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> Unlike the blank oppressiveness of modern tech aesthetics, it was this brilliantly anti-minimalist statement that said “let’s make it obnoxious, and before yo
by johncolanduoni 10y ago
> Unlike the blank oppressiveness of modern tech aesthetics, it was this brilliantly anti-minimalist statement that said “let’s make it obnoxious, and before you can put it away, you have to slide down the earpiece like you’re reloading a freakin gun,” and it even had all the ringtones that were used by the characters in the movie, because why not go all-out?
Alright, I personally like more minimalist aesthetics, but I'll hear you out.
> The truth is that we live in ridiculous times, where our reality is fiction manufactured to forward the interests of an elite few, much like the fiction that has largely become the reality of our shared world. The dystopia we were promised by Gibson, Scott, Dick, and so on has come to fruition: wealth disparity turning poverty into a death sentence, neverending war in faraway lands killing millions as the “Leader of the Free World” arms tyrants to the teeth, and an inevitable destruction of human civilization as we know it are the cornerstones of our modern reality.
???
- Roboprog 10y agoWhat don't you understand? A bit hyperbolic, perhaps, but do you not see the empire around you?
- spdionis 10y agoA bit hyperbolic? really?
- johncolanduoni 10y agoI'm not pointing out anything about the truth (or falsity) of those statements. What I don't understand is why that paragraph ended up in a rant about minamalist aesthetics. Is the author trying to implicate some sort of conspiracy in the design of devices?
- Bartweiss 10y agoSomewhat? I don't think he's positing conspiracy, but this certainly seems to be about a larger breakdown than some shitty earbuds. The piece repeatedly admits that all of the old movie tech he's lauding is still bulky and impractical and terrible. It certainly doesn't seem to be endorsing Blade Runner and The Matrix as actual, human-friendly design. So what I got from it was an indictment of blankness more than minimalism. The feeling, broadly, that something is terribly wrong and that this is reflected in enforced-aesthetic devices as well as larger society.