many years ago (in the late 80's) there were bigger printers with a timer, so that the Company had to call the tech support to maintain it. (no joke)

but in modern systems? naw. (*scares by the thought that the own ps3 IS nearly 2 years old*)

Possible PS3 being immune is that the Playstation 3 is the only option for high def gaming offered by a Japanese game manufacturer, so gamers there think differently about things.

Governments (Japan, US, Canadian, European, etc.) need more strict regulations for Q & A to protect consumer rights. Things are getting ridiculous. But if things were built to last, the economy would shrink (people would buy a lot less stuff). Government doesn't want that now do they? :D

Stupid people believe anything.
From Sony timers to aliens walking among us to people walking over water and splitting seas to FFVII being overrated.

Well, there may not be kill switches. However, many electronics and automobiles are designed only to last until around the time the warranty expires. It's a lame way to make their product cheaper and make you buy more of their product, but it works. That is why I am very particular about which brands I buy.

You know, people tend to think the world is filled with Tolkienesque one-tracked mind villains by one side - big companies, governments, book publishers etc. - and poor normal citizens on the other, with some Would-Be-Heroes here and there, usually people that fail on live because society didn't give them the chance.
It's normal for the human brain to belive in conspiracies and such as a try to explain the chaos that surrounds it, building the illusion of well-defined reasoning behind everything.

True, in todays electronics inflation does not exist in regard as a TV 10 years ago is the same price as today. So yes it is more cheaply built, and that goes for mostly all companies.

Heard this about pretty much everything ever made. Weird go see it popular enough for an article.

Well I've just arranged for a repair today on my parents 37" LG HDTV. In the last few years we've had a Toshiba DVD player fail (2 years old), Xbox 360 Premium (Xenon) RROD, Kettle, Iron, Vaccuum. There have been some other lesser items failed too but generally speaking we've had more items fail in the last few years than 10 years prior to that I believe.

The move to lead free solder combined with manufacturing for electrical goods moving more to China imo as meant worse and worse build quality. If somebody doesn't step in soon then we'll have serious issues long term. Electrical goods becoming throw away prices is not good for the environment or consumer confidence and something must change imo.

Actually by working in that field and having study consumer beavior, the problem is not with companies or government regulation. The problem is the mentality of people, always wanting to pay as cheap as possible. A refridgerator 30 years ago was 600$, and you can still purchase a fridge for 600$ today. Does anyone in their right mind really think it should last as long? But still, they purchase it instead of purchasing the one that is 1500$, and complains 3 years after that they have problems with it. The situation is really bad at the moment, because  even companies that offered reliable products in the past are starting to lower the quality so they can rival the price point of korean brand like samsung. They dont have much choice because if they dont do it, they will not sale their products. If the whole consumer mentality doesnt shift the earth and then us is in serious problems.

A real life example: you have the choice between 2 cars, its either the X brand or the Y brand. The 2 cars offers exactly the same features and looks as good, car X is said to last about 8 years/cost 30 K while car Y is said to last about 12 years/cost 40K. Well about 90% of the person in america will takes the X brand. This is why more and more companies lowers their quality. Usually, and its the case here, the demand comes before the offer. In this case theres demand for shitty products that offer lots of features and looks good while being cheap so companies are offering those.

Your right in what you said, but its everyone (all consumers and even more north american consumers) that need to step in soon.