I last met a person who upgraded his computer four years ago. Upgradability on computers, removable battery on phones & memory cards on tablets are interesting perhaps to less than 1% of the market.
Some people really need to stop trying to conserve technology products for ages and get a new device when the time comes, just like the rest of us. In 2014 tech products are designed to be easy to manufacture & be thrown away when their time comes. Deal with it
Sorry the rest of the world dares to be poor, and yet tries to keep some form of technology available for their family and children to use.
You're right, they should either suck it up, and starve their family for a year to buy some extreme piece of hardware that they don't need, or just destine their children and family to be unfamiliar with the technology so that they can never better their situation.
How dare they ever think about buying something with what little money they can spare and try to get it to last as long as possible by seeking something that can be upgraded incrementally as needed.
You're right, if you're not rich, you should just disappear and die. You do realize that you cannot even interact with the very agencies which help you find work, get food for your family, further your education to get a better job, etc. without a computer in my area.... If you don't have a computer at home, you're screwed if you need help to lift yourself out of poverty.
And, you're attitude that people should just throw stuff away and replace it frequently is short sighted, ignorant, and denies people the right to do their best to survive in a technology based world on an often very tight budget.
I can't tell you how many people I know who are in unfortunate situations because of circumstances beyond their control, and would be flat destitute right now if they didn't have a computer to interact with the agencies who can help them...
Get out of your billionaire mindset for a moment and consider that not everyone can throw things away and replace them frequently. Some need to make choices that will get them what they need, and enable them to stay current with incremental upgrades over the years. Not everyone can live the life of luxurious waste that you seem to think we should all submit to.