Grumpy old man (The things I hate)

[AndyN01]

IMHO it's all part of the "short term" lifespan that's designed into everything "we" buy.

Perhaps one of the best engineered cars of yesteryear were the "proper" SAAB's. Sadly I never owned one - they were well outside my budget - but I had a few trips in one and it was superb. So "solid" and, according to the owner, a fantastic car. They, of course, went bust.

I like to buy stuff that (I hope) shall be around for years, not months but it's fascinating listening to conversations where anything that lasts a very few years or so is seen as OK.

Finding quality engineering rather than flashy gimmicks is becoming more and more difficult. Wouldn't it be nice to have a minimum guaranteed life span of over a decade but I imagine the bean counters would require therapy while the engineers would be in heaven.

I know it's an emotive topic but I do wonder about just how "green/sustainable" it is to keep on digging up raw materials etc. to keep on making stuff to replace stuff that could have been made to last for several/many more years?

I suppose that's modern life.....

 

[Haliotis]

Now that we have all been potty-trained into believing that IT is the best thing since sliced bread, the whizz-kid boffins can fleece us whenever they feel like doing so.

When you bought a printed map, an update (new map) cost a couple of pounds or so, or you could update your old one with a pen.   But you cannot DIY update a satnav - and the simple stroke of a pen by a boffin can be eye-wateringly expensive.

[Mjolinor]

The solution is Linux. I just updated my install and it has not been updated since 2019. Absolutely no problems and everything worked with no re installation of bits or messing about.

 

I cannot cope with Android changes and do not get me going on Windo$e, it is just to hard to use for anything sensible.

 

[PeteChat]

I agree that things such as cars should last, but remember the cars of the 60s and 70s ?

They were terrible! If you got one that didn’t dissolve before it was 10 years old you were forever repairing the oily bits 😳

The MoT was originally a 10 year test of just the vital bits, and this led to many a car heading to the scrapyard. Have a look at the reg plates of the cars you see now, lots are over 10 years old and 20 isn’t unusual. The car I traded for my YC was a 2014 and still in excellent condition.

The biggest advantage of pre digital vehicles is that you can actually mend them 😃 That is why my motorcycles are 20, 65 and 71, all with a carb and points 👍

[AndyN01]

1 hour ago, PeteChat said:

I agree that things such as cars should last, but remember the cars of the 60s and 70s ?

They were terrible! If you got one that didn’t dissolve before it was 10 years old you were forever repairing the oily bits 😳

The MoT was originally a 10 year test of just the vital bits, and this led to many a car heading to the scrapyard. Have a look at the reg plates of the cars you see now, lots are over 10 years old and 20 isn’t unusual. The car I traded for my YC was a 2014 and still in excellent condition.

The biggest advantage of pre digital vehicles is that you can actually mend them 😃 That is why my motorcycles are 20, 65 and 71, all with a carb and points 👍

I agree. My gripe is with what are clearly cheap and nasty bits that break and can't then be simply and cheaply mended/replaced.

The current ability to produce things with tolerances that can be reproduced to a ridiculously high degree was science fiction to the manufacturing abilities and methods of the 60's and 70's.

[Primus1]

I’ve only been updated once….in 1960..

[FROSTYBALLS]

My neighbour has recently been updated for the third time - two hip replacements and last month a knee replacement .....

[Primus1]

43 minutes ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

My neighbour has recently been updated for the third time - two hip replacements and last month a knee replacement .....

Is not Steve austin is it..?

[FROSTYBALLS]

Not unless he's transitioned .....