The Light Bulb conspiracy...

Mycroft H

Excellent documentary on planned obsolescence

Hit CC to translate the german parts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5DCwN28y8o

Torakx

Thanks for that.
Just watched it and thought it was very good.
Well worth a watch.
Basically it traces the routes of consumerism and where its lead us to today on many levels.
Its a conspiracy against the layman/consumer anyway i would say.
But those in business these days would already know, that to make a product for mass consumption last forever(in this business enviornment), would be to limit your sales over a shorter period of time against other bussiness that use the obsolescence route.

Monty Burnz

I guess there's two sides to this: selling stuff to the consumer that won't last is bad, but then creating stuff that lasts forever will put all the consumers out of jobs so they couldn't buy stuff anyway.

The real issue is how to reconcile planned obsolescence with the diminishing resources on the planet - it's clearly wrong in that context.

Undergod

Monty Burnz wrote: »

I guess there's two sides to this: selling stuff to the consumer that won't last is bad, but then creating stuff that lasts forever will put all the consumers out of jobs so they couldn't buy stuff anyway.

The real issue is how to reconcile planned obsolescence with the diminishing resources on the planet - it's clearly wrong in that context.

What?

Monty Burnz

Undergod wrote: »

What?

You build a bulb that lasts for ever. Close down most of the bulb factories. Etc. etc. etc.

Undergod

Ah, your post seemed to blow that a little out of proportion. I doubt you could make a light bulb that lasted forever, but at the same time, you're right that they ought to make them last longer. Planned obsolescence is awful.

Monty Burnz

Undergod wrote: »

Ah, your post seemed to blow that a little out of proportion. I doubt you could make a light bulb that lasted forever, but at the same time, you're right that they ought to make them last longer. Planned obsolescence is awful.

The documentary linked above is quite interesting (if it's factual). When lightbulbs were new, they used to compete on how long they lasted before blowing. They quickly realised this was not in their interests and basically formed a cartel to bring back down the lifespan. I reckon that (non-CFL) bulbs don't last any longer today than they did 100 years ago.

There's also an amusing anecdote about an East German company arriving at a tradeshow in the 1980s with a bulb that would last 25 years (commies only cared about functionality) and them getting the bum's rush from the tradeshow by the other manufacturers.

ed2hands

Undergod wrote: »

Planned obsolescence is awful.

Quite right.

And i can tell you from personal experience that the guys at Alfa Romeo have it down to a tee. The bastards.

CiaranMT

This is hardly a conspiracy though, it's accepted by most people.

The amount of toasters we go through... :pac:

Torakx

Monty Burnz wrote: »

You build a bulb that lasts for ever. Close down most of the bulb factories. Etc. etc. etc.

Yep, i also think this too.
But i guess because we dilute quality these days, we also dilute currency to suit and costs to buy.
So if there was only one bulb factory the price would be suitably high for eternal light plus damage risks etc.

I think what it highlights for me the most, is that while so many people are running in circles producing mass amounts of sh1te for other people to buy and then dump in poor countries(informally known as the rat race),at the same time they are blind or uncaring to other more important things they could spend there time doing.
Like looking after their families,being role models for younger generations and having an active part in their local community.
There isnt usually time for this when your trying to hold down a mort-gage, a job or two and keep your kids on the straight path.

With alot of these Ct topics,i think it often boils down to the organisation of the systems of governance.
We are already set up for consumerism and capitalism,so much deviation could cause a major hiccup.
So the idea isnt viable i think as we stand,mainly due to the existance of fiat currency.
With constant inflation of currency,comes competition to stay on top and pass the buck as it were.
If everyone is busy fighting not to be left without a chair, not many positive things wil come from it, as its a competitive enviornment instead of a cooperative one.

So welcome and come in Obsolescence, take a seat beside democracy and capitalism and make yourself at home

Jonny7

ed2hands wrote: »

Quite right.

And i can tell you from personal experience that the guys at Alfa Romeo have it down to a tee. The bastards.

Get a Skoda, its all just Volkswagen parts, you'll thank me.

Daithi 1

Thought I'd dump this here...

I’ve seen the light – bulb! But not the old 60w classic bulb, the new EU approved CFL one. Another Dictat from our beloved EU leaders for 1st Septemeber.

BBC – The 60W bulb: A luminary love affair
By Caroline McClatchey & Simon Bajkowski BBC News 31st Aug 2011
60W light bulbs
The once ubiquitous 60W light bulb is about to plop off the production line for the last time across Europe. But while its light may be dimming, it is still illuminating many of our homes. It is at once a thing of delicate beauty and robust science.

Encased in its own glass world, a miniature laboratory keeps a tiny thread of tungsten burning brightly. There is even a touch of romance in its soft flare, as it casts a painterly glow over the room and the faces of its occupants.

The 60W has long been the bulb of choice for the modestly-sized rooms in the typical British home. But this very domestic species will be put on the endangered list on Thursday 1 September, when an EU-wide ban on the manufacturing and importing of 60W incandescent clear light bulbs comes into force.
Customers will still be able to get hold of a 60W bulb but once stocks run out, it will go the same way as candlelight and gaslight before it.

Energy-saving bulbs
A display of compact fluorescent light bulbs
Can run for up to 10,000 hours
Use up to 80% less electricity than a standard bulb
Fitting just one bulb can save you on average £2.50 a year
More expensive but difference will be recouped on electricity bill in about a year.

Invention of “soft tone” bulbs has given them a warmer glow
Dimmable bulbs are now available
Source: Energy Saving Trust
People are being forced to use energy-saving light bulbs. And no matter how much fans of compact fluorescent lamps proclaim their virtues, there will be some who will see Thursday as the day which consigned their homes to eternal dimness.

Cultural historian Christopher Cook is not a fan of the new light bulbs. He says light creates an atmosphere in a room and the new bulbs give off a “different light”.
“We are seeing a fundamental change in the way interiors are illuminated,” he says.
“The light that the old bulbs cast through a lampshade is different. It’s a softer, more natural light. The light is diffused through the shade.”
Cook is not alone in preferring conventional light bulbs – the vast majority of the 600 million light bulbs in UK homes are tungsten filaments and people are still buying them.

The market share of incandescent bulbs was 56% in 2009, down from 85% in 2005, according to retail analysts Mintel. The compact fluorescent lamp accounted for 23% of the market in 2009 compared with only 3% in 2005.
But the 60W tungsten bulb means more than a warm glow, it is a beacon of modernity. The “perfect demonstration of a brilliant idea” is how cultural commentator Stephen Bayley describes it.
“Because it is such a very legible design, the tungsten light bulb became a symbol of switched-on genius. It’s literally, as well as metaphorically, illuminating.

“Its one fault? Like many a genius, it gives off as much heat as light. So it now joins tallow and the gas mantle on technology’s scrapheap.”
He says one day the public might come to feel sentimental about its “charmless” replacement but if feels like a “poor trade” at the moment.

Shopkeeper’s view
Traditional light bulb
Kerry Nicolaou, who runs a small electrical shop in west London, is trying to get his hands on as many traditional bulbs as he can.
“It’s getting harder and harder to collect them. I’ve got about two or three thousand 60Ws.
“There’s a lot of people who still don’t like the new bulbs. Some people go for the higher wattage because they’re painters and decorators and they need them to work.
“Old people can’t see very well, they need a strong light, but more or less any age still buys them.
“This is not a democracy, it’s becoming like a dictatorship, ordering you to do this, do that. You should have a choice.”

The bulb hoarders
The 60W is the latest old-fashioned light bulb to be switched off in favour of the fluorescent lamps, energy-saving halogen bulbs and LED lights. Many of the major retailers stopped selling the bulbs well ahead of the European deadlines.
Bulbs of 100W and greater have already ceased production, as well as all pearl bulbs, and the same fate awaits all remaining clear incandescent lights next year.

But while the higher wattages may be missed by those with bigger homes, the loss of the ubiquitous 60W may be more keenly felt.
Critics continue to circle the substitutes although there is no doubt they have improved since they were first introduced.

However, the bulbs have still found it difficult to shake off that reputation for giving out a dim, cold, white light. Their critics say they are slow to warm up, the light flickers, and they are too big for some fittings. There also seem to be more types than there are shapes of pasta.

The proponents say these problems have already been addressed.
But for the incandescent aficionados, fluorescent lights tend to be associated with morgues, prisons and tenement hallways. Cook says they give off a “cold creepiness” and make you feel like you’re being interrogated.

The death warrant of the conventional bulb was signed by EU leaders in 2007 to help meet climate change targets, but other countries have been thinking about it too. In New Zealand, a new government scrapped the ban in 2008, saying it was an example of the “nanny state philosophy”.

But the US will start banning the traditional bulbs from the start of next year and a very vocal opponent is Howard Brandston, one of the most respected lighting experts in the world who was asked to redesign the lighting of the Statue of Liberty as part of the 1986 restoration.
Continue reading the main story
Critics allegations against CFLs
Compact fluorescent lamps flicker and buzz
Slow to warm up and emit a dim, cold light contain mercury, making them potentially hazardous and hard to get rid of.
Not enough is known about continuous exposure to the electromagnetic fields they emit.
They can trigger migraines, skin rashes and epileptic fits
Low-energy bulbs ‘worsen rashes’
Low-energy bulbs ’cause migraine’
He is against the ban on many levels, including the unsatisfactory lighting quality, the cost of retrofitting homes to use the new light sources and the safety risk posed by the mercury.

Brandston has used compact fluorescent lamps in commercial projects but he says there is no place for them in people’s homes.
“They are not bad products, just bad applications. Your home should be your castle and they are coming into your home and reducing the quality of light and life.

“It changes the colour of your appearance, your food, your furniture. They don’t dim well and the colour of the light deteriorates.”
But for Chris Oxlade, author of The Light Bulb: Tales of Invention, it is simply a matter of scientific progression and the new light bulbs should be embraced.

Read More : BBC.co.uk
“I have no nostalgia for the old ones, which are knocking on 100 years,” he says. “My parents will say that the new light bulbs are rubbish – they don’t come on quickly enough or they are not bright enough but I have accepted them.”
There will certainly be people who start hoarding bulbs in earnest on Thursday, but the 60W’s days will soon be over.

http://www.sovereignindependent.com/?p=25830

MapForJ

Monty Burnz wrote: »

I guess there's two sides to this: selling stuff to the consumer that won't last is bad, but then creating stuff that lasts forever will put all the consumers out of jobs so they couldn't buy stuff anyway.
.

like this?