Does anyone else no longer recognise the tech community?

[kaptainmarc]

I'm guessing the OP has one of the latest folding screen phones?

thats new tech.

definitely doesn't drive a combustion engine car because that's old and we have new tech in the form of electric vehicles.

 

[Skidder]

Now everyone with an iphone is a tech enthusiast in the eyes of the market. The vast majority of tech consumers are not actually enthused by tech they just want to spew their lives out onto the internet via a glossy interface.

Personally I do think that we have been a bit spolied by progress and the latest and greatest has lost its appeal. Phones have been good at what they do for a few generations and upgrades are less impactful. PCs also seem to be changing less dramatically with each iteration but that is because they do what they do well. VR is good but loads of people seem to turn their noses up at it.

My sister in law probably considers herself a tech enthusiast because she can blather on twitter via 5 different devices.

 

[james.miller]

Ah, I see. It's your religion. No point carrying on then. I mistakenly thought you were asking for opinions rather than preaching. No True Scotsman fallacy thrown in for good measure as well.

And, of course, you ignored most of my reply. Preach on, brother!

You havent had a 'discussion' with mrochester before, have you?

 

[firstborn]

The battery goes bad after a few years. Corded doesn't have that problem. Same as the headphones debate. People want new tech but not planned obsolescence. Batteries = planned obsolescence. Same story for cars too.

Sorry, that was a poke at a previous thread by the OP wanting suggestions for a corded vacuum, having had enough of their cordless one

 

[enkoda]

I don't have wireless earphones for the simple reason that if one falls out and gets lost I have to buy another pair.

With my wired earphones, if one falls out I can just grab the cable and pop it back in. And, rather unsurprisingly, if they both fall out, I can do exactly the same.

Nothing to do with failing to embrace new technology.

 

[.Lethal]

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.demarco.rotaryphone&hl=en_GB

Unlocks in 6 hours for the UK. (Assuming it is borderlands?)

I clicked this and read the top feedback comment

Very cute very simple app that takes you back to the 1950' . With appropriate dial sounds and klicks!

 

[Tom_ed1987]

We seem to be in a place where the latest tech isn't necessarily better - often the latest is driven more by marketing needs & being 'this year's model' for the sake of it, & lacks the exciting intangible sense of it being absolutely best thing currently possible to produce. Recent step changes also often take as much as they give - cloud storage gives you convenience, but takes away privacy & adds an infrastructure layer in between which you are now dependent on for it to function well, & it doesn't always.
Where this isn't the case there are no issues - absolutely no-one argues that a 4k bluray is worse than a 1080p one

 

[ebilcake]

I’ve always felt like the tech community thrived on new technology, eagerly adopting new technologies.

Yet in recent times it feels like things have changed. The so-called tech community seem to now want things to stop changing or improving, and in some cases for progress to be reversed. Some areas I’ve seen this are the roll-back of USBC to , roll back to 3.5mm headphone jacks, roll-back to micro-SD cards, roll-back to fingerprint sensors rather than Face ID type authentication.

Why is it that some people have stopped embracing new technologies? I’ve not changed as I continue to still thrive on and embrace new technology.

What has changed do you think?

M.

3.5mm Jack - Still a nice addition, should never have been removed.
Micro-SD - Never stopped using them, so how are we rolling back? Makes no sense.
Fingerprint scanner - Again, don't really understand, on most devices this is still the most secure method for unlocking your phone.
USBA/C - I don't really care, manufacturers have their reasons.


Assuming Apple user as none of this makes any sense.

 

[Junglist]

I feel advancement of tech shouldn't/doesn't mean chucking away proven bits from the past that works. Even though I use Apple and i don't miss the 3.5mm jack I do think they removed it to push AirPods more than advancing technology. If you have to use a dongle, it's a step back in my opinion

 

[ttaskmaster]

New is not always better, as evidenced by those who still carry a paper map and physical compass given that SatNavs and phones might get wet... or run out of battery... or lose signal....

Besides, people are running out of sockets with which to charge all these gadgets. I hear complaints about lag with even the latest wireless headphones. Cloud storage means putting your data under someone else's control. New tech is often prohibitively expensive and not every enthusiast is rich enough to have it installed on their 90m motor yacht.

And of course, new tech is often crap, merely solutions looking for a problem. That Nintendo Power Glove, for example.

 

[Haggisman]

And of course, new tech is often crap, merely solutions looking for a problem. That Nintendo Power Glove, for example.

Absolutely this. Was looking for a new washing machine* the other day - apparently they now come with NFC so you can control them from your phone, with the ability to download new wash programs!

Supposedly - as a "tech enthusiast" - I should be on that like a fly on ****, but really, what does that actually give me? So instead of pushing the buttons on the front of the washing machine, I can push the buttons on my phone touch screen and then hold that against the front of the washing machine to transfer the button pushes? That doesn't add convenience or functionality, all it adds is an extra step; an extra thing to go wrong. It's not like pushing 2 buttons and turning a dial is complicated or time consuming, and does anyone actually use more than 1-2 programs on their machine anyway?

I found similar a few months ago, "smart" cooker hoods are now a thing, so if you accidentally leave something on the hob while out of the house, at least you can turn on the extractor fan from your phone so the windows don't steam up while your kitchen catches fire


* as it was I managed to fix the old one with a £7 part

 

[v0n]

Take Apple Macbooks as an example. 2015 MBP was the last one to have full set of USB ports, network port, SD card reader and HDMI in addition to old style thunderbolt. And mag safe charging connector. Yes, for the next 5 years all MBPs were faster and had new features, but a simple fact that today you have to find a dongle in bag, unplug charger, plug in a dingle, and a card reader to the USB-C port, read SD card from your camera, copy the card to your desktop, remove dongle, find another dongle, put another dongle in, connect USB-microB-superspeed cable between dongle and drive, copy files from your desktop to USB drive, hand it over to your staff and plug the charger back - for something that was plug in/plug out jobbie just 5 years ago - means we haven't advanced. We took a stupid step sideways. Loosing mag safe connector to USB-C was a crime enough.

 

[Martynt74]

I found similar a few months ago, "smart" cooker hoods are now a thing, so if you accidentally leave something on the hob while out of the house, at least you can turn on the extractor fan from your phone so the windows don't steam up while your kitchen catches fire


* as it was I managed to fix the old one with a £7 part

See the cooker hood thing i actually like, i don't always use the extractor when using the hob, but some of them will auto turn on as they're connected to the hob and can sense how much steam is around it to increase the power. I actually think that's kinda cool

The issue being most of these things are all in house additions so nothing talks to each other. I've lost track of all the different apps on my phone for controlling various things!

 

[Haggisman]

See the cooker hood thing i actually like, i don't always use the extractor when using the hob, but some of them will auto turn on as they're connected to the hob and can sense how much steam is around it to increase the power. I actually think that's kinda cool

That side of it is fine - I just don't see the need to have it internet enabled with a mobile app!

 

[Junglist]

Absolutely this. Was looking for a new washing machine* the other day - apparently they now come with NFC so you can control them from your phone, with the ability to download new wash programs!

Supposedly - as a "tech enthusiast" - I should be on that like a fly on ****, but really, what does that actually give me? So instead of pushing the buttons on the front of the washing machine, I can push the buttons on my phone touch screen and then hold that against the front of the washing machine to transfer the button pushes? That doesn't add convenience or functionality, all it adds is an extra step; an extra thing to go wrong. It's not like pushing 2 buttons and turning a dial is complicated or time consuming, and does anyone actually use more than 1-2 programs on their machine anyway?

I have to be honest, I'd probably be all over it, get it and then realise it was a waste of time! But I'm the same kind of fool who would like a Smart kettle so i can have it boiled by the time I'm in the kitchen... assuming I left water in it...

I do have to be grateful for my partner. I'd buy all sorts of 'smart' nonsense if she didn't reign me in!

 

[Werewolf]

Take Apple Macbooks as an example. 2015 MBP was the last one to have full set of USB ports, network port, SD card reader and HDMI in addition to old style thunderbolt. And mag safe charging connector. Yes, for the next 5 years all MBPs were faster and had new features, but a simple fact that today you have to find a dongle in bag, unplug charger, plug in a dingle, and a card reader to the USB-C port, read SD card from your camera, copy the card to your desktop, remove dongle, find another dongle, put another dongle in, connect USB-microB-superspeed cable between dongle and drive, copy files from your desktop to USB drive, hand it over to your staff and plug the charger back - for something that was plug in/plug out jobbie just 5 years ago - means we haven't advanced. We took a stupid step sideways. Loosing mag safe connector to USB-C was a crime enough.

You've just summed up quite nicely why "going advanced" doesn't always mean going for the best option.

I find is oddly amusing that in order to make things like the macbook thinner and "more portable" they've basically ensured that often you need to carry probably more than it's weight in additional equipment to make up for it being a mm or two thinner, and a few grams lighter if you want to use them for common tasks.

 

[ttaskmaster]

So instead of pushing the buttons on the front of the washing machine, I can push the buttons on my phone touch screen and then hold that against the front of the washing machine to transfer the button pushes?

I'll go you one further...

Voice controlled vaping devices!!

Because moving your thumb 2" to press the UP button is such a time-consuming inconvenience, while the increased battery consumption and higher price of a voice chip is so worth it....

 

[Randomface74]

Nobody mention smart meters...

 

[MikeTheNative]

Wifi toasters/kettles and the fridges with an andriod tablet built in.................. we have peaked as a species

 

[Haggisman]

Wifi toasters/kettles and the fridges with an andriod tablet built in.................. we have peaked as a species

How else are you going to play Skyrim whilst getting the milk for your morning coffee?

Nobody mention smart meters...

Hah, I do actually have a smart meter which means I can use some of the better tariffs my provider has. Sure 90% of the functionality could probably be done by a dumb meter, but e.g. I actually got paid for my usage last Sunday morning, which wouldn't really be possible without half-hourly readings.