The Enshittification of Technology
Jan. 13th, 2024 10:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tiggymalvern
The very first smartphone I ever bought was an early iPhone, because at the time, they were the only company making good smartphones. It worked well, then reached the point where the storage wasn't enough, and there was no way to increase it.
The second smartphone I bought was a Samsung S3, because Android had caught up by then, and Apple are evil and a nightmare with their proprietary formats for music and well, everything, and they charge way too much. That phone was awesome. I dropped it many times and it didn't care. It was bombproof. I could expand the memory just by switching out the SD card. I loved it.
In 2018 I was forced to replace it, because half the apps I used refused to work unless I updated them, and then when I tried to update them, they said my phone was too old and was no longer supported. I cursed blue bloody murder, because I that phone was fantastic and it still functioned 100% perfectly. I'd had to replace the battery once because it started to swell - I ordered a new one online, switched them in 30 seconds, and that was the only trouble it ever caused me.
So five years ago, I bought a Samsung Galaxy A6. I cursed again at how much it cost (though still a LOT less than I would have paid for anything by Apple). I liked the way it worked (Samsung do good interfaces), but it had that shiny screen and case instead of the matt ones of my old S3. I dropped it once, if you can call it dropping - it slipped out of my fingers while I was sitting in the parked car (because everything's shiny and slippery), it slid down the side of the seat - and that was enough to crack the screen. Since then it's been held together by ever-increasing amounts of sellotape.
Recently the battery started to swell - that wasn't an issue in my old S3, but newer ones are harder to get into. A little online research told me that it's possible to order a new battery and change it with some effort - but if the screen's cracked, taking it apart becomes a nightmare.
I said screw this shit. I ordered a refurbished A6 online that cost me a hundred dollars. At that price, I don't care if it falls apart in a few years, or needs replacing because the battery swells or the apps throw a hissy fit - at twenty or thirty bucks a year, so what?
My response to companies making tech that needs to be replaced every few years is to say fuck you. I'll just stop buying new phones. The only people making a profit from me will be the companies selling them second-hand.
Same with printers. The first printer I ever bought was fantastic. Used it for years, simple, easy, hassle free. I only replaced it because I moved to the US with different plugs and voltages. The one I bought in the US worked well for quite a few years, until I replaced my PC and there weren't any drivers available for the new version of Windows. So I was forced to buy another - which has been finicky from the start, constantly needs head cleanings and other faffy things, then eventually reached the point where it was dropping lines and no amount of head cleaning worked.
So I said fuck it. I won't buy another printer, and now I just print everything out at the local library instead. I don't even have to pay unless I go over 10 pages a week. I have the hassle of having to go there, but I combine it with visits to other local shops so I'm not driving there for printing alone.
It's really annoying when we know how to make things well, but capitalism and corporate profiteering make things stop working so we have to keep buying. Some people can't afford to keep buying. I can, but I damn well refuse. And when I refuse, it helps keep the other resources in place so they're there for the people who can't. The whole damn world should go on anti-shitty-tech strike.
The second smartphone I bought was a Samsung S3, because Android had caught up by then, and Apple are evil and a nightmare with their proprietary formats for music and well, everything, and they charge way too much. That phone was awesome. I dropped it many times and it didn't care. It was bombproof. I could expand the memory just by switching out the SD card. I loved it.
In 2018 I was forced to replace it, because half the apps I used refused to work unless I updated them, and then when I tried to update them, they said my phone was too old and was no longer supported. I cursed blue bloody murder, because I that phone was fantastic and it still functioned 100% perfectly. I'd had to replace the battery once because it started to swell - I ordered a new one online, switched them in 30 seconds, and that was the only trouble it ever caused me.
So five years ago, I bought a Samsung Galaxy A6. I cursed again at how much it cost (though still a LOT less than I would have paid for anything by Apple). I liked the way it worked (Samsung do good interfaces), but it had that shiny screen and case instead of the matt ones of my old S3. I dropped it once, if you can call it dropping - it slipped out of my fingers while I was sitting in the parked car (because everything's shiny and slippery), it slid down the side of the seat - and that was enough to crack the screen. Since then it's been held together by ever-increasing amounts of sellotape.
Recently the battery started to swell - that wasn't an issue in my old S3, but newer ones are harder to get into. A little online research told me that it's possible to order a new battery and change it with some effort - but if the screen's cracked, taking it apart becomes a nightmare.
I said screw this shit. I ordered a refurbished A6 online that cost me a hundred dollars. At that price, I don't care if it falls apart in a few years, or needs replacing because the battery swells or the apps throw a hissy fit - at twenty or thirty bucks a year, so what?
My response to companies making tech that needs to be replaced every few years is to say fuck you. I'll just stop buying new phones. The only people making a profit from me will be the companies selling them second-hand.
Same with printers. The first printer I ever bought was fantastic. Used it for years, simple, easy, hassle free. I only replaced it because I moved to the US with different plugs and voltages. The one I bought in the US worked well for quite a few years, until I replaced my PC and there weren't any drivers available for the new version of Windows. So I was forced to buy another - which has been finicky from the start, constantly needs head cleanings and other faffy things, then eventually reached the point where it was dropping lines and no amount of head cleaning worked.
So I said fuck it. I won't buy another printer, and now I just print everything out at the local library instead. I don't even have to pay unless I go over 10 pages a week. I have the hassle of having to go there, but I combine it with visits to other local shops so I'm not driving there for printing alone.
It's really annoying when we know how to make things well, but capitalism and corporate profiteering make things stop working so we have to keep buying. Some people can't afford to keep buying. I can, but I damn well refuse. And when I refuse, it helps keep the other resources in place so they're there for the people who can't. The whole damn world should go on anti-shitty-tech strike.
