Waste and planned obsolescence

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Awrrr
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#2680994 26-Mar-2021 12:17

frankv:

Rikkitic:

Apart from that, a CRT TV wouldn't work so not much point in repairing it. You would need a DVB-T or DVB-S box to receive anything, and it would have to have an AV output that would work in the TV.

I am sure he means a TV built using Cathode Ray Tube technology... the sort of thing that was normal for TVs until about 10? years ago. They had circuitry for receiving TV signals from free-to-air transmissions via an aerial.

Modern TVs also have circuitry for receiving FTA with an aerial. That is what DVB-T is. The difference is that the technology has changed from analogue to digital and the frequencies have changed from VHF to UHF.

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richms

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#2680999 26-Mar-2021 12:35

Geektastic: For example if you had a 10 year old CRT TV would you spend money repairing it or buy a new 4K lcd TV?

Actually I did just get one repaired. Was a right pain to sort out but I found someone. Time crisis doesnt work on anything else properly.

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frankv

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#2681019 26-Mar-2021 12:51

Rikkitic:

Modern TVs also have circuitry for receiving FTA with an aerial. That is what DVB-T is. The difference is that the technology has changed from analogue to digital and the frequencies have changed from VHF to UHF.

Ah, yes, gotcha. I'd forgotten the analogue/digital change, and thought you'd assumed CRT to indicate a computer monitor, as it was commonly used that way.

You can still use an analogue TV with a Sky decoder though. Or a VCR.

richms

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#2681023 26-Mar-2021 12:54

@Rikkitic - would you be ok with paying either a subscription, or an upgrade cost for printer drivers everytime there was a new operating system released that required updated drivers inorder to keep older hardware operating?

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#2681047 26-Mar-2021 13:26

I think the problem is it will end up splitting between things like washing machines that don’t tend to advance radically in a short timescale and will therefore be worth repairing in most cases and things like phones that advance so fast from year to year that that may not be the case.

Some companies - Apple for example - support OS upgrades for quite a long time compared to others. That’s something that helps people keep their devices longer, which is useful. However that won’t help with jumping from 3G to 4G to 5G to 6G etc of course and that’s what will drive the obsolescence rather than the functionality of the phone per se in many instances.

Rikkitic

Awrrr
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#2681073 26-Mar-2021 14:01

richms:

@Rikkitic - would you be ok with paying either a subscription, or an upgrade cost for printer drivers everytime there was a new operating system released that required updated drivers inorder to keep older hardware operating?

I would be okay with having an option paid or otherwise to be able to choose to keep using something for longer if I wanted to. This issue isn't one that can be answered simplistically with an either/or choice, but things could certainly be done a lot better than they currently are if there was any will to do so. As a very simple example, if Microsoft can build a brand new OS with all kinds of whizz bang bloatware gadgets, it sure as hell is capable of including a small software module capable of interfacing with 'outmoded' printer drivers. If it worked on Win 7, it can be made to work on Win 10. It literally is not rocket science. By the same token, there is no reason why device manufacturers cannot be compelled to issue compatibility drivers when they upgrade their products. I would gladly pay for something like this if I needed it and the only alternative was junking something that still works perfectly well. We need to move away from the mentality that the earth is an infinite rubbish dump.

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mattwnz

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#2681102 26-Mar-2021 14:32

Rikkitic:

frankv:

I am sure he means a TV built using Cathode Ray Tube technology... the sort of thing that was normal for TVs until about 10? years ago. They had circuitry for receiving TV signals from free-to-air transmissions via an aerial.

Modern TVs also have circuitry for receiving FTA with an aerial. That is what DVB-T is. The difference is that the technology has changed from analogue to digital and the frequencies have changed from VHF to UHF.

It was quite common for TVs to have tuners for both digital and the old analogue TV signals. Not sure if some being sold today still have the old analogue tuners included along side digital ones. I wouldn't be surprised if some do. . But I have some LCD TVs that only have analogue tuners, where I would need a box if I wanted to pick up digital signals. But we seem to be heading towards TV over the internet, and a vodafone box will show most FTA channels free over an internet connection. After testing a few, that is the only reliable one I have come across.

Rikkitic

Awrrr
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#2681116 26-Mar-2021 15:03

A cheap Android box (around $30) works fine with Kodi or an app like TiviMate to play all Freeview channels on the IPTV playlists found here and elsewhere. It should work with any TV that accepts HDMI.

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tripper1000

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#2681130 26-Mar-2021 15:50

Ahh, the collision of consumerism/capitalism and environmentalism.

Paying people to do stuff for you weather is is making disposable junk, growing food for you to eat or washing your car keeps the money going around, which allows wealth to be shared and spread around. if the environmentalists have their way, we will all be poor, if they don't, we might be extinct.

mattwnz

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#2681187 26-Mar-2021 16:07

I can see that here will eventually be heavy regulation over this, possibly as part of the climate emergency. .The amount of crap sold in the stores, that will be in landfill within a short period of time and becomes a problem for someone later down the track is very short sighted. But that is what many companies will do to make a buck

vexxxboy

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#2681192 26-Mar-2021 16:12

to get something repaired now is horrific, people dont want to wait 3-4 weeks untill they get the product back, thats if you can find anyone who will fix it. it's easier just to buy another one and at times cheaper.

Common sense is not as common as you think.

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mattwnz

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#2681219 26-Mar-2021 17:28

vexxxboy:

to get something repaired now is horrific, people dont want to wait 3-4 weeks untill they get the product back, thats if you can find anyone who will fix it. it's easier just to buy another one and at times cheaper.

We were quoted 12 + weeks to get a 1 year old $4500 fridge repaired, because they didn't have spare parts in NZ. Plus they blamed Covid for the delays and not keeping parts, which is now the goto excuse. But often things from big box retailers, like a kettle, they will just replace and not repair, and kettle I have found are not durable these days, even if paying over $100

mattwnz

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#2681220 26-Mar-2021 17:30

Rikkitic:

A cheap Android box (around $30) works fine with Kodi or an app like TiviMate to play all Freeview channels on the IPTV playlists found here and elsewhere. It should work with any TV that accepts HDMI.

Might have to look into that. But for your average consumer, they don't want to bother with customising something like that, and that is where the vodafone box is reasonably cheap, and once setup (which can be a PITA to setup as the two I have setup seem to hate wifi) it is reliable. But I only use it on a wired connection. It does also seem to have access to quality streams, which one device I used didn't.

Eva888

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#2681254 26-Mar-2021 19:25

I have a Maytag washing machine that is still working from when the house was built in 1978 and ditto a Fridgidaire Caprice oven and a Moffat ceramic cook top. An element was changed in the Moffat and one in the oven. The oven needs a light bulb. The washing machine still grinds away three times a week. Appliances were once made to last. Now they appear purposely made to last until just after the warranty expires. I dread having to replace these items especially the oven because you can’t get big sized ovens like that anymore.

Rikkitic

Awrrr
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#2681259 26-Mar-2021 19:44

Washing machines are another pet peeve of mine. The programmes used to be controlled by mechanical dials. These worked fine and lasted forever. Then they were replaced by chips and LEDs. These constantly break down. The electronics add nothing at all to the old mechanical programmes except some fancy lights. They just introduce more points of failure.

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