This "everything old is good, everything new
is crap" is not verified by the
data from the industry world wide. Some things do improve with time.
One pet theory of mine is that many people see this, simply because
they are not seeing the whole sample. There were indeed plenty of old
things that were crap, and are now gone for good, discarded. People
tend to forget about those things, as they tend to remember only the
good old stuff. Likewise, they tend to forget about the modern things
that are good and work flawlessly, and remember the ones they have had
bad experiences with.
Consumer electronics is no exception - look at old radios or
(especially) old TVs. There was a lot of crap back then...
Of coruse there was, but there was good stuff as well. There were cheap
radios that probably haven't survived and (at least in the UK) there were
sets by the likes of Hacker and Robberts that are still going strong some
40 years later.
But try as I might, I can't find well made consumer-type stuff on sale
today. As I keep on saying I'd _love_ to be able to spend \pounds 2000 on
a VCR or DVD player and have one that (a) lasts and (b) has a proper
serive manual and parts backup. Alas I suspect I am the only person who
feels this way so I can't blame the manufacturers for not making one.
-tony.