>People buy the X because it's a status symbol and they want to be seen with it.

I find this aspect of the tech industry so gross that I'm considering changing careers. Building a new tool that makes people's lives better is great, but much of the time it just becomes a status symbol. No one should feel bad for owning a machine that's a few years old but does everything they need. I'm not convinced that consumer gadgets fill a real need any more rather than just being new and shiny for the sake of being new and shiny.

Unless we as a society can get over showing off by buying things we don't need, I think we're in trouble.