For some reason blogger.com is f-in up for me. I'm posting in the form of a comment. Thanks for putting up with it b/c you have no choice.
Alas, the final pages of Made to Break give us the big picture. We finally reach the end of the the long timeline narrative to get the ultimate point of Slade's book.
He mentions Moore's Law, which I think is his major point within his argument of technological obsolescence. "Although Moore's Law was intended to emphasize the increasing power and the diminishing costs of integrated circuits, it also provided an index to the steady rate of technological obsolescence created by ICs." (p196). The best part to me is the last section of this book. To me it seems Slade formats the book to increase at an exponential rate like how Moore's Law describes. I talk about Moore's Law a lot b/c I feel it's the reason for tech woes as well as pros.
I love how he talks about the rise of Microsoft and Macintosh. Slade also brings up other events within the 60s and now that also provide a backbone to his argument.
"Very soon, the sheer volume of e=waste will compel America to adopt design strategies that include not just planned obsolescence but planned disassembly and reuse as part of the product life cycle." (p. 281). He closes out very well and his final words make his point even more cohesive. I admit, I really didn't care for the old talk pre-internet, but I appreciate what he had to say in terms of disposable products before the internet dynasty.
Although we have all these products running our lives, we have to find a way to manage how often and intelligently we use them for. That's the most important message I gathered from this book. We are stuck in this fast-paced, ever-changing society controlled by intricate circuits but we have to get a better grasp of what's in store for us. I don't mean the next cool new iPod, but we have to keep our eyes on the future we our paving for ourselves. In the end, I would give this book a 4/5.
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