Technology..Usefull or useless?

[zman]

I was just wondering on everyones take on the subject.
We all come frome different generations and that is probably a big difference.
Today I seen a person with a phone attached to their ear.
at first I thought "how clever" But later I thought "what a pain in the rear"
That is to not only wear it but to have to listen to calls every second they come in.
Then there is GPS. I bought a street navigator and found I never used it.
I looked things up in my thomas brothers map book and found where I needed to go faster then i could input an adress.
There are many more examples of technology that seems useless.
But maybe I have it all wrong.
I recently took all the extra`s from my phone service and bought an answering machine. attached to it was a phone with a cord that doesnt need the batteries replaced either.
I suppose what I`m saying is where does convinience end and nesessity begin?
I think we all need to consider that while we are being flooded with commercial interest on how to make our lives better.
By the way..I can still dial a phone. I`ve watched the younger ones look at a dial phone like it was from mars.

[Arkay]

I think there is definitely a point where technology for its own sake, or "solutions looking for a problem", become more bother than they are worth.

For example, I find it much faster and easier to scan two open paper pages looking for a written appointment, than to try inputting/searching/scrolling through a handheld device like a Palm Pilot. Ever try "typing in" a name, phone number, and appointment time/date in one of those, WHILE still/simultaneously talking with someone on the phone? :no: :nono: :thumbsdn: ... but it is easily done with pen and paper, with no real distraction or delay in the conversation. For SOME things where you need to search through and find a name or number, the electronic pocket devices may be better and faster... and being able to link contact details with appointments at one click (without re-writing and without flipping pages) saves a little time, but overall, paper is both easier and usually more efficient.

The real culprit in this is companies trying to compete to develop and sell us new products for profit. In a way, this is good: some things may actually improve our lives, and perhaps the introduction of many new ideas is the only effective way to find out what those really useful technologies are. But very often, the things turn out NOT to be real improvements at all.

Perhaps the worst offenders are the people selling kitchen gadgets. You can buy specially-shaped plastic scraper tools for getting the last bit out of each major manufacturer's common glass jar shapes. The extra smidgeon of food you get each time means each scraper-tool will pay itself back after perhaps 15-20 years...:no: there are squeezing and crushing tools of all types, each for a different type of food. UMPTEEN kitchen gadgets exist, each for a highly specialized need that you never knew you had. A master chef can get by with a few pots and pans, a few knives and a couple cutting boards, and perhaps a few other basic items (maybe a colander, seive, mortar and pestle...), depending on what they are cooking. The rest are impulse buys by people who say, "Oh, that looks neat!", then buy it and create a cluttered kitchen in which they forget to (or don't want to) use half the stuff.

The older I get, the more I want simple, basic GOOD designs that are WELL made and do the job well. To keep to the kitchen analogy, last year I got a few Le Creuset pots (frying pan, wok, stew pot). They still look and function just the same as when brand new. At this rate, I may never buy another pot or pan for the rest of my life. No need to when the simple, basic proven technology that has been around for decades does the job so well.

For audio gear, I'm rapidly moving to the point where the only reason for me to change or get anything new would be for the fun of it, or out of curiosity/interest. The amount of money I'd have to pay to improve things substantially just wouldn't be worth it, and the additional sonic gain would be small enough that I don't need it. But it has taken (and is taking) time to get there. The interesting side of this is that almost all my stuff is vintage: I don't think 99 percent of modern speakers improve on vintage Infinities, nor do 99 percent of tweeters sound any better than Heil AMTs... and the one percent that do cost more than the money I'd spend on them could possibly justify.

There is also the fact that some things are useful to some people in some applications, but not to others. I think for a sailor on the high seas, a GPRS device is invaluable for accurate navigation, as is a good shortwave radio for emergency communication. But for me in the middle of a city, using a GPRS device to get around is ridiculous overkill. I don't need it, and don't want it. Maybe a specialized garlic press is useful in an Italian restaurant's kitchen, where they press bags of garlic every day, but for me it is un-necessary clutter.

Mobile phones are a mixed blessing. Sometimes it is nice to be able to make a call without having to find a phone (especially in emergency situations). I want my mobile phone to make phone calls, and sometimes to receive them. It is nice sometimes when something unexpected occurs, to be able to take a picture with it, without having to carry around a separate camera. But if I want to take pictures (i.e., "do photography"), then I want something better than a phone camera. And all the other functions that clutter up my phone, like games which I never play, I wish would disappear. They just add needless complexity, steps and cost to the device. But perhaps someone else wants them.

I like incandescent lights, not energy-saving ones that give off ugly light, don't work well with dimmers (except in large "jumps") and are more prone to flicker, giving headaches, etc... but I understand the importance of the energy-saving aspects, across a whole economy.

Modern solid-state recording devices are a mixed blessing, compared to cassette tapes. I find cassettes much more user-friendly to operate.

When remote control devices started becoming popular, I thought they were great. I still appreciate them, and do use them, but am also again getting used to non-remote-control vintage gear, and wondering just why I "needed" remote control when it came out. Laziness is nice, but not always a virtue. [If you are handicapped, then it's another story entirely; remote control may be a necessity, and not a question of laziness.]

[ShaneC]

When remote control devices started becoming popular, I thought they were great. I still appreciate them, and do use them, but am also again getting used to non-remote-control vintage gear, and wondering just why I "needed" remote control when it came out. Laziness is nice, but not always a virtue. [If you are handicapped, then it's another story entirely; remote control may be a necessity, and not a question of laziness.]

I'm with ya on everything but this.....at least speaking in the present sense.

Why a remote? 300 or so TV channels, and audio fluctuations between stations....

Now if only I could get one of those nifty fully programmable, controls everything without a problem type remotes (ie. Logitech Harmony, etc) for a reasonable price...

[justw]

Depend's on wether you are buying or selling.
If you are selling then the idea is to invent, or a better word would be fabricate, a new technology, or TREND, for consumers to consume and make it COOL to use this device. For instance: it doesn't matter that the IPOD has horrible sound quality and the source is missing bits of the original music. :music: Wwhat matters is how COOL everyone looks wearing those white earbuds. The youth are able to display how much their parents LOVE them by giving them such an expensive gift. The old can display how WITH IT they are by listening to ITUNES. :banana:
But most importantly STEVE JOBS gets a big fat paycheck!:thmbsp:

Don't even get me started about DIGITAL TV.

words to GOOGLE for more insight:TREND MONGER, Gregory Peccary
or here for the full lecture: http://wiki.killuglyradio.com/wiki/Say_Cheese...

[gearhound]

Look what happened to NYC....in 1976 (I think that was the year)....when power went down for a LONG time...........

I can't even begin to imagine the utter chaos and panic that would happen today!?

And they died of starvation with a case of canned beans and a manual can opener...............

Steve

[outshined]

Some people love new whiz-bang technology. They have to have the latest gizmoid or gadgetronic whatchamacallit. That's all well and good.

Think about technology in the medical field. Satellite communications. Satellite radio. That is so cool. Weapons technology (for deterrence, mostly, but for superior defense as well)

You just might make the cover of Time with your once in a lifetime picture taken with your cell phone, captured for the ages.

I absolutely love digital recording technology. Small, great sounding, portable (an understatement to end all) practically indestructable, and cheap. I'm listening to glorious music while the vinyl listener is wringing his hands over whether the VTF of his cart is off by a degree or two. (Please, let's not turn this into yet another fruitless debate. Thank you.)

I could go on. On the whole, I think the last 25 years has made an overall improvment in everyday life, and for the quality of life, in so many ways. No, I don't have, nor do I wish to have, the latest gadget. But, from what I've seen, many do.

Hell, I'm still blown away by the fact that I can talk to someone 7000 miles away on a land line, using what might be considered ancient technology.

I guess, then, one might say that the strong survive, and, undoubtedly will. It will play out according to the wishes of the people with their money, no matter how much the big companies try to force feed them.

[danhagan]

Great topic, OP. I just turned 50 and have been thinking along the same lines for some time. Some random thoughts:

My goal is to retire around 55 by reducing my "standard of living". It amuses me that retirement planning assumes one wants to maintain their "SOL". Hell, my SOL is what I'm trying to get away from. Traffic, phone madness, weekend chores designed to preserve an image of middle class bliss, keeping up with the current state of modern culture. Bah. Never really wanted it in the first place. Once you have kids you do things so that they can fit in with the rest of the culture, but sometimes I wonder if that is a disservice to kids as it sets them up for a lifetime of work, buy, discard, buy, bigger car, bigger house, etc.

The future paradigm appears to be less is more.

When I was in college I had no money but lots of friends. We got together, talked, played music, fed our heads, and generally had a great time. I want to live like I did in college, so I'm thinking my annual budget should be what I lived on them adjusted for inflation. Medical costs are the monkey wrench in the equation. I know that is idealistic, but hopefully you get the point.

I'm sure there's some great new music out there, and I do hear some of it. But I really get off on discovering something old that was done before synthesizers and effects processors. And when people had to be able to sing
and write in a clever and intelligent manner.

So, I tend to agree with the OP. I try now to resist the urge to buy what I'm told is cool and trendy, as it is usually a Madison Avenue ruse. I sympathize with those who need to make a living by selling things. But I will respectfully posit that spending a lifetime honing one's skills at getting people to buy what they don't need (or even want before they were "enlightened") is not the most useful skill in a world that must learn to use the technology genie more wisely.

In the future,we must find a way to drive economies differently. If the future of any nation depends on individuals spending like drunken sailors on technological knicknacks, then the future does not appear bright.

Thanks for indulging me. Time to go listen to some old records!

[70salesguy]

I think technology can be a double-edged sword.

Arkay's well-written post (as they almost always are!) makes good points.

I can remember as a kid wishing there was a tape recorder to tape TV shows. Years later, the VCR appeared. It was $1500, but it was there! The advent of the reasonably priced VCR changed the way we watch TV, time-shifting and all, now DVRs and TiVos.

The cellphone (beat to death in many posts) certainly has its pros and cons.

Some people just love and embrace technology, others don't. I think the young tend to embrace it quicker.

A few months ago, I was in a Ruby Tuesdays restaurant and saw a strange thing (to me). 4 young people in a booth, 3 of them talking on cell phones and 1 appearing to send text messages. 4 people together and not interacting with each other! :sigh:

I have a business partner who loves technology! He has a PDA or something simular with GPS built in. He carries it around with him unless he is in his vehicle, where it rides in a cradle. He uses it for everything! I use an old-fashioned Day-Timer. It has never crashed! A funny thing about his embrace of technology. As a part of keeping good records for tax and business purposes, I record departure and arrival times and mileage for all stops during the day. I write it down in my Day-Timer. My associate uses a digital recorder to record this information and later transfers it to paper!

I have some nice technology and I have passed on some. I tend to pick up on the ones that truly make my life easier, not more complicated!

GPS (Hertz NeverLost) is great for a rental car in a city you're not familiar with. I don't need it for most of my travels, though.

My iPod was an improvement over a small CD player for air travel.

Thank goodness we can pick and choose those technologies that we want, except in the cases where the prevalence of a new technology results in the elimination of the old.

[outshined]

Look what happened to NYC....in 1976 (I think that was the year)....when power went down for a LONG time...........

I can't even begin to imagine the utter chaos and panic that would happen today!?

And they died of starvation with a case of canned beans and a manual can opener...............

Steve

I dunno about starvation. But here's some facts. A sad affair.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_blackout_of_1977

[whoaru99]

A few months ago, I was in a Ruby Tuesdays restaurant and saw a strange thing (to me). 4 young people in a booth, 3 of them talking on cell phones and 1 appearing to send text messages. 4 people together and not interacting with each other! :sigh:



I see this regularly. Sometimes I wonder if they are texting each other even though they're sitting together.

My GF's son is 16 or 17 and didn't have much of a father figure in his life. So, as he is interested, we do little projects like changing oil/filter on his pickup, put in spark plugs, changed the factory radio for aftermarket, and other "guy" things (not meaning to imply that girls don't or can't do these things too).

He is a good kid and a sponge in this regard, soaking it all in. However, he is a big "texter". On a couple of occasions I've asked him to turn off the cell phone if he wanted to continue our project because the damn thing was ringing every 30 seconds with a new text that he, of course, had to immediately respond to. And, it's all day like this...

[outshined]

The future paradigm appears to be less is more.


I'll turn 50 in June. I retired at 47, with a nice pension and health care bennies. I haven't any kids. No bills, except mortgage and utilities.
I bought a used '07 Monte SS. I have all the stereo crap I need.

I'm content. No worries. Less IS more.

[70salesguy]

A question all of us need to ask ourselves (including mself),

Do you own your stuff or does it own you?

I have been evaluating this since my move to my new house, not about the house (which I love), but the stuff that I had to move from the old house to the new one. :scratch2:

[outshined]

He is a good kid and a sponge in this regard, soaking it all in. However, he is a big "texter". On a couple of occasions I've asked him to turn off the cell phone if he wanted to continue our project because the damn thing was ringing every 30 seconds with a new text that he, of course, had to immediately respond to. And, it's all day like this...

I see this too, but in kids (kids, ha! I'm gettin old, man) who are, in my estimation from what I know about them in particular, are going nowhere fast. They don't know jack about stuff I learned in grade school. Even little things. They have no desire to learn either, from my asking them questions.

But they can text faster with that lingo than a cheetah on a gazelle. And the giggling... :sigh:

Frightening...

[zman]

Thanks guys.. You seem to know where I`m going. It seems there is allot of expensive cheap junk out there that people wait in line to buy.
Unessisary things but either good marketing or lack of knowlege keeps people buying them.
I think as each generation comes allong we tend to want to progress with them and forget about the past.
I too have followed but in knowing the past I find allot of these technologies unessisary.
I like the cell phones and was one of the first with a motorola "brick" and LA cellular service. It was neat and expensive but it had no real value to me at the time. Just a neat thing.
Lately I have been evaluating what I have and what I need and have found many useless things. One thing was my newer truck with electric everything and a fuel bill to match.
Another was my cell phone that was distracting when out and about.
I`m thinking of removing cable TV because I can watch darn near anything on the internet.
I would love to hear some other suggestions of unessisary things.
I think I am pretty trim now but if there are other things I would like to hear them.
I keep thinking of the 70` when many things didnt exist and I seemed to get allong just fine.
Heck..I even know Morse Code.

[BajaGringo]

Technology has advanced far - manufacturing standards and quality of components have all given in to the Wal-Mart factor - cheap is better...

:music:

[Red Stick]

I’m approaching my mid 40’s, and while I find the technology fascinating, I find that I don’t have much of it. Obviously I have a PC (which is leaps and bounds better than the key punch machine), and a few other items. My wife and I both have cell phones, and if we use 60 minutes total a month, one of us was probably out of town. I have heard that the GPS navigators can come in handy in larger cities, but haven’t used one yet. As far using GPS for every day adventure type of driving or hiking, if you don’t care where you are going, you can’t get lost.

Like I said, I don’t have anything against the latest and greatest gizmos, I just don’t seem to need much of it. Although part of it might be the fear of the better and cheaper gizmo coming out right after I purchase something.:D

[MRX37]

Well, I'm certainly pro technology. After all, technology is how we're all communicating to each other right now.

However, I like PRACTICAL technology.


Computer: Practical.

Computer that's a "feature" ridden do it all media center, game player, and vegetable slicer that can fit in your pocket: Ridiculous and cumbersome to use.


My 256 MB basic MP3 player: Practical. I like that it does not skip and can fit in my pocket, and that one AAA battery will last many hours. It's also easy to use.

The @#$% IPOD: Grossly expensive and overhyped. 300 fucking gigabytes?! There are still PC's with hard drives that are smaller then that, and they do a SHITLOAD more then the IPOD does. Proprietary battery is bullshit.


A stripped down version of Windows XP: Practical.

Windows Vista: Nowhere near practical.

So, I like technology that is actually useful.

[BajaGringo]

It depends on your application. I use graphics design software that runs much better in Vista; in XP it locks up all the time.

Like everything else - it's all relative...

:music:

[zman]

Thats a good question. I have the original windows on floppy disc still as well as windows 95 and on up.
I suppose my favorite was windows 98.
i could load any version to my PC but I use the XP version.
Without a doubt the computer is the one instrument I will miss.

[BajaGringo]

Without a doubt the computer is the one instrument I will miss.

Why, are you going someplace???

:music:

[hypertone]

I work in IT, so I'm around technology all the time. I think a lot of people have become too dependent on technology. For example somebody's email can be down for 5 minutes and they are literally in a panic. I think technology can make life easier and more convenient, but also cause anxiety when it (frequently) does not work as advertised. I despise cell phones. I mean I really can't stand them, even though I have to carry one. I think cell phones have changed society for the worse in a way. I know I want to vomit everytime I hear some stupid pop song ringtone go off. I absolutely love the internet though. I couldn't imagine trying to access information without it. What did people used to do?

At the end of the day, the only technology I need is good old analog 2-channel audio.

:music:

[karmaman]

MRX37, the iPod is "only" up to 160GB right now. It's a lot, but not quite 300GB.

[outshined]

I didn't own a computer until about '96 or so. I was doing fine without one. I used to read BOOKS. Now, my eyes are straining at this damn screen. It's also a gigantic time waster. I don't need any of the programs on this thing, and it has them all. Hell, even if I did need one once in a lifetime, I wouldn't know how to use it anyway. I can barely use the features on AK. No one to teach me. Waaaa!

I know the upside, too. Fine, yeah, blah blah... I think I can do without it. These crazy emails I still get after telling people to stop sending them!

Ignorance is bliss, in this case. But, the curse will hafta live on, because I do email friends and family where, on the other hand, I will never write a letter.

So it is. Rant over.

[MRX37]

MRX37, the iPod is "only" up to 160GB right now. It's a lot, but not quite 300GB.

Eh, give it a week or two, then it'll be up to 300 GB, and the price will shoot up cos irt's a "new model".

[Lady Ayeka]

I was just wondering on everyones take on the subject.
We all come frome different generations and that is probably a big difference.
Today I seen a person with a phone attached to their ear.
at first I thought "how clever" But later I thought "what a pain in the rear"
That is to not only wear it but to have to listen to calls every second they come in.
Then there is GPS. I bought a street navigator and found I never used it.
I looked things up in my thomas brothers map book and found where I needed to go faster then i could input an adress.
There are many more examples of technology that seems useless.
But maybe I have it all wrong.
I recently took all the extra`s from my phone service and bought an answering machine. attached to it was a phone with a cord that doesnt need the batteries replaced either.
I suppose what I`m saying is where does convinience end and nesessity begin?
I think we all need to consider that while we are being flooded with commercial interest on how to make our lives better.
By the way..I can still dial a phone. I`ve watched the younger ones look at a dial phone like it was from mars.

tell me about it. we're all analog individuals in a mindless digital age...

[Lady Ayeka]

I work in IT, so I'm around technology all the time. I absolutely love the internet though. I couldn't imagine trying to access information without it. What did people used to do?

they used to be narrow-minded xenophobes that didin't know anything about the cultures of the world. just remember, the internet is the greatest library in the world. most of us here wouldn't know half of what we know about the vintage electronics out there without it!!

[bshorey]

I was just wondering on everyones take on the subject.
We all come frome different generations and that is probably a big difference.
Today I seen a person with a phone attached to their ear.
at first I thought "how clever" But later I thought "what a pain in the rear"
That is to not only wear it but to have to listen to calls every second they come in.
Then there is GPS. I bought a street navigator and found I never used it.
I looked things up in my thomas brothers map book and found where I needed to go faster then i could input an adress.
There are many more examples of technology that seems useless.
But maybe I have it all wrong.
I recently took all the extra`s from my phone service and bought an answering machine. attached to it was a phone with a cord that doesnt need the batteries replaced either.
I suppose what I`m saying is where does convinience end and nesessity begin?
I think we all need to consider that while we are being flooded with commercial interest on how to make our lives better.
By the way..I can still dial a phone. I`ve watched the younger ones look at a dial phone like it was from mars.

I love technology. I find it amazing that I can communicate with friends all over the globe instantaneously, while just 30 years ago I would be trading letters monthly through the postal system, at best.

As for the GPS, sure, you can find where you're going using a map, but try wandering through a strange set of country roads some evening, and using a map to pinpoint exactly where you are.

I look at technology a couple of ways. First, I use it, I don't become enslaved to it. My cell phone is great when I need to call somebody, but I don't feel obligated to answer it every time it rings.

Second, I use it as a luxury, I don't depend on it. If my GPS fails, I know how to read a map and use a compass.

So, my vote is that technology is great, just use it for your own benefit and don't become enslaved to it!

bs

[BajaGringo]

I get a kick out of some of the old farts here who go on about how they hate technology yet they use the internet to access AK, specs and manuals for their gear and probably used the internet to locate and buy a lot of their gear...

I am an old fart too but I love technology. I just wish we had the old standards in manufacturing quality and materials.

:music: