Made to Break: Are We Sinking under the Weight of Our Disposable Society?

Made to Break: Are We Sinking under the Weight of Our Disposable Society?

Published: August 09, 2006 in Knowledge@Wharton

Canadian writer Giles Slade was checking out a touring exhibit called "Eternal Egypt" with his 10-year-old son a few years ago when he had an epiphany. The Egyptians, he realized, designed great monuments to endure for countless generations, while here in North America, nearly everything produced is made to break.

And that's no accident. Slade's Made to Break: Technology and Obsolescence in America (Harvard University Press), is a painstakingly researched story of 20^th century technology through the lens of disposability, a concept born, bred and nurtured in America. Made to Break is the history of an industrial strategy that has come to define this country -- a strategy that has taught us to buy, throw away and buy again, and that now must change because we have run out of room to safely dump all our unwanted, used-up or obsolete possessions.

Long before factories across the globe began churning out disposable razors, diapers, and soda cans, American businessmen worried about overstocked warehouses and strategized ways to keep people buying. America's "throwaway ethic" began in the mid-19^th century, Slade says, when a host of cheap materials became widely available to industry. Men were initially targeted, with innovations such as the legendary Gillette disposable razor and throwaway paper shirt fronts, collars and cuffs -- instant hits since laundry services were largely unavailable in those days.

But as early as 1907, businessmen began to see women as controlling the family purse strings, and by the beginning of World War I, female copywriters had joined the ranks of advertising agencies, creating targeted pitches for early disposable products such as Kimberly-Clark's Kotex sanitary napkins and Johnson & Johnson's Band-Aids. Buoyed by their early successes with disposables, paper manufacturers soon developed toilet paper, paper cups, paper towels and paper straws. And Americans, Slade writes, began to generalize their throwaway habits to other goods.

"This was a significant development in the history of product obsolescence," he writes. "As a throwaway culture emerged, the ethic of durability, of thrift, of what the consumer historian Susan Strasser calls 'the stewardship of objects,' was slowly modified. At first, people just threw their paper products into the fire. But as the disposable trend continued, it became culturally permissible to throw away objects that could not simply and conveniently be consumed by flames." People started filling landfills with things like old vacuum cleaners so that, as time went on, "disposable" came to mean nearly everything, not just old paper collars.

American business actively resisted the Treasury Department's national frugality campaign during World War I, with stores across the nation displaying signs that read, "Business as Usual. Beware of Thrift and Unwise Economy." Local newspapers, eager to coddle their largest advertisers, wrote editorials in support of shopping, while in 1921, New York retailers launched the National Prosperity Committee to combat thrift. Articles written about thriftiness from this time period, Slade found, were combative in their language: "Miserliness is despicable, hoarding is vulgar; both are selfish, fatal to character and a danger to the community and the nation," wrote C.W. Taber, author of The Business of the Household.

Shiny and New

Made to Break outlines the ideas and innovations behind obsolescence throughout the 20^th century, describing, for example, the early battle for market domination between GM and Ford and the Depression-era automobile marketing campaigns that encouraged buying the "new model" each year. The result was products designed not to last, a concept called "death dating." The book also explores major product innovations that fed American's growing appetite for short-lived products, such as DuPont's revolutionary development of nylon stockings for women in 1939, a far less expensive alternative to stockings made from Japanese silk.

For consumers, having the latest shiny, new gadget became a way to "either feed one's pride or reduce one's shame," creating a self consciousness about being out of fashion and a tendency to evaluate others based on their possessions that has continued to this day.

The book's final chapter, "Cell Phones and E-Waste," is perhaps its most disturbing. Among its revelations: By 2002, more than 130 million still-working cell phones had been "retired" in the U.S. Today, about 250,000 tons of discarded but still usable cell phones sit in stockpiles in America, awaiting disposal. Cell phones, Slade suggests, "have become the avant-garde of a fast-growing trend toward throwaway electronic products." And their lifespan is still declining. In Japan, where cell phone penetration is especially high, cell phones are discarded within a year in favor of newer models.

The increasingly short lifespan of digital devices -- from computers to televisions and cell phones -- is creating an avalanche of electronic consumer waste that threatens to overwhelm the world's landfills with a toxic soup of permanent biological toxins such as arsenic, lead, nickel and zinc. "When e-waste is burned anywhere in the world, dioxins, furans and other pollutants are released into the air, with potentially disastrous health consequences around the globe. When e-waste is buried in landfills, PBTs eventually seep into the groundwater, poisoning it," Slade writes.

And while the U.S. has most recently exported much of its discarded electronic waste to developing countries for disposal, stricter enforcement of the United Nation's Basel Convention -- created to set up a framework for controlling the "transboundary" movement of hazardous wastes -- will soon eliminate that practice.

Slade also examines the ways consumers use consumer electronics to shape their identities. For adolescents, cell phones are a way young people create communities outside of their family, Slade writes, citing research by sociologist Rich Ling. Ling's eye-opening study of adolescents describes in vivid detail teens' comparisons of cell phones to clothing -- that certain brands of cell phones imply "coolness" while others are considered dated and conformist.

"Ling sees the development and proliferation of the cell phone as an extension of a series of inventions that includes railways, standard time, the telephone, the automobile, and the personal timepiece," writes Slade. "What these innovations have in common is their ability to coordinate human social interactions."

But it is cell phones' small size that makes them a toxic hazard to be reckoned with, Slade continues in Made to Break's too-brief ending about what can be done to resolve the problem of discarded consumer electronics. Taking apart tiny components to recover their parts isn't worth the effort, and so most cell phones are simply thrown away, ultimately finding their way into incinerators and landfills.

Is there a solution? Slade touches on design alternatives outlined in another book, The Green Imperative, which suggests that manufacturers simply charge a bit more for durable goods that are more easily taken apart and reused. He adds that such green design measures are beginning to fill the agendas of electronics institute meetings -- a hopeful sign of a sea change. But in spite of this, Slade says in one interview about Made to Break, "A lot of really sophisticated people devoted a lot of time and thought to developing this system" of constant consumption. "We need to look at the problem creatively and rethink it. Our whole economy is based on buying, trashing and buying again. We need to rethink industrial design."

It's tough to disagree with Slade, but this reader couldn't help wishing for more solutions. Made to Break, though a very interesting read, seems to end suddenly and somewhat hopelessly, with no solutions proposed for everyday Americans to deal with a huge problem that has taken a century to create and that shows no signs of abating. But Slade also strikes a note of optimism. Soon enough, he says, the sheer volume of waste of all kinds will compel a change. "This is the industrial challenge of the new century. We must welcome it."

A special offer from Wharton School Publishing
http://www.whartonsp.com/summerreading

History of Carnival

Carnival means a complete holiday dedicated to fun and enjoying as a break from the daily routine and stress of the every-day life. The word 'carnival' is originated from a Latin word 'carnelevarium' meaning 'removing the flesh' or 'raising a gala storm'. The first country to play host to the carnival was Brazil, from where the tradition spread out to all the countries world over as a festival of revelry and fun. However, all the countries celebrate carnivals in different forms. Brazilian carnival is 5 days long held before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the fasting month of Lent dedicated to penance and abstinence.

The unique concept of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro was total freedom to everybody including men, women, boys and girls who could do whatever they like and go wherever they want during this period without any remorse or scrutiny, cutting out the need for making enquiries or telling lies. Carnivals became a craze in the entire Christian world and there are colorful celebrations in Rome, Munich, Paris, Cologne, Buenos-Aires, Montevideo, Venice and Nice. According to the legend, the Royal house in ancient Rome used to observe the 17th of February in honor of Fanno-the God shepherds and their flock.

Animal sacrifices and offering of the sacrificial meat to the wolves that attacked the flock characterized these feasts. Some people also believe Rome was founded by Romulo and Remo who were stranded alone in the forest as infants and a She-Wolf brought them up showing much more compassion than human beings often do to their own kind and hence the offering of meat to the wolves. At that time, the carnival was observed as a religious occasion and many practices and liberties were banned by the Church such as the unfair advantage that participants took by wearing masks during these celebrations.

A Primer on Digital Music

Digital Music: A Primer

By Walter S. Mossberg and Katherine Boehret

Over 50 million Apple iPods, and lots of competing digital music players, have been sold by now -- as well as over a billion songs and tens of millions of videos, since legal media sales took off a few years ago.

But many folks -- even some who own iPods and other players -- are still confused over how legal digital music works. So here's a quick-and-dirty guide to the digital music world, in question-and-answer form. We've included the questions we are asked most frequently, plus a few other topics.

Q: What's the difference between the Apple iPod and all the other portable music players? Some of them seem to have more features.

A: The main difference is that Apple has created an entire end-to-end digital media system around the iPod, and it works. In our view, and those of most other reviewers, the combination of the iPod's design, the iTunes music software, and the iTunes Music Store, provides a superior experience to buying a player separately, using software from Microsoft, and buying music from an unaffiliated store.

Illustration

As a result, the iPod, and the iTunes store, dominate the legal music world, with shares of more than 70% of the market, depending on how you measure it.

Still, players from companies like iRiver and Creative are attractive and have some features the iPod lacks, such as built-in FM radios. And music services from RealNetworks, Yahoo, Napster and others offer an interesting alternative to iTunes.

Q: If I buy an iPod, must I buy music from Apple's iTunes store? Conversely, can I buy music from Apple, and play it, if I don't have an iPod?

A: No, and yes. You don't have to buy a single song from Apple. You can fill an iPod entirely with music you convert from your own CDs, or which you get from unauthorized download services, or from friends. The latter two sources are probably illegal, but they are technically easy to use. In fact, most of the song files on most of the world's iPods weren't purchased from Apple, or anyone else. That's because the iPod, and iTunes, can play back files in the open MP3 format, and in other non-copy-protected formats.

Conversely, you can set up an account with the iTunes Music Store and buy as many songs, videos, and other material as you like, without owning an iPod. You would simply play back your purchased media on Windows or Macintosh computers. You can play any one song on as many as five different computers. All you need is the free iTunes software, which can be downloaded from Apple's Web site in either a Windows or Mac version.

Q: Will songs purchased from iTunes play back on non-iPod portable players? Will songs purchased from competing services play back on iPods?

A: No, and no -- unless you use a workaround (see next answer). At the insistence of the record labels, all songs from major label catalogs that are sold as online downloads must be encrypted to limit copying. There are two encryption formats. One is owned by Apple, and the other is owned by Microsoft. The iTunes Store uses the Apple encryption format, and most other legal download services use the Microsoft format.

Any player from any company can theoretically be enabled to use either format, but Apple refuses to license its encryption format to any competing maker of players. And Apple also refuses to incorporate the Microsoft format on iPods. The result is that songs bought from iTunes only work on iPods, while songs bought from most other legal services only work on non-iPod players.

There is one exception. A service called eMusic sells its songs in the open MP3 format, without encryption or copy-protection. Thus, these songs will play on iPods and all other portable music players. But eMusic doesn't carry the catalogs of the major labels. It has a much smaller selection than iTunes does.

Q: Is there any way around this? Can I legally modify or convert encrypted songs so they will work on portable players for which they weren't intended?

A: Yes, but the method is clumsy, especially if you try to apply it to a large number of converted songs.

To convert songs purchased from iTunes to an open format that will play on, say, a Creative player, or in Windows Media Player software, you first must burn the songs to CD. Then, using iTunes or other music software, you re-import them from CD, turning them into open MP3 files that can be played on any player. This works fine, but it has two big downsides.

First, it can take a long time to convert, say, 500 songs this way. Second, the process strips off all the identifying data from the song files, and home-burned CDs typically aren't recognized by the automatic song-recognition process used by iTunes and other software. So you'll have to manually re-enter info like artist, album and song title.

Book
Independent site iLounge has a free manual on getting the most from your iPod.

This process works the other way as well, with a big "if." You can convert Microsoft-encrypted songs this same way, so they become MP3 files that can be played on an iPod. But the catch is that songs offered by the leading Microsoft-based services often can't be burned to CDs. (See next answer.)

There is some software that claims to efficiently strip the encryption from copy-protected song files, turning them into MP3 files. But these programs are almost certainly illegal under recent copyright laws, and Apple and other companies constantly change the innards of their encryption formats to foil the programs.

Q: What is the difference between Apple's iTunes store, and competing services like Rhapsody and Napster 2.0? Does one carry more music?

A: Apple's iTunes store claims to have more than three million songs licensed from the major labels and from independents. Rhapsody and Napster claim more than two million songs, and Yahoo Music Unlimited claims more than one million. So, iTunes has by far the most music. In addition, iTunes has a strong selection of videos, including 150 television series, plus tens of thousands of audio books and podcasts. Its competitors are much weaker in these non-music categories. Most have nothing at all besides music.

The main difference lies in how the services work. iTunes works like a physical record store: you buy songs or albums, paying separately for each. Songs are 99 cents each, albums are usually $9.99, and videos are typically $1.99. Apple is reportedly negotiating to sell full-length movies as well.

Rhapsody, Napster and Yahoo work on a subscription model: you pay a monthly fee, and can download an unlimited number of songs. For Rhapsody and Napster, the fee is $10 a month if you want only to store and play music on a computer, or $15 a month if you also want to play your music on a portable player. Yahoo charges less -- $6.99 a month for a PC-only plan and $11.99 a month for a portable plan.

The upside of Apple's approach is that, once you buy a song, you own it. It never expires. You can burn it to CD an unlimited number of times, and transfer it to an unlimited number of iPods. The downside is that, to fill an iPod with, say, 5,000 purchased songs, you'd have to spend $5,000.

With the subscription plans, you can fill a portable player for just a monthly fee. But there's a huge downside: you don't own the music, you merely rent it. If you stop making your monthly payments, all the songs you downloaded over the years will suddenly expire and become inert and unplayable on your computer and on your portable player. Also, rental songs usually can't be burned to CD and can only be copied to a limited number of portable players. In order to burn the tunes to CD, you generally must first buy them for an individual price, just as you do on iTunes.

Q: How do I use multiple iPods with one iTunes library on my PC, if I want different music on each iPod?

A: In the Preferences section of iTunes, you can set up each iPod so it synchronizes only with particular playlists, not your whole library. Just set up a playlist for each iPod, and set it up to sync only with that playlist.

Or, you can set up each iPod so it doesn't automatically synchronize with iTunes at all, and simply works in manual mode. Then, you can manually drag different songs into each iPod.

Q: Can I copy the songs on my iPod to my second or third computer?

A: At the insistence of the record labels, Apple was forced to cripple the iPod so it can't copy music to a computer, out of the box. Copying only works from a computer to an iPod, not the other way. But there are many third-party utility programs, for both Windows and Mac, that allow copying from an iPod to a computer. One example is PodUtil, which has versions for both Mac and Windows. It's at: www.kennettnet.co.uk/software/podutil.php

One thing to bear in mind: you can only play any song you buy from iTunes on up to five computers, Windows or Mac. Songs in the open MP3 format can be played on an unlimited number of computers.

Q: Can I share the music in my iTunes software with others?

A: Yes, within limits. You can set up iTunes on your Windows PC or Mac so that others on your computer network (but not over the Internet) can stream, or listen to, your songs, without actually moving the song file to their computer. The receiving computer must have iTunes installed, and both machines must be enabled for sharing in the Sharing section of the iTunes Preferences panel.

Q: What can I do with an iPod, other than play music on it?

A: Current iPods can play videos, like TV shows. And most iPods can play audio books and podcasts. Recent models also can play back your photos as slide shows, accompanied by music and fancy transitions. And, with a $20 cable, the iPod can display videos and photos on a TV set.

But there's a lot of other stuff buried in an iPod. The iPod can display, but not edit, your calendar and contacts and notes, synchronized from your computer. This works with Microsoft Outlook on Windows and with the Address Book and Calendar programs that come with every Mac. Current iPods also have a built-in stop watch and multi-city clock.

You can also use your iPod as a portable hard disk. It can be set up to appear as a regular hard disk on both Windows and Macintosh computers. Any space on the iPod that isn't occupied by your music, videos, photos and so forth can be used to store any type of file you want, for backup, or for transfer among computers. You just have to plug your iPod into your computer, go to the iPod preferences tab, and check "Enable Disk Use."

The iPod also has some built-in games. My favorite, Music Quiz, tests your knowledge of your own music. It plays a short clip of a randomly selected song from your collection, then displays five multiple-choice song titles. Your task is to select the right title in the shortest possible time, while a clock counts down the points you can win. It's addictive.

There's a ton more to know about digital music, and specifically, iPods. Apple has a series of iPod and iTunes tutorials at http://www.apple.com/support/ipod101/. The independent Web site iLounge ( ilounge.com) is packed with tips and tutorials and even offers a free, downloadable 194-page book about the iPod, at: http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/download-now-the-free-ipod-book-20

• Email: MossbergSolution@wsj.com

New Preamble to the US Constitution

got this in an email today :

Somebody said this was probably the best e-mail he'd seen in a long, long time. The following has been attributed to State Rep Mitchell Aye from GA. This guy should run for President one day...

"We the sensible people of the United States , in an attempt to help everyone get along, restore some semblance of justice, avoid more riots, keep our nation safe, promote positive behavior, and secure the blessings of debt-free liberty to ourselves and our great-great-great-grandchildren, hereby try one more time to ordain and establish some common sense guidelines for the terminally whiny, guilt ridden, delusional, and other liberal bed-wetter's. We hold these truths to be self evident: that a whole lot of people are confused by the Bill of Rights and are so dim they require a Bill of NON-Rights."

ARTICLE I: You do not have the right to a new car, big screen TV, or any other form of wealth. More power to you if you can legally acquire them, but no one is guaranteeing anything.

ARTICLE II: You do not have the right to never be offended. This country is based on freedom, and that means freedom for everyone -- not just you! You may leave the room, turn the channel, express a different opinion, etc.; but the world is full of idiots, lawyers or lobbyists and probably always will be.

ARTICLE III: You do not have the right to be free from harm. If you stick a screwdriver in your eye, learn to be more careful, do not expect the tool manufacturer to make you and all your relatives independently wealthy.

ARTICLE IV: You do not have the right to free food and housing. Americans are the most charitable people to be found, and will gladly help anyone in need, but we are quickly growing weary of subsidizing generation after generation of professional couch potatoes who achieve nothing more than the creation of another generation of professional couch potatoes. (This one is my pet peeve...get an education...learn English... and go to work...don't expect everyone else to take care of you and your family!)

ARTICLE V: You do not have the right to free health care. That would be nice, but from the looks of public housing, we're just not interested in public health care or enough housing to hold families of over 20.

ARTICLE VI: You do not have the right to physically harm other people. If you kidnap, rape, intentionally maim, or kill someone, don't be surprised if the rest of us want to see you fry in the electric chair or even become mob rule.

ARTICLE VII: You do not have the right to the possessions of others. If you rob, cheat, or coerce away the goods or services of other citizens, don't be surprised if the rest of us get together and lock you away in a TENT CITY where you won't have the right to a color TV or a life of leisure.

ARTICLE VIII: You do not have the right to a job. All of us sure want you to have a job, and will gladly help you along in hard times, but we expect you to take advantage of the opportunities of education and vocational training laid before you to make yourself useful United States Citizen.

ARTICLE IX: You do not have the right to happiness. Being an American means that you have the right to PURSUE happiness, which by the way, is a lot easier if you are unencumbered by an over abundance of idiotic laws created by those of you who were confused by the Bill of Rights.

ARTICLE X: This is an English speaking country. We don't care where you are from, English is our language. Learn it or go back to wherever you came from! (and lastly....)

ARTICLE XI: You do not have the right to change our country's history or heritage. This country was founded on the belief in one true God. And yet, you are given the freedom to believe in any God, any faith, or no faith at all; with no fear of persecution. The phrase IN GOD WE TRUST is part of our heritage and history, and if you are uncomfortable with it, TOUGH!!!! (Hire the ACLU and good luck)

If you agree, share this with a friend. No, you don't have to, and nothing tragic will happen to you if you don't. I just think it's about time common sense is allowed to flourish. Sensible people of the United States speak out because if you do not, the ACLU and minorities will.

Your thoughts / ideas on his suggestions........

Blogspot blocked by ISP's in India ????

I was trying to check on my blogs since Friday morning, but somehow I wasn't getting through. Initially thought it was a temporary glitch, but by Saturday morning there was no improvement. Was travelling that day & the next and today whole day, I still couldn't connect. I had written to the powers that be at the blogspot help on saturday itself, but have still not got a response from them.

Spoke to a couple of friends who said that they weren't facing any problems, so I thought it was a wierd bug in MY system. Turns out the bug is a bee in some ministry's bonnet, who has ordered that blogspot, geocities & typepad be blocked by ISP's.
Some of the ISP's that have blocked blogger are at this location

A group of Indian Bloggers who have all been hit by this blockade are grouping together & looking for solutions here

Bypassing the ban

For sites blocked by domain names

• Using google translate, e.g., if the blog is "blogyouwanttoread.blogspot.com", then use

http://www.google.com/translate?langpair=en|en&u=blogyouwanttoread.blogspot.com

For Blogspot

• http://pkblogs.com:
  Enter your blog name there and you're in business. Or directly use a URL of the form
  http://www.pkblogs.com/blogyouwanttoread
  For example, http://www.pkblogs.com/mumbaihelp will let you see http://mumbaihelp.blogspot.com
• Anniyalogam where you can draw just the text of the blog.
• Use bloglines to find an RSS Feed to the blog.

Using proxy server for any blocked site

One way to visit a blocked site is through another site, generally called a proxy site. Some such sites and the info on how to use them are given below.

• www.boreproxy.com

In this specfic case go to site: www.boreproxy.com

On that page below the link for favourites you will find an edit box. Put the shortcut of the site you want to access in this edit box eg. http://xyz.blogspot.com

Press Enter and voila! you have access:)

• www.hidemyass.com

Use www.hidemyass.com and then type in the site you wish to access.

• http://www.shysurfer.com

Use http://www.shysurfer.com. It allows you to not just surf, but also make posts.

• Using http://www.daveproxy.co.uk also works

Got all this neat info on the Bloggers group & http://scratchpad.wikia.com/wiki/Bypassing_The_Ban

First time I have had to use a proxy server to access what I write. Makes me feel like I'm some kind of dirty criminal or terrorist disloyal to my country.

Much as I love my country, the politicians are slowly making it difficult for us to keep doing so.

First they take 1/3 of our salary in taxes & then they don't give us basic infrastructure (case in points floods 2 weeks back) non-adequate security (bomb blasts last week) and now they take away my stress release mechanism & window to the world (blogspot being banned this week) what are they gonna do to me next week ? Throw me in Jail ?

Neha has sone a much better job of blogging about this

I'm just tired, sleepy & cranky, so I shall sign off here.