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Why does stuff break?

Over the past month or so, lots of stuff I own has decided to stop working.

The speed-indicator sensor in the car stopped, the toaster stopped, the 14-inch TV has become possessed and now has a picture that goes dark and bright at random, our DVD player is making awful whining noises, the charger for the missus's phone has become intermittent, the radio I use at work has forgotten the words and now just hums -- even one of the servos in my RC plane decided to pack a sad.

Okay, much of this stuff is el-budgeto Sino-sourced gear that one wouldn't expect to last very long anyway but why do electronic devices stop working -- after all, there's just a bunch of electrons and stuff squeezing past potential barriers and stuff rather than swags of mechanics and moving parts.

The cascade of catastrophe that has beset many of my electronic devices looks even worse when you compare it to the little Mars rovers that have been scooting about the red planet for six years.

Yep, it's a whole six years since the first of these feisty wagons trundled off its lander and began to do wheelies in the dust of a distant world.

I recall writing a column a few years back in which I marveled at how these little bots could still be working, years after their designed expiry date had been and gone.

It's true that one of the rovers seems to have gotten itself stuck in a sandtrap and, with two of its drive motors out of action, that may turn out to be its final resting point but otherwise, the reliability of these devices beggars belief.

Okay, I'll admit that there's a fair price difference between the Mars Rovers and my $12.95 psychopathic Warehouse toaster (which is now does a fair impersonation of Beatrice Faumuina as it randomly flings slices of flaming bread across the room like incendiary discuses) but can it really be *that* hard to make consumer electronics more reliable?

Where moving parts are involved, I can understand that price determines longevity.

When a manufacturer can save a few bucks by simply passing a shaft through a hole rather than using a bearing or bushing then it's pretty obvious that such a product will wear out far more quickly than it otherwise might.

However, when we're talking about micro-controller based or other electronic devices (like the mental toaster or the bright/dim/bright TV set, should there really be such a disparity between mil-spec and consumer-spec?

Having spent a lifetime working in the electronics field, I know that there are many factors which affect component life (and therefore the useful life of the device). One of the key killers of electronic parts is heat -- which perhaps explains why all mine are falling over now that summer has arrived (has it?).

This might also explain why the Mars Rovers are still trucking -- Mars is a nice cold place.

Good electronic design involves using parts that are not operated at or beyond their specified ratings and, if you want a reliable product, that might mean using a $0.75 part instead of an $0.50 one. It also means that you have to know about good physical design and include decent mechanisms for cooling -- things that also come with a price attached.

I guess the big problem is that as consumers, we don't really want to spend any more than we have to on consumer electronic devices -- especially when it comes to things like a small TV for the bedroom, a second DVD player for the kids, or a toaster.

We're also unlikely to want to pay too much for those devices that we're expected to "retire" and replace at regular intervals -- either because something more fashionable comes along or because some "must have" functionality has been added to the latest version.

I'm left wondering however, whether our love-affair with "cheap Chinese" products has lowered our expectations in the areas of the reliability and serviceability of our consumer electronics products.

What are readers experiences in terms of the reliability of modern devices -- both cheap and expensive?

Do you tend to buy the cheapest DVD player in the expectation that you'll have to replace it at regular intervals -- or do you spend more to buy a "brand name" in the expectation that it'll work better and last longer?

If you do -- are those expectations fulfilled?

Is there even a place for "quality" consumer electronics these days, when specs and performance seem to be leaping ahead at an ever-increasing pace? Why spend $300 on a device that will last 3 years when, during the same period, you could buy three $100 devices and effectively update every 12 months?

In fact, could we eventually see "subscription hardware" extending beyond the current realm of MySky's PVR and into such areas as TV sets, mobile phones, MP3 players, eBook readers, etc?

Is "owning" a modern consumer electronics device becoming a dated concept?

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