Sorry if this is a dumb question, but does anyone else feel like technology - specifically consumer tech - kinda peaked over a decade ago? I’m 37, and I remember being awed between like 2011 and 2014 with phones, voice assistants, smart home devices, and what websites were capable of. Now it seems like much of this stuff either hasn’t improved all that much, or is straight up worse than it used to be. Am I crazy? Have I just been out of the market for this stuff for too long?

  • Admiral Patrick@dubvee.org
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    1 month ago

    It all went downhill when the expectation of an always-on internet became the norm. That gave us:

    • “Smart” appliances that have no business being connected to the internet
    • “Smart” TVs that turned into billboards we pay to have in our homes
    • Subscription everything as a service
    • Zero-day patches for all manner of software / video games (remember when software companies had to actually release finished/working software? Pepperidge Farm remembers)
    • Planned obsolescence and e-waste on steroids where devices only work with a cloud connection to the manufacturer’s servers or as long as the manufacturer is in business to keep a required app up to date

    Other than hardware getting more powerful and sometimes less expensive, every recent innovation has been used against us to take away the right to own, repair, and have any control over the tech we supposedly own.

    • JeremyHuntQW12@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      I’m not sure about the touch displays on cars.

      How long does a Chinese tablet last, 10, 12 years ? If you keep it safely stored and don’t drop it.

      The things in cars seem to be even cheaper, they only use phone uPs designed to last no more than a few years. And they’re roasted in hot weather, frozen and shaken to bits.

      Good luck finding one of them in a few years, assuming they can be taken out at all without ripping up the dash.

    • u/lukmly013 💾 (lemmy.sdf.org)@lemmy.sdf.org
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      1 month ago

      And to force subscriptions, ads and tracking, the tech is getting more and more locked down.
      Not just flashing phones and wifi routers, but you may not even watch high quality video, even though you’re paying a subscription if your device’s HW and SW don’t conform.

      If something gets discontinued, it’s not just that it may be unsafe to use or be too slow for modern use, no, look at cloud-managed network gear. The company decides it’s a paperweight, and it is. And this is going to just extend further.

    • GBU_28@lemm.ee
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      1 month ago

      Not discounting anything you listed, but I overcome lots of this by being patient. I find it best to let the dust settle on everything now. I don’t even see new movies till like, the next year. Why be a beta tester for enshittification

      • TachyonTele@lemm.ee
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        1 month ago

        One of the good things about the internet is you can watch videos about whatever the thing that you’re interested in is. Get your “fix”, and then patient-gamer it.

        Before the net you had to actually buy the thing.

      • Admiral Patrick@dubvee.org
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        1 month ago

        Same. Most of my media collection (TV series, movies, console video games) came from yard sales where I’d find the DVD/Blu-ray box sets for $10 or less. I’m just salty that streaming / digital distribution is chipping away at my frugal media habits lol.