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On the electronics front I'd beg to differ. Apple has raised the quality bar on electronics by a mile in the last couple of decades. The gadgetry I remember fro

On the electronics front I'd beg to differ. Apple has raised the quality bar on electronics by a mile in the last couple of decades. The gadgetry I remember from the eighties and nineties was very cheaply made with plastics that warped or cracked (or both) and cheap switches made of molded plastic and a ballpen spring. Casette player gears were mostly made of that white plastic that always wore down with not much usage. I went through many "high end" walkmans that did not last more than a couple of years each. It's all too easy to see the past through rose tinted glasses. Also remember that the "built to last" stuff from the past is often an example of survivorship bias.

zac23or 3y ago
Of course, there have been many bad things in the past. Floppy disks, cassettes and VHS were horrible technologies. Did you use tube radios? They broke all the time. The difference is that they weren't intentionally horrible, they were limitations of an era. But at some point, devices start to last a long time. My parents' first refrigerator ran without problems for over 10 years. I've had far fewer problems with CDS and CD players than with cassette players. And we used to have a lot of low quality items, but now it's much harder to find good quality items. And brand means almost nothing. Even Apple has been selling notebooks with horrible keyboards for years. I'm just using an Apple Notebook now, I've been waiting for years for them to change the keyboard.... The Nitendo Switch Joystick has a drift problem and Nintendo ignores it... There is no reason for a new Samsung TV to break after a year of use. Or LEDs. Or power switches. It's not a technical limitation, it's a choice.
- rossjudson 3y ago
  You made me laugh with "refrigerator ran without problems for over 10 years". My family cottage has a still-running refrigerator that's been there for close to 40 years. Third or fourth handle, though ;)
  - MrDresden 3y ago
    My family cottage has an electric stove/oven that was manufactured in the 1930's. Works flawlessly.
  - yareally 3y ago
    My grandparents still use a fridge from the 50s for beverages in their basement. It's amazing how long old refrigerators last
bwat49 3y ago
laptops in general (not just apple) are way better than they used to be
MrDresden 3y ago
Bought a Framework laptop last year to make sure I never get into a situation of having to throw away a whole expensive laptop just because the manufacturer decided I shouldn't be able to replace or upgrade parts easily or cheaply myself. You know, like Apple does.

zac23or 3y ago

Of course, there have been many bad things in the past. Floppy disks, cassettes and VHS were horrible technologies. Did you use tube radios? They broke all the time. The difference is that they weren't intentionally horrible, they were limitations of an era. But at some point, devices start to last a long time. My parents' first refrigerator ran without problems for over 10 years. I've had far fewer problems with CDS and CD players than with cassette players. And we used to have a lot of low quality items, but now it's much harder to find good quality items. And brand means almost nothing. Even Apple has been selling notebooks with horrible keyboards for years. I'm just using an Apple Notebook now, I've been waiting for years for them to change the keyboard.... The Nitendo Switch Joystick has a drift problem and Nintendo ignores it... There is no reason for a new Samsung TV to break after a year of use. Or LEDs. Or power switches. It's not a technical limitation, it's a choice.

rossjudson 3y ago
You made me laugh with "refrigerator ran without problems for over 10 years". My family cottage has a still-running refrigerator that's been there for close to 40 years. Third or fourth handle, though ;)
- MrDresden 3y ago
  My family cottage has an electric stove/oven that was manufactured in the 1930's. Works flawlessly.
- yareally 3y ago
  My grandparents still use a fridge from the 50s for beverages in their basement. It's amazing how long old refrigerators last

bwat49 3y ago

laptops in general (not just apple) are way better than they used to be

MrDresden 3y ago

Bought a Framework laptop last year to make sure I never get into a situation of having to throw away a whole expensive laptop just because the manufacturer decided I shouldn't be able to replace or upgrade parts easily or cheaply myself. You know, like Apple does.