The last segment of Giles Slade's "Made To Break," continues to focus on technology obsolescence of the American culture, instead of the many daily products that consumers have used and then immediately thrown away, which started the whole concept. Having read "Computers" this portion of the book was not as entertaining as it started, much of it discussing the competition between large technology corporations such as IBM, Microsoft and Apple. If there was a message I got out of reading this last portion, it would of been that competition is key and that the execution of a new product must find some sort of success to compete.
As boring as I made the reading seem, Chapter 7 (Chips), foreshadowed the technology we have today as the "1960s saw the beginning of a shift toward an information society that would reshape the American cultural landscape" (p. 187). More specifically, the developments that IBM came out with in the computer fields, and the chips that were used in calculators all led to the vast videogame industry. Here is what I found fascinating; as a result of technology obsolescence, "games become faithful models in culture. They incorporate both the action and the reaction of whole populations in a single, dynamic image...The games of a people reveal a great deal about them" (p. 216). From pinball machines, to Gameboy, to Atari, to the Nintendo, videogames are a large part of American culture. Americans do not just enjoy the entertainment videogames offer, but some gamers even take their videogame experiences into reality by imitating characters' actions. Moreover, it is seen in a PBS Frontline video (Digital Nation), that even military recruiting bases have incorporated videogames into the process by having young kids play games like Call of Duty to get the experience. One testimonial reveals that a teen male was so into it, that he joined the army to get the real life experience instead of just playing the videogame.
Further on, Chapter 8 is dedicated to the obsolescence of weapons. It is seen that wars have sparked competition between countries to determine whose weapons were more powerful as it's quite apparent that World War II and the Cold War were major factors in the obsolescence of weapons. Though, it was delightful to read about Gus Weiss, who worked for the government, NASA, and the Navy, taught Economics at Harvard, fought through a disease, and most importantly played a major role in learning/observing the weapons of other countries.
Finally, Slade goes into e-waste and the obsolescence of cell phones, which I believe is the most popular product in becoming obsolete. Slade immediately starts the chapter off with what I was thinking when I read the chapter title, "Electronic components have extremely short lives...phones built to last five years are now retired after only eighteen months of use" (p. 261). Everyone in the United States has experienced an electronic device breaking and having to purchase a new one, hoping it would last longer, but actually doesn't. Slade describes what e-waste is and why it occurs, and then narrates how cell phones are another device behind MP3 players and computers that are obsolete products. Slade notes, "As mobile technology settles into place, wristwatch manufactures are making a huge--if largely unnoticed--effort to find new possibilities for extending their line" (p. 275). I find this whole obsolescence concept very clever, yet the most intelligent concept, especially if you're competing and trying to run a business. Tech companies know the process, consumers have demands, and companies want the money. Obsolescence will never die out.
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