DAMMAM, 25 November — Consumer protection is a global phenomenon now. The rights of a consumer are protected around the globe in almost all consumer items and even in some services too. But one area which continues to be unprotected is information technology and computers and computer-related goods.

When the laptop was a very new technology sometime in 1989, my husband’s office provided him with a Toshiba machine. Those were the days when laptops did not have any hard disk and worked instead on RAM, but it was top of the range back then.

During the Gulf War, this laptop proved a big asset to him and he was able to file his reports directly to the Jeddah headquarters from the frontline and later from inside Kuwait.

Unfortunately a year after, the machine was on the blink and the authorized service center was approached for its repair. The service center technician, without even bothering to check the laptop, said: "It is an obsolete system and there is no possibility of finding its spare parts."

The system was just one year old and it had already become obsolete! At that time it came as a big shock that technology was becoming outdated in less than a year. But today this is the norm.

When the 386 PCs replaced the 284s, overnight the 284s became obsolete. A 284 machine was found unworkable. Those who could not afford to buy a new one opted to upgrade and a majority changed their system. A year later 386 PCs were replaced by 486 PC and then again Pentium processors rendered a 486 PC obsolete. A 486 PC was bought just a year ago for SR5,000. The 486 was considered little more than junk and many sold it for just SR1,000 or SR1,500.

History was repeated a year later when the Pentium II was introduced and since then the process of newer chips entering the market became an annual phenomenon.

A family friend never bought a computer due to this ever-changing technology in computer. "Whenever I decide to buy one PC my friends ask me to wait for a few months as a new system was expected to hit the market. When the new system arrives, the price is too high and friends again suggest to wait for a couple of months because the prices will come down. A wait for a few more months and then again suggestions to wait as new system was expected to come," he said. This was his logic and reasons for not buying a PC.

When the Pentium III was introduced, the market was already abuzz with the reports of new wonder Pentium IV.

The same pattern followed in software. Multimedia caught the imagination of the Net users. Then came series of Windows, 95, 97, 98, and 2000 and now is the era of XP. Each new software replaced the older version and in many cases made them obsolete.

"It is an unending process, one invention creates necessity for more and then comes another discovery," said a professor at the College of Computer Science at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals.

The same pattern is detected on the Internet scene as well. The only silver lining in cyberworld is the absence of the obsolete syndrome. Until now, not too many things have become obsolete.

However, in software and hardware, the obsolete syndrome is the main cause of concern to the consumers. It is a fact that new technology will keep coming and efforts to improve will continue. But it does not necessarily mean that previous technologies should be deemed redundant.

A new product is normally a supplement to a previous invention and should not be considered its cancellation. Therefore, the scope for future upgradation should always be a consideration, when a new technology is marketed.

But most important is the backup of the technology sold. In the present market, there is a total apathy toward technologies sold just a couple of months ago. Service centers are not prepared to look at a machine sold by their agency just a couple of years ago. They claim that they do not receive supplies of spare parts of a system sold even a year ago. It is here that the protection of consumers is in question.

An investment of SR5,000 should not go down the drain in a year’s time. The agencies selling systems should guarantee their backup for a longer time. Perhaps the requirement of the user could be satisfied with the older system and something considered obsolete could actually still be useful. It is more a matter of perception and necessity of the users, which varies from person to person.

Experts in the computer industry believe that it is now time to strengthen and consolidate the support sector for the industry so that there is an end to the obsolete syndrome. It is time that the rights of IT consumers are protected through proper legislation, the way rights of manufacturers are protected globally.