The inconvenience of convenience

[urbanrifleman]

you know if that thing is listening for you to talk to it then it(they) can hear you all the time and they do listen all the time.

Yup. It's funny. I know some pretty smart people that act very surprised when you tell them that.

And they are building server farm after server farm to keep all that recorded data. In fact, it is the number one data product infrastructure project in the world.

 

[K22]

If the internet ever went down, my grandkids would get 'apoplexy'. They are on their 'devices' every waking hour. When I visit, I see them for 15 minutes at dinner and then they disappear to their respective rooms and their "devices". My daughter just shrugs her shoulders in frustration.

So much for my dreams of taking them hiking or enjoying other outdoor activities with them. Spending time at the range with them is not even in their universe.

While I don't have this much courage, a friend of mine (in his late 70's) has no TV, no internet, and no cell phone. When I questioned him on how he is surviving in today's world, he just smiles and answer with one word, "peacefully".

My "pipe dream" is to go off the grid, buy a cabin in north central PA, and leave all this madness behind. The only two things preventing me from doing it is the courage to make the break and my declining health.

 

[urbanrifleman]

If the internet ever went down, my grandkids would get 'apoplexy'. They are on their 'devices' every waking hour. When I visit, I see them for 15 minutes at dinner and then they disappear to their respective rooms and their "devices". My daughter just shrugs her shoulders in frustration.

So much for my dreams of taking them hiking or enjoying other outdoor activities with them. Spending time at the range with them is not even in their universe.

While I don't have this much courage, a friend of mine (in his late 70's) has no TV, no internet, and no cell phone. When I questioned him on how he is surviving in today's world, he just smiles and answer with one word, "peacefully".

My "pipe dream" is to go off the grid, buy a cabin in north central PA, and leave all this madness behind. The only two things preventing me from doing it is the courage to make the break and my declining health.

Good plan.

 

[gdbleb]

Recently retired after 47 years in IT. No interest in debugging my home when this stuff inevitably breaks. No interest in voice control stuff. Heck, the "old" dimmers don't work with the new LED lighting. Recently my fancy OLED TV doesn't HDMI right with my HiFi setup. Sometimes I debate whether to kill the house main just to reboot anything and everything. I do like these Nest thermostats however. Only one glitch in 5 years.

 

[JayHHI6818]

Do POR! Unplug the power and plug it back in

 

[brokeasajoke]

I have to work with my kids on conversation skills because in any awkward silence they just look at their phones or are constantly just looking at them. We could ride in the car for 30min and no one would talk, just silence. I find myself doing the same. I guess that is their design. They are a perfect pair to the human brain.

 

[LVLAaron]

I'm 40... and deep in the tech industry my whole career. I have zero "smart" things in my home. Be more like me.

 

[CJ6]

Big brother is watching you...

 

[nakneker]

First thing I’ll do when I retire is get rid of my smart phone. Can’t stand it. Yes it’s convenient but I don’t like things listening to me and/or my wife. We can be talking about something and 15 minutes later ads start showing up everywhere containing the exact same subject matter we just discussed. It’s annoying and eerie at the same time.

Cell phones give access to you 24/7, there is no closed hours, no hours of operation. I think that adds more stress to life than people realize. For all the miracles of modern world it certainly comes with a fair share of negatives.

I can total see myself getting a landline with a cord and an analog voicemail machine when the time comes. We will keep one cell in hand for emergencies but the number will remain confidential.

 

[JFrank]

If you use them, they use you.

 

[Bc'z]

First thing I’ll do when I retire is get rid of my smart phone. Can’t stand it. Yes it’s convenient but I don’t like things listening to me and/or my wife. We can be talking about something and 15 minutes later ads start showing up everywhere containing the exact same subject matter we just discussed It’s annoying and eerie at the same time.

Cell phones give access to you 24/7, there is no closed hours, no hours of operation. I think that adds more stress to life than people realize. For all the miracles of modern world it certainly comes with a fair share of negatives.

I can total see myself getting a landline with a cord and an analog voicemail machine when the time comes. We will keep one cell in hand for emergencies but the number will remain confidential.

1 problem Sean...
I know who you know, and if he knows that I want to know what you know....
He's gonna give me your number!! Lmao

 

[nakneker]

1 problem Sean...
I know who you know, and if he knows that I want to know what you know....
He's gonna give me your number!! Lmao

Absolutely true!

 

[Bc'z]

Absolutely true!

And if you don't answer I guess you ain't home.
The way life use to be

 

[nakneker]

And if you don't answer I guess you ain't home.
The way life use to be

Wouldn’t that be nice…..

 

[nmkid]

Yup. It's funny. I know some pretty smart people that act very surprised when you tell them that.

And they are building server farm after server farm to keep all that recorded data. In fact, it is the number one data product infrastructure project in the world.

Also, you can sit in the room and talk with friends, and let's say you were talking about a trip to Europe. Surprise, within a day or two your homepage will start showing deals on trips to Europe!

 

[Fast14riot]

I have to work with my kids on conversation skills because in any awkward silence they just look at their phones or are constantly just looking at them. We could ride in the car for 30min and no one would talk, just silence. I find myself doing the same. I guess that is their design. They are a perfect pair to the human brain.

Best thing I ever did was not put a TV in the living room. It is for conversation, which my kids to enjoy at times. My hifi system is the entertainment too.

 

[nmkid]

I use my cell phone only when necessary. I always thought I didn't even need this da** thing. The other day I took off on a 360-mile trip. My daughter keeps in contact with me when I take off for a trip. And when I get where I'm going I let her know. So, I took off and forgot my phone. I'm thinking, what if I break down? How do I call my daughter? How does she call me? At this point, I had driven 23 miles. I turned around to get it!

 

[dryhumor]

You can turn off the voice command/listening function on your smart phone, to keep the ads at bay.

Also, clear history after closing the browser on a site and going to the next one.

Try to use the cellular data function to go online, turn off the wi-fi and Bluetooth settings.

Keep your software updates up to date. And, if you use cellular data to download the update, you may find your wi-fi and Bluetooth have been turned on….

Never open an unsolicited email, just delete it.

The little things help…

 

[dellet]

The rule of thumb for for the convenience of time or cost saving technologies, is that if they save you minutes or penny’s every time you use them, they will get it back in hours and dollars. Generally at the most inconvenient time possible.

 

[hoz53]

Yup. It's funny. I know some pretty smart people that act very surprised when you tell them that.

And they are building server farm after server farm to keep all that recorded data. In fact, it is the number one data product infrastructure project in the world.

ive worked on the data centers and it amazes me how they keep building them. there is allready capacity to keep track of EVERYTHing many times over.