==Value Engineering==
Some product design strategies that are indistinguishable from planned obsolescence are actually meant to provide a more affordable product to the consumer. These strategies are known as "value engineering", the purpose of which is to create the most suitable product at the lowest possible cost.<ref>http://www.answers.com/topic/value-engineering</ref> Value engineering may be considered a form of planned obsolescence, but it does necessarily carry such a the same negative connotation. An example of value engineering would be building a computer to last only a few years, since by then it would be superseded by better technology anyway. If the old computer were built to last 20 years, it would presumably cost more, which would be wasteful since the computer would be technically obsolete in only about four years (of course, this is negative for anyone who would intend to keep their computer appreciably longer than four years).
An example of value engineering would be building a computer to last only a few years, since by then it would be superseded by better technology anyway. If the old computer were built to last, say, 20 years, it would presumably cost more, which would be wasteful since the computer would be technically obsolete in only about four years (of course, this is negative for anyone who would intend to keep their computer appreciably longer than four years).
==See Also==
*[[Vance Packard]]