You're kind of making my point for me. It isn't that I don't understand what is happening, it's that I think it is a bad thing. Shorter lifespans for equipment that costs roughly the same (with inflation taken into account) means that if something lasts half as long and costs the same amount, over a comparable period of time it costs the consumer twice as much money. I don't see how this sort of exploitation could be viewed as defensible, but if you're fine with it that's cool.