New filk: Thrown-out Boxes

[Arthur T.]

The beginning is a fragment (obFilk) from years ago.

Title: Thrown-out Boxes
ttto: Little Boxes by Malvina Reynolds

Inkjet printers in the landfills
Inkjet printers on the ocean floor
Inkjet printers that we throw out
Even though they still work fine.

There are HPs, there are Canons,
There are Ricohs, there are no-name brands,
And they all use different cartridges
And they're thrown out all the same.

Obsolescence, planned by business
Obsolescence causes useless waste
Obsolescence makes us throw out
Inkjet printers twice a year

Trash the first one 'cause the ink's dry
Trash the next one; it can't be refilled
And this great one has no software drivers
So it's thrown out just the same

Not just printers; also keyboards,
Shoddy main boards, shoddy monitors,
Too-slow modems, ethernet cards,
And yes even power cords.

If it works well, it will break soon.
If it works well, the support's withdrawn.
And they're all made not to last too long
'Cause there's profit to be made

All the cameras, and the smart phones,
And the earphones, even TV sets
When they break down you just chuck them
'Cause it costs too much to fix

So the plastics and the metals
And the time spent manufacturing
All are tossed out with the toxic waste
And replaced by something fresh

My lyrics copyright 2017 by Arthur Tansky. License granted for
non-commercial, non-political archiving and performance as long as:
1. copyright notice is maintained, and
2. no money changes hands.

[Gary McGath]

Post by Arthur T.
Obsolescence, planned by business
Obsolescence causes useless waste
Obsolescence makes us throw out
Inkjet printers twice a year

I've had the same printer for over 10 years, and I have a calculator
which still works though I haven't changed the battery in decades. Both
are by HP.

[Arthur T.]

Post by Gary McGath
I've had the same printer for over 10 years, and I have a calculator
which still works though I haven't changed the battery in decades. Both
are by HP.

My brother still has a working HP-35, the first of HP's RPN
pocket calculators (probably bought ~ 1972). TI calculators from
that era tended to die after a year or two.

[Lee Gold XP]

Post by Arthur T.
The beginning is a fragment (obFilk) from years ago.
Title: Thrown-out Boxes
ttto: Little Boxes by Malvina Reynolds

I turn in my old toner cartridges at Staples.
They don't give me any credit, but I feel tidy.

--Lee