What do you think will be the first technology you let pass you by?

FAST6191 · Jun 9, 2020

Barring implications of http://www.coding2learn.org/blog/2013/07/29/kids-cant-use-computers/ I am sure we have all heard older people in our lives claim they don't get electric lighting, indoor plumbing, tiled/boarded floors, mobile phones, DVD players and of course computers in general is the perennial favourite for such statements. I will assume however that if you are reading this you are generally sold on the virtue and usefulness of computers. Live long enough however and you will see yourself become an old fart.

What technology (be it physical or software) is passing you by, or is on the horizon and is likely to pass you by? Note that I don't mean just a popular software package (I hate Lotus notes almost as much as anybody but it does not mean I am not down with word processors/office suites, likewise just because I am treating discord as a fad does not mean I am not happy to have instant messenger programs).
I am however including radical changes in mode of ownership -- I have met people that don't have MP3s because streaming so there is that. Technically this is more of an old method (most people did not have wax cylinders and rolls of sheet music back in the day) but I will count it anyway.

Be careful if it is just a technology that some foolhardy people are trying today but will likely be viable, commercially or technically, in a decade. VR probably being the main example of this one.

Also I am serious about all the examples above. I don't have many but I have met people claiming all of those over the course of my life. Even those starting out in the earliest days of computing (barring secret world war 2 stuff it was the 50s and 60s this happened, so if you were just coming off a doctorate in maths at the time then today you are statistically... dead actually, even those in their 30s during the PC boom of the 90s are retiring and shuffling off this mortal coil) that laid the foundations for what we have now routinely ignore things.

smileyhead · Jun 9, 2020

I have a theory that older people don't want / can't get into modern technology because in their time radical changes were much rarer. Since we grew up in a time where changes and new technologies happen much-much more frequently, we've grown used to them and might not have this problem when we grow old.
Heck, I know a couple of older people who have no problem adapting to change and using modern technology. It might just depend on your willingness and adventurousness.

Alexander1970 · Jun 9, 2020

You maybe lauging,but I still use only Light Bulbs in my Apartment.....no other illuminants like LED´s for Example.
It is everytime a "Thrill" when a Year and/or 1.000 Hours are over.
Depending on the Watt Power it makes "Pooof" of "PANG"..... :rofl2:

Smartphone is still none in my Life.

FAST6191 · Jun 9, 2020

alexander1970 said:
You maybe lauging,but I still use only Light Bulbs in my Apartment.....no other illuminants like LED´s for Example.
It is everytime a "Thrill" when a Year and/or 1.000 Hours are over.
Depending on the Watt Power it makes "Pooof" of "PANG".....

Smartphone is still none in my Life.

It is more that the first electricity people got in their houses was electric light (I have a nice diagram in one of my home mechanic manuals with it discussing the virtue of plugging a soldering iron into a lamp holder vs the heat it up in a fire approach). Some really old then people still referring to it as the electric light bill.

Also if you want I can make a LED that goes pop as spectacularly as any defective halogen, tungsten or CFL might ever have. That said with the quality of light even the cheap ones (GU10 format ones that kick out loads of nice warm white, though cool is available as well if you roll that way, are sub £1 if you buy in a pack of 6 or so and £1 if you don't) you are almost just burning money on other forms.

As for phones I would have one. I can get over my distaste about the lack of open source/open device well enough, and could even program it to only accept calls between certain hours and/or only from certain people (I do refuse to be "available" 24/7 and instead make it a you might get lucky), but it is more than I am a cheap bastard and refuse to pay for anything that does not retain my data from month to month like it would have done with phone minutes or text messages.

duwen · Jun 9, 2020

As I approach 50, there have already been a number of 'technologies' that I let pass me by - the majority of which are already obsolete.
Like @alexander1970 I could've quite easily gone without a smartphone, and only gave in last year when I was in need of both a new phone and a handheld android device.

The one that I will probably never give in on is a dishwashing machine. I really don't see them as the labour saving device that their devotees praise them for being. By the time you've rinsed off your plates loaded the machine, run the machine, unloaded the machine, you could've done a better job yourself at the sink!

Oh! And "SatNav"/GPS devices - I'm fine with reading maps and memorizing routes.

slaphappygamer · Jun 9, 2020

Automatic driving cars. I’ll let that pass. I like driving. I’m not lazy.

Tom Bombadildo · Jun 9, 2020

duwen said:
The one that I will probably never give in on is a dishwashing machine. I really don't see them as the labour saving device that their devotees praise them for being. By the time you've rinsed off your plates loaded the machine, run the machine, unloaded the machine, you could've done a better job yourself at the sink!

That's not really true anymore. Older dishwashers, absolutely. You would've had to pre-rinse the dishes to get them ready for a dishwasher, definitely scrub off most/all of the food possibly stuck to a pan or plate which would've taken a lot more time than just hand washing, but dishwashers made in the last 10 years or so have no problems with that stuff anymore, so long as you get large portions of food of your plate you can just shove them in there no rinse required, it's more efficient and economical to just use a dishwasher in most cases these days. They get your dishes cleaner (because they use much hotter water, guaranteed to kill pretty much all germs and bacteria whereas doing it at the sink you simply can't get hot enough to do that without burning your hands), they use much less water (most use a total of 6 gallons, which equates to running your tap on full for 3 minutes), and that time you "spend" waiting for it to run can just be used to do other chores. I spend 5 minutes loading and 5 minutes unloading my dishwasher, and the hour and a half it runs in between I just spend cleaning the kitchen doing laundry and things.

It may be faster if you're just washing dishes for one or two people right after a meal where you only have a couple plates and a pan or two, but for a full day or two's worth of dishes it's definitely better to just use a dishwasher.

As to the OP, I'm not really sure TBH, since I'm still youngish and I expect to use most upcoming tech for the foreseeable future. I can't think of anything potentially coming in the next 5-10+ years that I would say is "useless" to me just yet (consumer grade things, of course, not like...industrial exoskeletons and the such). I suppose one thing that I haven't dabbled with yet are fancy Drones with their fancy pants cameras and things, but that's less because I'm not interested and more that I can't be bothered to pay for a decent one and learn to fly it.

slaphappygamer · Jun 9, 2020

Also gonna pass on a Bluetooth toothbrush and those WiFi toasters.

FAST6191 · Jun 10, 2020

duwen said:
As I approach 50, there have already been a number of 'technologies' that I let pass me by - the majority of which are already obsolete.
Like @alexander1970 I could've quite easily gone without a smartphone, and only gave in last year when I was in need of both a new phone and a handheld android device.

The one that I will probably never give in on is a dishwashing machine. I really don't see them as the labour saving device that their devotees praise them for being. By the time you've rinsed off your plates loaded the machine, run the machine, unloaded the machine, you could've done a better job yourself at the sink!

Oh! And "SatNav"/GPS devices - I'm fine with reading maps and memorizing routes.

Dishwasher wise then as mentioned most of the modern ones do fairly well compare to the old school stuff. Scrape the chicken bones into the bin and the rest is pretty good. I will still wash weetbix out of the bowl though if I am having breakfast and don't expect to run it until dinner/night as that stuff practically welds itself the bowl.
Also said same after a dinner with friends or if you have several kids and it becomes far nicer to just load everything up and come back a couple of hours later/in the morning to put it all away.
If you are doing the single person or couple eating out of the house/microwave* then that becomes a far bigger sell and yeah a plastic tub in the sink is probably less aggravation.

*one technology I let pass me by actually. There are two things I find them good for, three if you count melting wax with the grill top ones, and even then I prefer baked potatoes when done from scratch in the oven.

On GPS. I like to have them as a glorified here I am when walking (I can get my compass, estimate distances/know pace counts or note key features in the distance, look at the sky, and make intersecting angles to tell where I am and thus how far to next, however GPS saying here you are is nice) and while I still print directions, memorise key points/general direction or know the places I am at in short order it can be nice to guide you in for the final stretch, especially now many also know traffic and roadworks.
That said anybody that can't happily read a map is doing a massive disservice to themselves.

slaphappygamer said:
Automatic driving cars. I’ll let that pass. I like driving. I’m not lazy.

Assuming you mean transmission rather than self driving I have met a few people that like point and squirt cars here (if you are doing stop-start and commute then yeah) but I think I have only met maybe 2 people (both ladies in their later years that never learned to drive beforehand) that have an automatic only test. Everybody else does manual around here and usually drives them. Likewise it is not strange at all to go past a new or second hand car dealer and have them have no automatics at all or for it to be special order.

Self driving cars. Keep driving as a hobby if you want but having a self driving taxi when I want it and don't have to deal with car ownership otherwise sounds pretty sweet.

slaphappygamer said:
Also gonna pass on a Bluetooth toothbrush and those WiFi toasters.

For toasters we did have a warning from fiction on this one

On bluetooth toothbrush then if it actually tells me something interesting then OK. If it is going to be a reminder and little else then not so much.

slaphappygamer · Jun 10, 2020

FAST6191 said:
On bluetooth toothbrush then if it actually tells me something interesting then OK. If it is going to be a reminder and little else then not so much.

It’s another source of news and information............a 2 minute shot! AND tracks your habits!
https://oralb.com/en-us/pro-5000-electric-toothbrush-with-smartguide-bluetooth/

Also, I did mean self driving cars. I’d pass on that. At least, until I can’t see right when I get much older.

Hanafuda · Jun 16, 2020

smileyhead said:
I have a theory that older people don't want / can't get into modern technology because in their time radical changes were much rarer. Since we grew up in a time where changes and new technologies happen much-much more frequently, we've grown used to them and might not have this problem when we grow old.
Heck, I know a couple of older people who have no problem adapting to change and using modern technology. It might just depend on your willingness and adventurousness.

Yes you will. There was every bit as much change going on in my young life as yours, maybe more. I think you're poorly informed if you think "changes and new technologies" weren't happening constantly in the 80's too. I'm now 53yo, and I have definitely crossed the line on letting certain niches of emerging tech "pass me by." Most of what I can't be bothered to keep up with is social stuff ... starting with myspace, facebook, instagram, tiktok, whatever ... I simply don't like "all" people anymore, not enough for that shit. And things like Uber? Please, I worked to have my own fuggin car, I'll drive it thank you very much.

Marriage, jobs, and kids will push you further and further back from the edge of what's new and hip. And then one day you'll be old enough to see it was all just marketing and you were being a sucker anyway.

smileyhead · Jun 17, 2020

Hanafuda said:
Yes you will. There was every bit as much change going on in my young life as yours, maybe more. I think you're poorly informed if you think "changes and new technologies" weren't happening constantly in the 80's too. I'm now 53yo, and I have definitely crossed the line on letting certain niches of emerging tech "pass me by." Most of what I can't be bothered to keep up with is social stuff ... starting with myspace, facebook, instagram, tiktok, whatever ... I simply don't like "all" people anymore, not enough for that shit. And things like Uber? Please, I worked to have my own fuggin car, I'll drive it thank you very much.

Marriage, jobs, and kids will push you further and further back from the edge of what's new and hip. And then one day you'll be old enough to see it was all just marketing and you were being a sucker anyway.

View attachment 213659

Not wanting to keep up with everything isn't a matter of age. I'm only 19, but I'm in mostly the same boat. I don't care about social media*, I don't use a glorified taxi service when I don't need to, and I don't try out every new tech (not that I even have the money to).
* Technically I do use social media, but I only have a Facebook account to message my friends, class, patrol, etc., and I use Twitter to follow some artists I like.

FAST6191 · Jun 17, 2020

Hanafuda said:
And things like Uber? Please, I worked to have my own fuggin car, I'll drive it thank you very much.

I have never quite got that type of resistance to such services, and it is not the first time (not even the first time on this site) that I have met such things.

If your approach to life and location (big ifs in a lot of the US compared to Europe) allows you to avoid the arse ache of car ownership (tax, fuel, insurance, maintenance especially if you can't do it yourself, and then driving the thing... effort all of it), something that seems eminently doable for a lot of people, then does seem like something you can cut out of your life.

Just I as will rent a server to do the economy of scale thing (between the likes of the pi and modern home internet that is changing but power and bandwidth is costly, not to mention some services update my server for me), rent a giant box truck if I need something more than a basic van (which itself is a rarity for people to have), maybe take a train/bus somewhere if that is an option then being able to call up a car for the one or two times I might need such a service seems like it could be a net gain.

Now Uber themselves... that is a different matter.

Ryccardo · Jul 10, 2020

Computers [the kind that used to be called "IBM compatible" before EFI-only models made that already dated term factually wrong] - modern ones, that is: I currently use a 2010 PC that I bought in late 2018 and have absolutely no interest in newer ones, which often are worse when it comes to serviceability, build quality, ethics (ie Management Engine) and legacy - too big of a tradeoff for slightly increased power efficiency (which of course has to result in smaller batteries, not longer runtimes) and of course 3 to 10x the price!!!

Equivalently all modern operating systems of the 3 major families for the above systems leave a lot to be desired compared to how they were 12 years ago. Same for consoles and, if we reduce the timeframe, phones...

A lot of this apparently can be blamed on business ethics and the chase to cost cutting: if you bought an HP printer in the 2000s, even a $40 all-in-one inkjet, you probably still have a decently built product with 100% libre drivers - which the newer ones aren't; if you bought an HP computer in 2001, you'd have something with official drivers for all 32 bit Windowses to date and detailed manuals, etc

tldr - my long-standing opinion that publicly traded corporations are inherently evil for the consumer seems more true than it was before

Benja81 · Jul 10, 2020

VR. I'm still annoyed they released a new half-life game as VR only. As much as I loved HL2, nope not interested. I know for sure if I was a little younger I'd probably be more into it. Somehow though its just a nope. Could be related to the 90s VR craze that never really panned out, though.

KingVamp · Jul 11, 2020

I'm sure everyone misses out on something, due to time and money. Not just disinterest.

That said, as cool as it might be (and putting aside if this tech will ever get mainstream in my lifetime), I don't think I'd ever jump on the Neuralink or something similar train.

DinohScene · Jul 11, 2020

VR.

I've tried it and it's just not for me.

Little_Anonymous_Hacker · Jul 12, 2020

Smart speakers. I don't want them eavesdropping on everything and selling my information. You might as well have a NSA agent take residence in your house.

Mythical · Jul 12, 2020

Little_Anonymous_Hacker said:
Smart speakers. I don't want them eavesdropping on everything and selling my information. You might as well have a NSA agent take residence in your house.

You hiding something boi?

gamesquest1 · Jul 12, 2020

I recently got a "smart" clothes dryer, one of the most pointless things I can think of, the extent of the "smart" on it is a NFC reader that allows you to either start a cycle by opening an app, choosing a setting and tapping your phone (which obviously takes longer than just turning a dial and hitting start) or it gives you a history of how many times you have run specific profiles and for how long........I honestly don't see the point except for allowing the manufacturer to be able to add new arbitrary limits to their warranty...sorry you ran the machine over the 100 cycles allowed under warranty, doesn't help me to know how many times I have run a cotton cycle or a wool cycle, granted there are smart driers that have wifi and allow you to stop the machine away from it, but I honestly still don't see the benefit beyond the novelty

PS, I didn't go out to buy this specifically, a mate got it for a really good price and mine wasn't working anyway so why not if its going to be much cheaper than going to buy a normal dryer anyway, just have to hope they haven't put some printer style dead switch in there to make sure it stops working once it hits a certain usage point

What do you think will be the first technology you let pass you by?

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