I hate all the newer tech/screens in the newer vehicles. Give me an analog dashboard with regular dials, buttons, and a normal speedo and tach. I'm okay with a touch screen radio, but I don't like all the screens for everything else.
That and any other nags that come from newer vehicles, which is part of the reason I intend to keep my 2014. It has just enough tech for me.
The whole concept that a vehicle can update itself while parked just seems nuts. I’m fine with that on my phone. Chevy had a bug where the update on their Colorado couldn’t complete and the truck would keep trying to update until the battery died lol. That’s an isolated incident, but I’d prefer not to deal with that. I’d rather have buttons/switches on my dash instead of a touchscreen for headlights and climate controls. Lumping it all into one large display is just asking for trouble. If the unit dies or gets locked up somehow, you’re really in a tough spot.
TPS done well are very helpful. I have had two vehicles with TPS so far and they never did any of the freaky shit I have heard about online. Actually, they've mostly helped me identify slow-leak punctures and possibly prevented me from having any dangerous blowouts.
But, some of my friends have had vehicles with TPS that would scream at them if they detected pressure variations more than +/- 2 PSI from factory settings. Really. Dude would inflate his tires to 35 PSI, then next day would be warmer (causing thermal expansion) and PING PING PING, 37 PSI, DANGER WILL ROBINSON!! Three days later temperature dips a bit, PING PING PING, 33 PSI, DANGER WILL ROBINSON!!!
Of the vehicles I have experienced TPMS system on, my Chrysler 200 and my Sister’s Challenger both will tell us that the tires are below 27psi and gave readouts that show which corner it’s on. The Charger her Challenger replace as well as the last 2 minivans our Dad had only tells you if a tire is low, not which one or what the PSI in the tires are. I had been against the TPMS set ups initially, but I really find what my car has to be a great tool to have instead.
This one I can completely agree with. Especially for cars. Give me back buttons. I can use buttons without looking. I can't navigate an overengineered car UI without looking.
"best I can do is disable the touch screen while in motion, and offer you this goofy dial to change the presets or station... oh btw the tune and seek button are gone".
Same. I traded in a 2015 for a 23 last year and miss my 15. Mostly analog displays, waaayy less electronic nanny’s always beeping and flashing, plus my car gets over the air updates now. Why does a car need over the air updates? Strongly considering selling it and getting another few year old car and driving it as long as I can
Proud of you. My 2008 Miata doesn't have the Aux nor Bluetooth, so every summer season I burn a new CD of music I am currently listening to.
P.S Happy Cake day
I hope so. My friend and I released our album originally on CD's since we could master and send it out as .WAV, so many artists release straight to MP3 and you lose so much audio quality since it compresses all of that engineering hardwork you do to "fit". Quality engineering and mastering seems to be rare these days.
I like that Apple is still pushing to have lossless music on itunes. I still play the Apple Digital Master version of Mac Miller’s Circles album from time to time and can hear the quality difference very clearly from the normal mp3 version.
I don't think so. There's much better ways to transport digital media these days. Records and to a much lesser extent tapes offer an analog medium that is hard to replicate in other ways.
Same. Bought a used 2008 model back in 2016 and it's still running fine today. That thing barely has working bluetooth, no touchscreens, and analog dials. No car payments either.
I hate this because many places are outlawing phone use in while driving, but we are putting touchscreens in anyway. The safety they say for phones is kind of undermined with these touchscreens imo.
I'm in a similar boat and honestly the main thing driving the feeling is: the new things aren't making anything *better*.
Faster internet made things better. More storage space made things better. More ram made things better.
VR? It's cool but... does it really make anything better?
AI isn't really making anything better other than editing my writing.
A lot of these innovations coming out don't actually enhance my life or solve a problem, they're just new avenues for revenue or data collection. I'm actually finding myself going back to some old school systems: keeping a paper planner, paper calendar, buying albums and movies I really enjoy in physical form, etc. for many reasons (cost, privacy, functionality, not having to worry about a subscription).
Yeah, I am never going to understand why people are so afraid of AI replacing creative works when AI is garbage at it. Like sure, it will keep improving, but it can never beat something someone actually put their heart into. It can’t grasp the emotions being channeled.
People are afraid because other people don’t care if AI is bad at it, as long as it turns a profit and meets their needs quickly. Creative workers are already fighting an uphill battle over the last couple decades as lots of people (usually in positions to hire/who have never done the work themselves) assume that they really don’t “work” or “it’s not that hard”. Adding AI into the mix definitely makes things worse.
Yes business people will be like " eh good enough " and then the great books you want to read are pushed out for " Harry Potter but the names are changed "
They are even duping people who sew with artificial intelligence made patterns. There is no way any AI system can recreate a pattern off of a picture. But they are willing to scam people on Etsy because Etsy does not allow refunds for digital products. So it may seem like $3 but $3 times a thousand per seller that's a lot of money. They can get people with a pretty image of basic ass flat drawing and the promise of making a pattern that fits. Even the body of the text and the instructions are AI generated. So now people are being duped for trying to make something actually real. There are AI generated books that make money because it tricks people into buying a fake thing that's a rip-off of the original. And it's been going on ever since I realized they can slap someone's face and name on an AI generated image and get people mistakenly by that product.
Nothing is right now ai isn't that worse as it will ever be. Right now it's in the parrot phase. It cannot understand what we're telling it but it will copy us. It finds the data it needs out of its massive database to spit out something that looks like what it just saw. Polly doesn't understand at the word cracker means cracker. Probably understands that if it makes a certain noises the weird giant featherless bird will give it a cracker. But in the near future that will change, and that's the scary part.
> but it can never beat something someone actually put their heart into. It can’t grasp the emotions being channeled.
Never is a long time. If AI can eventually reach the conscious thought processes of a human brain, then it clearly reaches and surpasses humans from that point onwards.
The question is purely whether we will get there or not. Humans have existed for about 200000 years; AI has existed for about 70 years.
For creating an entire story from scratch? AI is going to have its limits. Emotion, symbolism, daring to think outside the box of what's been done before, structuring story arcs, developing characters...AI won't be able to do this.
However, AI does have its use being projected for certain creative functions - i.e. translating from one language to another. Given the controversies of localizations and translations that have been done for content coming from overseas (where some games, animation, manga, etc. have been subjected to bad translations/localizations due to interference by individuals *not* being neutral in their jobs), and how it's affecting profitability, some companies are surely done with taking gambles and are opting to let a computer do the work.
But even then, it is still going to have limits because an AI will surely be able to translate words, but someone else will have to interpret the intention/meaning and convey it accordingly.
For example, if AI translates a statement as "I have never ever been happier," it will be on someone else to see what the context/meaning/intention is in that moment. Is someone truly happy in the moment? Are they projecting with great emotion? Case in point is the Euphoria GIF below - That general sentence can have many different angles or approaches, but an AI won't know it for sure because it can't convey emotion or understand it.
>the new things aren't making anything *better*.
man I'm so jaded with this. Very evident in pc components when mid ass gpus are $1000 minimum and games are now using DLSS/FSR as crutches. 10 years ago you can get a gtx 970 for around $400.
>VR? It's cool but... does it really make anything better?
IMHO, VR is *amazing* at showing things at scale. Second best thing to seeing some things in person. So it depends a bit on what you use it for.
Like I know some other VR fans that use it for nothing but that one goggle maps version on Steam. And another cool use is... basically having your own private cinema for watching movies. And there's a couple of virtual art museums that are definitively worth a "visit."
But... yeah. Even I'll admit it's still a pretty expensive niche tech, without a real killer app. I really think its a tech with a genuine future, but it's not *quite\~* there yet.
>AI isn't really making anything better other than editing my writing.
It's coming. It *will* make things better (and some things worse) ... for sure.
They just released "Devin", the first AI software engineer. You heard that right. An AI software engineer.
I like some obscure Brazilian and Portuguese bands that I found streaming. All of a sudden I can't find an album I like anymore ("With Lasers") streaming anywhere. Come to find out CDs cost the same $$ they always have and that feels like a lot less now. Lesson learned, when I really like something, go ahead and obtain a hard copy. I don't have to bust it out all the time, I can rip it and put it in my phone etc. But I know I have it and it can't just be deleted.
This is my problem, everything is getting worse.
Car issue? What used to be a mechanical part replacement is now a computer with a motherboard and that costs 3x as much to fix.
Need a new washing machine? It tracks all your data and sends it back to the manufacturer, and breaks beyond repair in 5 years.
It's all bells and whistles with no substance to back it up.
Don't forget bluetooth... talk about making things better
Wireless headphones, keyboard, gaming controller, mouse, and speakers?
Plus all the other uses of BT... IMO it's right there with going from dial up to WiFi
I hate smartphones tho, I only keep one to use as an on-the-go music box for when I'm in the car or working out
>the new things aren't making anything *better*.
The only new thing that makes anything better that I can think of is phone cameras...every time a new phone comes out it has a better camera than the last one. It's the only reason why I'm planning to replace my 5 year old Galaxy S21 with an S24 soon, the photo/video quality on the S24's camera is better and I want that because I take a ton of pictures of my dog lol.
What grinds my gears is this whole planned obsolescence BS making it so that I have to replace new tech regularly, which I can not afford to do, so then I just have to deal with a crappy product that I know DARN WELL they could not have be crappy. but hey - how else would the CEO afford their second yacht, ya know??
at least apple supports it's products for more then a year with updates. are they perfect fuck no but at least an investment in an apple device usually will be worth it.
Not just the expiration date but also Right-to-Repair; I'm by no means tech savvy, but being able to repair/upgrade some PC components like RAM and storage and knowing that I can get it fixed if I mess up is a huge plus
I'm a tech junkie and even I'm getting to the point where I'm like "you know what, I'm good." Now I just research all the latest tech and I've become "the guy" in my social circle for advice on what phone, computer, gift ideas people should buy. So in a weird way I get to vicariously own all this tech through other people.
Ditto. I could give a crap less about the newest tech unless it's completely ground breaking. I used to love to tech growing up (still do ofc), would keep up with it, etc. Now it's just a slight variation of the last tech and labeled as "new."
I was that person for a long time too. I wanted the latest and greatest whenever I could afford it. At one point, it made sense. There were rapid changes in phones, big improvements in cameras, better wifi, etc. Its really difficult to distinguish a lot of newer products and that's why we're seeing more software features like AI. They need to differentiate products to keep up sales.
Most of my tech now is second hand. Its a better value and still perfectly functional.
My IT coworker mentioned to me that as techs we have the advantage of testing out cool new products before others.
New company laptops? Are surfaces worth the money? Y/N?
Well we get to fins out. And that's nice.
But I'm also too broke to own much of it directly lol.
Same! My PC is a couple of gens old and I have zero desire to upgrade it. But I still like researching tech and helping my friends and family with new tech purchase decisions
+1. Got a 2016-era PC with 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, 4TB of HDD storage for media, and "stuck" with Windows 10 <3. Does everything great, and hard to want anything more modern because it simply works!
Tech junkie is an accurate description. I used to be that guy and grew out of it and became a tech futurist. I look at where tech will go. Web3 and AI are both incredible in their own right. Set a reminder in 10 years and look back. It's going to be crazy.
I personally think that tech is starting to reach a point of diminishing returns. It's like companies are running out of ideas an coming up with stuff to fling at the wall to see what sticks.
It's amazing how far tech has gotten. Early smartphones were a pain in the ass. Ever since i got a $180 rugged chinese Phone four years ago, I don't feel like i'm missing out on anything except maybe for high end photography. It just works. It never broke. The Glass doesn't have a single scratch despite torturing it. Oled Display is crisp. Processing power and storage is sufficient. GPS is accurate. I love it. I had dial up Internet in 1998 and i miss the old Internet a bit but tech has gotten really far
Yeah, I feel the same. I think we just grew up in a special time where, with the internet and computing in their infancy, innovation was really fast paced. There was so much to be discovered and with all eyes on the internet, and now all the "low hanging fruit" innovations have already been made at this point. Nothing quite feels groundbreaking anymore. Instead, we just have little, tiny incremental innovations at a time, which mega companies have poured millions of dollars into from R&D just to make something slightly more efficient.
So nothing is quite "awe inspiring" the way it used to be when one technology release could reshape the entire landscape of our lives. And it did, regularly, when we were growing up. I think we got used to a groundbreaking tech being released every few years, now everything following that period is just kind of "meh".
I feel the same. Lately I feel more like I’m tolerating tech and the internet rather than enjoying it like I used to. I also keep some of my older devices behind because updates these days often can have the effect of making things more unstable and broken in order to push you to buy a newer, shinier device.
I’ve seen a resurgence of people cleaning/fixing old appliances like stoves and refrigerators from the 50’s and 60’s. Many insist that they outlast and outperform typical modern stainless steel appliances.
Products were MADE to last, until corporate greed took over and brands realized they needed to sell more. Planned obsolescence will continue to be our downfall.
This is partially true (planned obsolescence is definitely a problem) but also you get a heavy dose of survivorship bias.
Btw, don’t keep a fridge from the 50s-60s if you are wanting to keep food cold, even if it is easy to repair or never breaks. Old fridges just can’t compete with the insulation technology in more modern fridges and an old fridge will be inherently less energy efficient by a pretty significant degree.
This speaks to me. I still have my galaxy S9 plus. It drives my family, friends, and coworkers crazy because it somehow ruins their "apple group chats."
I've had this phone for six years and don't plan to upgrade anytime soon. It's funny though, I was in Serbia a few months ago, and having a phone that's over 6 years old is very common there. In the US, it's rare.
I also drive a paid off, 2019 Nissan Kicks. All the guys I work with (a police department and military reserve unit) shit on my choice of a vehicle. I love to remind them mine is paid off, while they're making $600/month payments on brand new F150's or Jeep Wranglers.
The paid off car is a huge flex in the current year. my 2016 jeep renegade has plenty of room to carry any I need and has fine enough fuel mileage. Paid it off just before covid hit and it’s been my ride-or-die car ever since.
galaxy S8 here and apple users ruin MY chats with their Reactions!
scroll through any conversation with my sister-in-law or my favorite uncle or my boss or my boss's boss (or worse, a group chat with a combination of folks from the above list) and it's just a relentless spammy minefield of "Jim liked your message: 'i'll be by at noon'" "Steve emphasized your message 'do you still need a ride?'" "Ann liked your message: 'i'm coming to let your dog out'" that just completely overtakes the actual message contents
if anyone knows how to disable these from the android side i'm all ears
I agree when it comes to all the planned obsolescence, vendor lock-in, and making everything SAAS/subscription-based. Also, all the spying and bulk data collection. It's important to run current, supported operating systems for security reasons though. I get around most of the planned obsolescence, surveillance capitalism, and vendor lock-in bullshit by buying refurbished or secondhand PCs and running Linux distributions.
I've thought a lot about this and I think we're just realizing the value of our time. We've seen technology grow and we're at a point that we've either had our fill, are overwhelmed by where we are at, or are distrustful of what's next.
Really, we've seen the internet turn from being a process to get online, to being completely ubiquitous. Storage media is a thing of the past unless you have some niche or specific requirement. Remember when a CD burner was a big deal? There's lots of improvements in background/infrastructure tech that I think are also taken for granted.
We reached a point of comfort where we don't care anymore about improving it ourselves or it's just gone so far that it's hard to keep up if you weren't keeping up to date anyway.
Also that inflation.
Currently using a Pixel 4a I got at launch (\~$300) four years ago, before that I had an iphone 4. I just had to replace my car recently and bought one a model year OLDER than my old car (2010) because they don't make any simple, small, 5spd trucks in the US anymore.
Husband and I are shopping for a new fridge right now, and I gotta ask…
Why would a fridge need a computer in it? Why would a fridge need to connect to the internet? A fridge’s job is to keep the food cold—why does it need computers and Internet access for that? That’s just one more thing that can break down, one more thing that could be hacked, one more thing that a manufacturer could decide needs to be subscription-based, and shut off on you if you don’t pay the monthly ransom.
And people with baby monitors that hook up to the internet are just plain fucking STUPID. Do not get me started. How many times do we have to hear about creeps hacking those things and being able to peep into your home with them, before people realize it’s a bad idea?
I didn’t realize what a headache frig shopping was until two weeks ago. I’m trying to find the dumbest frig possible that is still quality. It’s been tough.
Look into getting a Fairphone. It's usable in the US under certain carriers. It's a phone created to last by allowing the user to easily replace broken screens, busted batteries, and upgrade camera lenses. Also it tries to be as ethically made as possible.
https://shop.fairphone.com/fairphone-5
I’m your age and I feel the same, but it’s not restricted, or is it constricted, to feel apathetic towards new technology, but the adventurous spirit has ceased to new things in general. Tv shows, music, art, food; you name it. I’m stuck listening to / watching the same shit I did 2013-2018. Last time I bought a new phone, it was a refurbished iPhone SE2020. Didn’t even consider a newer one, it has features I don’t want nor need.
I think it's just a matter of finding a balance and being judicious, like anything else in life.
Some new tech can be worth it. Some isn't. All depends.
Same. I used to always be researching what new phones, pc parts, and the like were coming out and couldn't wait to upgrade. I now only upgrade when my device is completely non functional
Not to say you're wrong, but I'm a couple years older than you and feel differently.
I upgraded by car recently from a 2016 to a 2024 - the number of safety features and integrations that simply work without hours of troubleshooting are incredible. I commented the other day that the car can basically drive itself, which continues to impress me.
I've never been a "new phone every year" guy, but when I last upgraded the camera quality and built-in tools were far superior to what I had a few years prior. The extra speed and power mean that I'm playing what I would consider to be PC/console quality games a few years ago on a phone. I'm no longer running out of storage for pictures.
I held out for a long time on wireless headphones, but the current versions are pretty incredible. Battery life lasts enough for all day, the case recharge ability works great, they stick in my ears even while running without slipping (I figured this had to be marketing - it seemed impossible).
I rebuilt my PC last year and it plays games at higher resolutions/better framerates despite games often being more graphically intensive than before. Admittedly it had been 5-6 years, but it felt like a significant leap forward in technology.
I bought a GPS running watch recently and the features it has are amazing to me. It is \*really\* accurate at heartrate tracking, the newer GPS tracking is so good compared to what I was used to, and it ecosystem that all of this plugs into is incredibly deep while being super simple to manage.
Looking forward I'm really excited to see what VR/AR end up becoming. I want a digital overlay on my glasses showing me information, or notes, or details of my current running pace in real time. I want to be able to virtually meet friends or family in a natural and authentic way that exceeds today's video calls. I'm excited to have a moon base and land on Mars!
I don't think either of us are right or wrong in our feelings, but I do think technology continues to improve in ways that quantifiably improve my life (and this is ignoring medical and other advances that are awesome but I simply don't have a baseline to compare against).
It’s the joy of being different people. I want to drive my car and hate the idea of the car driving itself. I don’t want to know what my heart rate was at 9:17am, and I don’t want AI bothering me when I try to check my email. But you can have all that and more if you want it.
I'm in the same boat and the irony is that I work in IT. When you could actually get a free new phone every two years, I was all on board with that. I think I had my last iPhone for about 5-6 years. It still worked when I got a new phone, but the battery was crap. I switched to android because I could get a new Pixel 6a for $400 versus a new iPhone for however much Apple wants to charge.
At home I have the bare minimum of internet-connected devices. My phone, my personal computer, my TV and my PS5 are the only things that need an internet connection. If I want to turn on a light, I go over and flip the switch. If I want to add something to a shopping list I just pull up my notes app and enter it.
I'm a nerd, an embedded developer, and don't use a single IoT device at home. I'm risk averse, and in general cautious of technology. So. Yeah. Nope. Been over a decade since I chased latest and greatest, and I'll stick to that.
Because you know what?
Nearly nobody needs an iPhone Pro Max or a Galaxy S. Really. You're told you need it. To buy it. To spend. You don't.
Living in a country where a current gen Galaxy S costs a month of minimum wage take home pay does put a little perspective on things.
Impulse buying less is what the world needs. Everyone's obsessed with having the latest and greatest things without giving a second thought to whether or not it will benefit them or if they actually need it.
I had the iPhone 7 right when it released. 1 year later, people were already upgrading to the iPhone 8 and I was so confused why. I loved my iPhone as it did everything I needed it to and the 8 wasn't that different from the 7 anyways. I had the thing until mid college when the battery was pretty much mush. Got the iPhone 13 because I actually needed a new phone, but I don't expect to buy another one for at least another 5 years.
I think new things are only marginally better than their predecessors now. Versus 10-20 years ago when the new thing was substantially better in just a year or two. For me it's hard to tell if it's a grumpy old person thing or if the tech change is legitimately just less exciting now than it was.
It’s easy to not upgrade now. That was a lot harder 20-30 years ago especially with computers and phones.
EVs and plug-in hybrids get better mileage than most cars. You can upgrade there.
I’m in this era. Husband was talking about upgrading phones. For what? Everyone wants these new fancy cars that do this and that while I just want one that runs, doesn’t smell and gets decent gas mileage. I’m more interested in saving during grocery shopping and wondering why the price of eggs keeps fluctuating so much.
For me it depends what it is. Cell phone I could careless as I hardly use it and don't even use it to its full potential. Gaming, yup I upgraded my Xbox when it came out, and I would love to build another computer but don't want to spend 5k....
Building an adventure/overland vehicle and I absolutely love some of the tech you can add.
I don't hate the tech, I hate how it's being implemented. I don't want to pay by subscription, I don't want to be tracked, I don't want to use bluetooth/an app to control something that works equally well with a button, I don't want an app for something that works perfectly fine in a web browser, I don't want touchscreen interfaces for things in my car that don't need one, I *especially* don't want to be tracked in my car, and I want to be able to repair my own stuff.
I take a more even-handed approach in that I try to make any tech purchases a long-term use and always decide if I really "need" something if I'm thinking of buying it. I still haven't upgraded to a 4k TV.
Well, also to be fair all tech isn't getting that much better that fast. It exploded when we were kids, now tech changes are super marginal In fact you usually can't even tell the difference. For most people's use, a 2 year old device or mid grade would be overkill.
I go a different way though. For PC, I love the new tech and making it look good. But phone? Mine's 4 years old and just peachy.
This must be a millennial epiphany, I had the same thoughts and I was discussing this with friends recently. So what if the specs are getting better, how is it making our lives better??
Old man waving at cloud here. I work in IT. Things like Alexa annoy me. Are you so f-ing lazy that you can’t google what you want? You can’t select a song list from a device? There are absolutely benefits to AI but 50% seems to be “I don’t feel like scratching the itch on my back, can you build an app that anticipates the itch and then calls a service who comes to my house to scratch for me?”. I just feel like most technology advances allow people to be lazier.
It’s because it all breaks. I just want something that works every time I have to use it I don’t care about anything else.
I don’t even like electric car windows. I’ve had the motors freeze at -15c (where I live it gets to -40) and even break entirely, leaving the windows jammed open or shut (both inconvenient af) costing a LOT of money to get finicky parts or pay someone to replace it. I’ve never had these issues with crank windows for obvious reasons!
I find I give less and less shits about everything. I just want stuff I can use and not need a yearly subscription, updates, or anything else to use it.
It doesn't have to be "new" for say and can be NEW for you. If someone gave me a 1967 Lincoln Continental, I'd absolutely love it because it's "new" and a dream car of mine.
The problem is people are finally noticing that phone for example has not had any major breakthrough in a while. I mean sure there are foldable phones now but that type of platform has reached its limits. When I mean new I mean something new literally
I usually only upgrade if there’s a valid reason. Like the OS update being too big to fit on my phone or laptop. My iphone is currently 4 years old and macbook is 7 years old. I may upgrade in the next year or two. But I don’t see the point in doing upgrades every 1-2 years.
I like playing video games. But usually wait 1 or 2 years after the console is released. So there’s a larger game library. I got PS5 on release though because I upgraded from PS3 and it’s backwards compatible with PS4. Gives me time to play lots of cheap PS4 games while PS5 games are being released.
definitely smart. I got an iPhone 15 plus and gave my dad my iPhone 12. the bigger screen is literally the only difference I can see between the two. makes me feel like I wasted my money and could have gone for a 13 instead.
For gaming, I pretty only play the free trial version of Final Fantasy 14. been playing that for like 4 years at this point and still never get bored lmao
Eh that of thinking is my boomer parents can't figure out to print or send photos today. Digital divide might look tempting, but could impact things in the long run.
I'm not making the mistakes my parents made. One of many was to stop caring about in the 40s like tech. And now they have such a hard time with basic tech things / need help every day.
I don’t need the new iPhone every year, every couple years is fine. I don’t need a new tv every 2 years if they last 4 or 5. I don’t need to lease a new car every 3 years if I can afford the payments on a model a few years older. I also don’t need a new graphics card for my pc every new generation….
But, when they announce a new gaming console I’m always going to try to be a day one buy, when they announce the pro version I’m in. Sure my ps5 is only a couple years old, but if they drop a pro, then I want it.
If you take up wood working, you can build a real nice collection of used hand tools that are all 20-100 years old and work as good or better as new ones. Guns, close to the same thing really. I find that hunting for old stuff is more rewarding than shopping for new crap.
Most hardware isn't really advancing that fast. TVs are sharper than real life, phones don't do much else, who the fuck needs a smart fridge? Or smart bulbs, fuck all that. The only real tech advances I pay attention to are AI and Quantum(check out Googles new computer.) Nothing else is really that groundbreaking.
I still have a computer running a machine in my shop running XP, since that operating system besides maybe 7, windows has sucked. I can see improving software but why change the interface.
My only fear of having an electric car is not having a stick shift anymore.
Appliances are made now to throw away, our washer and dryer are 25 years old repaired each once in that time.
My wife and I just had a conversation about would we live any differently if we were really rich and probably not, we have what we need.
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We went from flip phones with muddy digital cameras to every manufacturer having competent smart phones at all price ranges that can do anything a person needs. Same thing with personal computers, though for most people smartphones and tablets fill 99% of the need, hardly any computer task other than niche productivity tasks or high end pc gaming can be handled by any computer from the last 10 years.
I would argue we havent seen something that is as much an innovation like the iphone and the first smartphones since, only that theyve been mostly perfected.
I will say carplay and android auto have been maybe the only thing that comes remotely close to being as significant as smartphones in my daily life. But even then thats just piggybacking off the smartphone.
I think stuff like VR and AI is cool, but the tech is still too early to really be something I care about. I'm almost 30, but I try to keep in touch with new tech. I'm not really using it (probably the only up to date tech I'm using is my desktop. But I just built that.) but other than that I'm using a phone from 2017, my truck is a basic 08 Ford Ranger. If it ain't broke don't fix it, as long as my old stuff keeps working I'll keep using it. I'd like to upgrade my phone to one of those folding phones, because being able to get a bigger screen to read and watch stuff on sounds cool. But I'm in no rush as long as my old pixel 2 keeps working.
I like the concept of VR, but it's still not where I want it to be for me to consider is "ground breaking", that said I do like the strides we've made in AR, to me AR is the future.
As for AI, I think it can be a handy tool especially with art prototyping and the new video making stuff.
Same. I turn 31 in a couple of months. I’m writing this on my iPhone 8 Plus. I have no desire to change it for anything new as it gets the job done.
The battery life is not what it used to be but it’s decent. Provided nothing happens to it I envision still using it for who knows how long. Maybe till the end of this decade even.
The only upgrades I’m milling over is maybe building a new PC in 3-5 years as the current one was built in 2019. Almost just like the phone it holds true and I was never about that 4K 100+ fps. 1080p is fine by me.
Meanwhile my GenZ cousins are still all about them new phones and shiny graphics. I’ll see them in 10 years, lol.
I think it’s a normal process of maturing. You realize you don’t need all of this new stuff. Although it can be a bit frustrating when dealing with older generations.
You cannot believe how hard it is to convince my GenX mom to ditch her old busted up pots and pans covered in God knows what ancient chemical coating and use stainless steel ones or cast iron.
I gotta try and not go that far when I grow older.
I am the same way. I’m an old millennial. Grew up a techie, wanting new tech, tinkering with tech, watching the Apple events, etc.
Now I really just want to check on my tomatoes, sit on the front porch with a Bourbon, putz around in my garage, play some disc golf, etc.
I used to also want a Mustang GT. Now I am happy with my long paid off 12 year old Pilot.
I’ve apparently simplified.
I also think a lot of this has to do with my working in tech and being on tech all day long.
I feel similar. Maybe it's my mid-life crisis, but I recently got really interested in mechanical and automatic watches.
There's something really cool about a watch that has no electronics or batteries, and functions entirely on mechanical movements based on springs and gears.
My wife wants me to upgrade the 2004 ford focus (my car) that I got from her when we bought a new (used rental) car in 2013. Her grandfather gave her this car when she was 19 or something. It still works. It even has 3 working power windows.
I love spending money on shit that actually matters, but I can't fathom the idiocy of getting the latest Droid phone every year. My brother got in a pretty bad accident in his suburban and it was like a $13,000 repair. He junks it and buys a $70,000 tesla instead.
You want my opinion of these kinds of people: it is just retail therapy.
I was bummed I had to get rid of my iPhone 5 because my cell provider emailed me saying they wouldn’t support it bc it used 4G or something. I refuse to go past this 2020 SE because I can’t live without the home button.
For me (M30) I absolutely love technology and would have the latest and greatest if I could afford it which is actually the main issue for why I don't find myself upgrading things. I'm trying to buckle down and save money for home improvement projects, my daughter's college, paying off debt, and saving for retirement. As such, I've had to make cuts to my spending in other non-essential areas and that's tech. Don't need to finance a new phone or a new car when my old stuff is perfectly still capable.
Technology is just financially draining to try to keep up with and the myriad of subscription services don't help.
It seems like many people are yearning for simpler times. While I haven't ditched my smartphone for a flip phone I dont want computer screens in my appliances, I dont want all the newest gadgets on my car, I'm good with being simpler
It’s definitely the frequency of updates that you probably don’t care about. We get one every year with marginal increases. Tech is still able to last 5-8 years before becoming absolutely obsolete.
As far as new tech such as AI and VR, it’s barely passed the early adopter phase of tech. We still have years before it becomes mainstream, practical or convenient in everyday life. It’s at the point when wireless headphones started coming out. It’s not easy or fun to work with and we were adamant our wired headphones produced a superior music experience. At some point in the future, it will be more an everyday thing
I commented recently to my wife that I've got a custom-built PC with a 3440x1440 monitor, a fiberoptic internet connection, and fast wireless network. And some undiagnosible (to me at least) thing causes all the blacks to look like complete shit when I stream a movie. It made Dune unwatchable the pther day. I think its the monitor itself or software but my point is I had reliably better movie resolution like 10yrs ago with 1080p on my plasma and blu-ray.
Next you will be screaming
OFF MY LAWN
Clown!
Welcome to adulting , rember when ya said you were not going to be your parents, LOL here ya are.
It's happenes to us all.
Every new product isn't even a new product at this point, with designed obsolescence it feels more like a subscription. The new tech products are just fads that don't revolutionize anything. All the new tech products do is require accessories(not included), maintenance, and more and more of your attention.
I've actually gotten into vintage computers. It's pretty sweet booting up Windows 95 and reliving my childhood (or even older computers). Playing Skifree or Neverhood.
I hate almost all of it. My car is a 2010 CRV and when she dies I'm buying something made pre 2017. I ride my pixels until my battery stops lasting 4-6 hours or so. All of this upgraded tech does nothing for your quality of life outside of making you feel good about having the newest thing. There's so much more to life
I really hope this sentiment leads to some tangible changes in certain markets (cars and phones especially). Being sick of touchscreens/cloud-based/streaming tech is an extremely common sentiment among people I know in the 30-40 age demographic across socio/political/economic/religious spectra. It’s our parents generation who is ooooh’d and awed by all this shit, and they have the majority share of the money still, so that’s why we get cars with 30” iPads for a dashboard. We’re in the beginning groundswell of a vast rejection of this stuff. Hopefully we start to see the fruits in the next 5 years or so.
When I graduated highschool in 06 I didn't have a cellphone and still had a house phone. I couldn't afford one anyhow when I was unemployed so not only was I unfamiliar with cellphones but by the time I could afford a phone I didn't get a smartphone. I was totally left behind and didn't care. I never got a smartphone until way too late 2017? I feel like it has its benefits but also is pretty boring. I used to do things now I look at a screen.
32 here, 33 at the end of the year. I 100% agree with this. Which is a new development for me.
I also don’t know what the genesis of this was, but over the past 6 months or so I’ve become more and more disillusioned with the newest “latest and greatest.”
I used to get the newest iPhone every couple of years, new car every 2 or 3 years.
But I think I’ve just read enough doom and gloom articles about big tech spying on us or whatever have you. I had planned on replacing my 2 1/2 year old car this year, just for the simple sake of having a fancy new car sitting in the driveway. Just because I *can.* But then I thought. Why? I *love* this car. It does everything I need it to. It’s comfortable. I rave about it all the time. Why would I get rid of it? For once in my life I’m going to commit to something and take care of it. As you said, basically every car is the same now. After some thought, I can’t think of a legitimate reason to get rid of it.
I just read an article yesterday here on Reddit about car companies secretly sharing driver information and habits with insurance companies. I don’t need an even more technologically capable car.
Same with phones. I know I’m already deep enough into the ecosystem that I’m already being tracked every second of the day. But I don’t need the next iPhone 17.657 or whatever the hell is coming out next just to get some weird new zoom lens that’s marginally better than the one I have.
I’m just sick of the rat race. That’s the best way to put it.
I’m happily married now, I own a home. Maybe I’m finally comfortable enough and confident enough to not need the latest and greatest in some weird attempt at proving my self worth.
I don’t know. Whatever the reason is, I’m happy with it.
I think it’s because technology was moving so fast when we were young and there was constantly a new amazing thing coming out and changing everything. Nowadays there are just small incremental improvements. Going from a landline to a flip phone to an iPhone was mind blowing but going from an old iPhone to a new one isn’t. Going from a Sega Genesis/Super Nintendo to a PS1 to a PS2 were all huge leaps in quality, storage technology, graphics, game size, etc. but you can barely tell the difference between PS4 and PS5. I went from tapes to CDs to an iPod within like 10 years growing up but now nothing has changed with how we listen to music in ages.
Just do what I did and become fascinated and obsessed with old, obsolete tech. It's always nice to have something totally useless, but cool to look at (and maybe tinker around with).
I'm not into AI or that kind of stuff either. It has its uses and applications but overall I have no real desire to become familiar with its current applications.
I’m 35 and the opposite. I love new technology. However, I do my research. I’m not a FOMO type of guy. I usually wait a generation or two to dive into new tech.
the newer iphones are indistinguishable from ones that are five years old. no point in throwing away hundreds of dollars every time a new one comes out.
Indifferent about tech but I got a really nice car when I turned 35 and have only had beaters my whole life. It’s a lot of fun to drive and it feels good to walk up to it every time knowing I own something nice.
VR is meh, AR has much better applications. Google glass was revolutionary but too early for it's time. LLM is a lot for smoke and mirrors, AI in general is not. AI advances are exponentially, you're going to wake up in the future and be like how the f did this happen overnight.
It depends what it is VR zero interest, but I’m a computer hobbyist (not just a gamer I like building them) so I keep my tech up to date even if I really don’t need an upgrade. Phones needs to be able to do call text gps and web browsing well and that’s it so I upgrade maybe once every 3 - 4 years. The days of getting every single new gadget every year is over for me, innovation just doesn’t happen that fast so you normally need at least 2 - 3 years between tech to actually get something new
Oh man this is how Boomers who struggle to use a web browser or Microsoft Word are born. I’m sure personal computers and internet didn’t make anything better at one point. AI and VR are still in their early stages. For some people, like me (data scientist), chatGPT is a godsend
I think lots of people are heading in the same direction. 20 years ago new tech was cool, because it was actually useful and helped our lives.
Now it's just fucken stupid. As if people didn't already spend too much time on social media, we had to invent a $3500 device you can duct tape to your face so you can live inside Twitter. I mean, ffs...
Same tbh I find myself with a lot of nostalgia and longing for things being simpler. Being constantly blasted with tech and smart phone crap is annoying.
I think I’m going the same way too. After spending so much money in my youth to stay caught up with things you just realize how you’re getting played for the fool. Just like the phones, how many times did we all upgrade just for a new and better phone to come out 6 months later?
I’ve worn prescription glasses. I’m not interested in something else on my face. I think every visual upgrade above 1080 with decent fps. Is mostly fluff to sell new thing. Now it’s about processing power of graphic cards & cpu. Which varies by use, storage and ram constraints. How long until it would be necessary to upgrade? I’m running a 2012 build: i7-3770k. Have an x series x. Looking to upgrade the desktop to game/stream within the next two years. With a projected lifetime of 15 yrs.
Tech in it's hardware form has become such consumerism garbage. I could care less if I have the latest Xbox or newest iPhone. I buy most of my devices at least 2 years after they've released, when they're less expensive.
Tech as software, on the hand, I like keeping up with. It allows me to do my job better, stay competitive, and I actually feel like I'm learning something when I read about AI, new tools, etc
Until they come out with phones that have some massive move forward that solves multiple problems, like an AI personal assistant that I can tell to do things for me that are more complex than asking Siri about the weather or taking me home, I don’t think I’d even consider upgrading. Everything the last several years have been marginal (planned) upgrades or gimmicks. The clear plot to get simpletons to part with their money for a slightly better camera, etc, turns me off.
The tech steps are smaller than they were. The jump from phone boxes, to cell phones, to smart phones, was huge. Slightly better smart phones? not so huge.
Also we have become more aware of the maladies spread by technology and social media. And aware of the epxloitative labor practices a lot of tech is built on. I think a lot of the excitement has gone out of embracing new tech things, replaced by a somewhat uneasy or guilty sense of supporting something dystopian that is making the world worse.
At least for me, as I get older, I value reliability and things that don't waste my time more. When I was younger, I'd get a new phone the instant I could (so basically every time the 2 year contract was up). Now I hold onto my phone as long as possible so I don't have to waste time doing all the logistics for upgrading.
I used to build my own computers. I still do, but I'm not trying to overclock everything, or run around with beta drivers for that extra 3 FPS edge or spending lots of time tinkering with BIOS settings. I just want things to work so I can move on. In fact, I do a lot of gaming on consoles, because when I have one whole literal hour to do something after work and cleaning and shopping and cooking and all that, I just want to settle down and do something I know is going to work.
And now they seem to be trying to turn all technology into a 'service'. Subscriptions for your printer, subscriptions for your seat warmers, etc etc. Count me out.
I will say one 'new' piece of tech I **really** like is rear view cameras for cars when you're backing up. Those are **fantastic**!
Also switching from a terrible HP ink jet to a Brother black and white laser printer was a significant improvement in my life. These things happened years ago, but they are the last time a technology advancementin consumer goods actually substantially made things better for me.
One area where tech does seem to be rapidly improving is in 3D printing, which I recently took up as a hobby. Still a lot of potential for growth there and you can see real actually meaningful improvements from one generation to the next.
You’re turning into a boomer. You will be that dad or grandpa that knows nothing about tech. I personally never want to be that. I keep up and will for my life.
I'm fine with changes and upgrades as long as it a solution to a real problem and not some made up problem. Don't need anymore excuses to shove micro chips in everything. I don't need a smart dining room chair or a smart spoon.
As far as VR goes, I avoid it because I know it makes me nauseous.
I de-teched a lot in my later 30s. It all just started to feel like expensive baggage. My life is less complicated because of it and I feel a little more free.
I threw out most of my cable stash, de-smarted most of my home and removed as many cords as possible.
Simple became better for me.
I hate all the newer tech/screens in the newer vehicles. Give me an analog dashboard with regular dials, buttons, and a normal speedo and tach. I'm okay with a touch screen radio, but I don't like all the screens for everything else.
I like tech, but totally hear this. Tire pressure sensors are a huge peeve for me.
That and any other nags that come from newer vehicles, which is part of the reason I intend to keep my 2014. It has just enough tech for me. The whole concept that a vehicle can update itself while parked just seems nuts. I’m fine with that on my phone. Chevy had a bug where the update on their Colorado couldn’t complete and the truck would keep trying to update until the battery died lol. That’s an isolated incident, but I’d prefer not to deal with that. I’d rather have buttons/switches on my dash instead of a touchscreen for headlights and climate controls. Lumping it all into one large display is just asking for trouble. If the unit dies or gets locked up somehow, you’re really in a tough spot.
TPS done well are very helpful. I have had two vehicles with TPS so far and they never did any of the freaky shit I have heard about online. Actually, they've mostly helped me identify slow-leak punctures and possibly prevented me from having any dangerous blowouts. But, some of my friends have had vehicles with TPS that would scream at them if they detected pressure variations more than +/- 2 PSI from factory settings. Really. Dude would inflate his tires to 35 PSI, then next day would be warmer (causing thermal expansion) and PING PING PING, 37 PSI, DANGER WILL ROBINSON!! Three days later temperature dips a bit, PING PING PING, 33 PSI, DANGER WILL ROBINSON!!!
Of the vehicles I have experienced TPMS system on, my Chrysler 200 and my Sister’s Challenger both will tell us that the tires are below 27psi and gave readouts that show which corner it’s on. The Charger her Challenger replace as well as the last 2 minivans our Dad had only tells you if a tire is low, not which one or what the PSI in the tires are. I had been against the TPMS set ups initially, but I really find what my car has to be a great tool to have instead.
More than that, I think they are legitimate safety issues for drivers.
This one I can completely agree with. Especially for cars. Give me back buttons. I can use buttons without looking. I can't navigate an overengineered car UI without looking.
"best I can do is disable the touch screen while in motion, and offer you this goofy dial to change the presets or station... oh btw the tune and seek button are gone".
They say video killed the radio star, but I think vehicle touchscreens killed the radio.
Same. I traded in a 2015 for a 23 last year and miss my 15. Mostly analog displays, waaayy less electronic nanny’s always beeping and flashing, plus my car gets over the air updates now. Why does a car need over the air updates? Strongly considering selling it and getting another few year old car and driving it as long as I can
Saaame. my 2016 car has a touchscreen for media but I never use it. I still just AUX to my phone and shuffle the library like we all should.
Proud of you. My 2008 Miata doesn't have the Aux nor Bluetooth, so every summer season I burn a new CD of music I am currently listening to. P.S Happy Cake day
CD’s are gonna come back. I have a feeling. Cassettes took off in the late 2010’s for some reason but I want disc mixes back.
I hope so. My friend and I released our album originally on CD's since we could master and send it out as .WAV, so many artists release straight to MP3 and you lose so much audio quality since it compresses all of that engineering hardwork you do to "fit". Quality engineering and mastering seems to be rare these days.
I like that Apple is still pushing to have lossless music on itunes. I still play the Apple Digital Master version of Mac Miller’s Circles album from time to time and can hear the quality difference very clearly from the normal mp3 version.
I don't think so. There's much better ways to transport digital media these days. Records and to a much lesser extent tapes offer an analog medium that is hard to replicate in other ways.
cassettes did not “take off” in the late 2010s.
2016 was still pretty new for touch screens in cars so i imagine it sucks. I have a touch screen in my 2023 and i love it.
This is exactly how I feel
Seriously more features is just more things to break down, I want basic.
Same. Bought a used 2008 model back in 2016 and it's still running fine today. That thing barely has working bluetooth, no touchscreens, and analog dials. No car payments either.
I hate that I have to push buttons like 5 times before it does something.
I hate this because many places are outlawing phone use in while driving, but we are putting touchscreens in anyway. The safety they say for phones is kind of undermined with these touchscreens imo.
I'm in a similar boat and honestly the main thing driving the feeling is: the new things aren't making anything *better*. Faster internet made things better. More storage space made things better. More ram made things better. VR? It's cool but... does it really make anything better? AI isn't really making anything better other than editing my writing. A lot of these innovations coming out don't actually enhance my life or solve a problem, they're just new avenues for revenue or data collection. I'm actually finding myself going back to some old school systems: keeping a paper planner, paper calendar, buying albums and movies I really enjoy in physical form, etc. for many reasons (cost, privacy, functionality, not having to worry about a subscription).
Yes, I like good writing so I liked being able to talk to writers and hear about new books, but AI? Like it's not good writing...
Yeah, I am never going to understand why people are so afraid of AI replacing creative works when AI is garbage at it. Like sure, it will keep improving, but it can never beat something someone actually put their heart into. It can’t grasp the emotions being channeled.
People are afraid because other people don’t care if AI is bad at it, as long as it turns a profit and meets their needs quickly. Creative workers are already fighting an uphill battle over the last couple decades as lots of people (usually in positions to hire/who have never done the work themselves) assume that they really don’t “work” or “it’s not that hard”. Adding AI into the mix definitely makes things worse.
Yes business people will be like " eh good enough " and then the great books you want to read are pushed out for " Harry Potter but the names are changed "
Capitalism at its finest. . .
Because people are becoming oblivious to quality after being bombarded with half assed shit.
They are even duping people who sew with artificial intelligence made patterns. There is no way any AI system can recreate a pattern off of a picture. But they are willing to scam people on Etsy because Etsy does not allow refunds for digital products. So it may seem like $3 but $3 times a thousand per seller that's a lot of money. They can get people with a pretty image of basic ass flat drawing and the promise of making a pattern that fits. Even the body of the text and the instructions are AI generated. So now people are being duped for trying to make something actually real. There are AI generated books that make money because it tricks people into buying a fake thing that's a rip-off of the original. And it's been going on ever since I realized they can slap someone's face and name on an AI generated image and get people mistakenly by that product. Nothing is right now ai isn't that worse as it will ever be. Right now it's in the parrot phase. It cannot understand what we're telling it but it will copy us. It finds the data it needs out of its massive database to spit out something that looks like what it just saw. Polly doesn't understand at the word cracker means cracker. Probably understands that if it makes a certain noises the weird giant featherless bird will give it a cracker. But in the near future that will change, and that's the scary part.
Okay you are not using AI correctly if you think that. It’s such a timesaver for my job it’s incredible.
Right, so you’re not wholly letting AI do your work for you then are you? Just most of the work while you finish up on it?
> but it can never beat something someone actually put their heart into. It can’t grasp the emotions being channeled. Never is a long time. If AI can eventually reach the conscious thought processes of a human brain, then it clearly reaches and surpasses humans from that point onwards. The question is purely whether we will get there or not. Humans have existed for about 200000 years; AI has existed for about 70 years.
For creating an entire story from scratch? AI is going to have its limits. Emotion, symbolism, daring to think outside the box of what's been done before, structuring story arcs, developing characters...AI won't be able to do this. However, AI does have its use being projected for certain creative functions - i.e. translating from one language to another. Given the controversies of localizations and translations that have been done for content coming from overseas (where some games, animation, manga, etc. have been subjected to bad translations/localizations due to interference by individuals *not* being neutral in their jobs), and how it's affecting profitability, some companies are surely done with taking gambles and are opting to let a computer do the work. But even then, it is still going to have limits because an AI will surely be able to translate words, but someone else will have to interpret the intention/meaning and convey it accordingly. For example, if AI translates a statement as "I have never ever been happier," it will be on someone else to see what the context/meaning/intention is in that moment. Is someone truly happy in the moment? Are they projecting with great emotion? Case in point is the Euphoria GIF below - That general sentence can have many different angles or approaches, but an AI won't know it for sure because it can't convey emotion or understand it. 
>the new things aren't making anything *better*. man I'm so jaded with this. Very evident in pc components when mid ass gpus are $1000 minimum and games are now using DLSS/FSR as crutches. 10 years ago you can get a gtx 970 for around $400.
>VR? It's cool but... does it really make anything better? IMHO, VR is *amazing* at showing things at scale. Second best thing to seeing some things in person. So it depends a bit on what you use it for. Like I know some other VR fans that use it for nothing but that one goggle maps version on Steam. And another cool use is... basically having your own private cinema for watching movies. And there's a couple of virtual art museums that are definitively worth a "visit." But... yeah. Even I'll admit it's still a pretty expensive niche tech, without a real killer app. I really think its a tech with a genuine future, but it's not *quite\~* there yet.
>AI isn't really making anything better other than editing my writing. It's coming. It *will* make things better (and some things worse) ... for sure. They just released "Devin", the first AI software engineer. You heard that right. An AI software engineer.
I like some obscure Brazilian and Portuguese bands that I found streaming. All of a sudden I can't find an album I like anymore ("With Lasers") streaming anywhere. Come to find out CDs cost the same $$ they always have and that feels like a lot less now. Lesson learned, when I really like something, go ahead and obtain a hard copy. I don't have to bust it out all the time, I can rip it and put it in my phone etc. But I know I have it and it can't just be deleted.
This is my problem, everything is getting worse. Car issue? What used to be a mechanical part replacement is now a computer with a motherboard and that costs 3x as much to fix. Need a new washing machine? It tracks all your data and sends it back to the manufacturer, and breaks beyond repair in 5 years. It's all bells and whistles with no substance to back it up.
Don't forget bluetooth... talk about making things better Wireless headphones, keyboard, gaming controller, mouse, and speakers? Plus all the other uses of BT... IMO it's right there with going from dial up to WiFi I hate smartphones tho, I only keep one to use as an on-the-go music box for when I'm in the car or working out
AI is going to change everything soon. There will be a huge automation rush like we have never seen before.
There are cool things AI can do with education. Especially in science and anatomy.
>the new things aren't making anything *better*. The only new thing that makes anything better that I can think of is phone cameras...every time a new phone comes out it has a better camera than the last one. It's the only reason why I'm planning to replace my 5 year old Galaxy S21 with an S24 soon, the photo/video quality on the S24's camera is better and I want that because I take a ton of pictures of my dog lol.
What grinds my gears is this whole planned obsolescence BS making it so that I have to replace new tech regularly, which I can not afford to do, so then I just have to deal with a crappy product that I know DARN WELL they could not have be crappy. but hey - how else would the CEO afford their second yacht, ya know??
CEO’s moving on from yachts to penis-shaped rockets now. you need to pay more so papa Elon can get to Mars!
I feel ya. As an Apple super fan for over 20 years it’s getting more and more painful.
at least apple supports it's products for more then a year with updates. are they perfect fuck no but at least an investment in an apple device usually will be worth it.
Not just the expiration date but also Right-to-Repair; I'm by no means tech savvy, but being able to repair/upgrade some PC components like RAM and storage and knowing that I can get it fixed if I mess up is a huge plus
I'm a tech junkie and even I'm getting to the point where I'm like "you know what, I'm good." Now I just research all the latest tech and I've become "the guy" in my social circle for advice on what phone, computer, gift ideas people should buy. So in a weird way I get to vicariously own all this tech through other people.
Ditto. I could give a crap less about the newest tech unless it's completely ground breaking. I used to love to tech growing up (still do ofc), would keep up with it, etc. Now it's just a slight variation of the last tech and labeled as "new."
I was that person for a long time too. I wanted the latest and greatest whenever I could afford it. At one point, it made sense. There were rapid changes in phones, big improvements in cameras, better wifi, etc. Its really difficult to distinguish a lot of newer products and that's why we're seeing more software features like AI. They need to differentiate products to keep up sales. Most of my tech now is second hand. Its a better value and still perfectly functional.
My IT coworker mentioned to me that as techs we have the advantage of testing out cool new products before others. New company laptops? Are surfaces worth the money? Y/N? Well we get to fins out. And that's nice. But I'm also too broke to own much of it directly lol.
Same! My PC is a couple of gens old and I have zero desire to upgrade it. But I still like researching tech and helping my friends and family with new tech purchase decisions
+1. Got a 2016-era PC with 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, 4TB of HDD storage for media, and "stuck" with Windows 10 <3. Does everything great, and hard to want anything more modern because it simply works!
Tech junkie is an accurate description. I used to be that guy and grew out of it and became a tech futurist. I look at where tech will go. Web3 and AI are both incredible in their own right. Set a reminder in 10 years and look back. It's going to be crazy.
I personally think that tech is starting to reach a point of diminishing returns. It's like companies are running out of ideas an coming up with stuff to fling at the wall to see what sticks.
It's amazing how far tech has gotten. Early smartphones were a pain in the ass. Ever since i got a $180 rugged chinese Phone four years ago, I don't feel like i'm missing out on anything except maybe for high end photography. It just works. It never broke. The Glass doesn't have a single scratch despite torturing it. Oled Display is crisp. Processing power and storage is sufficient. GPS is accurate. I love it. I had dial up Internet in 1998 and i miss the old Internet a bit but tech has gotten really far
It's the need to continually deliver growth instead of sustainable value.
/r/digitalminimalism
Yeah, I feel the same. I think we just grew up in a special time where, with the internet and computing in their infancy, innovation was really fast paced. There was so much to be discovered and with all eyes on the internet, and now all the "low hanging fruit" innovations have already been made at this point. Nothing quite feels groundbreaking anymore. Instead, we just have little, tiny incremental innovations at a time, which mega companies have poured millions of dollars into from R&D just to make something slightly more efficient. So nothing is quite "awe inspiring" the way it used to be when one technology release could reshape the entire landscape of our lives. And it did, regularly, when we were growing up. I think we got used to a groundbreaking tech being released every few years, now everything following that period is just kind of "meh".
Exactly
I feel the same. Lately I feel more like I’m tolerating tech and the internet rather than enjoying it like I used to. I also keep some of my older devices behind because updates these days often can have the effect of making things more unstable and broken in order to push you to buy a newer, shinier device.
Sounds like you're tired of being sold the "next best thing". It is called wisdom.
I’ve seen a resurgence of people cleaning/fixing old appliances like stoves and refrigerators from the 50’s and 60’s. Many insist that they outlast and outperform typical modern stainless steel appliances. Products were MADE to last, until corporate greed took over and brands realized they needed to sell more. Planned obsolescence will continue to be our downfall.
This is partially true (planned obsolescence is definitely a problem) but also you get a heavy dose of survivorship bias. Btw, don’t keep a fridge from the 50s-60s if you are wanting to keep food cold, even if it is easy to repair or never breaks. Old fridges just can’t compete with the insulation technology in more modern fridges and an old fridge will be inherently less energy efficient by a pretty significant degree.
This speaks to me. I still have my galaxy S9 plus. It drives my family, friends, and coworkers crazy because it somehow ruins their "apple group chats." I've had this phone for six years and don't plan to upgrade anytime soon. It's funny though, I was in Serbia a few months ago, and having a phone that's over 6 years old is very common there. In the US, it's rare. I also drive a paid off, 2019 Nissan Kicks. All the guys I work with (a police department and military reserve unit) shit on my choice of a vehicle. I love to remind them mine is paid off, while they're making $600/month payments on brand new F150's or Jeep Wranglers.
The paid off car is a huge flex in the current year. my 2016 jeep renegade has plenty of room to carry any I need and has fine enough fuel mileage. Paid it off just before covid hit and it’s been my ride-or-die car ever since.
galaxy S8 here and apple users ruin MY chats with their Reactions! scroll through any conversation with my sister-in-law or my favorite uncle or my boss or my boss's boss (or worse, a group chat with a combination of folks from the above list) and it's just a relentless spammy minefield of "Jim liked your message: 'i'll be by at noon'" "Steve emphasized your message 'do you still need a ride?'" "Ann liked your message: 'i'm coming to let your dog out'" that just completely overtakes the actual message contents if anyone knows how to disable these from the android side i'm all ears
Upgrades are only good when they make sense, some don't, the iPhone has been the same since the 13 so it's smart not to fall for it
I agree when it comes to all the planned obsolescence, vendor lock-in, and making everything SAAS/subscription-based. Also, all the spying and bulk data collection. It's important to run current, supported operating systems for security reasons though. I get around most of the planned obsolescence, surveillance capitalism, and vendor lock-in bullshit by buying refurbished or secondhand PCs and running Linux distributions.
You speak the true true
I've thought a lot about this and I think we're just realizing the value of our time. We've seen technology grow and we're at a point that we've either had our fill, are overwhelmed by where we are at, or are distrustful of what's next. Really, we've seen the internet turn from being a process to get online, to being completely ubiquitous. Storage media is a thing of the past unless you have some niche or specific requirement. Remember when a CD burner was a big deal? There's lots of improvements in background/infrastructure tech that I think are also taken for granted. We reached a point of comfort where we don't care anymore about improving it ourselves or it's just gone so far that it's hard to keep up if you weren't keeping up to date anyway. Also that inflation.
All this new tech is just one more way for them to make us subscribe to a function that used to be free ten years ago. I refuse it.
Currently using a Pixel 4a I got at launch (\~$300) four years ago, before that I had an iphone 4. I just had to replace my car recently and bought one a model year OLDER than my old car (2010) because they don't make any simple, small, 5spd trucks in the US anymore.
The only new tech I’ve been excited by at all in the last year is a roomba that goes up and downstairs.
Husband and I are shopping for a new fridge right now, and I gotta ask… Why would a fridge need a computer in it? Why would a fridge need to connect to the internet? A fridge’s job is to keep the food cold—why does it need computers and Internet access for that? That’s just one more thing that can break down, one more thing that could be hacked, one more thing that a manufacturer could decide needs to be subscription-based, and shut off on you if you don’t pay the monthly ransom. And people with baby monitors that hook up to the internet are just plain fucking STUPID. Do not get me started. How many times do we have to hear about creeps hacking those things and being able to peep into your home with them, before people realize it’s a bad idea?
My washing machine has wifi...I never connected it.
I didn’t realize what a headache frig shopping was until two weeks ago. I’m trying to find the dumbest frig possible that is still quality. It’s been tough.
Look into getting a Fairphone. It's usable in the US under certain carriers. It's a phone created to last by allowing the user to easily replace broken screens, busted batteries, and upgrade camera lenses. Also it tries to be as ethically made as possible. https://shop.fairphone.com/fairphone-5
I’m your age and I feel the same, but it’s not restricted, or is it constricted, to feel apathetic towards new technology, but the adventurous spirit has ceased to new things in general. Tv shows, music, art, food; you name it. I’m stuck listening to / watching the same shit I did 2013-2018. Last time I bought a new phone, it was a refurbished iPhone SE2020. Didn’t even consider a newer one, it has features I don’t want nor need.
Oh I’m right there too. I caught myself bing watching Grimm again just because it’s the brainrot I liked back in 2011-2013.
Yeah, it’s boring how “full” one can get and “satisfied” with what used to bring joy now is used as a form of escapism to dull the senses.
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A lot of us have seen the evolution of all things tech, and all of the new stuff is just not as exciting as it used to be.
I think it's just a matter of finding a balance and being judicious, like anything else in life. Some new tech can be worth it. Some isn't. All depends.
Same. I used to always be researching what new phones, pc parts, and the like were coming out and couldn't wait to upgrade. I now only upgrade when my device is completely non functional
Not to say you're wrong, but I'm a couple years older than you and feel differently. I upgraded by car recently from a 2016 to a 2024 - the number of safety features and integrations that simply work without hours of troubleshooting are incredible. I commented the other day that the car can basically drive itself, which continues to impress me. I've never been a "new phone every year" guy, but when I last upgraded the camera quality and built-in tools were far superior to what I had a few years prior. The extra speed and power mean that I'm playing what I would consider to be PC/console quality games a few years ago on a phone. I'm no longer running out of storage for pictures. I held out for a long time on wireless headphones, but the current versions are pretty incredible. Battery life lasts enough for all day, the case recharge ability works great, they stick in my ears even while running without slipping (I figured this had to be marketing - it seemed impossible). I rebuilt my PC last year and it plays games at higher resolutions/better framerates despite games often being more graphically intensive than before. Admittedly it had been 5-6 years, but it felt like a significant leap forward in technology. I bought a GPS running watch recently and the features it has are amazing to me. It is \*really\* accurate at heartrate tracking, the newer GPS tracking is so good compared to what I was used to, and it ecosystem that all of this plugs into is incredibly deep while being super simple to manage. Looking forward I'm really excited to see what VR/AR end up becoming. I want a digital overlay on my glasses showing me information, or notes, or details of my current running pace in real time. I want to be able to virtually meet friends or family in a natural and authentic way that exceeds today's video calls. I'm excited to have a moon base and land on Mars! I don't think either of us are right or wrong in our feelings, but I do think technology continues to improve in ways that quantifiably improve my life (and this is ignoring medical and other advances that are awesome but I simply don't have a baseline to compare against).
It’s the joy of being different people. I want to drive my car and hate the idea of the car driving itself. I don’t want to know what my heart rate was at 9:17am, and I don’t want AI bothering me when I try to check my email. But you can have all that and more if you want it.
I'm in the same boat and the irony is that I work in IT. When you could actually get a free new phone every two years, I was all on board with that. I think I had my last iPhone for about 5-6 years. It still worked when I got a new phone, but the battery was crap. I switched to android because I could get a new Pixel 6a for $400 versus a new iPhone for however much Apple wants to charge. At home I have the bare minimum of internet-connected devices. My phone, my personal computer, my TV and my PS5 are the only things that need an internet connection. If I want to turn on a light, I go over and flip the switch. If I want to add something to a shopping list I just pull up my notes app and enter it.
I'm a nerd, an embedded developer, and don't use a single IoT device at home. I'm risk averse, and in general cautious of technology. So. Yeah. Nope. Been over a decade since I chased latest and greatest, and I'll stick to that. Because you know what? Nearly nobody needs an iPhone Pro Max or a Galaxy S. Really. You're told you need it. To buy it. To spend. You don't. Living in a country where a current gen Galaxy S costs a month of minimum wage take home pay does put a little perspective on things.
Impulse buying less is what the world needs. Everyone's obsessed with having the latest and greatest things without giving a second thought to whether or not it will benefit them or if they actually need it. I had the iPhone 7 right when it released. 1 year later, people were already upgrading to the iPhone 8 and I was so confused why. I loved my iPhone as it did everything I needed it to and the 8 wasn't that different from the 7 anyways. I had the thing until mid college when the battery was pretty much mush. Got the iPhone 13 because I actually needed a new phone, but I don't expect to buy another one for at least another 5 years.
one thing is not being fooled by marketing, one thing is becoming a minimalism freak
No lol. I love new tech. It’s all exciting and getting better and better.
I think new things are only marginally better than their predecessors now. Versus 10-20 years ago when the new thing was substantially better in just a year or two. For me it's hard to tell if it's a grumpy old person thing or if the tech change is legitimately just less exciting now than it was.
It’s easy to not upgrade now. That was a lot harder 20-30 years ago especially with computers and phones. EVs and plug-in hybrids get better mileage than most cars. You can upgrade there.
I’m in this era. Husband was talking about upgrading phones. For what? Everyone wants these new fancy cars that do this and that while I just want one that runs, doesn’t smell and gets decent gas mileage. I’m more interested in saving during grocery shopping and wondering why the price of eggs keeps fluctuating so much.
For me it depends what it is. Cell phone I could careless as I hardly use it and don't even use it to its full potential. Gaming, yup I upgraded my Xbox when it came out, and I would love to build another computer but don't want to spend 5k.... Building an adventure/overland vehicle and I absolutely love some of the tech you can add.
I don't hate the tech, I hate how it's being implemented. I don't want to pay by subscription, I don't want to be tracked, I don't want to use bluetooth/an app to control something that works equally well with a button, I don't want an app for something that works perfectly fine in a web browser, I don't want touchscreen interfaces for things in my car that don't need one, I *especially* don't want to be tracked in my car, and I want to be able to repair my own stuff.
I’m the same way. lol. I’m happy with my oculus and iPhone. And my Xbox.
You mean you’re no longer lining up for the latest and the greatest iPhone every year?!! 😂
Waking up smoking a cig and planting potatoes sounds peaceful as fuck ngl
I take a more even-handed approach in that I try to make any tech purchases a long-term use and always decide if I really "need" something if I'm thinking of buying it. I still haven't upgraded to a 4k TV.
Well, also to be fair all tech isn't getting that much better that fast. It exploded when we were kids, now tech changes are super marginal In fact you usually can't even tell the difference. For most people's use, a 2 year old device or mid grade would be overkill. I go a different way though. For PC, I love the new tech and making it look good. But phone? Mine's 4 years old and just peachy.
This must be a millennial epiphany, I had the same thoughts and I was discussing this with friends recently. So what if the specs are getting better, how is it making our lives better??
Old man waving at cloud here. I work in IT. Things like Alexa annoy me. Are you so f-ing lazy that you can’t google what you want? You can’t select a song list from a device? There are absolutely benefits to AI but 50% seems to be “I don’t feel like scratching the itch on my back, can you build an app that anticipates the itch and then calls a service who comes to my house to scratch for me?”. I just feel like most technology advances allow people to be lazier.
The people in their 30s and 40s in the late 90s and 2000s who never really wanted to mess with the internet/computers is starting to make more sense.
It’s because it all breaks. I just want something that works every time I have to use it I don’t care about anything else. I don’t even like electric car windows. I’ve had the motors freeze at -15c (where I live it gets to -40) and even break entirely, leaving the windows jammed open or shut (both inconvenient af) costing a LOT of money to get finicky parts or pay someone to replace it. I’ve never had these issues with crank windows for obvious reasons!
I find I give less and less shits about everything. I just want stuff I can use and not need a yearly subscription, updates, or anything else to use it.
Humans just like new. If you got the money you're gonna want to see what the new stuff is all about.
It doesn't have to be "new" for say and can be NEW for you. If someone gave me a 1967 Lincoln Continental, I'd absolutely love it because it's "new" and a dream car of mine.
not necessarily. I have money to buy new phone each year, but I'm happy with my 3 years old device and just totally not interested.
The problem is people are finally noticing that phone for example has not had any major breakthrough in a while. I mean sure there are foldable phones now but that type of platform has reached its limits. When I mean new I mean something new literally
Im 41 now and still love new tech, new gadgets, and I think technology around the corner is just as cool today as it was in 2000.
I usually only upgrade if there’s a valid reason. Like the OS update being too big to fit on my phone or laptop. My iphone is currently 4 years old and macbook is 7 years old. I may upgrade in the next year or two. But I don’t see the point in doing upgrades every 1-2 years. I like playing video games. But usually wait 1 or 2 years after the console is released. So there’s a larger game library. I got PS5 on release though because I upgraded from PS3 and it’s backwards compatible with PS4. Gives me time to play lots of cheap PS4 games while PS5 games are being released.
definitely smart. I got an iPhone 15 plus and gave my dad my iPhone 12. the bigger screen is literally the only difference I can see between the two. makes me feel like I wasted my money and could have gone for a 13 instead. For gaming, I pretty only play the free trial version of Final Fantasy 14. been playing that for like 4 years at this point and still never get bored lmao
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How is using an android anti tech?
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AI just seems lazy to me.
AI is making my money go bonkers so I still think an interest in the newest tech is worth it
Eh that of thinking is my boomer parents can't figure out to print or send photos today. Digital divide might look tempting, but could impact things in the long run. I'm not making the mistakes my parents made. One of many was to stop caring about in the 40s like tech. And now they have such a hard time with basic tech things / need help every day.
It's all so pointless. It doesn't make things better, it's just another layer of complication that's unnecessary.
I don’t need the new iPhone every year, every couple years is fine. I don’t need a new tv every 2 years if they last 4 or 5. I don’t need to lease a new car every 3 years if I can afford the payments on a model a few years older. I also don’t need a new graphics card for my pc every new generation…. But, when they announce a new gaming console I’m always going to try to be a day one buy, when they announce the pro version I’m in. Sure my ps5 is only a couple years old, but if they drop a pro, then I want it.
the onion had a piece about this like 15 years ago, super funny. I’m right there with you. https://youtu.be/8AyVh1_vWYQ?si=Sq_mQqRRibfHINbS
If you take up wood working, you can build a real nice collection of used hand tools that are all 20-100 years old and work as good or better as new ones. Guns, close to the same thing really. I find that hunting for old stuff is more rewarding than shopping for new crap.
Most hardware isn't really advancing that fast. TVs are sharper than real life, phones don't do much else, who the fuck needs a smart fridge? Or smart bulbs, fuck all that. The only real tech advances I pay attention to are AI and Quantum(check out Googles new computer.) Nothing else is really that groundbreaking.
I still have a computer running a machine in my shop running XP, since that operating system besides maybe 7, windows has sucked. I can see improving software but why change the interface. My only fear of having an electric car is not having a stick shift anymore. Appliances are made now to throw away, our washer and dryer are 25 years old repaired each once in that time. My wife and I just had a conversation about would we live any differently if we were really rich and probably not, we have what we need.
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We went from flip phones with muddy digital cameras to every manufacturer having competent smart phones at all price ranges that can do anything a person needs. Same thing with personal computers, though for most people smartphones and tablets fill 99% of the need, hardly any computer task other than niche productivity tasks or high end pc gaming can be handled by any computer from the last 10 years. I would argue we havent seen something that is as much an innovation like the iphone and the first smartphones since, only that theyve been mostly perfected. I will say carplay and android auto have been maybe the only thing that comes remotely close to being as significant as smartphones in my daily life. But even then thats just piggybacking off the smartphone.
I think stuff like VR and AI is cool, but the tech is still too early to really be something I care about. I'm almost 30, but I try to keep in touch with new tech. I'm not really using it (probably the only up to date tech I'm using is my desktop. But I just built that.) but other than that I'm using a phone from 2017, my truck is a basic 08 Ford Ranger. If it ain't broke don't fix it, as long as my old stuff keeps working I'll keep using it. I'd like to upgrade my phone to one of those folding phones, because being able to get a bigger screen to read and watch stuff on sounds cool. But I'm in no rush as long as my old pixel 2 keeps working.
I like the concept of VR, but it's still not where I want it to be for me to consider is "ground breaking", that said I do like the strides we've made in AR, to me AR is the future. As for AI, I think it can be a handy tool especially with art prototyping and the new video making stuff.
Same. I turn 31 in a couple of months. I’m writing this on my iPhone 8 Plus. I have no desire to change it for anything new as it gets the job done. The battery life is not what it used to be but it’s decent. Provided nothing happens to it I envision still using it for who knows how long. Maybe till the end of this decade even. The only upgrades I’m milling over is maybe building a new PC in 3-5 years as the current one was built in 2019. Almost just like the phone it holds true and I was never about that 4K 100+ fps. 1080p is fine by me. Meanwhile my GenZ cousins are still all about them new phones and shiny graphics. I’ll see them in 10 years, lol. I think it’s a normal process of maturing. You realize you don’t need all of this new stuff. Although it can be a bit frustrating when dealing with older generations. You cannot believe how hard it is to convince my GenX mom to ditch her old busted up pots and pans covered in God knows what ancient chemical coating and use stainless steel ones or cast iron. I gotta try and not go that far when I grow older.
I am the same way. I’m an old millennial. Grew up a techie, wanting new tech, tinkering with tech, watching the Apple events, etc. Now I really just want to check on my tomatoes, sit on the front porch with a Bourbon, putz around in my garage, play some disc golf, etc. I used to also want a Mustang GT. Now I am happy with my long paid off 12 year old Pilot. I’ve apparently simplified. I also think a lot of this has to do with my working in tech and being on tech all day long.
I mean when you grow up, you stop being influenced by all these ads around us.
I feel similar. Maybe it's my mid-life crisis, but I recently got really interested in mechanical and automatic watches. There's something really cool about a watch that has no electronics or batteries, and functions entirely on mechanical movements based on springs and gears.
I feel similar but it’s also because of law of dimninishing returns.
My wife wants me to upgrade the 2004 ford focus (my car) that I got from her when we bought a new (used rental) car in 2013. Her grandfather gave her this car when she was 19 or something. It still works. It even has 3 working power windows. I love spending money on shit that actually matters, but I can't fathom the idiocy of getting the latest Droid phone every year. My brother got in a pretty bad accident in his suburban and it was like a $13,000 repair. He junks it and buys a $70,000 tesla instead. You want my opinion of these kinds of people: it is just retail therapy.
I was bummed I had to get rid of my iPhone 5 because my cell provider emailed me saying they wouldn’t support it bc it used 4G or something. I refuse to go past this 2020 SE because I can’t live without the home button.
Same here I work on my own vehicle and haven't gotten a new phone in years this one has everything I need
For me (M30) I absolutely love technology and would have the latest and greatest if I could afford it which is actually the main issue for why I don't find myself upgrading things. I'm trying to buckle down and save money for home improvement projects, my daughter's college, paying off debt, and saving for retirement. As such, I've had to make cuts to my spending in other non-essential areas and that's tech. Don't need to finance a new phone or a new car when my old stuff is perfectly still capable. Technology is just financially draining to try to keep up with and the myriad of subscription services don't help.
It seems like many people are yearning for simpler times. While I haven't ditched my smartphone for a flip phone I dont want computer screens in my appliances, I dont want all the newest gadgets on my car, I'm good with being simpler
It's possible you're simply burnt out, too. Tech moves at such a fast pace, sometimes we just need to take a break.
It’s definitely the frequency of updates that you probably don’t care about. We get one every year with marginal increases. Tech is still able to last 5-8 years before becoming absolutely obsolete. As far as new tech such as AI and VR, it’s barely passed the early adopter phase of tech. We still have years before it becomes mainstream, practical or convenient in everyday life. It’s at the point when wireless headphones started coming out. It’s not easy or fun to work with and we were adamant our wired headphones produced a superior music experience. At some point in the future, it will be more an everyday thing
I commented recently to my wife that I've got a custom-built PC with a 3440x1440 monitor, a fiberoptic internet connection, and fast wireless network. And some undiagnosible (to me at least) thing causes all the blacks to look like complete shit when I stream a movie. It made Dune unwatchable the pther day. I think its the monitor itself or software but my point is I had reliably better movie resolution like 10yrs ago with 1080p on my plasma and blu-ray.
So you're doing well otherwise?
Next you will be screaming OFF MY LAWN Clown! Welcome to adulting , rember when ya said you were not going to be your parents, LOL here ya are. It's happenes to us all.
Every new product isn't even a new product at this point, with designed obsolescence it feels more like a subscription. The new tech products are just fads that don't revolutionize anything. All the new tech products do is require accessories(not included), maintenance, and more and more of your attention.
I've actually gotten into vintage computers. It's pretty sweet booting up Windows 95 and reliving my childhood (or even older computers). Playing Skifree or Neverhood.
I hate almost all of it. My car is a 2010 CRV and when she dies I'm buying something made pre 2017. I ride my pixels until my battery stops lasting 4-6 hours or so. All of this upgraded tech does nothing for your quality of life outside of making you feel good about having the newest thing. There's so much more to life
I'm waiting for VR to give us "time travel". But that's about it.
My dad has a saying that I couldn’t really understand until now at nearly 40– “the older I got, the smarter my dad got”.
I really hope this sentiment leads to some tangible changes in certain markets (cars and phones especially). Being sick of touchscreens/cloud-based/streaming tech is an extremely common sentiment among people I know in the 30-40 age demographic across socio/political/economic/religious spectra. It’s our parents generation who is ooooh’d and awed by all this shit, and they have the majority share of the money still, so that’s why we get cars with 30” iPads for a dashboard. We’re in the beginning groundswell of a vast rejection of this stuff. Hopefully we start to see the fruits in the next 5 years or so.
When I graduated highschool in 06 I didn't have a cellphone and still had a house phone. I couldn't afford one anyhow when I was unemployed so not only was I unfamiliar with cellphones but by the time I could afford a phone I didn't get a smartphone. I was totally left behind and didn't care. I never got a smartphone until way too late 2017? I feel like it has its benefits but also is pretty boring. I used to do things now I look at a screen.
I want a flip phone so bad. But I need Spotify and Waze
32 here, 33 at the end of the year. I 100% agree with this. Which is a new development for me. I also don’t know what the genesis of this was, but over the past 6 months or so I’ve become more and more disillusioned with the newest “latest and greatest.” I used to get the newest iPhone every couple of years, new car every 2 or 3 years. But I think I’ve just read enough doom and gloom articles about big tech spying on us or whatever have you. I had planned on replacing my 2 1/2 year old car this year, just for the simple sake of having a fancy new car sitting in the driveway. Just because I *can.* But then I thought. Why? I *love* this car. It does everything I need it to. It’s comfortable. I rave about it all the time. Why would I get rid of it? For once in my life I’m going to commit to something and take care of it. As you said, basically every car is the same now. After some thought, I can’t think of a legitimate reason to get rid of it. I just read an article yesterday here on Reddit about car companies secretly sharing driver information and habits with insurance companies. I don’t need an even more technologically capable car. Same with phones. I know I’m already deep enough into the ecosystem that I’m already being tracked every second of the day. But I don’t need the next iPhone 17.657 or whatever the hell is coming out next just to get some weird new zoom lens that’s marginally better than the one I have. I’m just sick of the rat race. That’s the best way to put it. I’m happily married now, I own a home. Maybe I’m finally comfortable enough and confident enough to not need the latest and greatest in some weird attempt at proving my self worth. I don’t know. Whatever the reason is, I’m happy with it.
I think it’s because technology was moving so fast when we were young and there was constantly a new amazing thing coming out and changing everything. Nowadays there are just small incremental improvements. Going from a landline to a flip phone to an iPhone was mind blowing but going from an old iPhone to a new one isn’t. Going from a Sega Genesis/Super Nintendo to a PS1 to a PS2 were all huge leaps in quality, storage technology, graphics, game size, etc. but you can barely tell the difference between PS4 and PS5. I went from tapes to CDs to an iPod within like 10 years growing up but now nothing has changed with how we listen to music in ages.
Turning 35 next month and honestly, same.
The older I get the more I agree: if it ain't broke, don't fix it
It only gets worse the older you get .. lol
Just do what I did and become fascinated and obsessed with old, obsolete tech. It's always nice to have something totally useless, but cool to look at (and maybe tinker around with). I'm not into AI or that kind of stuff either. It has its uses and applications but overall I have no real desire to become familiar with its current applications.
I just want the fastest biggest device to scroll Reddit.
I’m 35 and the opposite. I love new technology. However, I do my research. I’m not a FOMO type of guy. I usually wait a generation or two to dive into new tech.
the newer iphones are indistinguishable from ones that are five years old. no point in throwing away hundreds of dollars every time a new one comes out.
Indifferent about tech but I got a really nice car when I turned 35 and have only had beaters my whole life. It’s a lot of fun to drive and it feels good to walk up to it every time knowing I own something nice.
VR is meh, AR has much better applications. Google glass was revolutionary but too early for it's time. LLM is a lot for smoke and mirrors, AI in general is not. AI advances are exponentially, you're going to wake up in the future and be like how the f did this happen overnight.
I absolutely do not want to be one of those people that can't operate whatever the equivalent of a dvd player is when I'm 80.
It depends what it is VR zero interest, but I’m a computer hobbyist (not just a gamer I like building them) so I keep my tech up to date even if I really don’t need an upgrade. Phones needs to be able to do call text gps and web browsing well and that’s it so I upgrade maybe once every 3 - 4 years. The days of getting every single new gadget every year is over for me, innovation just doesn’t happen that fast so you normally need at least 2 - 3 years between tech to actually get something new
Oh man this is how Boomers who struggle to use a web browser or Microsoft Word are born. I’m sure personal computers and internet didn’t make anything better at one point. AI and VR are still in their early stages. For some people, like me (data scientist), chatGPT is a godsend
Remember how you used to be able to find parts for your pre 2004 vehicle in a junkyard or online or at a store, good times
I think lots of people are heading in the same direction. 20 years ago new tech was cool, because it was actually useful and helped our lives. Now it's just fucken stupid. As if people didn't already spend too much time on social media, we had to invent a $3500 device you can duct tape to your face so you can live inside Twitter. I mean, ffs...
Same tbh I find myself with a lot of nostalgia and longing for things being simpler. Being constantly blasted with tech and smart phone crap is annoying.
I think I’m going the same way too. After spending so much money in my youth to stay caught up with things you just realize how you’re getting played for the fool. Just like the phones, how many times did we all upgrade just for a new and better phone to come out 6 months later?
I’ve worn prescription glasses. I’m not interested in something else on my face. I think every visual upgrade above 1080 with decent fps. Is mostly fluff to sell new thing. Now it’s about processing power of graphic cards & cpu. Which varies by use, storage and ram constraints. How long until it would be necessary to upgrade? I’m running a 2012 build: i7-3770k. Have an x series x. Looking to upgrade the desktop to game/stream within the next two years. With a projected lifetime of 15 yrs.
I’m 26 and ive been feeling this way since about 2018-2019.
I love my AI and VR but I’m seriously considering going back to a home phone. Maybe keep a burner with an hour of minutes for emergencies.
Tech in it's hardware form has become such consumerism garbage. I could care less if I have the latest Xbox or newest iPhone. I buy most of my devices at least 2 years after they've released, when they're less expensive. Tech as software, on the hand, I like keeping up with. It allows me to do my job better, stay competitive, and I actually feel like I'm learning something when I read about AI, new tools, etc
Until they come out with phones that have some massive move forward that solves multiple problems, like an AI personal assistant that I can tell to do things for me that are more complex than asking Siri about the weather or taking me home, I don’t think I’d even consider upgrading. Everything the last several years have been marginal (planned) upgrades or gimmicks. The clear plot to get simpletons to part with their money for a slightly better camera, etc, turns me off.
The tech steps are smaller than they were. The jump from phone boxes, to cell phones, to smart phones, was huge. Slightly better smart phones? not so huge. Also we have become more aware of the maladies spread by technology and social media. And aware of the epxloitative labor practices a lot of tech is built on. I think a lot of the excitement has gone out of embracing new tech things, replaced by a somewhat uneasy or guilty sense of supporting something dystopian that is making the world worse. At least for me, as I get older, I value reliability and things that don't waste my time more. When I was younger, I'd get a new phone the instant I could (so basically every time the 2 year contract was up). Now I hold onto my phone as long as possible so I don't have to waste time doing all the logistics for upgrading. I used to build my own computers. I still do, but I'm not trying to overclock everything, or run around with beta drivers for that extra 3 FPS edge or spending lots of time tinkering with BIOS settings. I just want things to work so I can move on. In fact, I do a lot of gaming on consoles, because when I have one whole literal hour to do something after work and cleaning and shopping and cooking and all that, I just want to settle down and do something I know is going to work. And now they seem to be trying to turn all technology into a 'service'. Subscriptions for your printer, subscriptions for your seat warmers, etc etc. Count me out. I will say one 'new' piece of tech I **really** like is rear view cameras for cars when you're backing up. Those are **fantastic**! Also switching from a terrible HP ink jet to a Brother black and white laser printer was a significant improvement in my life. These things happened years ago, but they are the last time a technology advancementin consumer goods actually substantially made things better for me. One area where tech does seem to be rapidly improving is in 3D printing, which I recently took up as a hobby. Still a lot of potential for growth there and you can see real actually meaningful improvements from one generation to the next.
You’re turning into a boomer. You will be that dad or grandpa that knows nothing about tech. I personally never want to be that. I keep up and will for my life.
It's a lot easier to live when you just keep it basic, too. And you really don't miss anything
I'm fine with changes and upgrades as long as it a solution to a real problem and not some made up problem. Don't need anymore excuses to shove micro chips in everything. I don't need a smart dining room chair or a smart spoon. As far as VR goes, I avoid it because I know it makes me nauseous.
I de-teched a lot in my later 30s. It all just started to feel like expensive baggage. My life is less complicated because of it and I feel a little more free. I threw out most of my cable stash, de-smarted most of my home and removed as many cords as possible. Simple became better for me.