Apple Sued for Planned Obsolescence?

There's nothing inherently wrong with consumerism - but planned obsolescence is gross. Austin and I often talk about how easy it is for companies to create products that can stand the test of time - the way they used to - except they won't. My number one issue with American capitalism isn't the nature of capitalism itself, since I genuinely believe that American capitalism really can be the stuff dreams are made of. My issue lies in the way that corporations and manufacturers seem to take great pride in the fact that, if they can just make us their [expletive deleted], they can make more money. Manufacture a product that is not MEANT to stand the test of time, and we'll run out and buy more of it to replace what we just purchased that has gone out of style, been updated, or just plain broke for no reason (and there are no parts available to purchase and fix it.) There's no reason for it. I enjoy Apple products, and again - there's nothing inherently wrong with using them. I think I just wish people would hang on to what they have for a few years before upgrading. No one needs every single version of the iPhone. What we need is to take some of that money that we're spending on every new version of the product and invest it back into our communities. I think if we could learn to quit over-consuming, we could easily find a way for everyone to "have their cake and eat it too" - not only can you have that iPad, but perhaps instead of spending $600 on the newest version when the old version works just fine, we could all pitch in that $600 to update the technology in a school in an economically disadvantaged neighborhood.

Just a thought.

"According to Brazil’s Jornal do Comerciao, IBDI believes that Apple could have implemented the technological updates of the iPad 4 into the iPad 3. By not doing so, they believe that Apple took part in unfair business practices. Were Apple to lose in court, iPad 3 users in Brazil could receive some compensation.

'Consumers thought [they were] buying high-end equipment not knowing [it] was already an obsolete version,' says IBDI attorney Sergio Palomares."

http://mashable.com/2013/02/21/apple-sued-ipad-3-brazil/

Did You Know, 6.0

Facts like this are what made me interested in library media in the first place. I am in an amazing internship at a wonderful school right now, but like every school I have ever been in, technology could always be invested in. My dream is to walk into a school where the screens are large and the resolutions wide and sharp, where art computers are all equipped with newest Adobe products and web development products, and where Internet connections are fast and browsers reliable. Updating the Flash players shouldn't be an issue, either.

Why?

Because shift happens.