This is exactly the reason I became concerned and ticked off when learned of this RoHS regulation when buying electronics components for hobby projects. You ge

This is exactly the reason I became concerned and ticked off when learned of this RoHS regulation when buying electronics components for hobby projects. You get these politicians who are not scientists or engineers making mandates that make them look good but which have terrible consequences for technology & society. I also seriously doubt eliminating lead from solder is really that important for the environment, compared to everything else we do. It's certainly not worth the problems it will cause when our already densely-packed electronics doesn't last more than a year due to tin whisker growth. On the other hand, maybe they know exactly what they're doing. It's not enough that that TV will be obsolete in a few years - let's make sure you can't even use it after 2. Could be good for me though: I may one day be able to pick up TVs, computers, and all sorts of "broken" electronics for free; five minutes running a heat gun over the boards to melt the tin whiskers and suck them back into the solder joints, and voila! It works again.