Originally published at: Original $17,000 gold Apple Watch "obsolete" | Boing Boing
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Apple has convinced people to buy $400.00 or $1000.00 watches. Gold or not they have succeeded in the luxury watch market.
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My grandfather’s cheap Seiko m550 S__L____ automatic (now over 50 years old) still works perfectly, no updates required.
(Name of watch edited 'cuz it’s apparently too close to a hot-button phrase on this site 
)
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Yup, that’s the one! 
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A sea lion?
Good name for a watch that lasts so long…
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Looking for a S** L*** photo, i came across this one that proves the Mike Mignola’s Hellboy artwork is more realistic than I realised.
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Stealing that pic for future use.
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“They’re not getting bricked or anything—they’ll work as long as they last—but there’ll be no more updates, support or service.”
I have an older MacBook that won’t update past OS 9 or something, Chrome won’t start on it (out of date certificates), Apple Store stuff won’t download. Sure feels like a brick to me.
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If you’d spent that sort of money on a Rolex at the same time, you’d have doubled the value of your investment by now - AND you’d still have a working watch.
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OS 9! That has to be at least 20 years and three processor vendors old. Voila!
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That’s a relief. I had never heard of a Seiko m550SL ■■■■■.
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Weird; I always thought “a brick” was defined as being totally useless tech - like, it won’t even power up.
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Apple’s experiment was brief: Apple-watchers generally felt it was at odds with the company’s careful marketing of itself as a premium but not a luxury brand.
The company itself has long traded on its products being as much status symbols as quality practical devices. It was a natural experiment to see if there were enough status-seeking boobs with money who’d be willing to buy a Veblen good that would inevitably become obsolete in a relatively short time.
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The most expensive variety was the 38mm 18K Yellow Gold Apple Watch Edition with Red Modern Buckle ($17,000)
The one you show is has less gold in the buckle and is therefore only $15,000. But, hey 42 mm instead of 38mm.
Anyway, the Apple Watch Edition shares the the fate of ultra-high spec Mac Pros . Overpriced in the beginning, obsolete in the end.
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The battery also swelled up but for a $20 replacement, Linux-ish is about the only thing left to save it from the eHeap.
I sure hope those watches can get a new OS. The shelf-life for vanity tech is short and expensive.
But how much is one worth in an unopened box?
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My worry is that more and more big-ticket items like automobiles and major appliances are facing the same fate. Everything is getting so software-dependant and often requires an acive internet connection that if a modern car somehow lasted 30 years or so there’s very little chance that it would retain all of its functions, if it was still possible to even turn it on.
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7 years of support on a tech good like this? That sounds pretty good. I think Samsung only offered 4 years; the Moto360 from the same era hasn’t been supported for a while, either.
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I’m currently using a 15 year old laptop* and it is really testing my patience. 2 cores are not fun anymore.
* My usual laptop is showing signs that the thermal paste needs replacing, heat throttling warnings, that kind of thing. I looked at the repair manual and found out that I would have to take everything apart to get to the fan and heatsink. I don’t think that’s getting done until next spring now, if at all.
Thinkpads are not made like they used to be 
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