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I used to find new technology to be exciting. Now, new technology (speaking about more than just software here-- appliances, cars, etc) causes me to instinctive

I used to find new technology to be exciting. Now, new technology (speaking about more than just software here-- appliances, cars, etc) causes me to instinctively respond with "What features, capabilities, ownership models, etc, are being taken away from me with this new thing?" I assume it's a function of my getting older (44), to a large extent. It can't all be about me getting older, though. I can't be alone in thinking that a substantial portion of "advances" in existing technology have been for the benefit of manufacturers rather than owners. Surely "normal" people are starting to notice this too. Edit: I also think: "What capabilities that I already had are going to be sold as an add-on or, more likely, rented back to me on a recurring subscription?" A close second is: "Will the thing be usable when the company goes bust and takes their 'cloud' infrastructure with them? Or how about when they decide not to update their thick-client mobile device app for new device OS's?" A third is usually: "How will this new thing spy on me?"

satellite2 5y ago
I've been the same since Android removed phone recording capabilities. Internet feels slower each year and the screen space dedicated to content and not ads or popups shrinks every day. It's like in Idiocracy where the guy has a huge screen but maybe a tenth of is for the content.
- EvanAnderson 5y ago
  I'd forgotten that TV UI from Idiocracy. Now that I see it it certainly does seem a bit prescient: https://scifiinterfaces.com/idiocracy-tv/ https://scifiinterfaces.com/idiocracy-tv/ (Then again, sadly, a lot of that movie seems prescient...)
bruce343434 5y ago
I'm young (20) and I already have this negative view. I used to be excited about how fast computers would be. How good graphics would become.
Silhouette 5y ago
I don't remember your name popping up as my HN doppelganger the other day, but you could have been me writing that comment. I don't think it's because we're getting older so much as because we can remember a time when new technology didn't suck like this and so we see straight through the rationalisations and marketing doublespeak. We live in a time when a right to repair can be controversial, copyright is being distorted to limit what users can do with tech they have bought and paid for in ways that have nothing to do with giving copies to other people, and the working life of equipment is being dramatically shortened by software limitations or a lack of ongoing fixes for software defects from the manufacturer. There should have been laws protecting ordinary people against these kinds of dangers long ago.
cookiengineer 5y ago
Eversince Windows 10 came out I don't think there'll be a back-to-generalized-efficiency-tool era for the masses. At some point enterprise-grade companies that produce software get inefficient in terms of constant costs. They somehow need to make enough money for all the clutter on top that doesn't have anything to do with development/design of the product itself. So, as long as a software producing company is a public company with shareholders and the market expansion isn't possible anymore...things necessarily _have_ to get crappier for the end users so that the company can keep producing more money out of nothing. You can see that everywhere in enterprise level software companies. Microsoft, SAP, DATEV, just to name a few where they incrementally didn't make the software better - but instead artificially created lock-ins for their endusers so they aren't able to switch in future. Even when you argue that those companies have many market segments they deliver to, I'd go as far as adding all custom OEM Android apps to that list, as well as smart cameras, smart TVs, everything related to IoT etc. Most of the smart devices are about removing control from the users and forcing them to pay more money for the same featureset later, gradually, without them noticing in the beginning. Now with Google FLoC we basically will have the same thing applied to the web, and it won't turn back to the good old "just block cookies" ways. Google will persist in tracking everybody, and they got the leverage to do so.

satellite2 5y ago

I've been the same since Android removed phone recording capabilities. Internet feels slower each year and the screen space dedicated to content and not ads or popups shrinks every day. It's like in Idiocracy where the guy has a huge screen but maybe a tenth of is for the content.

EvanAnderson 5y ago
I'd forgotten that TV UI from Idiocracy. Now that I see it it certainly does seem a bit prescient: https://scifiinterfaces.com/idiocracy-tv/ https://scifiinterfaces.com/idiocracy-tv/ (Then again, sadly, a lot of that movie seems prescient...)

bruce343434 5y ago

I'm young (20) and I already have this negative view. I used to be excited about how fast computers would be. How good graphics would become.

Silhouette 5y ago

I don't remember your name popping up as my HN doppelganger the other day, but you could have been me writing that comment. I don't think it's because we're getting older so much as because we can remember a time when new technology didn't suck like this and so we see straight through the rationalisations and marketing doublespeak. We live in a time when a right to repair can be controversial, copyright is being distorted to limit what users can do with tech they have bought and paid for in ways that have nothing to do with giving copies to other people, and the working life of equipment is being dramatically shortened by software limitations or a lack of ongoing fixes for software defects from the manufacturer. There should have been laws protecting ordinary people against these kinds of dangers long ago.

cookiengineer 5y ago

Eversince Windows 10 came out I don't think there'll be a back-to-generalized-efficiency-tool era for the masses. At some point enterprise-grade companies that produce software get inefficient in terms of constant costs. They somehow need to make enough money for all the clutter on top that doesn't have anything to do with development/design of the product itself. So, as long as a software producing company is a public company with shareholders and the market expansion isn't possible anymore...things necessarily _have_ to get crappier for the end users so that the company can keep producing more money out of nothing. You can see that everywhere in enterprise level software companies. Microsoft, SAP, DATEV, just to name a few where they incrementally didn't make the software better - but instead artificially created lock-ins for their endusers so they aren't able to switch in future. Even when you argue that those companies have many market segments they deliver to, I'd go as far as adding all custom OEM Android apps to that list, as well as smart cameras, smart TVs, everything related to IoT etc. Most of the smart devices are about removing control from the users and forcing them to pay more money for the same featureset later, gradually, without them noticing in the beginning. Now with Google FLoC we basically will have the same thing applied to the web, and it won't turn back to the good old "just block cookies" ways. Google will persist in tracking everybody, and they got the leverage to do so.