BLOG POST 5: My Obsolete Technology

Part I: Products and Life spans

(1) 26” Tube TV- 3 years, Technological Obsolescence- My Mother replaced the Tube TV with LCD Tvs when they became popular.
(2) HP desktop computer, 2 years, Technological Obsolescence- My mother replaced the desktop computer with a laptop so we could use it outside of our home.
(3)LG Flip Phone-1 year, Psychological Obsolescence, The Motorola Razor became popular and for style and trend reasons I switched.
(4)Motorola Razor- 2 years. Technological Obsolescence- I had a 2 year contract, after it ended I upgraded to a HTC touch “smart” phone.
(5) Acer Laptop- 1 year, Planned Obsolescence- The laptop's hard drive went out and because it’s the same price to just buy a new one I upgraded to a better computer
(6) Sony 32” LCD TV -4 years-present, Technological Obsolescence- My family upgraded our TV because flat screens were more popular and had a better picture quality.
(7)IPod Nano (first generation), 1 year, Technological Obsolescence- I replaced it with the iPod Touch because it was the newest version & a Christmas gift.
(8) Toshiba laptop. 2 years-present, Technological Obsolescence- I will now have to replace my laptop because my screen just went out this past weekend, I’m now looking into getting a Mac Book Pro.
(9) iPod Touch (First Generation), 3 years-present, Technological Obsolescence- however I have chosen to hang on to my iPod Touch because of the continuous releases of iPod mp3 players; replacing them have become a vicious cycle.
(10) Acer Netbook- 8 months, Psychological Obsolescence- Netbooks were popular earlier this year because of its small size and easy carrying, I decided to purchase one.
(11) Blackberry Bold- 10 months-Present, Planned Obsolescence- I have a 2 year contract with Sprint, so I’m sure I will replace it as soon as my contract expires.

Part II: Trends and Patterns
There are a few trends that I noticed when compiling my list. One is, cellular phones are very technological obsolete because carriers have two year contracts and most people enjoy having the latest technology. TVs seem to have a longer lifespan. Though people may have replaced their living room LCD Tv when the Plasmas was released. I doubt many people replaced them all, as LCD and Plasma functions mostly the same. Another trend is laptop computers. I noticed that Windows laptops tend to only last a couple years and people are forced to replace them. From my family’s experience and my own, it seems as though Windows computer only last about 2-3 years before the repairs are so expensive that its only smart to purchase a new one. This fact makes me question the laptop companies' hand in planned obsolescence at the consumer's expense.

Part III: Personal Responsibility
I do think there is a realistic person solution to e-waste problem but whether or not people will choose to lay aside their wants for the latest technology in order to improve this problem will determines its success. For example, after noticing the continuous strategic release by Apple of iPods, I decided to stick to the iPod I had until it no longer works instead of switching based on trend. Also, I believe the problem of e-waste has to be corrected by manufacturers and engineers. If Apple did not release so many generations of the same iPod with one or two new added features, Americans would not be so eager to purchase their products year after year. Also, technologies like Windows laptop computer manufacturers should work out the problem of why their computers crank out after a couple years. Is this a strategy by computer manufacturers to gain more money in later repairs or replacements of their products? I believe consumers follow the lead of manufacturers, if they slow down on the production of new editions of the same product we can gain some ground in correcting the e-waste problem.