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Hate doesn't work, I'll give you that. I'm hopeful that OP takes your feedback :) But you're very mistaken about the "disregard for convenience". Almost every

by shaan7 8y ago

Hate doesn't work, I'll give you that. I'm hopeful that OP takes your feedback :) But you're very mistaken about the "disregard for convenience". Almost every human strives for convenience, even the folks you are talking about, they spend a lot of time writing automation scripts to make their work convenient. Just like you advice, please be open-minded to the idea that for some people convenience is just one checkbox on the list (unlike others, maybe including you, where convenience is of prime importance). For some people, real convenience comes from both functional convenience and tinkerability - having the confidence that they can make the product what they want to do - without feeling limited by the manufacturer's decisions. At the end its about tradeoffs, and when it comes to personal choice, people simply have different priorities. To give you an objective example, when I buy a router, I always first go for an Asus. Why? Their UI is super easy to use - and at the same time, if you want, you can get it do to more powerful stuff. Just like Apple (as folks claim), their support is great (I've got replacements, no questions asked) but, unlike Apple, they actually encourage you to tinker around. So in this case, hell yeah, I do pay the extra premium for convenience.

pdimitar 8y ago
> Just like you advice, please be open-minded to the idea that for some people convenience is just one checkbox on the list Noted, agreed and upvoted. :) From my experience with these folks, when I complained about the 1st gen Chromecast I had 3 or so years ago, one of them casually told me "Oh, just buy an RPi and install KODI on it, also make sure your TV and HDMI cable support HDMI-CEC. You should be sorted pretty quickly, probably three or four hours". I had to laugh bitterly when he said that! Back then I was much less healthy compared to now, was constantly exhausted, was struggling with debts and crappy jobs, was trying to heal from a failed and ended marriage -- and in general I had a ton on my plate basically 24/7. And along comes this guy and casually tells you that you might spend a half working day on a project for home streaming -- and he told it to me while full-well knowing my situation. It was pretty inconsiderate in my eyes. --- It's not even only about putting convenience at the top of your priorities. Sometimes you're just tired. Or have kids constantly demanding attention. Or are trying to heal from stress and burn out (like I am trying now). There are a plethora of VALID reasons why you wouldn't embark on such DIY projects. And to me, these people easily and off-handedly dismiss them. Which I view as inconsiderate and disrespectful. They are judging things from their own life (which is easier than mine, at least regarding the people I know) and don't give the benefit of the doubt. But I concende that I might be projecting based on my several such negative experiences. I am not stereotyping all hardware technicians and sysadmins. I also concede that I don't give benefit of the doubt every time. :) It's just that when things repeat themselves several times, we the humans -- at least I -- tend to try and draw a conclusion. I admit I could be wrong. Your perspective was appreciated!
- mgalgs 8y ago
  You're not wrong, but just remember that there are people in this world looking at you and all of us "nerdy engineers" exactly the same way. Not that we need to stress about that, I mean we all look like douchebags to somebody. I just think you might be jumping the gun with character judgements such as them not respecting your free time. The guy who told you to spend 3 hours tinkering with your Chromecast would probably love working on that project himself, and assumed you might enjoy it too. He might have been trying to help you take your mind off of the stresses he know you were dealing with.

by shaan7 8y ago

pdimitar 8y ago

> Just like you advice, please be open-minded to the idea that for some people convenience is just one checkbox on the list Noted, agreed and upvoted. :) From my experience with these folks, when I complained about the 1st gen Chromecast I had 3 or so years ago, one of them casually told me "Oh, just buy an RPi and install KODI on it, also make sure your TV and HDMI cable support HDMI-CEC. You should be sorted pretty quickly, probably three or four hours". I had to laugh bitterly when he said that! Back then I was much less healthy compared to now, was constantly exhausted, was struggling with debts and crappy jobs, was trying to heal from a failed and ended marriage -- and in general I had a ton on my plate basically 24/7. And along comes this guy and casually tells you that you might spend a half working day on a project for home streaming -- and he told it to me while full-well knowing my situation. It was pretty inconsiderate in my eyes. --- It's not even only about putting convenience at the top of your priorities. Sometimes you're just tired. Or have kids constantly demanding attention. Or are trying to heal from stress and burn out (like I am trying now). There are a plethora of VALID reasons why you wouldn't embark on such DIY projects. And to me, these people easily and off-handedly dismiss them. Which I view as inconsiderate and disrespectful. They are judging things from their own life (which is easier than mine, at least regarding the people I know) and don't give the benefit of the doubt. But I concende that I might be projecting based on my several such negative experiences. I am not stereotyping all hardware technicians and sysadmins. I also concede that I don't give benefit of the doubt every time. :) It's just that when things repeat themselves several times, we the humans -- at least I -- tend to try and draw a conclusion. I admit I could be wrong. Your perspective was appreciated!

mgalgs 8y ago
You're not wrong, but just remember that there are people in this world looking at you and all of us "nerdy engineers" exactly the same way. Not that we need to stress about that, I mean we all look like douchebags to somebody. I just think you might be jumping the gun with character judgements such as them not respecting your free time. The guy who told you to spend 3 hours tinkering with your Chromecast would probably love working on that project himself, and assumed you might enjoy it too. He might have been trying to help you take your mind off of the stresses he know you were dealing with.