DRM; or How to Make 30,000-Hour LED Bulbs 'Last' Only One Month

They could also just sell a new model every year with modest spec bumps, update the old ones over the air, and effectively brick them because they can't handle the new software.

Might get sued by a multi-billion-dollar tech company for stealing their idea, though.

"So we're already charging $30 for $1 worth of parts. What else can we do to make even more money off the people gullible enough to buy this thing in the first place?"

"Make it run out after a fixed number of uses? They'll have to buy another one. We'll sell them on subscription."

"That's so stupid it's brilliant. Do it."

I have to say that I find the artificial shortening of life of otherwise durable hardware to be disgusting. We have enough trash in our world.

Do these products sell in Germany? I'm pretty sure they violate some conditions on recycling and product responsibility somewhere in the EU.

It all started with light bulbs... http://spectrum.ieee.org/geek-life/history/the-great-lightbu...

Wait, aren't they inviting competitors to... oh, right, patents.

Is it not the kind of stunt that the DMCA (and similarly inspired legislations elsewhere) is supposed to render illegal?

That takes planned obsolescence to a whole new level.