logoalt Hacker News

estimator7292yesterday at 11:44 PM1 replyview on HN

A dishwasher with a WiFi chipset is not a durable good. Nor is a fridge with a touchscreen, an oven with Bluetooth.

You know what is durable? The simple and straightforward electromechanical mechanisms we used for three centuries before integrated circuits.

One can find plentiful examples of midcentury and older appliances still in service without major maintenance. It's tough to find a modern appliance in service for more than a decade.

The inability to sprinkle magic obsolescence silicon dust over everything will only lead to an increase in quality and durability.

The mechanical timer in a 1980s washing machine will never have a firmware update blocking you from using it. A 1950s fridge runs perfectly fine essentially forever without a cloud API and a goddamn app.

This hypothetical situation is only bad because you've accepted consumerism and forced obsolescence as the norm. These situations are much worse than not being able to buy a $1600 phone every year.

You should be indignant about the unimaginable amount of resources we throw into landfills because the manufacturer decided that you should buy a new one. You should absolutely not be indignant that you can no longer buy shit to throw away.

Do you repair your appliances or do you throw them away and have a new one shipped from the other side of the planet? Do you see the problem?


Replies

BobbyTables2today at 3:01 AM

I’m not quite sure we even have the know-how these days for fully analog control systems.

My dumb refrigerator has a circuit board controlling the compressor based on temperature sensors.

My dumb gas water heater has a digital control unit even though it doesn’t use AC or battery power.

Same thing for gas furnace - control board running fan and gas igniter+valves. This isn’t just relays…

It’d be a substantial effort to design analog drop-in replacement parts - if even possible. Installation probably wouldn’t be pretty.

At least I think my toaster and rice cooker are fully analog.