Built In Obsolescence

Built in obsolescence, also known as planned obsolescence, is the practice of some product manufacturers who design their products to fail within a planned life expectancy. Typical examples include kitchen appliances, computers, stereos, you name it. Why would they do this, you ask? They do this so that when the product inevitably breaks, the consumer must purchase a replacement. Everything breaks down over time but many products, often electronic, are purposefully designed to fail and it is made extremely difficult to fix or replace a broken part or get to the battery compartment, resulting in the device going in the trash and the user being forced to purchase a replacement. This is often also seen with hardware & software combinations when newer software and operating systems are designed so they are strictly not comparable with older hardware.