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Planned Obsolescence

Have you ever noticed that your gadgets don’t fail within the warranty period. And that a day (or thereabouts) after the warranty expires, problems start popping up? I’m pretty sure it’s not random. There’s just too many smart people in tech.  It’s definitely by design.

There’s this thing called Mean Time Before Failure (MTBF) and manufacturers definitely would want the MTBF to be after the warranty period. Or conversely, the warranty only as long as the MTBF safely permits.

The past few days, I’ve been noticing my Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3) Slim booting, beeping three times, then shutting down. Leslie said it’s an overheating problem. I couldn’t believe it since I practically only use the PS3 for watching videos. It’s just a glorified media player so to speak. And I can usually start it up with a bit of trying.

But last week, I bought a copy of the brand-spankin’-new Assassin’s Creed III (AC3). As soon as I got home I excitedly popped the disk into the drive and started playing. I wasn’t playing for long when the PS3 suddenly shut down. This is serious: It’s affecting my gaming!

So I went and visited some computer shops and inquired how my PS3 can be fixed. I had two options: re-flow and re-ball. Re-flow is where they heat up the solder on the chips and reflow them. Apparently, the PS3 uses lead-free solder which has this tendency to crack after some thermal stress. The other option is to re-ball which is where they replace the lead-free solder with a lead solder.

Both options are rather expensive at a few thousands. And they’re not guaranteed to last long. The best warranty they can provide is three months. And you are supposed to play for only an hour or two per session. Then you have to cool down the PS3. How medieval is that?!?

Dismayed, I decided to just let the PS3 die with dignity. I just ignored the booting and rebooting problems and doggedly kept playing. Unfortunately, without even getting through 3% of AC3, the PS3 was bust. No lights, no beeps, no nothing. It’s dead, Jim.

Which bring me back to planned obsolescence. Just a month or so back, Sony released the PS3 Ultra Slim. Or PS3 Slimmer. Coincidence? I’m pretty sure it’s not. Will I be getting it? I’m pretty sure I won’t.

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Apple iPad mini: Make Mine Mini

As expected Apple announced the iPad mini. They also announced the new iPad Gen 4 earlier than expected. This is primarily due to the rapid advance of the competition. Going forward, we can expect such shorter cycles not just from Apple but from its competitors.

But back to the mini. Mini it is. It’s, at first glance, the iPad 2 cut down to size. It’s smaller, thinner, and lighter. The rear camera is better at 5 megapixels. So is the front camera at 1.2 megapixels. But everything else remain the same: processor, memory, networking, even the resolution of 1024×768 (more on this later).

By creating the mini, Apple covers the market for a less expensive table. But even then, it’s positioned at the pricier end signifying that it is and still a premium tablet. It is more expensive than the Google Nexus 7 and the Amazon Kindle Fire. This is probably intentionally for the prestige and the bottom line.

On the next cycle, when a new iPad (Gen. 5) will be announced, the iPad 2 will be retired, the Gen. 3 will drop in price and take it’s place. During that cycle (or on the next depending on the LCD panel supply chain), the new iPad mini possibly would have a Retina display.

And by keeping the display at 1024×768 , Apple takes advantage of existing iPad Gen 2 apps. In the future, an iPad mini with Retina display will take advantage of existing iPad Gen 3/4 Retina apps. It avoided (and will avoid) further fragmentation of it’s iOS lineup.

Something that simple demonstrates why Apple is a great company.

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Apple’s Got A Little More To Show You

Apple has sent out press invites to the much anticipated launch of the iPad Mini. Much has been said about Steve Jobs’ criticism of 7-inch tablets. First, the iPad Mini is likely bigger than 7 inches. Second, his criticism is for the, back then, smallish iPad competitors, not for an Apple product.Finally, that was then and this is now. Things change. Personally, I’m very much excited about a smaller iPad. It’s like the difference between a hardbound book and a paperback.

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Space Dive!

After a few delays, Felix Baumgartner, an Austrian skydiver, daredevil and BASE jumper, has finally done his much anticipated space dive. From a record 39,045 m (39 km!!!) . He also set the record for the highest manned balloon flight and fastest speed of free fall at 1,342 kph making him the first human to break the sound barrier without  a vehicle. Baumgartner was in free fall for 4 minutes and 19 seconds, 17 seconds short of the 1960 record of Joseph Kittinger. An inspiring feat of human achievement however you cut it.

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H is for Hubris

Saw a 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe on the expressway yesterday. It looks great except the pricing sucks. It’s priced at P1,768,000 for the 2WD version and P2,228,000. for the 4WD version. That’s way higher than the quite capable pickup-based SUVs (Mitsubishi Montero Sport, Toyota Fortuner, Ford Everest, and the new Chervrolet Trailblazer) and already heading towards the Mazda CX-9, Ford Explorer, and Honda Pilot territory. Sure there is a void in that price range and there will still be buyers at those prices but I don’t think it will be the same as the levels that propelled Hyundai to great success the past few years. Yeah, I’m bitter.