A discussion on “How Long Should Tech Last” starts with the realization that the hardware and software you buy today is, sooner or later, going to be obsolete. That may seem obvious when it comes to computers, less so when talking about smart speakers, home automation hardware, and other electronics. The panel of Charles Edge, Ken Ray, Brett Terpstra, and host Chuck Joiner dig in from both the hardware and software angles. The expectations of consumers are often different than those of consumers. The first part of the conversation talks about those issues, the “invisible contract” that we all sign regarding upgrades, and some personal experiences with now out-of-date hardware.

This edition of MacVoices is supported by MacPaw, the makers of CleanMyMac X. Your Mac. Good as new. Find out more and get your copy at MacPaw.com/podcast.

Show Notes:

Chuck Joiner is the producer and host of MacVoices. You can catch up with what he's doing on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

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  Guests:

Charles Edge has written 9 books and over 3,000 blog posts on technology, with a focus on large-scale systems and server management, including Take Control of OS X Server. He is currently a product manager for JAMF Software. When not playing with computers at work, he can be found at home tinkering with computers for fun. His personal blog is krypted.com, his podcasts are JAMF After Dark and The Mac Admins Podcast, and you can follow him on Twitter.

Since May of 2005, Ken Ray has eaten, slept, and breathed Apple news and news related to Apple news in order to produce a daily Apple news show. and he does just that with Mac OS Ken, with content that  includes most stories directly related to Apple, many stories indirectly related to Apple that stand a chance of affecting Apple's business or its users, and tangentially related stories that are funny. A slightly skewed, sometimes cynical, obsessive look at Apple news, five-days-a-week. Ken also produces The Checklist by SecureMac, a security-oriented podcast, and his newest show is In A Few Minutes. There are various ways you can contact him.

Brett Terpstra is a coder, writer and web developer. He works behind the scenes at blogs including Engadget, Joystiq and The Unofficial Apple Weblog. He also writes for The Unofficial Apple Weblog, and contributes to Macworld. Brett develops Marked for Mac and recently co-authored “60 Mountain Lion Tips” with David Sparks for the iBookstore. He discusses all things “nerd” on his podcasts, Systematic and Overtired.You can find Brett as “ttscoff” on Twitter, and at his website, brettterpstra.com.