Planned Obsolescence A Gadget Lovers Reality

Lorraine Anthony of the Canadian Press writes, in this Globe and Mail article, of the gadget geek's dilema and the fuel that ignites their fire... "planned obsolescence". Most gadget manufactures subscribe to the planned obsolescence model where they give you just enough stuff to make their products cool, for now, but they are also planning on you growing tired of the product in a year or two. It's something that most of us wrestle with and from a business standpoint it's what keeps the companies going. Cellphones and mp3 players are prime examples of planned obsolescence, while that iPod shuffle still plays your favourite tunes, it's probably not seen much use since the Touch came along... am I right? For another view of this strategy, one that might get you thinking differently, check out The Story of Stuff. It may hit hard for the early adopters in our midst, but it's worth thinking about!