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> “They don’t build stuff like they used too anymore”. In fairness part (but far from all) of the reason we don't build stuff like we used too, is because we h

> “They don’t build stuff like they used too anymore”. In fairness part (but far from all) of the reason we don't build stuff like we used too, is because we have much better understanding of material limits so we don't need to over-design structual elements like we used to. How that understanding of material limits feeds into design obsolescence is where I do get annoyed though. With everything we know now we could (obviously) build things better (for whatever criteria you chose) than they did 50 or 100 years ago, if that was the goal but it rarely is. My favourite piece of civil engineering in the world (because it's nearby and I've ridden over it many times) was built in 1980 though (it's the exact same age as me) and its still awe-inspiring to look at. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Humber_Bridge_Sunset_Wideshot.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Humber_B...

dx034 8y ago
The problem is that if a company gives customers (both b2b and b2c) the choice between a cheaper product with minimal guarantees vs. a product that is indeed better and can last longer, not enough customers will choose the better (more expensive) product to justify development cost (there are exceptions obviously). Partly, companies are even forced if the lowest bidder for pre-defined specification gets the contract. I believe there are more than enough engineers and companies that would like to build better and more durable products but demand just isn't there.
- tracker1 8y ago
  The problem is you can't trust anything/anyone any more... Brands are generally trusted until you get burned by one. And then they relabel or buy out another brand to burn. I often make choices that are anywhere from 50% more cost to 200% if I'm relatively certain I'm actually getting a better product. Unfortunately that trust is usually limited and even then, you often don't have a good trust case. There are also times where I look at industrial options for comparison, as that's often usually skewed towards more solid/maintainable production. Though again often means more expensive. I tend to find the best value (my own experience) about 2/3 up the pricing scale for whatever products I'm looking at. If I could find appliances in general with a 15+ year warranty (that didn't have weird loopholes), I'd be more inclined to buy. Unfortunately, they often don't cover interface boards, and even then they redesign in often incompatible ways each year and stop making the previous version entirely.
rjsw 8y ago
As someone who has spent most of their working life so far trying to make it easier to store data on materials, I'm not sure things have progressed all that much. I do work with people from Boeing (and Airbus) but they are not yet using all the features of stuff I wrote 30 years ago.

dx034 8y ago

The problem is that if a company gives customers (both b2b and b2c) the choice between a cheaper product with minimal guarantees vs. a product that is indeed better and can last longer, not enough customers will choose the better (more expensive) product to justify development cost (there are exceptions obviously). Partly, companies are even forced if the lowest bidder for pre-defined specification gets the contract. I believe there are more than enough engineers and companies that would like to build better and more durable products but demand just isn't there.

tracker1 8y ago
The problem is you can't trust anything/anyone any more... Brands are generally trusted until you get burned by one. And then they relabel or buy out another brand to burn. I often make choices that are anywhere from 50% more cost to 200% if I'm relatively certain I'm actually getting a better product. Unfortunately that trust is usually limited and even then, you often don't have a good trust case. There are also times where I look at industrial options for comparison, as that's often usually skewed towards more solid/maintainable production. Though again often means more expensive. I tend to find the best value (my own experience) about 2/3 up the pricing scale for whatever products I'm looking at. If I could find appliances in general with a 15+ year warranty (that didn't have weird loopholes), I'd be more inclined to buy. Unfortunately, they often don't cover interface boards, and even then they redesign in often incompatible ways each year and stop making the previous version entirely.

rjsw 8y ago

As someone who has spent most of their working life so far trying to make it easier to store data on materials, I'm not sure things have progressed all that much. I do work with people from Boeing (and Airbus) but they are not yet using all the features of stuff I wrote 30 years ago.