[shockwavemikey65 (OP)]

I was just wondering if anybody felt the same way i do!

[Chemistry4me]

Like for example what?

[Madidus_Scientia]

What do you mean by independent developer? independent or not, if the product was something I wanted or needed, and it was the same quality as rival products but cheaper, I would buy it yes.

[Yomi]

Its ofcourse Yes

[shockwavemikey65 (OP)]

Like for example what?

As an example say if I created a cellphone that did not use a battery but still worked day or night as long as you have a service signal. I would be the person or developer to produce this product. There would be an overwhelming response by the phone companies and they would either threaten or try to buy me out of my idea. If I decided not to sell out but stand behind my product issues and all would you rather buy from the major companies or from me?

[Madidus_Scientia]

Well, no one would buy a phone that doesn't actually work

[syhprum]

The question is posed in such a black and white manner, 'to destroy the economy' there can only be one answer NO

[Don_1]

Maybe I'm just an old pessimist, but I just get the feeling their could be a spam sandwich on its way.

[lyner]

The mobile phone is an example of something which may well have more actual harm than good to the economy. The same goes for personal computers. People spend a huge proportion of their time on totally frivolous comms activities which don't help the economy at all. They would often be much better employed producing widgets and organising their daily routines in advance.
(Pot calling kettle black, I think - but you get my point?)

[Karsten]

Harm what kind of economy?

The kind that needs to grow each year no matter what to be considered healthy? If that is the one in question I am afraid I do it often by NOT BUYING something even though I sure am tempted often.

Would I decide to buy something from you just because you can offer a service cheaper? No, cheaper is not enough for me alone. There has to be more. And if your "service" takes advantage of another company's service but you (or I) are not paying for it I would not buy from you. It is stealing and why would I help you do it? This is an unsustainable product anyways. It only works if only a few people use your product. If too many use it the service signal supplied by those generous regular cell phone companies disappears (they go out of business) and then you go out of business as well. Parasitic technology.

But this is an ethical question, not a scientific one.

[CluelessAboutScience]

Wow!  I guess I revealing just what a sick little puppy I can be but, you're asking me if I would destroy an entire economy if I could do so just by purchasing a product?  I guess my inner anarchist would just love the idea that I could sit back and watch a whole economy go "boom" just by purchasing a product.  I'd probably purchase the product just to watch that happen!   [:0]

[Mazurka]

If you are meaning would you buy a product that would destroy a market - for example a domestic applicance that never needed to be replaced - yes i would
If you are meaning all things being equal would I buy a small company's product over a multinational company's similar product - probably (Put it down to a British sense of supporting the underdog)
If you are menaing would I buy a small company's product for the sake of it being from a small company - then no... 

[shockwavemikey65 (OP)]

Thank you all for your responses; Sorry guys and gals haven't been online in a while let me correct my subject! Would you as a individual support a product that decreased the need for batteries, but also stopped the need for batteries to be produced??? ie( loosing jobs producing batteries)

[exton]

I'd be okay with that.

The economy isn't a static entity; jobs are made and lost all the time. More often than not, the economy isn't ultimately harmed by such activities, it just changes form.

I think of it this way; if we have the technology to obviate the need for batteries, why would we want to waste perfectly good labor making an outmoded technology? The labor could be put to better use elsewhere, and it would be.

[sleepingbear]

As we have seen with the recent sub-prime mortgage crisis, many people would buy a product that nearly did destroy the economy. [:0]

[LeeE]

Absolutely.  The 'economy as we used to know it' started out as a means to aid the exchange of property and services between people but I think the cart is now well and truly before the horse, with people serving the economy rather than it being the other way around.

[traveler]

Technology forces this to happen. Using the cart and horse example, it wasn't too long ago that someone bought a model A ford and started to put his neighbors the cart maker and the horse shoe maker out of business. However, I do support the idea of using the local hardware store instead of the big chain stores.

[Stefanb]

It doesn't sound like the phone idea would be hurting your economy  []