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DRM Chair Self-Destructs After 8 Uses

unts writes "Taking DRM further than it's gone before, a group of designers have built a DRM'd chair that will melt its own joints and destroy itself after 8 uses. The chair uses an Arduino and sensors to monitor the number of uses, then triggers the melting of a set of joints that hold it together, making the product unusable without some carpentry skills. The video of device at work is both amusing and a little disconcerting."

215 comments

  1. This might be... by fyngyrz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...excellent for congress.

    --
    I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
    1. Re:This might be... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

      And all of the executive branch too...

    2. Re:This might be... by splutty · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I think in congress you might want to melt the occupants after 8 uses, not the chair.

      --
      Coz eternity my friend, is a long *ing time.
    3. Re:This might be... by houstonbofh · · Score: 1

      Damn... Where is the "Like" button?

    4. Re:This might be... by confused+one · · Score: 5, Funny

      They'd have to be in attendance for this to be of any use.

    5. Re:This might be... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's longer than chairs last at Microsoft

    6. Re:This might be... by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 1

      I vote present.

      --
      Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
    7. Re:This might be... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Actually, for Congress, what I'd want would be a seat which monitors for how frequently / infrequently the person holding said chair shows up to vote and destroys itself after some threshold of absences.

    8. Re:This might be... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And don't forget to sterilize all the proles so they can't vote in new scum.

    9. Re:This might be... by Hermanas · · Score: 2

      ...excellent for congress.

      Actually, South African congress has been using these chairs since 2008.

    10. Re:This might be... by dmomo · · Score: 1

      You'd probably have to lower the usage to three or four times seeing as they hardly ever show up for work.

    11. Re:This might be... by TheRaven64 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Is it just me, or was the best bit about that the fact that he was described by the subtitle as the chairperson?

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    12. Re:This might be... by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      God no! Then they'll never show up anymore.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    13. Re:This might be... by Hal_Porter · · Score: 3, Funny

      Meanwhile in Congress

      ...excellent for Facebook.

      I think for Facebook you might want to melt the occupants after 8 uses, not the chair.

      Damn, someone ask the intern where the green button is!

      --
      echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
    14. Re:This might be... by meta-monkey · · Score: 2

      You say that like it's a bad thing...

      --
      We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.
    15. Re:This might be... by Hal_Porter · · Score: 1

      People that vote "Present" on controversial issues to avoid taking a potentially unpopular stand should be melted.

      Hang on there's a couple of guys in dark suits and mirror shades at the door. I better go and see what they want

      --
      echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
    16. Re:This might be... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I vote present.

      Excuse me, Mr President, but you're no longer Senator Obama, so you don't get to vote present any more.

    17. Re:This might be... by letherial · · Score: 2

      i want the chair to record the lobyist that sit next to them and the amount of money they change hands

      Though, it would need to be a smart chair to calculate that kind of numbers.

    18. Re:This might be... by Princeofcups · · Score: 2

      I think in congress you might want to melt the occupants after 8 uses, not the chair.

      Don't give them more excuses to not show up for the sessions.

      --
      The only thing worse than a Democrat is a Republican.
    19. Re:This might be... by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Well, I may be old fashioned, but I'd say if someone gets paid well, he should at the very least show up for work.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    20. Re:This might be... by PTBarnum · · Score: 1

      If they don't pass legislation, why would lobbyists keep paying them?

    21. Re:This might be... by davester666 · · Score: 2

      Something simple that might make a difference.

      All congressmen and senators have to use 1-legged stools instead of comfy chairs in session and committee meetings. They can rest, but they have to pay attention, and as they get older, they will get more and more annoyed with doing this and be more likely to stop running for office.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
    22. Re:This might be... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      8?, That's way too generous.

    23. Re:This might be... by mpe · · Score: 1

      i want the chair to record the lobyist that sit next to them and the amount of money they change hands.

      How about one which also keeps totals for both lobyist and politician. With the ability to psudo-randomly eliminate (or teleport at least 14,000 km away) both of them. With the probability of doing so increasing the higher their totals. Now that would be a smart chair :)

    24. Re:This might be... by Alien+Being · · Score: 4, Funny

      Nah, they'll just turn them upside-down. Hey, on second thought ...

    25. Re:This might be... by SlippyToad · · Score: 1

      Except that term limits just turn over Congress to lobbyists . . . and of course, are a direct fuck you to the voters.

      If you have a problem with your Representative don't be a dumb, lazy fuck. Get out and vote.

      --
      One day I feel I'm ahead of the wheel / the next it's rolling over me / I can get back on / I can get back on
    26. Re:This might be... by Dunbal · · Score: 1

      As if congress-people actually manage to be present a whole 8 times in a term.

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    27. Re:This might be... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Exactly! If anything, the chairs should get compensation for pain and suffering!

    28. Re:This might be... by sjames · · Score: 1

      Nah, they need these.

    29. Re:This might be... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      While you're correct that people need to get out and vote, I am curious how implementing term limits would put congress more in the pocket of lobbyists.

    30. Re:This might be... by Elldallan · · Score: 1

      The older ones will just bring an appropriately long cane.

    31. Re:This might be... by Barsteward · · Score: 1

      yes, cut the number of chairs required by 75%, you can get 4 per chair when its upside down. might make the bigots stand up in case it makes them gay

      --
      "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
  2. Neat video and concept to prove a point by hsmith · · Score: 4, Funny

    But were the hipsters necessary?

    1. Re:Neat video and concept to prove a point by Joce640k · · Score: 3, Informative

      They weren't hipsters, they were Swiss.

      --
      No sig today...
    2. Re:Neat video and concept to prove a point by stevegee58 · · Score: 1

      They weren't hipsters, they were Swedish.

    3. Re:Neat video and concept to prove a point by jxander · · Score: 1

      That explains a lot ... if the furniture was Swedish too, it probably just wasn't assembled correctly in the first place.

      --
      This signature is false.
    4. Re:Neat video and concept to prove a point by Opportunist · · Score: 2

      Though that too. It wasn't supposed to fall apart after 8 uses, it was just that I had this leftover part and 3 screws that I couldn't figure out where to put.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    5. Re:Neat video and concept to prove a point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They weren't hipsters, they were Swedish.

      I don't see the difference.

    6. Re:Neat video and concept to prove a point by Ashenkase · · Score: 2

      An Allen Key, an Allen Key, my kingdom for an ALLEN KEY!

    7. Re:Neat video and concept to prove a point by Jessified · · Score: 1

      Not just any hipsters. Self-destructing hipsters.

    8. Re:Neat video and concept to prove a point by OakDragon · · Score: 4, Funny

      They weren't hipsters, they were Swiss.

      So, Swipsters?

    9. Re:Neat video and concept to prove a point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sweepsters? Ja!

    10. Re:Neat video and concept to prove a point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Nonsense. Those are Swiss. Including a cold beer here and there, a nice savory warm meal afterwards. (Man, I miss Switzerland.)

    11. Re:Neat video and concept to prove a point by fido_dogstoyevsky · · Score: 1

      That explains a lot ... if the furniture was Swedish too, it probably just wasn't assembled correctly in the first place.

      ...because the instructions were borked.

      --
      It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.
  3. Sounds familiar. by splutty · · Score: 5, Funny

    At least we can be sure that Ikea isn't interested, since their chair already do that by default.

    (And I had a good laugh about the article :)

    --
    Coz eternity my friend, is a long *ing time.
    1. Re:Sounds familiar. by NewWorldDan · · Score: 5, Funny

      Great. Now buying a pair of wire cutters at the hardware store will be a violation of the DMCA (if it wasn't already).

    2. Re:Sounds familiar. by gravis777 · · Score: 1

      No, you just have to put the chair together again and again. Should be right up IKEA's alley.

  4. That's not DRM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This is not DRM; it is product-life expiration. DRM would be if the chair had GPS and would melt itself if moved further than 200ft from its location of first use.

    1. Re:That's not DRM by JeanCroix · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Or to charge a micropayment for each sitting.

    2. Re:That's not DRM by Ponder+Stibions · · Score: 1

      I'd be suprised if supermarkets hadn't thought about this for their trolleys - only put off by price of course. Clearly 'analogue' restrictions are often cheaper than digital ones.

    3. Re:That's not DRM by Java+Pimp · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Planned obsolescence. My dad was restoring a '67 GTO and discovered rubber tubes that ran from the molding above the windows to inside the rear wheel wells. Specifically designed to channel water and cause it to rust prematurely.

      --
      Ascalante: Your bride is over 3,000 years old.
      Kull: She told me she was 19!
    4. Re:That's not DRM by Baloroth · · Score: 2

      I'd be suprised if supermarkets hadn't thought about this for their trolleys - only put off by price of course. Clearly 'analogue' restrictions are often cheaper than digital ones.

      I have seen stores with carts that state they do this. Not sure if they actually do or not, but the signs stated the wheels lock up if it leaves the parking lot.

      --
      "None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
    5. Re:That's not DRM by onyxruby · · Score: 4, Insightful

      DRM is properly thought of as Digital Restrictions Management, instead of Digital Rights Management. A good example of a previous DRM that implemented something like this is the limited edition DVD like disks that were being several years back. They were pushed by Disney and called Flexplay and only made for a couple years.

      Remember DRM is all about restricting how something is used, even if that restriction requires the destruction of the devices. Many tamper resistant crypto chips will self destruct instead of letting a user access their data without restriction.

    6. Re:That's not DRM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They have. There's a Walgreens store nearby that has yellow lines in their parking lot and in a perimeter around the store. When a cart passes the perimeter, the wheels lock until some special tool releases them.

    7. Re:That's not DRM by MitchDev · · Score: 1

      Kids would roll carts off the property just to watch them "self destruct"....

    8. Re:That's not DRM by BorgDrone · · Score: 5, Interesting

      This could be applied to anything. Imagine if the whole world worked like the content mafia does and people don't get paid for the work they do but every time the result of that work is used.

      You don't pay the plumber for the hours he worked, you pay a little for every time you sit on the toilet, every time you flush, etc. You don't pay the guy who tiled your kitchen, instead there's a micro transaction for every tile you step on. Couch in the living room ? Few cents every time you sit down.

      And if your grandfather used to be a plumber, you'll get paid for his work until 90 years after his death.

      Brilliant!

    9. Re:That's not DRM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You don't need "self destructing" carts for some idiots to have "fun". I worked at a regional grocery store (Meijer) back during high school. People would get a few carts into the bed of a truck and drive at 40 MPH down the firetruck access drive in the back of the store and whip carts at the buildings wall to smash them. On some really windy days I think some of them would push a cart out into the far side of the lot where the winds could really get them going, smashing them into cars at the gas station in excess of 30MPH.

    10. Re:That's not DRM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Yeah, it couldn't have been to prevent leaks into the cabin or anything. No, siree.

    11. Re:That's not DRM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's why you don't have a job.

    12. Re:That's not DRM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      "you pay a little for every time you sit on the toilet"

      shitcoin?

    13. Re:That's not DRM by JeanCroix · · Score: 3, Funny

      And if your grandfather used to be a plumber, you'll get paid for his work until 90 years after his death.

      Brilliant!

      Egad man, as long as any of our previous three generations worked at all, we're all multi-millionaires! DRM has eliminated poverty!

    14. Re:That's not DRM by wisnoskij · · Score: 2

      This is DRM. DRM is everything from country specific games to how many installs you can do total or at one time for a game.
      This tech installed in physical products would manage what you could do with them.

      Or course it is not DIGITAL rights management (even if the circuit board used digital signals), but physical.

      --
      Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
    15. Re:That's not DRM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Kids? Heck, I'd do it!

    16. Re:That's not DRM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      That's designed to prevent door/window leaks. The idea was that the water would run down the tube and out an open hole to below the car. Modern cars can still have similar tubes; my car has 4 of them - one for each corner of the sunroof.

    17. Re:That's not DRM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      malice!=stupidity.

    18. Re:That's not DRM by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

      Here's your loaf of bread. That will be 2.25 million dollars please.

    19. Re:That's not DRM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, they have these. They could be lying, though. You should see a rather obvious mechanism on the wheels that does this.

    20. Re:That's not DRM by wvmarle · · Score: 1

      Considering they use an Arduino, the actual trigger for destruction is quite easy to adjust. Just add a GPS board, and reprogram it a bit.

    21. Re:That's not DRM by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      My grandpa was a bricklayer, but do you see me raking in the big bucks for rent of all the buildings he built? Nah.

      I feel ripped off!

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    22. Re:That's not DRM by Java+Pimp · · Score: 1

      Perhaps I phrased that wrong. By "inside" I mean behind the quarter panel depositing directly on top the wheel well. Not to the "outside" of the car.

      --
      Ascalante: Your bride is over 3,000 years old.
      Kull: She told me she was 19!
    23. Re:That's not DRM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That actually sounds pretty nice; I don't care how many hours my plumber works, I care good his work is. No need to worry about incompetent craftsmen.

    24. Re:That's not DRM by Hatta · · Score: 4, Informative

      This is not DRM; it is product-life expiration.

      The life of a DRM'd product artificially expires once the DRM servers are taken down. Product-life expiration is a feature of every DRM system.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    25. Re:That's not DRM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or if the internet connection went down.

    26. Re:That's not DRM by Jessified · · Score: 1

      The chair is an always-online chair. If self-destructs when you lose your internet connection.

    27. Re:That's not DRM by Jessified · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I'm a lifeguard, can I apply for royalties of the future earnings of every person I save? Same should apply for doctors/nurses/paramedics etc.

      Getting paid repeatedly for the same work is fun!!1!!

    28. Re:That's not DRM by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 1

      I have a store near me. It requires special paint around the parking lot. They failed to put that paint on the curbs, thus anybody with enough strength to push the cart through the landscaping, is able to steal one.

      --
      SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
    29. Re:That's not DRM by Jason+Levine · · Score: 1

      They do lock up. I know not because I tried taking a cart, but because I saw one just past the line once as I parked my car and decided to be nice and bring it back to the supermarket with me. The front wheels were locked until I got it back to the "correct" side of the line. Suddenly the wheels worked just fine.

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
    30. Re:That's not DRM by DragonTHC · · Score: 1

      You mean melted if it detected someone other than the first user sat in it.

      --
      They're using their grammar skills there.
    31. Re:That's not DRM by operagost · · Score: 1

      It would be kinda cool to run behind the thing and let it loose near the line so you can watch it skid and flip over.

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    32. Re:That's not DRM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's because Grandpa sold his brick laying soul, to the BLAA, So you don't get a few cents every time a wall is used. it all goes to the BLAA.
      Don't blame grandpa bricklayer, it was the only way he could make bricklaying his full time job.

    33. Re:That's not DRM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or if anyone but you would sit in it. Or look at it. Or think about it. Or dream about thinking about looking at somebody who wish he could ever imagine sitting in it.

      And then you'd get a letter calling you a murderous rapist thug who goes "ARRR!" ("pirate"), and demanding you pay for 44000 billion chairs, because half the galaxy could have sat in it, and that clearly is a “loss” for the chair manufacturing company.

    34. Re:That's not DRM by operagost · · Score: 1

      Frankly, that sounds more like incompetence. Who would run out to buy another Pontiac if the last one rusted out? Engineers are not infallible. Either there was a flaw in the original design or a last minute change, perhaps in the wheel well, resulted in a conflict.

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    35. Re:That's not DRM by thoughtlover · · Score: 1

      This is not DRM; it is product-life expiration. DRM would be if the chair had GPS and would melt itself if moved further than 200ft from its location of first use.

      Actually, it's called 'planned obsolescence' and it's part of the design process related to almost any product manufactured nowadays. It's the same reason that blenders and sewing machines made in the 50s and 60s are still operational and coveted by some. Same with cars...the real money is made from selling parts, not the car, as a whole. And, it's also a pathetic practice, IMO. This practice is partly why we are burying ourselves in our refuse.

      --
      No sig for you! Come back one year!
    36. Re:That's not DRM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, I understood. In older cars there was often an open hole(s) in the bottom of the trunk by the wheel well. The idea was that if anything spilled in the trunk it would be able to get out instead of just sitting in the trunk and rusting it away. From there it's just one step for a lazy Detroit engineer to say to himself, "Let's just run the drain tube down in that direction."

      I'm not saying it was the best solution or that it was as good for the car as running the tube out through the sheet metal by any means, but it definitely wasn't a plan on Detroit's part to destroy cars prematurely.

    37. Re:That's not DRM by TeknoHog · · Score: 1

      Could be worse... get paid every time you coin a phrase.

      --
      Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
    38. Re:That's not DRM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      its not paint, its a radio transmitter, with a buried antenna wire they obviously only put wires under the driveways/paths

      someone built a portable one and used it to set off carts in the store

    39. Re:That's not DRM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hmm that's an idea. When dealing (business-wise) with MAFIAA companies, simply utilize their own insane payment system against them. "It will cost you .25 percent of a penny for every transaction, and your database currently processes a few hundred transactions a second. We'll bill you in six months!"

    40. Re:That's not DRM by PsychoSlashDot · · Score: 1

      Or to charge a micropayment for each sitting.

      Or to charge a micropayment for each sitter. I'm sorry, you're not licensed for that chair.

      --
      "Oh no... he found the .sig setting."
    41. Re:That's not DRM by thunderclap · · Score: 1

      I loved those. Why? They had absolutely no encryption on them at all. So all I did was burn a copy of the disc the moment I put it in the drive and I still have perfect copy of the movie. The original it died 48 hrs later. They remain good in the package for about 2 yrs/

    42. Re:That's not DRM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm a lifeguard, can I apply for royalties of the future earnings of every person I save? Same should apply for doctors/nurses/paramedics etc.

      Getting paid repeatedly for the same work is fun!!1!!

      You omitted the profession to which it might apply: teachers. Eliminate the public funding (coerced). If teaching is really an investment in the future, then people and companies ought to do it in exchange for a share of future earnings. Teachers claim they want to be paid what their worth and that this is an investment in the future. If they're not lying, they would love this system.

      Of course there will be lots of negotiation as to what is reasonable. E.g., a large debt that grows over time may not be as reasonable for a 5 yo as it is for a 15 yo. More so, we have to consider their ability to consent.

    43. Re:That's not DRM by chrismcb · · Score: 1

      I used one of those idiotic things once. Wheeled the cart out to the car. Emptied it, then tried to be a good citizen and wheel it back to the store. I am going BACK to the store. Got it about half way back, in the middle of the road, and it locked up. Guess I was supposed to keep going AWAY from the store.

    44. Re:That's not DRM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Posting as AC for The Reasons

      I'm a lifeguard, can I apply for royalties of the future earnings of every person I save? Same should apply for doctors/nurses/paramedics etc.

      Getting paid repeatedly for the same work is fun!!1!!

      You should sue everyone who was at the beach (and did not attempt to drown) for stealing your future profits. It's piracy!

    45. Re:That's not DRM by TrickFred · · Score: 2

      Here I sit, broken hearted,
      Paid a dime and only farted.
      Yesterday, I took a chance,
      Saved the dime, and shit my pants.

    46. Re:That's not DRM by Grekan · · Score: 1

      Philip K Dick already came up with this concept in his novel "Ubik" All your appliances need to have money inserted in them. Want to open the fridge door? That's a nickel. Want your place cleaned? Gotta pay the building to send in the cleaning robots. Want to leave your house? Better pay the door a nickel.

    47. Re:That's not DRM by Sigg3.net · · Score: 1

      Micropayments are just payments. Let's not let them get away with redefining the boundaries of common practice.

    48. Re:That's not DRM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      DRM would have it break if is was sat on by anyone but the original owner.

    49. Re:That's not DRM by flayzernax · · Score: 1

      Please let me increase the detail for everyone, its like paying the plumbers union every time. That individual plumber, may more may not get payed for their performance.

      Also the plumbers union ensures you don't get to pick what plumber you want to install your toilet. You can pick from a list they provide and syndicate.

      Lastly you need to hold a license with the plumbers union and go to jail if you give away free toilet installations.

  5. DRM'd everything by misanthropic.mofo · · Score: 1

    This could be the next big step for furniture companies. It may also be a boon for anyone that has ever been dragged out on a seemingly never ending antiquing spree. Then again once I get my butt groove worn into a chair or a couch, I'd be pissed if it self-destructed. Next thing to look forward to...seating with wi-fi, for pay as you go seating.

    --
    --There are two kinds of people in this world. I don't like either of them.
  6. Nothing new... by Zephyn · · Score: 2
    1. Re:Nothing new... by Kinwolf · · Score: 5, Funny

      If they've been around for years, then their system obviously failed ;)

    2. Re:Nothing new... by Jessified · · Score: 1
    3. Re:Nothing new... by jjsimp · · Score: 1

      That news reporter is awesome, she didn't even crack a smile when his chair broke. I would have been rolling on the floor laughing, literally.

    4. Re:Nothing new... by jones_supa · · Score: 1

      Ah, studio quality! We have them too.

  7. Old news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Car manufacturers have had this technology for decades.

  8. But what is the mission by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Should I decide to accept it?

    1. Re:But what is the mission by bobbied · · Score: 4, Funny

      You better sit down for this...... Oh wait....

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    2. Re:But what is the mission by Cutriss · · Score: 1

      Is this how Ballmer issues missions to his operatives?

      --
      "Mod, mod, mod...and another troll bites the dust."
  9. Conference room chairs .... by PPH · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ... that time out after too long of a meeting.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
    1. Re:Conference room chairs .... by Jessified · · Score: 3, Funny

      YESSSSSS!!!!! shut up and take my money!!!!

    2. Re:Conference room chairs .... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You know how we are "just" finding out that sitting too long is actually detrimental to a person's health and that long periods of sitting should be broken up. What a perfect way to achieve this!

  10. nothing new by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Harbor Freight has perfected this technology ages ago.

    1. Re:nothing new by GameboyRMH · · Score: 2
      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  11. New business model by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You aren't buying a piece of furniture. You are leasing a non-transferable limited license to sit.

  12. !DRM by Huggs · · Score: 1

    This is called Planned Obsolescence

    1. Re:!DRM by drinkypoo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This is called Planned Obsolescence

      No, this is Programmed obsolescence. Planned obsolescence depends on statistics. This is much more reliable, and should really help with the spreadsheets.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    2. Re:!DRM by rioki · · Score: 1

      Nevertheless if coupled with a license, programmed obsolescence is a form of DRM, it controls the application of a license by means of software and hardware.

    3. Re:!DRM by Culture20 · · Score: 1

      Except this isn't a management of digital rights, but physical rights.

    4. Re:!DRM by yurtinus · · Score: 1

      Planned obsolescence is generally a more passive process of picking components for a projected mean time between failure. Then when the device does fail it's often designed to be cheaper to replace than repair. This is typically caused by limited-life components (typically batteries) which almost universally degrade with age. A device that literally self destructs after a defined amount of use would fall under a different category to me (sabotage perhaps?). Regardless of what they call it though, I think they'll be hard pressed to find a customer in this case...

      --
      +1 Disagree
    5. Re:!DRM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Basically anything with a builtin battery, OLED or an Apple logo...?

    6. Re:!DRM by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Except this isn't a management of digital rights, but physical rights.

      Good catch. While trying to decide how to word that I went off and did something else and you beat me to it, and well. Equally, you could use motors and gears (or what have you) to build a chair that would fall apart, and you could pay to put it back together again... or you get to keep all the pieces. Today, there would be no financial incentive to build a thing like that, because it would cost too much to assemble, and it would be too easy to take apart, but I can see it happening in some dark future in which we're not allowed to own our own 3d printers. I guess I'll call it "Fahrenheit 95" unless someone can think of a better temperature (heated enclosures for 3d printers... there's a patent for that.)

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  13. Should have been a toilet by Anonymous+Cod · · Score: 1

    Most of the sitters looked as if they were mounting a toilet and getting ready to take a big dump. It must have been fragile the way they all were being so gentle with it, and not one of them leaned against the back rest... cute idea though.

    1. Re:Should have been a toilet by IndustrialComplex · · Score: 1

      Most of the sitters looked as if they were mounting a toilet and getting ready to take a big dump. It must have been fragile the way they all were being so gentle with it, and not one of them leaned against the back rest... cute idea though.

      Let's say you were in a car with seatbelts that were guaranteed to fail after 30 miles, you don't think that even from miles 10-20 you wouldn't be a bit more cautious while driving?

      It could be solid as a rock, but in your mind, you know there is a device which will cause it to fail. I sure as hell wouldn't put my full weight on it.

      --
      Out of modpoints but really liked a post? 1BDkF6TtmmeZ3yqXbz9yhdYVqRYnwFoXDj
  14. Perfect Timing by guttentag · · Score: 2

    I'm sitting in a chair at the dealership where I bought my new car 19 months ago, waiting for the service department to come back and tell me my failed brake caliper is "normal wear and tear."

    Looks down at my chair suspiciously...

    1. Re:Perfect Timing by spire3661 · · Score: 1

      Took my 9 month old car in because the front brakes were grinding. They fixed that no problem but then came back and said 'now the rears needs to adjusted, that will be $90." I said flat out im not paying for a single repair on a car less then a year old. I seriously wanted to punch the guy in the face.

      --
      Good-bye
    2. Re:Perfect Timing by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      23 year old car FTMFW!

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    3. Re:Perfect Timing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Reminds me of the time my car broke down. It was two weeks away from warranty expiration, so they had to fix the stuff that broke for free. Naturally, they also specc'ed out $3500 in repairs - new tires, new brakes, etc. I told him, "I do my brakes myself and buy my tires from the Rack, so what's left? New battery for $139? Okay, fine. Do THAT." Naturally, they never called to tell me the car was ready, I had to call them. Boy was the service manager pissed that I didn't fall for the BS.

    4. Re:Perfect Timing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I know what you mean... Paying for a one year old is flat out ridiculous. I limit myself at 12 if I really have to, but I think even 12 is too old. Obviously I'm talking about cars here you sick pedos.

  15. give them the CHAIR by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    give them the CHAIR

    1. Re:give them the CHAIR by Stormwatch · · Score: 1

      Do you mean THE COMFY CHAIR?

  16. not tuneful by nozzo · · Score: 1

    sorry but it lost credence as it didn't play 'daisy' with a decreasing tempo as it melted - good effort though.

  17. How's this DRM? by bobbied · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Digital Rights Management?

    There isn't anything "digital" about a chair that needs rights management. You cannot use a chair multiple times by making a digital copy of it, nor can you transfer a digital copy of your chair to your friend. In fact the ability to use a chair requires that you physically have it. Now if this "rights management" somehow prevented you from making a *copy* of the chair, then it might be some kind of example, but it's certainly NOT an example of DRM.

    --
    "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    1. Re:How's this DRM? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      There isn't anything "digital" about a chair that needs rights management.

      It's rights management implemented with a digital microcontroller!

      CAN_SIT_IN_CHAIR is a boolean!

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    2. Re:How's this DRM? by royallthefourth · · Score: 1

      There isn't anything "digital" about a chair

      There is if it's got an embedded microprocessor for managing your rights!

    3. Re:How's this DRM? by wisnoskij · · Score: 2

      It is not Digital, but it is rights management (which is far bigger than copy perfection).

      this is Physical Rights Management, and could be used to restrict who used a chair, how many times it is used, and where and how it is used.

      --
      Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
    4. Re:How's this DRM? by TheRaven64 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      And it's a good metaphor for DRM. It costs more to make, because this chair has a microprocessor. That cost gets passed on to the consumer, yet makes the product less valuable to them.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    5. Re:How's this DRM? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They're calling it "DRM" because "ARM" was already taken. Add to that, the modern's press's tendency to call anything which involves a computer "digital."

    6. Re:How's this DRM? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Let's see...
      1) has totally unnecessary-for-basic-function encumbrance.
      2) a pirated copy better serves the need of the user.
      Sounds like basic DRM to me!

    7. Re:How's this DRM? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...until you 3D print it right?

      The lines are blurring even if you don't see it yet.

    8. Re:How's this DRM? by Solandri · · Score: 1

      Damn I'm getting old. I thought Flexplay and DIVX should be fresh in everyone's minds. But upon looking them up on wiki so I could link to them, I see they were 10 and 15 years ago respectively. So I guess this post will be informative for our younger readers. Anyway, those two forms of DRM worked almost exactly as the chair did - limiting you to 48 hours of use (rather than n number of uses). After the time was up, the disc became a coaster.

    9. Re:How's this DRM? by 10101001+10101001 · · Score: 1

      DRM isn't about preventing you from making copies. It's about controlling use of a work, be it to prevent you from using copies or even from using the original be it all or or for a limited times or certain hours of the day or a certain location or whatever, without first removing the DRM; in essence, it's a digital monitor of your use of a "protected work". Because of how it functions, it has to give you the key to the lock it creates, so it functionally is rather analogous to a "Do no remove" tag with federal penalties. To that end, sure you can duplicate the chair exactly, but if you use the chair once, all duplicates only have 7 uses. Use one of those, all its progeny only have 6 uses. In essence, it's an attempt to recreate the analog bleed down effect from copying--admittedly, with use being the actual bleeder--or Monsanto's terminator genes.

      So as long as you get a clean copy of the 8 use chair, you can indefinitely clone and use it without breaking the DRM. But that's obvious a horrible waste of resources when it's a perfectly good chair. Of course, that's the core lesson. DRM is all about making the situation worse for all those involved. And for what end? So the original creator of the chair has "rights management" over its use.

      You can argue all you want how it has to be physical to use so it's different--a thing I question a lot with 3D printing and copyrightable specs becoming big--, but that seems to be more an issue of tedium and semantics. The same could be also done in an online game with a digital chair. Making it physical is merely to make the point physically clear. And calling it DRM is because it's the close analogy available given that nothing as absurd as DRM exists inherently to reality which is precisely why it had to be enacted into law to exist.

      To that end, could see legal enforcement of DRM as a reasonable compromise in society because of a desire by society for more copyrighted works. To me, DRM is simply too absurd to be reasonable as any sort of a compromise and a "DRM" chair illustrates the point. While I'm certainly sure there are places where it could be of use-- rentals come to mind--, it would seem to me but a poor excuse for forcing such notions on a rather limitless supply of work available through digital copying--ie, rentals only make sense when there's something "physical" to rent and hence there's a need to return for which a copy and sharing removes that need.

      In short, DRM seems more in line to prop up industry that is not well suited towards a future where that industry no longer makes sense. Finding out just how society should actually face the inherent changes in a digital world would be a more worthwhile venture, and I honestly think DRM is a great example of sending great minds to waste their effort on such a thing instead of leading towards the invariable future. Of course, those who have seized the future are leading the way anyways, so such is more a moot point of wasted resources.

      --
      Eurohacker European paranoia, gun rights, and h
    10. Re:How's this DRM? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      with 3D printers looming in the distance do you think that this weak argument will stand the test of time?

    11. Re:How's this DRM? by thunderclap · · Score: 1

      put the chair into a scanner and then make another with a 3d printer and you do. But is that a true digital copy or is that more of an analog copy?

    12. Re:How's this DRM? by thunderclap · · Score: 1

      And indeed the Flexplay ones did. The glue used to cement the plastic to the metal substrates when opaque rendering the disc unreadable. Never had the displeasure of dealing with old DIVX (not new Divx which is a mkv player suite)

  18. No DRM, just farts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's not a DRM chair at all.... The last guy sitting on it just had the worst farts in history, making the chair give up on life!

  19. Re:You wouldn't by gandhi_2 · · Score: 1

    Who brought that chair in here? Not me.

    No way.

    Not my chair, not my problem I say.

  20. Self destructed after 8 uses... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think IKEA already sells this chair, and it was a lot less effort than using ardrino's

  21. Built in Obsolescence by medv4380 · · Score: 1

    Does anyone think that this will actually fly, or are they just trying to make a point about DRM.

    1. Re:Built in Obsolescence by rioki · · Score: 1

      The later... It should be obvious. Oh and they are "designers"... so artsy!

    2. Re:Built in Obsolescence by cellocgw · · Score: 1

      Does anyone think that this will actually fly, or are they just trying to make a point about DRM.

      //redundant: This will fly when Ballmer gets hold of it.

      --
      https://app.box.com/WitthoftResume Code: https://github.com/cellocgw
    3. Re:Built in Obsolescence by thunderclap · · Score: 1

      In walmart it will. And it will last longer than their current furniture even if its made by the same children that sew their clothing in Malayian sweatshops.

  22. Electronic Arts is interested in this project. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    EA has started talks with IKEA. Due to their positive experience in the field of videogames, they think that a joint-venture with the swedish company may give a better experience for users of different kind of furniture. This model would include extensions of use of your furniture in time through a micro-payment system.

  23. One Question? by craznar · · Score: 3, Insightful

    WHY?

    --
    EMail: 0110001101100010010000000110001101110010 0110000101111010011011100110000101110010 0010111001100011011011110110
    1. Re:One Question? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      WHY NOT?

    2. Re:One Question? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because of God.

    3. Re:One Question? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wait, isn't this the website where people usually barf up the "why not?" or "because we can!" defences when someone asks why people bothered making that pointless yet fun DIY machine/program/killer-robot?

    4. Re:One Question? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you're a greedy jackass capitalist, the question is, why not?

    5. Re:One Question? by pesho · · Score: 1

      This will create thousands of jobs in the furniture industry. Congress should mandate that all new furniture on the market be self destructing to help the US industry. I know it would be mostly made in Asia, but it will be design by US high-tech companies (mostly, maybe) that one day will grow to be the Apple's or IBM's of the furniture industry. The world will envy us.

    6. Re:One Question? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why not?

    7. Re:One Question? by wvmarle · · Score: 1

      Then I have a better question for you. Albeit a longer one.

      Why not?

    8. Re:One Question? by sjames · · Score: 1

      To demonstrate that DRM is primarily a destructive thing.

  24. Needed! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    We need this to protect the livelihoods of furniture makers in America. This will save millions of jobs. Imagine the horror of a person buying a chair and using it upwards to an infinite amount of times!

    1. Re:Needed! by GameboyRMH · · Score: 2

      Worse yet they can be resold on the used market, directly cannibalizing new sales!

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  25. Thats not DRM. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If it had DRM in it then it would destruct if anyone but the original users weight and ass pattern used the chair, or it would make you pay if someone else but the original person sat in it, or you would be charged an additional fee if the chair was moved further than 3 feet from its original posistion.

    Do these people have no idea what DRM is at all?

  26. Already hacked... by kaizendojo · · Score: 1

    and available on most of the file sharing sites. Holla if you need the torrent link.

  27. Healthcare by WilyCoder · · Score: 1

    Just you wait until the healthcare industry begins using this type of planned obsolescence....

    1. Re:Healthcare by wvmarle · · Score: 2

      Well most if not all of the customers of the healthcare industry do have some kind of planned obsolescence built in.

  28. You know what they say... by VorpalRodent · · Score: 1

    Ending is better than mending.

    --
    Take it to the limit, everybody to the limit, come on, everybody fhqwhgads.
  29. Explosive bolts would have been more dramatic... by kimgkimg · · Score: 1

    The slow melting was okay, but since it was electrically activated, I think explosive bolts would have been far more dramatic...

  30. My 5 minutes back, please. by qazwsx · · Score: 1

    Nobody sits like that and the video is too long.
    The chair takes forever to be destroyed, my suggestion is to use C-4.

    1. Re:My 5 minutes back, please. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      That's a premium feature only available on chairs for board rooms.

      Or at least it should be.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  31. I can't wait by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Imagine how much markup you'd be able to get away with on normal chairs!

  32. Nothing new by RDW · · Score: 1

    This is nothing new. Steve Ballmer first tested chair destruction DRM at Microsoft nearly a decade ago.

  33. I had a chair self-destruct under me by Cro+Magnon · · Score: 1

    But I thought it was just because I was too fat.

    --
    Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
  34. The injury claims will put a stop to it by EmagGeek · · Score: 1

    The first time someone sits and the chair collapses underneath them, the resulting injury and negligence claims will bankrupt the company that is doing this stupid shit.

  35. Hurting paying customers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The chair would take the license key that I paid for because the authentication server crashed while I was registering. The chair melted down before I could even sit on it once. Now I'm waiting for Ground shipping on a replacement.

    My buddy bought an unlocked one on Craigslist that works great and will never melt down.

    So glad I'm a valued paying customer.

  36. trash by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Trash story from trashdot.

  37. Steve Mann made a version of this! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://wearcam.org/seatsale/

    Only his is re-useable. Similar idea, although different.

    video at http://vimeo.com/14379729

  38. The real news here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They actually got one good looking girl to participate.

  39. Raiders of the Lost Ark by Culture20 · · Score: 1

    Now all those carnival weight estimators can find lucrative work acting like Indy in the opening scenes of Raiders. Get a few sandbags and switch the out quickly. Your chair will see hundreds of uses!

  40. You wouldn't? by jforr · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You wouldn't download a movie that falls apart after 8 uses would you?

    1. Re:You wouldn't? by Sez+Zero · · Score: 2

      You wouldn't download a movie that falls apart after 8 uses would you?

      I'm not too sure; there are plenty of movies I've only watched a few times. If there was a discount for the 8-use one, I might consider it.

      But I would love for someone to make the chairs.

      .. making the product unusable without some carpentry skills

      I'd have an unlimited supply of chairs, easily culled from people that don't know how to fix 8-use chairs. And a whole mess of Arduinos as a bonus!

    2. Re:You wouldn't? by nyctopterus · · Score: 1

      Yes, I'll happily download a film that falls apart after one watch. I'm not a kid any more, I very, very rarely watch a film more than once. If rental is cheaper, I'm happy to buy into that system.

    3. Re:You wouldn't? by TeknoHog · · Score: 1

      You wouldn't download a movie that falls apart after 8 uses would you?

      I'm not too sure; there are plenty of movies I've only watched a few times. If there was a discount for the 8-use one, I might consider it.

      There are very few movies I've seen more than once. It's just too many good movies coming out, and better things to do than sit down consuming.

      However, the idea of a limited view discount is an abomination. Some clever engineer would spend extra time and resources to make a product less capable than its native digital form. I think the technical term in economics would be "pure waste".

      --
      Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
    4. Re:You wouldn't? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i don't see why not. but i would not download it, i would stream it 8 times. saves a lot of disk space that way. hardly any movie is worth being watched 8 times.

  41. MS is going to sue by futhermocker · · Score: 1

    They already own the rights of having stuff melt after a few uses.

    --
    KERNEL PANIC -SIGFAULT AT ADDRESS #51A54D07
  42. Not useless.... by gstrickler · · Score: 1

    This would be great for musical chairs. Needs to melt a little faster, but just set the chairs to have one destruct after each round, and no more need to manually remove a chair each time.

    --
    make imaginary.friends COUNT=100 VISIBLE=false
    1. Re:Not useless.... by sbditto85 · · Score: 1

      this! my first thought when i watched the video.

  43. DRM toilets by kriston · · Score: 1

    I'm waiting for the DRM toilet video in 5...4...3...2...

    --

    Kriston

  44. how abt for cars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How about the concept for cars. after 10000 Miles, cars self destruct. Looks like Mission impossible is becoming reality (the self destructive tapes etc)

  45. 8 might be a bit harsh by dutchwhizzman · · Score: 2

    Most are well beyond their "best before" date by the time they get elected. Since it's wasteful not to use them at all, I'd say give them a single chance. At least they'd be voting for something they "truly believe in". Given the current amount of actual change congress and the senate make happen lately, I doubt this limited use will have any true effect on the country at all.

    --
    I was promised a flying car. Where is my flying car?
  46. How... by Elite+Override · · Score: 1

    ...is this useful?

  47. Already available by jaygatsby27 · · Score: 1

    This is sold at IKEA.

  48. Cory's Yellow Chair by Alien+Being · · Score: 1

    Kinetic sculpture by Arthur Ganson.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFG-Lk9c2CI

  49. Already exists by mpfife · · Score: 1

    This already exists - it's called Ikea furniture. I swear - it's DRM is that it can only survive two moves - then totally self-destructs.

  50. Wire cutters to the rescue, or not? by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 1

    I was thinking that a pair of wire cutters would prevent the sensors from triggering or elements from heating, but that make the wire cutters DRM circumvention hardware...

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  51. The Light Bulb Conspiracy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  52. Now just add steam by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And it will allow only one specific user to even use the chair

  53. This has to be a joke! by BrunBoot13 · · Score: 0

    The alternative is too ridiculous to contemplate.

    --
    I understand that English is a living language, but I object to changes arising merely from repeated errors.
  54. Self-destrucint furniture by Larry_Dillon · · Score: 2

    I once "inherited" a cheap couch that was designed to cut through some foam padding after minimal use and become uncomfortable. I say it was intentional because it would take forethought and malice design a couch with metal wires against foam that would obviously fail in this fashion.

    --
    Competition Good, Monopoly Bad.
  55. If only Steve Ballmer would have had one... by UltraZelda64 · · Score: 1

    ...maybe it would have saved him a lot of embarrassment.

    Then again, he would have probably threw his monitor or keyboard instead...

  56. It will be shiny, by waspleg · · Score: 1

    and called the iChair right?

  57. Shorter meetings by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'd replace the chairs in our conference room with these and, instead of a usage counter, there would be a countdown. If the meeting goes too long, it gets unceremoniously demoted to a scrum.

  58. Planned Obsolescence by citizenr · · Score: 1

    I remember reading short story about a planet that solved market saturation by introducing special chemical compound to all the goods making them expire (turn into dust) at set dates. Everything from pants to cars had to be repurchased regularly, that meant everyone had a job producing those goods. In the middle of the story we read about Chemical plant accident ... and then we switch perspective to a spaceship in orbit that just traveled here from far away star system to check for signs of civilization they noticed from distance. They run various scans and cant detect any technology on planets surface :), they even send a probe, but all it can see is dust.

    --
    Who logs in to gdm? Not I, said the duck.
  59. So? by DerekLyons · · Score: 1

    From TFS: then triggers the melting of a set of joints that hold it together, making the product unusable without some carpentry skills
    Um... you make it sound like carpentry skills are rare and unusual. They're pretty common actually.

    1. Re:So? by mysidia · · Score: 1

      Um... you make it sound like carpentry skills are rare and unusual. They're pretty common actually.

      Yeah, but they're a DMCA violation, if not approved the manufacturer who licensed you the per-sitting use of their furniture :)

  60. One question... by Cosgrach · · Score: 1

    Why?

    --
    Why is it that most of the people that I encounter seem to have been shat from the Sphincter of Mediocrity?
    1. Re:One question... by mysidia · · Score: 1

      So chair manufacturers can license instead of selling chairs, and they can license them by number of one-time uses, instead of just issuing per-seat licenses.

  61. not further than before by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Monsanto's Terminator crops are the ultimate in DRM. You can only use them once.

  62. PFFT! Ikea ! by arfonrg · · Score: 1

    PFFT! Ikea came up with this DECADES ago and without and electronics involved.

    --
    Your thin skin doesn't make me a troll
  63. "Artificially" as in "Artificial scarcity" by Paul+Fernhout · · Score: 1

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_scarcity

    Or:
    http://www.disinfo.com/2013/01/is-sowing-artificial-scarcity-the-future-of-business/
    http://www.cracked.com/article_18817_5-reasons-future-will-be-ruled-by-b.s..html

    Or:
    http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/socialist-standard/1990s/1998/no-1124-april-1998/artificial-scarcity
    "Technological capacity to produce enough to satisfy everyone's needs already exists globally and has done so for many decades. Yet needs continue to remain unmet on a massive scale. Why? Quite simply because scarcity is a functional requirement of capitalism itself."

    This web page includes suggestion by me on ways to transcend artificial scarcity as the basis of our modern economy:
    http://www.artificialscarcity.com/

    Anyway, it was a great video as piece of performance art related to the idea, which also connects to "planned obsolescence" or even, to a lesser extent, "fashion".

    --
    A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.
  64. Not meant for masturbation marathons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Something tells me that masturbation is either going to suck with these or it's going to make things a lot more kinky.

  65. Planned obsolescence is nothing new... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...been around as long as capitalism

  66. I've built chairs like that before. by Dabido · · Score: 1

    I call prior art. Most of my self made furniture falls apart after only a few uses!

    --
    Sure enough, the cow costume was hanging up next to the superhero outfit and sailors uniform. (S,Spud)