Do you sometimes dislike the way technology is headed?

[wasab]

sucks that flagship phones no longer have microsdcard

[freeagent]

Life before the internet, and tech was better than we thought it was.

[mMontana]

8 hours ago, longxh said:

CPUs are becoming hotter with more power consumption each generation

Let's see if AMD or Intel can pull a trick comparable with "Core" like 2006.

 

In any case, I suggest you to benchmark 2 65W CPUs (one from 2015, one from 2022) and 2 35W CPUs (one from 2015, one from 2022).

I think that power draw was similar, not computational power.

[Godlygamer23]

2 hours ago, Sakuriru said:

Power consumption has gone up but power/core and especially power efficiency for actual compute power have gone done.

 

This also ignores the rise of ARM processors like Apple Silicon which have like a TDP of 20W. Also Intel is really far behind on die shrink; they're at 10nm in their 13th generation processors while AMD and Apple are both at 5 nm. Apple is already working on 3nm.

 

So like, Intel is kind of skewing the results right now because of their lithography. But for everyone else, processors are getting more efficient even by TDP to TDP comparison.

The transistor lithography values given are all marketing. It doesn't actually represent any value anymore, and hasn't for quite a while. 

[Godlygamer23]

7 minutes ago, Sakuriru said:

You right but die shrink is still die shrink.

But you can't compare Intel to AMD and Apple's lithographies based on what they or their suppliers call the nodes. You have to understand first what the lithographies actually are before you can compare them. 

[Issac Zachary]

Microsoft Defender was squaking at me about needing to be signed in... But the internet was out! Some days I just hate Microsoft, Google and Apple. Maybe I should be more thankful for things they do do right.

[saintlouisbagels]

I hate the reduction of bezels on phones.

I don't use a case with my iPhone 14 Pro and I'm always accidentally touching screen elements on the edges.

 

The removal of TOSLINK outputs from consoles is stupid. It requires the user to buy an audio extractor or use a home theater receiver if they want to use their consoles on a monitor. Sure, monitors typically have an analog output but it sounds awful.

[Kisai]

23 hours ago, Issac Zachary said:

Is this because it's like 8K vs 4K? Sure, 8K is better, but can the naked eye really tell the difference? Will people really care about 16K displays?

 

It sounds like that in order to improve things have to go in a different direction (i.e. AR, VR, etc.).

 

Technically, I think 4K is probably the comfortable limit. I'm sure "8K" will exist, but I would prefer it exist as VR/AR tech (eg 4K per eye) because as far as conventional monitors go, a 4K screen at 24" is comfortable, or 27" is fine, but sticking anything larger than 24" on most desktops IS overkill, since 3 x 24" fits on a 6' desk easily, but 3x27" needs monitor arms, and at 4K each, it's a diminishing return. You need 4K on the screen you look at, work and play on. But if you just need monitors up to do work, then 1080p is just fine and the only reason to have 4K on all monitors is to keep windows from randomly changing DPI.

[Issac Zachary]

Now Google Podcasts is getting cut!?!

 

Sometimes I feel like boycotting all technology.

• I want Google Play music.
• I want Google Podcasts.
• I want Windows Mail (not Outlook unless they fix the EAS incompatability, which they haven't even with the new app).

[Issac Zachary]

One thing I dislike about modern technology is:

• I go to the local supermarket and see there are a bunch of things with digital cupons.
• I then try to get those cupons to load onto my phone, but it says there's an error, and I spend several minutes on my phone in the middle of an aisle.
• I can't get it to work, so I think I'll let the cashier know when I go to check out, but there's only one cashier and a dozen scan-your-own-food registers.
• So I go over to the poor cashier trying to help everyone, and he says I need to show him the prices on my phone.
• I go to the app where I also saw the digital cupon prices, but now they don't show up...
• I pay, but then go back to where the items are, take pictures, and go back to the service cashier...

Long story short, I'm starting lose reasons for owning a smartphone anymore.

[Donut417]

1 minute ago, Issac Zachary said:

One thing I dislike about modern technology is:

• I go to the local supermarket and see there are a bunch of things with digital cupons.
• I then try to get those cupons to load onto my phone, but it says there's an error, and I spend several minutes on my phone in the middle of an aisle.
• I can't get it to work, so I think I'll let the cashier know when I go to check out, but there's only one cashier and a dozen scan-your-own-food registers.
• So I go over to the poor cashier trying to help everyone, and he says I need to show him the prices on my phone.
• I go to the app where I also saw the digital cupon prices, but now they don't show up...
• I pay, but then go back to where the items are, take pictures, and go back to the service cashier...

Long story short, I'm starting lose reasons for owning a smartphone anymore.

Sounds like your super market does a shit job at digital coupons.

 

Meijer thru their Mperks app allows me to clip the coupons. I think put my phone number in at the register and all the coupons I clip just come off my order. No need to show anything to anyone. If push comes to shove they also accept paper coupons as well, if you have those.

[Donut417]

1 minute ago, htimsenyawed said:

 

This sounds like Kroger to me. That’s been my experience with their digital coupons at least. They use to mail me paper “best customer” coupons to go on top of the digital coupons, but they stopped that within the last year. 

Stopped shopping at Kroger because they like to have 1 cashier on a Friday night, at least at ours. We do Meijer and Walmart instead.

[Donut417]

4 minutes ago, htimsenyawed said:

I do like Meijer for their self check out with the conveyors

Well I got some sad news. When you store gets redone those are gone. They did the walmart style self checkouts but more of them. The normal lane some times have a dedicated person who bags the order.

[Donut417]

Just now, htimsenyawed said:

 

Well fuck me. Do they have paper bags still at least? Kroger, Whole Foods and Meijer were the hold outs with them. Whole Foods will never not use paper bags though.

Dont know. I bring my own reusable.

[Godlygamer23]

3 hours ago, Issac Zachary said:

One thing I dislike about modern technology is:

• I go to the local supermarket and see there are a bunch of things with digital cupons.
• I then try to get those cupons to load onto my phone, but it says there's an error, and I spend several minutes on my phone in the middle of an aisle.
• I can't get it to work, so I think I'll let the cashier know when I go to check out, but there's only one cashier and a dozen scan-your-own-food registers.
• So I go over to the poor cashier trying to help everyone, and he says I need to show him the prices on my phone.
• I go to the app where I also saw the digital cupon prices, but now they don't show up...
• I pay, but then go back to where the items are, take pictures, and go back to the service cashier...

Long story short, I'm starting lose reasons for owning a smartphone anymore.

The interpretation here to me would be the idea that the technology is only as good as its implementation, and its operator. The concept could be quite revolutionary and useful, but if it's implemented poorly, it won't work.

[Issac Zachary]

1 hour ago, Godlygamer23 said:

The interpretation here to me would be the idea that the technology is only as good as its implementation, and its operator. The concept could be quite revolutionary and useful, but if it's implemented poorly, it won't work.

I think you've hit it on the nail. I didn't think of it way before.

 

Too bad I live in a small town with basically only one option for grocery shopping. I understand that supermarkets have made it cheaper in the long run, but now there's not much competition compared to when there were only individual, family-owned markets.

 

I have been using this smartphone for the past 11 months. But there are times I feel the urge to just go back to the basic flip phone, like I had all last year.

 

Now that there's a Spacehey app I guess I again have a reason to keep using the smartphone.

 

PS. Bags here are 10 cents per bag, so we just bring our own hippie bags.

[Donut417]

12 hours ago, Issac Zachary said:

Too bad I live in a small town with basically only one option for grocery shopping.

Feel fortunate for that. The closes thing we have to a grocery store in my area is a Dollar General. We have to go to the next town over to shop. We did have a grocery store years ago but they got caught selling expired meat and were promptly shut down by the heath department.

[Issac Zachary]

3 hours ago, jhon09 said:

Yeah, I get where you're coming from. Sometimes, the way technology is heading can feel a bit overwhelming. The constant push for more connectivity, data collection, and the rapid pace of innovation can raise concerns about privacy, security, and just the sheer pace of change. It's like, on one hand, it's super cool what tech can do, but on the other, it makes you wonder about the potential downsides and how it's affecting our lives. It's all about finding that balance, I guess.

 

 

Thanks!

 

Your comment made me think of the upcoming holidays and vacation time that we usually spend together as a family. I'm wondering what's the point anymore when you go to your friends' or family's house so everyone can stare at their phones together...

[Issac Zachary]

8 hours ago, htimsenyawed said:

I would rather them stare at their phones than ask me dumbass and uncomfortable questions.

 

Rude to talk about intimate relations at any point except over turkey and dressing then you can ask how often you and your partner are having sex because they want a grandkid. 

I've never been asked those kinds of questions.

 

I would like to know how everyone has been doing, if that person I've never seen before that's sitting next to so-and-so is their new girlfriend/boyfriend, if the kids are someone's or just strays that came in to stare at their phones too. I miss the days we'd play Scrabble or Cribbage or Chess or Monopoly, or Nintendo or PlayStation or the Genesis. I miss cooking with someone or washing dishes with them.

 

Would taking down all the drywall and lining my walls with copper screens, then redrywalling, so now I have a big faraday cage actually work?

[Erioch]

17 hours ago, htimsenyawed said:

I would rather them stare at their phones than ask me dumbass and uncomfortable questions.

 

Rude to talk about intimate relations at any point except over turkey and dressing then you can ask how often you and your partner are having sex because they want a grandkid. 

You know that you aren't required to attend or even answer those questions.  Maybe say something so rude in response that they never ask again.  Stand up for yourself, FFS.

[geomac]

On 6/23/2023 at 12:30 PM, Issac Zachary said:

Overall, technology is great, in my opinion. But there are some things I just don't like how they are going.

YES.

 

I cannot really relate to audio items because wireless audio is well worth the tradeoffs when it's working reliably. I'm sorry you've had a poor experience as Bluetooth was rough for a long time.

 

Also, so right about vehicles. Vehicles have become another vessel to collect data, present marketing, and create recurring revenue opportunities. I have received mail and calls about getting my vehicle serviced at it's current mileage because it's sending back telemetry data. Infuriating. I do NOT want a vehicle with a EULA and data collection agreement.

 

I think my biggest gripe is not necessarily digital downloads and the decay of physical media, but really software distribution. Specifically making everything SaaS, pay-walling features that were previously included in a version you purchased, DRM, etc.

 

Here is my example that illustrates my complaint:

I got Roller Coaster Tycoon 1 on a CD from a cereal box decades ago, I can pop that disk into a CD reader and have access to everything I did 20+ years ago. Granted there's no guarantees from any of the physical media back then and most of it will have questionable compatibility, but they did not actively remove anything from me. If I was so inclined, I could replicate the experience I had one way or another.

 

A few years ago, Carbide3D released a CNC machine that I bought for thousands of dollars. They released software along side the CNC for a free download, one program to control the CNC and one to generate simple 2D tool paths. They let you used text ".nc" files which contained G-Code to do everything. It was perfect! I You could open the ".nc" files with any text editor and CTRL-F and make any edits you want. The rest of the included software was perfectly capable.

 

Recently, they restructured their software to included a more advanced tool path planner as a pro version, which is awesome for them to have in their offering -- but unfortunately, they pay-walled some of the older software features as "pro-only features", including exporting toolpaths as .nc files! They introduced a proprietary database format ".c2d" to replace the ".nc" text files (shown in change log for release 700). 

 

I tried it, needed the old features, and was thankful that my data hoarding habits paid off and I could revert from an old installer. Now, if I find software I like, I grab the installer for every platform regardless if I have it, because I know they will get greedy and try something that I have no desire in participating in.

 

As for SaaS, I hate the trend. While I understand there are certain business models for which it makes sense, such as content distribution and certain software that requires continual development, and the company I am subscribing to is giving continuous value. I subscribe to a few that I believe give me value until a better open source solution comes along. But then there's Splitwise and IFTTT.

[Issac Zachary]

1 hour ago, geomac said:

I cannot really relate to audio items because wireless audio is well worth the tradeoffs when it's working reliably. I'm sorry you've had a poor experience as Bluetooth was rough for a long time.

What would be the benefits of wireless audio (Bluetooth)? I'm still trying to figure out why people like it so much. It seems like another thing to have to charge with no benefit except if you have a boom box you don't have to keep your phone next to it. What else?

[Godlygamer23]

12 minutes ago, Issac Zachary said:

What would be the benefits of wireless audio (Bluetooth)? I'm still trying to figure out why people like it so much. It seems like another thing to have to charge with no benefit except if you have a boom box you don't have to keep your phone next to it. What else?

It's useful in vehicles as well. 

[Helpful Tech Witch]

17 minutes ago, Issac Zachary said:

What would be the benefits of wireless audio (Bluetooth)? I'm still trying to figure out why people like it so much. It seems like another thing to have to charge with no benefit except if you have a boom box you don't have to keep your phone next to it. What else?

"why do people like wireless so much? i cant see a reason to use it besides it being wireless"
you just answered your question. Wireless is pretty convenient.

Theres also a lot of wireless audio for things that are not battery powered, which is where peak convenience is. Airplay/bluetooth is super nice to have for stationary speakers in your home.

[Obioban]

On 6/23/2023 at 4:20 PM, Issac Zachary said:

Also having the time for all the good stuff is also a challenge. For an example, I think the reason I'm not that interested in some Nintendo Switch games is I haven't finished all the previous games of the series. I've just started Mario 64, have wanted to play Super Mario Sunshine for years and so don't see the point of jumping to Super Mario Odyssey right now.

Having played every Mario game since NES, when they were new, IMO Odyssey is the best 3D Mario game since Mario 64 (said as someone currently replaying through Mario 64 on his MiSter), Mario Wonder is the best 2D Mario game since SNES, and Mario maker 2 is just generally amazing.

 

Zelda I can kind of see, because Switch Zeldas are a very different thing than the ones they've replaced... but I also think Switch Zeldas are the best 3D Zeldas since Ocarina of Time.

 

On the flip side, I thought Skyward Sword (wii) was kind of junk and never really jibed with Mario Sunshine (Gamecube).

 

AND there's absolutely no reason to pay for Nintendo's online service, if it offends you. Basically, game save backups and an emulator (which is inferior to your Mister). I have all my old saves, from the last 35 years, but literally never touch any of them. If I want to replay an old game, I play it from the beginning-- not the end.

 

... Modern headphones are great. Vast improvement over the old situation. I always have my airpods on me, and use them every single day as a result. Probably used headphones ~5 times a year before, because they were a PITA.

 

Modern cars do suck. I seem to have an ever growing fleet of cars from 15 years ago. Just added one with a V10, which... pretty much isn't even an engine type sold today. Generally, I don't want any cars with...

Turbos

Automatic transmission

electronic power steering

brake by wire

subscriptions

 

... which almost eliminates any car sold today.