The Many Perils of Planned Obsolescence

S.J. Diamond is right on target in her column about planned obsolescence being diabolically designed to make you dissatisfied with your new purchases as soon as you get it home (“Speeding Obsolescence Means Many Items Are Not Lasting Your Lifetime,” Aug. 16).

An entire article could be written on the endless succession of improvements in sound reproduction devices, beginning with Tom (Swift) Edison’s wax cylinders, soon replaced by Bakelite, followed by Edison’s hill-and-dale thick 80 RPM disks, then 78s, 45 RPM, 33 1/3 RPM, high fidelity, monaural, stereo, four-track tapes, eight-track, cassettes, reel-to-reel, compact discs, and--who knows?

Each technological improvement trashes your investment in the previous marvel.

Even in the relatively new field of videocassettes, how many Beta devotees have been left out in the cold by VHS and laser discs?

And in the kitchen, how can noisy, temperamental, undependable and impossible-to-clean-without-dismantling electric can openers ever take the place of the simple inexpensive hand-operated openers, which not only work every time but strengthen your wrists as well?

Immediately after World War II, young Henry Ford turned down an opportunity to buy the Volkswagen factory for a song, saying, “Who would buy such an ugly little car?” The phenomenal success of the “Beetle,” minimally altered during its entire span of production, gave the lie to Henry and all the other perpetuators of built-in obsolescence!

MARVIN H. LEAF

Santa Monica