It may sound vindictive, but I sincerely hope that the recession continues for another few years (or even worsens), hopefully then US consumers will start to behave more sensibly, and in turn stamp out this ridiculous behaviour from their local companies (I’m not merely targeting Microsoft, since even Apple is guilty of designed obsolescence, any one who have owned an ipod, is probably on their second or third by now, since that damn thing dies after only a year or so).

@Gerald: Far less then the number of xbox 360s we’ve already replaced (I’ve had 5 RROD on me, the last one, I fixed myself until it recently died again).

You have to hand it to the Japanese, they do not buy into the American philosophy of designed obsolescence (i.e. items purposefully built to break sooner than later).

Ironically, it’s what nailed the American car industry in the 70s (and early 80s), and one of the reasons why General Motors, chevrolet and even Ford struggled against the influx of Japanese-made (and even German-made) cars. The public grew tired of their shoddy products and revolted.

Even to this day, American cars are not synonymous with quality, the sad thing is, that Microsoft is not learning from history. They may in fact be reaping the rewards from designed obsolescence, but it’s a bit like a cup with a few holes in it, eventually the water is going to run dry.