Made to Break, Giles Slade, Part 2

One of the revolutionary technology developed during the Twentieth century was the radio. It would affect all aspects of life, from commercial, industrial, personal, and military. One of the many problems that plagued it was the signal and static over the radio. However, even this was not unaffected by obsolesce, as certain radio technologies are made to function as long as its original durability. According to Slade, by the 1950s, the product life spans were no longer left to chance, but rather created by plan. The miniaturization of the radio as well as the elimination of static supposedly brought all this to plan. The consumers that purchase these new radios would see that s disposable, thus adding to the obsolescence. Personally, I don’t see the obsolescence of the portable radio, probably because I have never owned one. However, chances are that it would break under my care anyways, regardless whether they were designed for obsolescence or not. Regardless, I would try to make it work quite possibly beyond the planned life span it had. But as I said, I have never used or experienced the radio in great effect.
    As the century progressed, many new products came into existence, and with them, their own death dates as well. After World War 2, the Atomic Age was upon us, and with it, the ideas of obliteration from nuclear annihilation, and new effects that can and will create a “’blanket of obsolescence not only over the methods and the products of man but over man himself.’” One of the things that ran contrary to planned obsolescence was the Volkswagen automobiles, specifically the VW Beetle. The Beetles throughout the year did not make superficial model changes, with each yearly Beetle the same as the previous to it. This was something that the Volkswagen advertised, the anti-obsolescence stance of the automobile. It is something I agree with, as the car has not really changed through the years and plenty of them are seen on the road.