Are laptops becoming unreliable?

Capt Lightning

Capt Lightning

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Historic Buchan, Scotland
Nothing to do with operation system, updates etc... but are laptops becoming just another consumable? My ancient Del Latitude with its metal case, still works reliably, but is slow. The battery is duff and a replacement battery was expensive, so almost three years ago I bought a new Dell Inspiron. Now the plastic case is cracking and the keyboard is faulty. In earlier laptops, I could easily replace both the keyboard and battery. Now, it looks like both battery and keyboard, if you can get them, are built in to the plastic shell, so require the machine to be stripped down to replace them.

To keep me going, I'm using a USB keyboard, but that more or less means that I've got a desktop, not a laptop. Anyone else feel that unless you buy a premium machine, build quality has gone down the pan in order to reduce costs?
 
Yes, and it is a quandary. I have a 2015 Toshiba Satellite laptop. I have also had my plastic shell crack at the left hinge, so I can't open and close it. I have a monitor plugged into that DCIM port. I have plugged in a USB keyboard because the laptop keyboard became useless. Then the headphone jack went out. I didn't have anymore USB ports so I bought an extension 1-4 ports. Then an adapter that has a head phone female jack and a mic jack. I have a cheap desktop mic now. So I don't know what you call my setup, but it is a mess. :)

I don't have the $ for getting another used one. I am not sure what I will do when this one bites the dust.
 
No. Some models of most consumer level products today are physically and mechanically superior to products from decades ago because material science is always advancing. What has changed with specific product types is where, who, is now manufacturing and selling to gullible consumers bean counters are always eager to take advantage of.

Thus as USA manufacturing closed and was replaced via market conditions, to overseas firms, they may decide to offer products with cheaper less durable and robust parts undercutting more expensive lasting products. That is about what people are willing to purchase regardless of wisdom.

One example of product types that is on average worse are refrigerators built in Asia now that use motors that only last a decade versus several decades. Bean counters figured out people would buy ones that don't last and be forced to regularly replace them. Detroit played the same let it break game with cars, a factor in why they lost so much market.

That noted, it is still possible to order absolutely superior long life commercial level refrigerators just as it is with laptop computers. But are consumers willing to spend more on a smaller expensive niche model, marketing has abandoned at consumer levels?
 
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Capt Lightning said:
Nothing to do with operation system, updates etc... but are laptops becoming just another consumable? My ancient Del Latitude with its metal case, still works reliably, but is slow. The battery is duff and a replacement battery was expensive, so almost three years ago I bought a new Dell Inspiron. Now the plastic case is cracking and the keyboard is faulty. In earlier laptops, I could easily replace both the keyboard and battery. Now, it looks like both battery and keyboard, if you can get them, are built in to the plastic shell, so require the machine to be stripped down to replace them.

To keep me going, I'm using a USB keyboard, but that more or less means that I've got a desktop, not a laptop. Anyone else feel that unless you buy a premium machine, build quality has gone down the pan in order to reduce costs?
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Interesting. My Dell Inspiron was about 7 years old when it stopped working because, apparently, the battery has died. Other than that, the laptop was sturdy and reliable. Seems the only way to get it working again is to buy a new battery which is expensive if the laptop has other issues. There is no way to boot it up without a new battery so, seems the Dell is now useless :(
 
My newish MacBook Pro is awful. It is so thin that it is scarcely usable held in ones lap with keys and functions behaving randomly if the case becomes torqued at all. It has gotten so I only use it sitting flat on my desk. Older models were a bit heavier and thicker but worth it.
 
DSCF0971.jpg
this is my Toshiba Laptop well over 12 years ago... in fact the laptop is 19 years old now...that's true ...I bought it in 2005..this is an even older photograph...showing it in the year I bought it.. 2005..

laptop.jpg



This is it now... 19 years later....
IMG-2943.jpg
in perfect condition, not a mark on it..built like a warship... very heavy... but it still works, it still accepts updates... but of course it's verry slow now.. like us all when we're old..

I want to buy a new Laptop and am Continually searching and researching.. but it's these types of tales that put me off...while I have my Desktop I'm in no rush to replace the laptop... but when I do I don't want to end up with a Pup...
 
I have an 8 year old Dell Inspiron gaming laptop, it's a tank and still ticking, despite having done a belly flop from about 3 ft, off a sheet music stand. Access to the internals is easy, one screw and the bottom panel comes off. Replaced the battery a couple years ago, hard drive bay and M.2 NVME slot easily accessible.
 
Paco Dennis said:
Yes, and it is a quandary. I have a 2015 Toshiba Satellite laptop. I have also had my plastic shell crack at the left hinge, so I can't open and close it. I have a monitor plugged into that DCIM port. I have plugged in a USB keyboard because the laptop keyboard became useless. Then the headphone jack went out. I didn't have anymore USB ports so I bought an extension 1-4 ports. Then an adapter that has a head phone female jack and a mic jack. I have a cheap desktop mic now. So I don't know what you call my setup, but it is a mess. :)

I don't have the $ for getting another used one. I am not sure what I will do when this one bites the dust.
Click to expand...
Ebay is your friend here, I bought this laptop with Linux Mint preloaded at a very reasonable price. Plus several Chromebooks that I give out to family needing a cheap basic computer.
 
Paco Dennis said:
Yes, and it is a quandary. I have a 2015 Toshiba Satellite laptop. I have also had my plastic shell crack at the left hinge, so I can't open and close it. I have a monitor plugged into that DCIM port. I have plugged in a USB keyboard because the laptop keyboard became useless. Then the headphone jack went out. I didn't have anymore USB ports so I bought an extension 1-4 ports. Then an adapter that has a head phone female jack and a mic jack. I have a cheap desktop mic now. So I don't know what you call my setup, but it is a mess. :)

I don't have the $ for getting another used one. I am not sure what I will do when this one bites the dust.
Click to expand...
Update. I forgot to send this insane setup pic.

20240216_071601.jpg
 
Capt Lightning said:
Nothing to do with operation system, updates etc... but are laptops becoming just another consumable? My ancient Del Latitude with its metal case, still works reliably, but is slow. The battery is duff and a replacement battery was expensive, so almost three years ago I bought a new Dell Inspiron. Now the plastic case is cracking and the keyboard is faulty. In earlier laptops, I could easily replace both the keyboard and battery. Now, it looks like both battery and keyboard, if you can get them, are built in to the plastic shell, so require the machine to be stripped down to replace them.
Click to expand...
I don't follow the history of various computer manufacturers & the quality of their products. Sad that Dell is no longer making a durable product, they used to make very good computers.

For work, I owned a series of mid-price PC laptops, but got fed up with lack of durability. Switched to a MacBook, and I'm on my second one now... Somewhat over two years ago my old MacBook was at the point where it was having too many costly issues (it was 12 years old or so), and I was about to live away from home for seven weeks for cancer treatment. I bought a MacBook Pro and its performance is great. Never has presented any issues I couldn't solve myself.

I was never annoyed by the weight or thickness of any of my previous laptops, but this one is almost ridiculously light weight. I don't like the lack of variety in the ports, and my previous laptop had a slot for CD/DVDs. My current one now has got just an earphone-jack port and two tiny USB4 ports. Requires adapters for varied functions.
 
My iPad Pro is so versatile and easy to use that I seldom even use a laptop anymore. I have a 17” chromebook that i wanted for the large screen size, and it was on close out , so I got it very cheap. It weighs a ton, but I do not move it around.
I think that for the price you can not beat a Chromebook.
Google is always adding new technology, and the chromebooks now are touchscreen if you want the versatility of touchscreen and apps like you have on a tablet computer. The downside of some of the chromebooks is that the picture and sound quality is poor compared to a more expensive laptop like a MacBook

I also have a MacBook Pro that my son gave me, and it is a 16” screen. I like it because of the large screen and also because the camera is at the top on a laptop, but it is on the side of an iPad when used in landscape position (which is how it fits into the Apple Magic Keyboard).
I think that the future of computers will be devices that can be carried around and are a mix of a laptop and a tablet and used either way. I much prefer the simplicity of using an app over having to go to a website for everything I want to do online.…. Just my preference.
 
We may be deluding ourselves about how much choice we have in these matters.

There are a few things that drive most of our decisions. Our budget is one, ways we plan to use the product is another, and even vanity can factor into it. A lot of power hungry and pricy "gaming" hardware gets sold to people with no need for it, and face it nobody really has such a need. It's just another jacked-up drugstore cowboy accoutrement.

No matter where we fall on the spectrum of needs, our resources, and any desires to overcompensate for our personal shortcomings though, we're held hostage. Very little currently sold varies from a few patterns of products where longevity just isn't a design consideration. Even devices marketed at commercial use become more disposable each product generation.

We can see this in almost every commoditized product, from kitchen appliances to clothing. Lots of inexpensive goods not worth the cost of repair to pricier options with some additional bling or reputation by brand name to much more expensive items in the same categories.
 
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One also needs to understand, the programs, software, and apps on computing devices has always during this technology era, been increasing in performance. Moore's Law refers to Gordon Moore's observation that the number of transistors on a single chip would double every two years at minimal costs. As that occurs, so does the ability for software, memory capacity, and functional changes. Thus there is not a practical reason for even the best consumer level computer to last more than a decade or two before their physical hardware is not able to run whatever.

We are now at the cusp of the AI era that will shorten the lifetime of technology products even more. Few such products need to be designed and built with robustness to last several decades like say a pair of pliers, so are not. Others that should be made to last longer, especially expensive products like automobiles, will be determined by competitive products in free market conditions. One also needs to understand, the programs, software, and apps on computing devices has been increasing in performance
 
I found a number of companies on eBay selling cheap compatible batteries for my old Dell Latitude, so I ordered one. The order was cancelled by the seller because apparently the batteries had reliability issues. I've re-ordered a refurbished and guaranteed Dell battery. Much dearer, but hopefully reliable. The laptop still works well but slow and has a rugged metal alloy case.
 
We live in an age of mechanical failure. New cars don't last like the ones that are called classics, shoddy building material and the use plastic and vinyl in door and dashboard moulding that are meant to be attractive but not functional. Because electronics, cars and man-made building is cost-effective it is easier to replace than to repair to be dumped in the or land field to poison the earth, air and water we live on.
 
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