In Style

Evan Kinto
6/10/10
Multi-Media

http://www.uselessgoods.com/Obsolescence/encyclopedia.htm#Planned_obsolescence


    For my last blog I wanted to chose something that had to do with clothes. All of the different apparels we as people wear and how things can become outdated so fast. That is, what the companies know and thrive off of that we the people will migrate to different styles of clothes. Whether it be because of the seasonal change or that it just isn’t in style anymore.
    One thing that is for sure we don’t need to switch our attire when each season comes and goes. We don’t need to have separate attires for each period of the year. Back in the day there couldn’t have been more then two or three different types of outfits to chose from whether or not it was summer or winter. Now a days people are so diverse that they feel they need to be different from one another and chose to have multiple outfits some that may not even make any sense.
    Overall planned obsolescence is a garbage idea unless I am the CEO of the company who will be making millions of dollars. In that case I feel like I probably would be able to get over it and enjoy my money because life is short and one man cannot change the things in life that are not fair but if we all get together then maybe we have a chance.

Think about it before you throw your computer in the dump!!!

These days’ computers are on the rise to be easier outdated than ever before.  I personally have been through 2 laptops in the past year and the latest one I have isn’t up to par with all the new essential things I need to do.  Some of the essential things I would like to be able to do, are things such as gaming on the PC and to be able to watch movies directly to my TV with an HDMI cable.  On the other hand throwing junk out like obsolete computers seems to be the most common junk that is being thrown out these days.  SFgate.com says that “at least 90 percent of the 315 million still-functional personal computers discarded in North America in 2004 were trashed.”  To me that number is incredibility surprising, Instead we can find people who are less fortunate, so they can at least use computers to be able to type or even browse the internet.  This is what I did, when my family had gotten new LCD monitors in place for our CRT monitors Instead of dumping them away through garbage sites I took them to Goodwill and donated them, plus I got money back when I filed my taxes through the donation section.      

http://articles.sfgate.com/2006-05-21/books/17295575_1_cell-phones-hazardous-waste-waste-problem

Jesse Kim

3D TVs will not take off!!!!!

    

The new 3D TVs to me by far seems to be one of the most interesting topics this year in terms of electronics.  I mean it seems like yesterday we all had to purchase High definition TVs just to be able to watch TV in HD.  I don’t know about you, but I feel like high definition should not already be outdated, it basically just started!  Now there is this, first of all what are we going to do with these high definition TVs and do they actually think people are going to waste their money on buying a 3D TV right now.  I mean the price is oblivious, according to businessinder.com.  The prices for the TVs will be from anywhere around $3,000 to $12,000.  Right now to me it just seems like a waste of money, I don’t think that 3D will be the next standard.  I don’t know about you, but when I am watching TV I like to do other things at the exact same time.  Sometimes I like to be searching the internet or talking or texting on my cell phone.  It seems presumptuous that people will throw out their high definition TV.  I would suggest just donating it or just sell it to someone that would have interest in it instead of leaving it out to rot in a landfill.  There are even companies that take in your old TV for credit.  Now the new standard will be that we must purchase a new TV again that is if we want the most out of our cable and satellite, a different BLU-ray player, new 3D Blu-ray movies, and possibly a different audio system that can encode the right frequencies.  We also have to purchase these 3d glasses which cost a fortune ($200 plus).  To me I would not purchase any of this.  I would honestly not endorse this; I believe the only way to watch 3D movies should be viewed in a movie theater.  In that kind of environment everyone is focused on the screen, so there is no way anybody can be doing anything such as browse the web or even text messaging.  Furthermore it would be a waste of money for us to even think about not paying full attention to the movie that we pay for.  


So most importantly are you as a consumer going to purchase a 3D TV or simply just buy a normal high definition TV, my answer is as of right now I will buy a high definition TV.  For the simple reason that high definition TV has not even hit its peak and I believe that it will take quite some time for companies to produce these 3D TV at the right cost.  Probably within less than 5-7 years 3D TV could actually be a a standard, where consumers would be paying a lot less than they would be right now.  Also to say that all the issues of being a first generation TV would be out of the way within that time span.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/top-stocks/blog.aspx?post=1530251

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jun/07/sony-television-replace-world-cup

Jesse Kim

Blu-ray is the new King

First it was VHS now DVDs, what next Blu-ray? To beat out DVDs as the new standard it is amazing how fast Blu-ray has made such a huge impact on the electronic market. This new equipment will cost us just a little more, but I am completely confident that the Blu-ray will completely take over as the new standard (it will eventually get there). In this case we can view the Blu-ray system as being something that is a built in planned obsolescence because the Blu-ray player actually is a pretty intelligent system. If we pop in a DVD into the Blu-ray system we can notice that the DVD is actually being enhanced, so the picture and sound quality is better. Not only will the Blu-ray player enhance DVDs, but if there is firmware update on the device, consumers can actually upgrade through the internet because the Blu-ray system has an ethernet outlet on the back to be able to update their systems to eventually get the maximum potential out of their players. This makes it easier for the consumer to be able to update it instead of buying a new one each and every time something new comes out. When throwing away DVD players to the dump site it will cause a negative impact towards our environment, so instead of going through more DVD players because they're only suppose to last for some fixed years and wasting your money there, I would highly encourage someone to buy a Blu-ray player, especially if you already have a high definition TV.

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/tks-take/-key-blu-ray-discs-success-built-obsolescence

by Jesse Kim

The most irritating thing we buy for our printers!!!

When it comes to printers I believe that most companies usually build their printers quite well for the most part. Then there are those accessories and the things we must buy in order to be able to operate our printers. What I’m talking about is those ink cartridges, those ink cartridges can cost a lot when you know you have to at least replace it three times a year. It gets really annoying, for me I just take advantage of the schools lab and print my things out at school. For those who are less fortunate and who are not students I wonder what they do. More importantly what happens to all the empty cartridges? I remember a few years ago back when Office Depot use to give packages of new blank printing paper. That incentive is long gone now, but if they created that kind of program again I would be completely confident that program would succeed. According to squidoo.com, “empty cartridges pollute the land and water table”. The resources are there for people to use, recycling programs that enable us to use at an easy and affordable cost. Business like Hewlett Packard are starting to take used cartridges and build more enhanced cartridges that last longer and more inexpensive towards the consumer. One of the most surprising things I got from this was that some organizations that receive cartridges through recycling even plant a tree for each one they receive. These are the programs we need to take advantage of. More importantly what people don’t know is that the companies that recycle ink cartridges are using less energy and less oil needed to recreate cartridges. Before we actually go out there and throw it away (ink cartridge) we must find by any means possible a program that not only helps us as a consumer, but more importantly the environment.


http://www.squidoo.com/printercartridgerecycling

Jesse Kim

Oil Oil Oil

Evan Kinto
6/8/10
Multi-Media
http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/95/engine_oil/cheating_your_engines_planned_obsolence_that_was_created_by_its_manufacturer.html

Have you ever heard those quick lube places that all say “Change your oil every 300 miles!” yeah? Well that may not be the case, that is if you actually took the time to figure out that not all oil need to be swapped out at 3000 miles.
How can we accomplish this you may ask? Well being as that the majority of the oil companies design their oils to break down after 3000 miles. The mineral oil that we all use on a day to day basis driving is not designed to last. Fortunately there are oils out there that people may not know about that will make you able to drive up to 25,000 to 30,000 miles on one oil cycle! Crazy right but its true, it’s called fully-synthetic oil. The first company to come out with fully-synthetic oil for an automobile is the AMSOIL Corporation. Being that they were the first ones to start out with it, they obviously have the most experience with creating quality synthetic oil.
Overall once again these companies are at work to figure out how to suck us dry of our money. We need to stay educated on the different alternatives out there so one day we can all have things that can last for a more realistic period of time.

Artistic use of old products-

By: Dan Flatten

Planned obsolescence is something that everyone should be working against, but sometimes it can't be stopped entirely. Every effort to make companies more accountable for their actions is a good start, and legislation is a one of the best ways to do this. Hopefully these initiative can slow or even stop it, but for the time being, planned obsolescence is real and a very big problem we face in society.

Recycling is another way we can cushion the impact of these quickly expired products on our environment. Reusing existing material is excellent, but not everything can be recycled, and getting everyone to recycle proves to be the hardest thing to do. Many people think outside the box though and have found other uses for their obsolete products in forms of beautiful and appreciated art! Although it's not reusing or stopping companies from producing purposely defective products, it at least put them to use in other ways keeping them out of landfills.

People have used old computers in a variety of artistic ways, and others have used things like old washing machines or even old television sets. They provide the means to produce visually pleasing pieces of art for people to appreciate and can also be a means to make statements as well. So by using old material, artists can make statements about planned obsolescence, further getting people involved and changing minds of the people in our society.

The next time you're having trouble finding use for an old product, and there isn't an option to recycle it, think outside the box and use the right side of your brain to create a work of art. Take that even further, and use that art to make a statement about the irresponsible corporations making inferior products to making planned obsolescence a thing of the past.