http://www.manifestdensity.net/2009/06/09/i-have-opinions-about-the-new-iphone/ Just another WordPress weblog Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:04:33 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 http://www.manifestdensity.net/2009/06/09/i-have-opinions-about-the-new-iphone/comment-page-1/#comment-1739 Tom Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:38:27 +0000 http://127.0.0.1:8888/?p=807#comment-1739 Thanks! And yeah, I meant to add that I'm not *that* upset with the current subsidy situation, as the probable alternative is unsubsidized handsets and carriers *still* charging $70/mo. I think profit margins would likely inch upward during any such switch. You may be right about the improbability of electronics acquiring heirloom status. Certainly there are reasons to doubt it: technology has been getting more disposable, not less. Barring some sort of global collapse, there's no reason to think it'll suddenly start getting more economical to repair electronics than to replace them. On the other hand, there are *some* technologies that have reached this status. Guns. Pens. Timepieces. Some radios (arguably). I think that the key is that they not wear out -- and that's possible for electronics in a way that it isn't for, say, cars (batteries can be made modular, after all). But I guess there's likely to be a durability problem that needs resolution after the technology settles down. Even if some people use heirloom handsets, you may be right that most people will never think of their phones that way. Thanks! And yeah, I meant to add that I’m not *that* upset with the current subsidy situation, as the probable alternative is unsubsidized handsets and carriers *still* charging $70/mo. I think profit margins would likely inch upward during any such switch.
You may be right about the improbability of electronics acquiring heirloom status. Certainly there are reasons to doubt it: technology has been getting more disposable, not less. Barring some sort of global collapse, there’s no reason to think it’ll suddenly start getting more economical to repair electronics than to replace them.
On the other hand, there are *some* technologies that have reached this status. Guns. Pens. Timepieces. Some radios (arguably). I think that the key is that they not wear out — and that’s possible for electronics in a way that it isn’t for, say, cars (batteries can be made modular, after all). But I guess there’s likely to be a durability problem that needs resolution after the technology settles down. Even if some people use heirloom handsets, you may be right that most people will never think of their phones that way.

]]> http://www.manifestdensity.net/2009/06/09/i-have-opinions-about-the-new-iphone/comment-page-1/#comment-1738 Jake Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:30:48 +0000 http://127.0.0.1:8888/?p=807#comment-1738 I agree up until the end. Aside from a few crazies (like yourself, perhaps), who looks at computers (or economy cars, for that matter) as potential heirlooms? If anything, stuff that used to be looked at that way (watches, furniture, etc.) seems to be becoming steadily more disposable. At any rate, you are correct that we are as much to blame for subsidized contracts as the companies that extend them to us. But it may be that incoherent (or, rather, ignorant) complaints about the inevitable result of this system are the only way to get people to *think* about the issue. I'd be happier without subsidized contracts (or with a parallel system in which unlocked phones & month-to-month contracts were not a marginal alternative). If I have to endure some hypocritical whining to get there, I guess I can live with that. But of course, the only way to use this whining to effect change is to call people out on their ignorance, so they understand that these oppressive terms are the direct result of our desire for below-market electronics. So: good job. I agree up until the end. Aside from a few crazies (like yourself, perhaps), who looks at computers (or economy cars, for that matter) as potential heirlooms? If anything, stuff that used to be looked at that way (watches, furniture, etc.) seems to be becoming steadily more disposable.
At any rate, you are correct that we are as much to blame for subsidized contracts as the companies that extend them to us. But it may be that incoherent (or, rather, ignorant) complaints about the inevitable result of this system are the only way to get people to *think* about the issue.
I’d be happier without subsidized contracts (or with a parallel system in which unlocked phones & month-to-month contracts were not a marginal alternative). If I have to endure some hypocritical whining to get there, I guess I can live with that. But of course, the only way to use this whining to effect change is to call people out on their ignorance, so they understand that these oppressive terms are the direct result of our desire for below-market electronics. So: good job.

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