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Their Bionic Eyes Are Now Obsolete and Unsupported (spectrum.ieee.org)
submitted 4 years ago by [M] to c/technology@beehaw.org
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[–] 4 points 3 years ago (2 children)

Going bankrupt is not the only potential issue. There can also be situations, where a company makes several generations of a product, and abandons support for the old ones.

This is already a serious concern with eg. older gen chip fabrication. The machinery required for each generation was built when that gen was new, and when that machinery breaks down, it might not be economical to rebuild that capability.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    The bankruptcy situation was mentioning the article.

    Of course, when it comes to commercial products they will eventually be discontinued. But as long as a good replacement plan is done, like you could get the newer model much cheaper by turning in your older generation one, it will not be too much of an issue for the ones who need it.

    When its actually fair to discontinue such essential products for some its debatable.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago

    The situation in the article is for sure unique, as replacing implants with a newer version is probably not feasible. Many other simpler medical devices are different, as they could be replaced as needed.

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