The Younger Crowd Attitude Changing on Technology ?

[Monroe]

Interesting article ... perhaps Windows XP will make a comeback ... possibilty Windows 98.

 

Probably  things will not go that far!

 

I kind of like this movement ... I've been feeling like I was "left in the dust" over the last few years.

 

Techno-Skeptics’ Objection Growing Louder

 

December 26, 2015

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/classic-apps/techno-skeptics-objection-growing-louder/2015/12/26/e83cf658-617a-11e5-8e9e-dce8a2a2a679_story.html

 

Astra Taylor’s iPhone has a cracked screen. She has bandaged it with clear packing tape and plans to use the phone until it disintegrates. She objects to the planned obsolescence of today’s gadgetry, and to the way the big tech companies pressure customers to upgrade.

 

Taylor, 36, is a documentary filmmaker, musician and political activist. She’s also an emerging star in the world of technology criticism. She’s not paranoid, but she keeps duct tape over the camera lens on her laptop computer — because, as everyone knows, these gadgets can be taken over by nefarious agents of all kinds.

 

Taylor is a 21st-century digital dissenter. She’s one of the many technophiles unhappy about the way the tech revolution has played out. Political progressives once embraced the utopian promise of the Internet as a democratizing force, but they’ve been dismayed by the rise of the “surveillance state,” and the near-monopolization of digital platforms by huge corporations.

 

Last month, Taylor and more than 1,000 activists, scholars and techies gathered at the New School in New York City for a conference to talk about reinventing the Internet. They dream of a co-op model: people dealing directly with one another without having to go through a data-sucking corporate hub.

 

... more at the link

Edited December 27, 2015 by monroe

[Tommy]

Finally, someone getting smart! I look at people today with all these darn smartphones and how they're so in love with them, but then 3 months down the road, a new one comes out so people quickly ditch their old one for a new one...and so on.

 

If your old one is working fine, what's the object in it?? We didn't constantly buy new PCs every time a new one came out...so why is it like this for phones? And better yet, do most people even need smartphones? I don't, I don't even own one, and I like it that way. I use my PC for all my computing tasks and it does the job just fine. I don't need to spy on my friends, I don't need them spying on me, and I certainly don't need Big Brother checking up on everything I do. People are being duped into believing all this new technology is a necessity and people are really believing it. People lived without smartphones for years, they got along just fine, in fact I think even better because people were forced to communicate and talk to each other. That person next to you that you're blocking out...could be your next best friend...if you took the time to talk to them. Sure, it might be awkward....but it happens sometimes!

 

Anyway, I'm rambling (lecturing) beyond the point of the article. I also like this idea and believe that we should be happy with things we have, use what works and what we already own! Sure, a few dedicated people had to work for years to make 98 and 2000 quite usable in today's age...but it was possible. Windows 2000 continues to be my main OS and will for years to come until it gets to the point that it won't work at all which it will...but as long as Outlook still works with Gmail and something like Firefox works...I'm set! Most programs now are modern enough that I don't need to upgrade. What has always made me laugh are little minor adjustments to a program, very minor that the program itself hasn't change, but the program will only work with the next up operating system. Just a little line of text in the program that gives something like Windows 98 the 21 gun salute minus the 20...and all it takes is removing that line of code and it works just fine. That's not always the case, but usually between minor versions it is.

 

Now as far as human needs and priorities, that DEFINITELY has been turned upside down. When people opt to buy a new iPhone but neglect to pay their utility bills (and expect us to via welfare)...that is wrong. No, you don't need an iPhone, nobody does unless you some traveling businessman, then I can see it. But when you're a hobo with ripped clothes, you stink like a sewer, and get up early at the crack of noon...you're a bum and you don't need an iPhone because you don't even work. You need a job and income so you can pay for that crap on your own and not rely on us. Of course that's not all I'm driving at. I'm driving at how there really are people even with jobs that choose to spend their money on nonsense and not the things they really need and it's sad. Going back to welfare, it simply amazes me how people with cigarettes, tattoos, piercings, and smartphones...all need food stamps, and then they get butthurt because you call them out on it and then they say they paid for that stuff with their own money! Well duh, obviously you WASTED your money on crap you don't need so now you need us to pay for your food. It doesn't work that way but they try to make you believe they're responsible when really, they're full of crap. I just know better because I worked in retail and so does my mother and we can make our own observations. It's not rocket science how people have their needs and wants mixed up.

 

So I'm just going to end it on this note so I went on long enough, I'm just glad that someone is finally getting smart and I hope more people start following that sort of thinking and maybe people can start being human beings again and not spoiled, entitled, little whiny brats.

[jaclaz]

With all due respect to the "underlying philosophy", if you have a cracked screen, if you are smart you replace it instead of "bandaging with clear tape" and if you are smarter you pay some attention and avoid cracking it.

 

jaclaz

[Tommy]

With all due respect to the "underlying philosophy", if you have a cracked screen, if you are smart you replace it instead of "bandaging with clear tape" and if you are smarter you pay some attention and avoid cracking it.

 

jaclaz

That's actually good advice, jaclaz.   A great way to not crack your screen would be...don't use it while walking.

[Monroe]

Well, I was in that crowd many years ago ... something new, why not ... go for it. Eventually we get older and wiser and our brain adapts to the old saying ... "if it ain't broke" ... or maybe if it is broke ... "live with it".

 

I remember in my very early years when I bought my first car .. it was a jewel ... special order with a nice color ... Gulfstream Aqua ... back then it was a special color, today I would just say "blue".

 

Anyway, it came complete, it had everything including a three year car loan. Well, I kept it clean ... and all the other good stuff that you do to with your very first car. Then one day I noticed a "scratch - dent" type of thing ... I can only guess it happened at the shopping center with someone being careless with a shopping cart ... only a guess.

 

So now in my mind ... my new car had this "scratch - dent" ... I actually lost interest in the car and didn't want it anymore! ... however, I still had three years to pay on the piece of junk.

 

Today, I drive a 25 yr old car ... in very good shape but with many dents and scratches from being on the Earth for 25 years.

 

So the moral of this story ... I don't think there is one ... I can look back and laugh at that first "dent and scratch" but it sure wasn't funny back then, especially having to make payments for three years on something you no longer want.

...

[jaclaz]

Well, the person featured in the article would have probably more simply stopped going to the shopping center ...

 

jaclaz

[dencorso]

Don't you have anymore car tinkers in the US?  In Brazil (and probably even more so in Cuba) there's many of them, who'll do from a quick fix or cosmetic job to a "like new" state, depending on how much one is willing to pay and how long one is willing to wait...

[Tripredacus]

Certainly there are shops that can do that for cars, but the common US everyman isn't going to fix up their own car should it become damaged. That subset of society, the motorhead (like a lot of trade skills) is primarily owned by the older generations... say 50+. In the past 15 years, people are not keeping new cars even for the length of their warranties. Instead they most often adopt to trade the car in for another new one once the payments are up.

At least around here, those who fix up their own cars or keep older ones are either involved in some sort of motoring hobby. Racing (legal or not), showcase (severe minority), automotive industry workers or those who live in rural areas with less access to dealers or auto part stores.

Even in this day, it is rare to hear that someone has changed the oil in their own car, as compared to just 20 years ago. Now people go to a shop and have it done for them.

I wouldn't say that 36 is the "younger crowd" really. I think that trends in technology and the internet is driven by people younger than 30. Those who have spend a good 10-15 years in the real world after school years usually wisen up by the mid-30s and not want to deal with so much anymore.

[jaclaz]

... the older generations... say 50+.

"older generation"="50+"

You have set a rather low level for "us".

 

Even in this day, it is rare to hear that someone has changed the oil in their own car, as compared to just 20 years ago. Now people go to a shop and have it done for them.

Not that all people would not want to, basically they are forced to, no matter if they would like to do it.

On most modern cars (manufactured last - say - 15-20 years or so) you do not change oil based on kilometres/miles driven, the stupid on board computer tells you that you need to go to the workshop to make an "A" or "B" checkup (the "A" is the "light" one, where you change just the oil and filter) but then the stupid manufacturer wants you to have another stupid computer or program to connect to the stupid on board computer through the stupid OBD port:

http://lavalink.com/2012/06/obdii-automotive-diagnostics-and-serial-port-connections/

to tell it that the oil and filter have been changed, reset the "counter" and turn off the stupid flashing reminder on the dashboard.

This - depending on make/model - can be easy-peasy or very complex (and as well a "simple" ODB device or a program might be cheap or rather costly) and if you go for an el-cheapo device (some are like a few bucks) you are not really-really sure you are not going to mess the stupid on-board computer, a professional (supported/guaranteed) multi-manufacturer/model tool runs at least a few hundred of bucks AFAIK.

 

jaclaz

[Monroe]

Well another thing about people changing their own oil ... it's harder to get rid of the stuff in today's world. Years ago you could just dump it on your neighbor's property when he wasn't home !!!

 

All these regulations today have put a stop to that ... life was so much simpler back then.

...

Edited December 31, 2015 by monroe

[jaclaz]

Well another thing about people changing their own oil ... it's harder to get rid of the stuff in today's world. Years ago you could just dump it on your neighbor's property when he wasn't home !!!

 

All these regulations today have put a stop to that ... life was so much simpler back then.

...

At least here in Italy there are a lot of places where you can deliver used oil, including most fuel station and workshops, as a matter of fact any place that sells new oil is (by Law, and it is AFAIK EU norms) bound to allow bringing in used oil and receive it for free. Of course it is not like you buy 1 Kg of oil and next day you deliver 1000 kg of used oil .

It is more difficult to find the "correct" way to get rid of used oil filters, not all the same people will receive them.

jaclaz

[Tripredacus]

... the older generations... say 50+.

"older generation"="50+"

You have set a rather low level for "us".

I tried to use age numbers based on the people I am acquainted with. It may also reflect the fact that I've been living in an urban area for over 10 years. Were I living in the country towns again maybe things would be different. And, I am speaking specifically of life in these United States, with full knowledge that other countries can and often are radically different.

[jaclaz]

I tried to use age numbers based on the people I am acquainted with.

I am not sure to understand, you are acquainted with "kids" or with "old people" (i.e. "50+" )?

It may also reflect the fact that I've been living in an urban area for over 10 years. Were I living in the country towns again maybe things would be different. And, I am speaking specifically of life in these United States, with full knowledge that other countries can and often are radically different.

I am not sure that the definition of "old" changes much the more you travel away from the city centre, but maybe that's how it works in the USA (like New York vs. - say - Alaska is the same ... ).

Anyway, the UN has put the switch at 60:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_age#Official_definitions

and seemingly "popular definitions" (including US ones) are a bit higher than that:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_age#Popular_definitions

jaclaz

[ROTS]

I agree with her. I agree with her 100%. The stupidity needs to stop already. We are using toxic waste products with wireless and back in 1999 we had beautiful cable that did everything else with little worry about privacy. It is the oil crisis from 1972 that is causing these issues. The moment we stop using oil ( like from the ground ) and start using other sources. The inflation is going to drop like the temperature in January winter.

We are just fools with money and nothing to spend it on.

Honestly I am in her age range and 35 is usually when a person should be married ( especially for women ) but otherwise like me she probably did a bunch of things and is inside of college.

Usually I would say I do not care what women say at all. But her voice about the pointless of these upgrades is true. I mean it took me years before I had any idea of how to really use a computer and now I know. We need to use touch pads/ pen tablets. The pen is mightier then the sword or even the keyboard.

In fact the whole "language of the keyboard" ( something most of us computer users know about or use ) is actually being lost due to touch screen phones being used. Speaking of dumbfoundingly dumbing down

something. I am so addicted to touch every-time I go to the library I start tapping the display/terminal Forgetting it is a regular display.

I even start tapping my game-boy screen for selections. I feel like zoolander and that computer scene sometimes.

"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2uHBhKTSe0"

..............

In fact my computer professor considers the push for programmers a good thing. Keep in mind that most programmers are just rehashing the past. Only few make any good differences

Edited January 1, 2016 by ROTS

[Tripredacus]

I tried to use age numbers based on the people I am acquainted with.

I am not sure to understand, you are acquainted with "kids" or with "old people" (i.e. "50+" )?

Both! The kids are mostly from interactions at family get togethers. They do not seem to have a good grasp on how to computer as much as one would think, since they have been raised with them.