Originally Posted by Snydermann

I'll admit to old and sour, but not bitter . . . yet.

Maybe it's just my bad luck, but advancements in technology and "making a profit" seem to have come at the cost of durability and longevity.

My first TV lasted 20 years (and was still working when I gave it away), my second TV lasted 9 and now the third is 4 years old and acting up.

Every piece of my Hi-Fi equipment from the late 1970s and early 1980s still works great, but I'm on my 4th or 5th CD player with probably 2 or 3 DVD players in there too.

Our first refrigerator was bought by my grandmother in 1972, she gave it to us in 1995. We bought a new fridge in 1998 and moved the 1972 fridge to the basement to use as a beer fridge. The "new 1998" fridge died in 2008. Our "new 2008" fridge needed recent repair for a few hundred dollars. The 1972 fridge is still working perfectly.

The list goes on and on, but I've derailed the thread enough already.

Newer is not better.