Planned Obsolescence

My camera broke. I haven't even dropped it in over a year. (At least not that I remember) And all of the sudden, without warning, the zoom stops working. As an engineer I realize the use of plastic gears has its benefits, but I also know that they are under designed. Even though we aren't in the 50's anymore, when planned obsolescence was a common business idea, I still think they do it purposefully.

I've got a camera with a zoom that doesn't work. Sony sells parts, but they are expensive. Spend $150 to fix my camera? I can almost buy a new one that is just as good for that. But here's where they got me by the balls. I spent $100 for a 512 mb memory stick, which I'm pretty sure, for the most part, is only compatible with Sony. So now I'm invested in Sony products.

Damn you Sony, damn you plastic gears, and damn you torque induced shear force.