Their Bionic Eyes Are Now Obsolete and Unsupported
These early adopters found out what happened when a cutting-edge marvel became an obsolete gadget... inside their bodies.
Is this really a year old post? It was a good read regardless.
To comment on the topic, this is going to happen more and more, especially as proprietary stuff becomes more and more complex. With implants it's obviously more serious, but this also applies to anything from cars to game consoles.
I'm no stranger to scrounging junkyards for car parts or ebay to replace components from an old console. However that cannot go on forever, as parts get more rare. This is somewhat remedied with eg. nintendo consoles, where some reproduction parts are available (cartridges, screens etc.). With more niche and increasingly complex products this option is often not available.
Letâs say I need a new microwave oven, and I have two options: a regular dumb box that heats up my food and goes âdingâ at the end or a smart device that relies on a mobile app. I have always selected the dumb option, because I just canât be sure that the app will continue to work after 5 years. What if the company goes bankrupt or simply decides itâs time for me to buy a new microwave? I want to keep on using that machine as long as it works and mobile apps donât seem to be compatible with that idea.
What happens, when the non smart microwave finally breaks and only smart ones are being sold? You could buy used, but what happens when that used inventory is used up?
Fortunately in case of microwaves, the simpler ones have the same internal parts as smart ones, and as such some supply is most likely going to be available.
I don't think this is going to happen on a scale where this technology will be unusable. But they need to be backed by a company that will not go bankrupt after 15 years.
I cannot currently see how it can be done with open standards reliably.
Going bankrupt is not the only potential issue. There can also be situations, where a company makes several generations of a product, and abandons support for the old ones.
This is already a serious concern with eg. older gen chip fabrication. The machinery required for each generation was built when that gen was new, and when that machinery breaks down, it might not be economical to rebuild that capability.
Cars generally have it figured out. Generally you can make a car drive without too much proprietary stuff. Even electric cars are generally quite simple when you strip away all the bells and whistles
This is infuriating
