An Emergent Syntax of Stuff
August 17, 2011
(Photo Courtesy of Dave Patten)
In the 2006 comedy Idiocracy, Mike Judge depicts the Great Garbage Avalanche of 2505. That falling mass is almost certainly full of original iPads, first generation iPods, and antiquated iPhones, along with device-specific chargers and trashed FM transmitters. Technological advances have their costs. More pernicious than the stylized movie threats of new weapons or rampaging dinosaur clones, we face a not-so-subtle and advancing threat: the exponential growth of stuff.
This is the environmental impact of planned obsolescence, or the design practice of deliberately providing a product with a limited useful life. Items are created with intentional shortcomings to force users to make ancillary purchases. It’s no surprise that the sale of consumer electronics accessories represents $10 billion in annual revenue. Most consumers plan to use their accessories for a few years, but when the form factor, or geometry of a product, shifts from generation to generation—common among smartphones—accessory purchases may become more regular. Think of all those dead dongles: DisplayPorts replaced by Mini DisplayPorts, FireWire replaced by Thunderbolt. (more…)
