Obsolescence

I'm at the library right now...the last place I should be but I figured if I was going to move eventually I'd better get enough of this place before I go. I'll miss the resources here the most, it is really a big thing for an information junkie like myself.

I saw a group of students at the library coffee shop, they were all in one table and they have all their laptops fired up...and they don't have them plugged in! Gosh, I miss having a good battery. I don't want to buy my third battery though. On top of that I am already on my third charger. Dell needs to do a major redesign and I think they did with the new models that they are selling.

There is this theory in economics about planned obsolescence. Companies that have a monopoly on some product actually built in an expiration (or maybe self-destruct) date on their products. In a way they want them to go out of style real quick. Because they dont want to have a durable product that can compete down the road when it enters the resale market. Think textbooks, ever wonder why they come up with new editions so often?