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I used to read pop-sci mags and get excited about the latest advancements in X, but nowadays I feel one of two things about X: 1. Neither I, nor my friends wil
by dmkolobov 6y ago
I used to read pop-sci mags and get excited about the latest advancements in X, but nowadays I feel one of two things about X:
1. Neither I, nor my friends will ever be able to afford X
2. X is going to make my life worse
Usually I feel both.
- joe_the_user 6y agoPlus "X is never quite what it seems"
- ampdepolymerase 6y agoX comes with subscription, microtransactions, ads, wants your personal data, and/or is the result of regulatory capture.
- throwaway1500 6y agoX comes with its own blockchain.
- m463 6y agothe troubling part: not at first. Then when something is "normal" stuff is "added" and when people complain they are ridiculed by others who don't realize or don't care. I think we should normalize a little common sense. You know, the golden rule. If you would not snoop on other people, why should other people snoop on you (phone app, iot, car, whatever)
- dsabanin 6y agoI’m sure at some point people said similar things about stuff like hot shower and telephone.
- Zanni 6y agoThere's a chapter in one of the Great Brain books where their family is the first in town to get an indoor flush toilet. Everyone else is agog--why would you want a filthy, stinky outhouse inside your house?
- TeMPOraL 6y agoSure. Now imagine the toilet came as a subscription service, with DRM restricting you to premium brands of toilet paper and cleaning products, and built-in sensors that secretly analyze the chemical composition of your excrement, collecting data which the vendor sends to advertisers. Oh, and the toilet is always connected, which means it'll stop working if you lose power, Internet, or if the vendor abandons it or goes out of business. That's the problem I have with technology today. All new inventions come with some degree of this bullshit. I'm no longer excited about any new technology - because the businesses productizing it will almost surely ruin it.
- delaaxe 6y agoNot too far off from Japanese toilets
- aj7 6y agoYou’re not wrong, but my philosophy is to use these things only as long as they’re friendly. I had “free” Netflix until a few days ago. I enjoyed it, but not enough to subscribe. I’ll just move on.
- typeformer 6y agoYou can’t use some restrooms in China without a face scan.
- fsflover 6y ago> All new inventions come with some degree of this bullshit. I'm no longer excited about any new technology - because the businesses productizing it will almost surely ruin it. Then you could consider company Purism, https://puri.sm/products https://puri.sm/products, who offers lifetime updates for their devices, FLOSS, no DRM.
- rapnie 6y agoI love Purism with that stance. There are a handful of other companies that I consider "sustainable businesses", based on proper ethics and values and following humane practices. They are hard to come by, and often struggle to get enough revenue. I would like to do ever more biz with these type of companies, prefer and consume their products to the other BS. Where can I find lists, directories and such that keep track of these sustainable businesses? Any good resources around?
- Erlich_Bachman 6y agoSounds like your brain is looking for the darkest sides of everything. How do you feel about life in general? Are you sure you are not depressed?
- tga_d 6y agoPlease do not conflate cynicism with depression, or try to diagnose people with medical conditions over the internet.
- Erlich_Bachman 6y ago1) I don't 2) why not exactly? Of course a diagnosis over internet shouldn't ever be taken as a ground truth, but it can many times give meaningful thoughts and provide good perspective and information.