Memorandum+20


 * Structuring a Project**

Structural conditions that have shape the practice of planned obsolescence span from the dawn of the industrial revolution to present day. Planned and perceived obsolescence and our resulting consumer culture have evolved most toward their present state around the 1980s with the rise of the integrated circuit. The forces that shaped this time period were largely political and economic. With the cold war still underway, the Soviet Union had fallen behind in its efforts of technological advancement. Their primary strategy was reverse engineering stolen or covertly purchased American technologies. They had become dependent on US electronics and once the United States realized this technological theft was occurring, US companies were mandated to deliberately sabotage their software and electronic goods sold to the Soviets so that these technologies would function perfectly for a few months and then fail catastrophically. This was when engineers first started learning the techniques of panned in obsolescence in the rising computer age. The emerging trend of miniaturization of electronic components and consumer electronics was in a primary goal of industry. Calculators became the first round of electronic waste products. Moore’s law was in full effect and technological growth and computing capability started to make last year’s devices obsolete solely based on function and capability. Aesthetic design of cars and other consumer goods had become a common practice and a throw away culture was emerging. Goods that were still completely usable started to end up in landfills as companies marketed products with incremental visual changes and perceived obsolescence became normalcy.