I don't want to have a subscription for everything. It used to be possible to pay a one-time fee for software and use it as long as I want. Now I have to pay a monthly fee and once I finish paying, I can't use the software anymore. And it's not like I constantly get updates for the software. Often it stays the same for months or years.
I understand that software has a price, but no way these prices are sometimes justified...
My theory on the first one is that it's usually hard to make things cheap and consistent, so it often starts off as bad, then good but expensive, and then trends towards and past "good enough"
Modern music is fire when you know where to look but I've always felt like pop music has been taking a very slow weird turn. It seems like 1970s and earlier it was mostly good, and mostly good after, but at this point I'm just confused
I think two out of those believes stem from survivorship bias. You think of old music and consumer products as superior because the only ones that "survived" are the good ones. No one remembers bad music from 50 years ago, and for every old thermos flask/blender/knife that you see around there are dozens that broke years ago.
There was song from the 60s (supposedly the best music everyone tells me) called "7 little girls". The chorus went "7 little girls sitting the back seat kissing and hugging with Fred"
Thankfully a mostly forgotten song now, but a clear example of how bloody awful pop music is not a new phenomenon.
I say yes for the music one, maybe not for the first. There are literally different materials being used and increasingly optimised-for-profit-to-effort-ratio processes. Many things are just straight up made more cheaply because we have the technology to do that.
Although for the music one, a relevant lyric comes to mind:
Hip hop is pretty mainstream now but it started as counter culture. And I don't think a sample in a song makes it similar to the sampled song. A lot of tracks that rely on samples completely create something new. Look at J Dilla who relied almost entirely on samples. His music isn't a collection of old songs, it's entirely new songs. I guess this thread is for boomer takes.
Interesting fact: I just got a new ev (so a battery hooked up to a computer with wheels) - and it has buttons! It also has dials for sound and climate.
Now to be fair it also takes interacting with a touchscreen to turn on the heated seats, but I'd say it's progress in the right direction.
Bring back stick-shift, too. People shouldn’t be driving if they have no grasp of the mass and inertia of their car. We should be able to disengage the engine at will. And we should have to pay attention when we drive.
I don't think most modern physical media counts for that though, if you buy a new game on a disc theres a decent chance that it still has to download the game from the internet
To a certain extent physical media is already dead, they're just waving around it's corpse and making it look like it's alive
Remeber guys to buy your intelligent smart home frigde freezer that sinks up to your phone and uses the latest GPT models to...... I would certainly be inclined to agree on that last point
not only that, but "smartness" and longevity seem to be inversely correlated. your grandma's alarm clock she bought in the 70s most definitely still works and will still work fifty years later, while that fancy smart display your rich neighbor has is going to break after three
A recent job change caused me to revert back to my old G-Shock watch instead of my Apple Watch. I was setting the time and date and noted that the date “only” goes up to the year 2039. Even though it is already over 20 years old, I fully expect this watch to work well past 2039; I have no expectation that the Apple Watch will. Even if it technically functioned, the software and protocols would have been long abandoned.
I bought a gas stove/oven a few months ago. Took me a couple of weeks to notice that I can connect it to my wifi for some reason. I haven't, and don't intend to, but I am a little curious what features could possibly be in there.
I signed for a storage unit this week, and they require me to use an app to access the unit. Of course their servers were down when I first tried using the app. 🤦
I’m a certified computer expert, but I sound like a Luddite when it comes to anything mainstream.
I thought it was pretty well known that the magnitude of one’s ludditism related to their computing expertise as a U-shaped curve. That is, (actual) experts and non-experts are equally Luddite. It’s the mediocre and peri- technologists that drive hype. Right?
Hah, I haven't heard that analogy before, but I see what it's getting at. I wouldn't say it's a rule to live by, but as you learn more about technology you (usually) also learn more about its constant abuse and its critical flaws.
It’s the mediocre and peri- technologists that drive hype. Right?
I'm not sure exactly who you mean, but never believe the hype:
Steve Jobs didn't know shit about computers and took the fame from people who did, just like Edison and Musk.
Most people studied in machine learning hate the term "Artificial Intelligence", it's a marketing gimmick used by marketing.
There's a similar, but lesser, sentiment in security being called "cyber".
Anything saying "better privacy" or "more secure" without giving a specific threat scenario (like, more secure against [x] attack) - they don't know shit. Privacy and security are not linear values you can have more or less of.
Internet of Things ('smart devices') is a privacy and security NIGHTMARE, and we've known that since day 1. Companies don't care. It's easy money.
If you can't (hypothetically) run it yourself, you're the product.
Also don't understand people, who chose drinking as their hobby, compete in how many and what drinks they drank, how bad it was in the morning and what weird stuff they did under influence.
I like alcohol beverages, but not a stupid culture being built around drinking.
It's actually really odd to travel to a place like Spain where the drinking culture is far more tame. Just see people put their achohol down for a bit after a couple of cups
I work in tech, but sometimes tech is added to things needlessly. I just want my washing machine to be a washing machine. I'm tired of being the product.
Silicon valley's "disruptors" are usually full of shit. The vast majority of the time: it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Don't tell me what to do with my land if you're not willing to pay my taxes (or if you don't have good ecological reasons). I'll paint my shudders whatever color I want to.
Bring back the damn knobs, buttons, and switches in my car. I don't need more touchscreens.
On the other hand...
I recognize that the way I feel and some of the opinions I have are based on a context I grew up with that may no longer exist - or at least it may not exist in the form it once did. I recognize how I see things may die with me and my peers, and that's ok. It's a sad truth, but truth, nonetheless.
I just want my washing machine to be a washing machine.
Amen. Most things that have become smart have done so for the sake of it and there are better alternatives like just making a list.
I’m tired of being the product.
Doesn't everyone feel this way?
Silicon valley’s “disruptors” are usually full of shit. The vast majority of the time: it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Some are good, but theres more that aren't. Life doesn't need disrupting half as much as people think it does.
Bring back the damn knobs, buttons, and switches in my car. I don’t need more touchscreens.
Whoever thought a touch screen in a car was a good idea should be locked up or put down. I can only believe it was someone who doesn't drive that came up with that idea.
Physical media is superior. Don't get me wrong, I love the convince of being able to stream any song I want, whenever, from my phone. But you don't actually own that music, not even the digital music you bought.
So having that physical backup is good. But also, it's just a fundamentally different experience, to have to put a record on a turntable, or a tape in a cassette deck, and listen to an album from back to front.
Netflix’s disc-by-mail service is better and more convenient than streaming in basically every way. Instead of having to look for the films/shows I want to watch on various streaming services only to find out they’re not streaming anywhere, or on some obscure/expensive service, I can be confident that if they’ve had a physical release, they’re probably in Netflix’s catalog of 100,000 titles on Blu-Ray or DVD. The I can just add it to my queue, and movies will show up. Then when it’s time to watch a movie, I don’t have to waste time mindlessly scrolling my trying to find something to watch, I just pop the disc in the player. Easy. It’s really a shame that it’s going away. My public library has a massive DVD collection that I’ll probably use, but they’re lacking in Blu-Ray discs, and nothing beats the convenience of having the discs come right to your home.
I find incredibly strange that people think it's normal to walk around with earbuds in at all times. When did that become acceptable? (I know it's the release of the airpod, but still, wtf?)
I can't believe how many people I see with them in when they drive and ride their bikes.
Also looking at your phone while driving. How in the hell is that so common?
I don't think this is a boomer opinion but I got called a boomer for it once so maybe it is idk:
I think online dating is shit and I don't mean it in a "It doesn't work for me" kinda way but I believe it's objectively shit. In an ever faster world that demands more and more flexibility from people that also extends to dating. It introduces a certain arbitrariness to romantic and sexual relationships. We now have dating apps that you can use to scroll through potential partners like a furniture catalog. It reduces people to a commodity and I hate being confronted with that. I believe it could in combination with the realities of late stage combination harm our ability to establish deep and meaningful connections to people.
It's literally what my mom warned me off 20 years ago and now I believe she was right.
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