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To me, a fascinating angle is when the electronics obsolescence curve runs into the mechanical one. Cars are filled with that kind of thing, but two more inter
by PorterDuff 8y ago
To me, a fascinating angle is when the electronics obsolescence curve runs into the mechanical one. Cars are filled with that kind of thing, but two more interesting ones are products like sewing machines and power tools. Both used to be overdesigned, now they have have additional features and underdesign enabled by built-in microcontrollers. In drills, for instance, it'll back off on the power where an earlier model needed to be able to handle an animal wielding it.
- caymanjim 8y agoThis is often a good thing, as it can add some valuable functionality, but it drives me nuts when it goes wrong. I've had to deal with washing machines where the mechanical bits were perfectly fine, but the electronics fried. That can be expensive to fix, to the point that throwing it out and buying a used one off Craigslist is the more economical option. Same with modern stoves. I have never in my life gotten any benefit from fancy electronics on a washing machine, and the only sensible reason for non-mechanical parts on a gas stove is a timer, but I'd honestly prefer a simple pure-mechanical one that is going to last forever.
- PorterDuff 8y agoIt'll be interesting to see what a 12 year old Tesla is worth. Electronic control boards on ovens is a terrible idea. Guess what usually breaks on one (like mine, we don't use it so it's been broken for 4 years).
- yellow_lead 8y agoWe have an oven at home that's about to be worthless because of a proprietary electrical ribbon intermittently failing. Sigh