are "forced" to upgrade. It is somewhat ironic that moving things "to the cloud" makes us more dependent on newer technology.
The book tries a little too hard to find obsolescence everywhere. Near the end, there is also a significant diversion into the cold war that distracts from the focus. Stretching for everything distracts from the main thesis.
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