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>But even if they fell wholly on the purchaser, consumers would, I suspect, be willing to pay a few dollars more for a gadget if that meant reliable access to s

>But even if they fell wholly on the purchaser, consumers would, I suspect, be willing to pay a few dollars more for a gadget if that meant reliable access to software for it—indefinitely The author's premise is entirely wrong, and years of consumer behavior show this. If you offer consumers a $99.99 microwave that will die in 2 years and a $107.99 microwave that will last 5, the VAST majority will buy the cheaper one regardless of the cost per year.

andi999 5y ago
Is this so? How does the consumer know that the slightly pricier one is more durable and not just slightly pricier?
- digisign 5y ago
  The warranty should be a clue but is not often advertised.
  - laurent92 5y ago
    I’ve once bought a warranty extension for my washing machine, only to discover that it is impossible to reach them.
- xeyownt 5y ago
  Exactly. Moreover less expensive doesn't mean worst quality. True for clothes, food and electronics.
  - muixoozie 5y ago
    refrigerators. Christ next time I get a fridge KISS is going to be the primary feature I'm looking for.
    - andi999 5y ago
      Only fancy thing you want is dual compressor, so one compressor for the fridge one for the freezer. (Otherwise they do sometime things like heating one compartment with the lightbulb....)
- sjamaan 5y ago
  I think one problem is that the device that's cheaper isn't exactly advertising the fact that it will die in a year. In fact, when it is a brand new one that just hit the market, who even knows when it will die? This is the kind of thing that requires some historical knowledge which only a good salesman will be able to tell you, but if you're just buying online by five star reviews of happy customers who also bought it the last year, how are you going to know it'll die next year? And next year, there will be a new model, so all those one-star review updates to last year's model will not be seen by someone in the market for a new one.
polskibus 5y ago
Not if you brand the more expensive one as a GAMING model.
- AmericanChopper 5y ago
  Not always the best option from a marketing perspective. Years ago I was trying to get a laptop with a decent-ish GPU so that I could game on it while away on business trips. My work would buy me basically anything I wanted, except GAMING products. All I wanted was the GAMING model, with the BUSINESS branding.
  - thom 5y ago
    Heh, I would love more boring laptops with good GPUs, I always feel bad giving our data scientists or computer vision engineers garish LED monstrosities just so they can train faster locally. You _could_ probably do okay running games on a ‘workstation’ model but the consumer hardware is usually faster.
KingMachiavelli 5y ago
I believe this is true but I believe it's because they actually expect both to last about the same duration. Too many products either aren't worth the effort of a warranty claim process or the company makes it almost impossible to use. Too many products are just the same rebranded imported goods that you can not tell anything from the product description unless it's a major product from a brand. IMO portable electronics make large strides in the lest 10 and 15 years. So much that wanting to use an old device with the same but working software is a pretty small hill to die on. It is essentially impossible to support a device for 10+ years unless it runs a standardized OS and the component drivers are kept working. Most ARM SoC chips do not get more than 2-3 years of support. Maintaining cloud services is also very expensive since no one wants or likes having old, unmaintainable stuff around and constantly updating stuff is a lot of work/money. TLDR; This is only possible if devices and software are as open as x86 + Linux computers.
yunohn 5y ago
It’s never a choice between $99.99 and $107.99, usually the difference is 2-5-10x.
2OEH8eoCRo0 5y ago
I agree with the author but I think they have it backwards. Don't factor it into the cost but offer a way to pay for updates if you want it. I'd be willing to pay for an extra year of software updates for an old Android phone rather than get a new phone.
- Arainach 5y ago
  What rate do you expect to be paying? How does it compare to the salaries for a development team?

andi999 5y ago

Is this so? How does the consumer know that the slightly pricier one is more durable and not just slightly pricier?

digisign 5y ago
The warranty should be a clue but is not often advertised.
- laurent92 5y ago
  I’ve once bought a warranty extension for my washing machine, only to discover that it is impossible to reach them.
xeyownt 5y ago
Exactly. Moreover less expensive doesn't mean worst quality. True for clothes, food and electronics.
- muixoozie 5y ago
  refrigerators. Christ next time I get a fridge KISS is going to be the primary feature I'm looking for.
  - andi999 5y ago
    Only fancy thing you want is dual compressor, so one compressor for the fridge one for the freezer. (Otherwise they do sometime things like heating one compartment with the lightbulb....)
sjamaan 5y ago
I think one problem is that the device that's cheaper isn't exactly advertising the fact that it will die in a year. In fact, when it is a brand new one that just hit the market, who even knows when it will die? This is the kind of thing that requires some historical knowledge which only a good salesman will be able to tell you, but if you're just buying online by five star reviews of happy customers who also bought it the last year, how are you going to know it'll die next year? And next year, there will be a new model, so all those one-star review updates to last year's model will not be seen by someone in the market for a new one.

polskibus 5y ago

Not if you brand the more expensive one as a GAMING model.

AmericanChopper 5y ago
Not always the best option from a marketing perspective. Years ago I was trying to get a laptop with a decent-ish GPU so that I could game on it while away on business trips. My work would buy me basically anything I wanted, except GAMING products. All I wanted was the GAMING model, with the BUSINESS branding.
- thom 5y ago
  Heh, I would love more boring laptops with good GPUs, I always feel bad giving our data scientists or computer vision engineers garish LED monstrosities just so they can train faster locally. You _could_ probably do okay running games on a ‘workstation’ model but the consumer hardware is usually faster.

KingMachiavelli 5y ago

I believe this is true but I believe it's because they actually expect both to last about the same duration. Too many products either aren't worth the effort of a warranty claim process or the company makes it almost impossible to use. Too many products are just the same rebranded imported goods that you can not tell anything from the product description unless it's a major product from a brand. IMO portable electronics make large strides in the lest 10 and 15 years. So much that wanting to use an old device with the same but working software is a pretty small hill to die on. It is essentially impossible to support a device for 10+ years unless it runs a standardized OS and the component drivers are kept working. Most ARM SoC chips do not get more than 2-3 years of support. Maintaining cloud services is also very expensive since no one wants or likes having old, unmaintainable stuff around and constantly updating stuff is a lot of work/money. TLDR; This is only possible if devices and software are as open as x86 + Linux computers.

yunohn 5y ago

It’s never a choice between $99.99 and $107.99, usually the difference is 2-5-10x.

2OEH8eoCRo0 5y ago

I agree with the author but I think they have it backwards. Don't factor it into the cost but offer a way to pay for updates if you want it. I'd be willing to pay for an extra year of software updates for an old Android phone rather than get a new phone.

Arainach 5y ago
What rate do you expect to be paying? How does it compare to the salaries for a development team?