How long stuff lasts

see this forum post on this subject.

general rule about electronics

commercial electronics generally last no longer than 10 years of continuous operation. I have learned this from the field

how long something lasts
item	lasts
dvd recorder's optical drive	50,000-100,000 hours. warrantied for 1 year. Ours lasted for 2 years and after this we noticed that it pauses a lot by itself on a good disc. If it starts rejecting a lot of brand-new DVDRW's, chances are you need to take your DVD recorder back to the store for a replacement or you need a firmware upgrade. 50,000hrs/24hrsperday/365.25daysperyear=5.703years=5years8.4months. 100,000hrs=11.408years=11years4.9months
computer optical drive	rated for 50,000-100,000 hours. warrantied for 1 year. supposed to last 2 years if environment is not dusty. If really dusty environment, can be 3 months. However, my Philips DVD burner lasted 4 years (my computer is on my desk, not on the floor, and my room is relatively dust-free) and was still working when I took out of machine. 50,000hrs/24hrsperday/365.25daysperyear=5.703years=5years8.4months. 100,000hrs=11.408years=11years4.9months. mother's dvd player bought in 2004 started acting up in 2007-2008 (3-4 years). see article on lifespan of laser (old vs. new) see article on MTBF of laptop optical drive 50,000-75,000 hours.
computer's power supply	ball bearing fan fails after ? years (had mine since 2004).these should be oiled once in a while. sleeve bearing fan fails after 3-6 months and will make whining noises (cheap PSU's). good 80 plus expensive power supply: 3 years. some high-wattage OCZ power supplies (such as 850W): 5 years.
computer's motherboard	10 years. At least that was the count with a 1990 286 motherboard that had degenerating onboard NiCd batteries. Computer may last longer these days using CR2032 batteries (you just change them every few years). beyond this you will find that the either the motherboard doesn't work or that your cards do not work in the motherboard. If you can still get them. 2 years (1 year?) is obsolescence in this business. If the motherboard is in continuous use, There is a problem called Metal Migration in aging chips that shorts circuits out. also, I have seen old NiCD batteries crust out & short on old 1990 motherboards, which corroded the mb. newer mb's used replaceable plug-in 4.5V battery packs. even newer mb's use replaceable lithium CR2032 button cells that last for a few years.
hard disk	5-7 years for desktop drives. 1 year for server disks (older ones at least). Vista and 7 may be just like putting it on a server if you run it continuously due to constant head movement. We will see what statistics hold for those two OS's.
floppy disk	3 years continuous use before data degradation. I have seen them last longer, but I wasn't really sure how long.
computer motherboard battery	Listed in order of system build date: Built-in NiCD (barrel): 5-8 years (1990s). Alkaline 4.5V(black rectangular block): 1-2 years (1990s). Lithium CR2016 button cell: do not know, but could be 2 years(1998-2004). Lithium CR2032 button cell: I have seen up to 4 years I think, but I wouldn't push it beyond 2-3 (depends on motherboard) (1998-present). Symptoms: system loses track of time, disks misconfigured or disappeared or partitions appear mangled, peripherals misconfigured or missing, USB keyboards and mice don't work, file dates are all wrong, prone to viruses & network attacks (worst case)
laptop battery	used like a desktop: 5-6 years before noticeable wear. used with battery removed when not needed: ?
1998-era laptop	now 2012. used like a desktop daily 8 hours/day, with breaks between being fgiven to another person: 12 years (?) before failure. used with battery in. some run warm, but some run hot, like the pentium III's.
2004-era laptop	now 2012. used like a desktop daily 8 hours/day: 5 years before failure. used with battery in most of the time. runs hot.
2012-era laptop	used like a desktop daily 8 hours/day: ? years before failure. used with battery in most of the time. runs very hot.
2004-era desktop	now 2012. used like a desktop or a server daily 12-24 hours/day: still running. runs cool. failure of PS/2 keyboard port after much static electricity over the years (workaround by installing a new PS/2 card), or could be corrupt driver.
2012-era desktop	used like a desktop daily 8 hours/day: ?. runs ?.
cell phone battery	Li-Ion: 5-6 years before strange things start happening and "cell phone goes bonkers" (battery needs to be replaced). By then, cell phone will start acting up and you will need a new phone anyway (metal migration issues? static discharge?). The futuristic idea of having one implanted in your head is ludicrous given these stats. Things wear out.
CDR, DVD discs	see NIST study on different dye types. heat is the worst offender for any disc. light takes about 325 hours before things start happening with average discs. direct sunlight is not good for discs because it also generates heat. 30 years for average burnable disc? using a label reduces the lifespan - adhesive seeps down into data layer!
alkaline batteries	AAA Duracell: 5 years on shelf
lithium batteries	CR2032 Duracell: 9 years on shelf. CR2032 Maxell: 4 years on shelf.
Li-Ion (lithium-ion) rechargeable batteries	cell phone battery: 5-6 years. cell phone went nuts at end of period, doing weird stuff, and turning itself off on a full charge with no warning. replaced the battery and most of the problems went away.
CRT Monitor	depending on your make & model, could be somewhere around 4 years before things start happening like twitches. I have had my Dell 19" monitor since 2004. I have had it 5 years and it is now just starting to jitter.
LCD Monitor	I was told 3 years (probably the warranty). basically, this is supposed to be for the lamp. but I have seen LCD screens last longer. my mother's laptop has been around since about 2004, and it's been about 5 years and it's still going. Soon they will be going to LED lamps and they will last a lot longer, as LED lamps get brighter.
floppy drive	if continuously used (and cleaned), the heads wear out. expect about 3 years?
zip disk	2-10 years quoted by one source (below). The more you use it, the shorter its life, and it isn't very long - moderate use I would give it 6 months. spoken from my experience with a zip250. the technology (how it works, cartridge makeup) hasn't really changed now that the zip750 is out. bad blocks are not automatically marked on these disks! once there is failure you have bad data. I do not know if this has been solved in the zip750. I also had an older zip250 parallel port drive.
flash drive	10 years is how long the data will last. If you write to the drive, average lifespan is more like 3 years for Industrial Flash) they don't survive the washing machine well. Static probably doesn't help either - static is where 2 surfaces rub together and generate electricity.
ink jet printer	4 years approximately before it starts to jam once in a while or misfeed. it's the feed rollers, and probably partially due to dust on those rollers... solution: get a new printer. you can't reach them. I tried. Today's plastic printers are made to be put together, not taken apart.
Oki LED laser printer	5 years on the warranty for the LED's. actually, mine has lasted longer, more like 17 years+, through several Image Drums and a number of Toner Cartridges. once in a long while you have to take them apart to clear a jam, which is a real pain. don't use ink jet paper in a laser!
LCD Monitor	warranty is 3 years.
MLC SSD	MLC: 3 years. don't defrag it! warranty is 3 years.
SLC SSD	I was told that high quality SLC's (by Texas Memory Systems) last 3 years in a production environment under 24/7 high-traffic use. so article author's 10 years maybe only applies to a desktop environment where the machine is not under high-intensity barrage, and only for 8 hours/day.
power switches	10,000 cycles at full load 10,000/365.25/2=13.689 years at 2 power cycles per day approximately
circuit breakers	1,000 cycles

see this page for media lifespans.