I am really tired. As an elder millennial I was promised endless progress. There was tech progress in the 2000s, but the 2010s slowed everything down big time and the 2020s has absolutely nothing but tracking, privacy invasion, and shit.
Well, it was marketed to you, but never promised. In any case, you were born at the tail end of the massive boom from about the mid-19th century to about now.
It’s ending. Can you figure out why? Hint #1: it’s not Russia, China, Iran, or even Israel.
It’s the laws of physics. Dennard scaling is dead, unless someone discovers new, even smaller atoms and a way of disabling quantum tunnelling.
It’s also the fact that faster speeds are unnecessary and nobody wants to pay more for them, so electronics companies have focused on efficiency/reducing power draw instead (which, incidentally, let’s you run your computer faster anyway).
I get it. I really do. But that’s not the point. It is the endless enshittification of everything that I am most concerned with. Stagnation in general I can deal with, but having everything be a more effective spy tool is something else.
Like take smart phones for example. My first real smart phone I got in 2015. You could say I actually got one in 2013, but for some reason that phone could not connect to the internet easily, so it was mostly just a phone with some nice apps I could install and also be an MP3/MP4 player. But while performance wise the phones I had since 2020 have been much better than those I still dont feel the slightest difference… and since I rarely receive real calls anymore I can probably get away with just leaving my phone at home most of the time which is probably for the best given it is effectively a anklemonitor most of the time. I can take my older 2013 phone that no longer works for telemetry if I want music and I can wear a wristwatch (a Casio ripoff, no joke. Those haven’t changed in 30+ years) to tell the time.
I can navigate in the old school way of just looking up before hand where I want to go and memorize it or write it down and pay attention to road signs.
I think the implication though is that the enshittification is a byproduct of a vampire economy, a.k.a one where there are no new ideas. That could be driven by hitting a technological wall, forcing companies to turn on each other and their customers.
Partially yes, but also partially no. I mean them adding internet and cloud and AI to everything is utter shit and so nonsensical that I cannot fathom anyone thinking it is a good idea.
Remember when AWS servers went down and some people’s beds tilted at an uncomfortable angle and their heating wouldn’t stop? Why the FUCK would anyone want a bed like that?
I bought a new bed recently. The only thing about it that is different than my previous bed was that it has a power outlet for USBs. That is a good idea, but it doesnt need anything else… seriously. It is a fucking bed! I got a nice mattress for it and that was fine.
Don’t get me wrong. Appliances and furniture with fancy features have been around since forever. Beds with heating and automated angling and power outlets and even TV/Radio were around since the 1950s. Ovens and stoves with computer controls and timers have been around for a long-ass time, too. Ditto for fridges and even toasters (i looked up some videos online of high end toasters that are kinda incredible).
But here is the kicker… all those things need is electricity to run. No internet or cloud services whatsoever. And they can do amazing things. Why the hell would anyone ruin these? Why not just optimize them and make them cheaper? Why needlessly complicate everything?
I am really tired. As an elder millennial I was promised endless progress. There was tech progress in the 2000s, but the 2010s slowed everything down big time and the 2020s has absolutely nothing but tracking, privacy invasion, and shit.
Well, it was marketed to you, but never promised. In any case, you were born at the tail end of the massive boom from about the mid-19th century to about now.
It’s ending. Can you figure out why? Hint #1: it’s not Russia, China, Iran, or even Israel.
It’s the laws of physics. Dennard scaling is dead, unless someone discovers new, even smaller atoms and a way of disabling quantum tunnelling.
It’s also the fact that faster speeds are unnecessary and nobody wants to pay more for them, so electronics companies have focused on efficiency/reducing power draw instead (which, incidentally, let’s you run your computer faster anyway).
I get it. I really do. But that’s not the point. It is the endless enshittification of everything that I am most concerned with. Stagnation in general I can deal with, but having everything be a more effective spy tool is something else.
Like take smart phones for example. My first real smart phone I got in 2015. You could say I actually got one in 2013, but for some reason that phone could not connect to the internet easily, so it was mostly just a phone with some nice apps I could install and also be an MP3/MP4 player. But while performance wise the phones I had since 2020 have been much better than those I still dont feel the slightest difference… and since I rarely receive real calls anymore I can probably get away with just leaving my phone at home most of the time which is probably for the best given it is effectively a anklemonitor most of the time. I can take my older 2013 phone that no longer works for telemetry if I want music and I can wear a wristwatch (a Casio ripoff, no joke. Those haven’t changed in 30+ years) to tell the time.
I can navigate in the old school way of just looking up before hand where I want to go and memorize it or write it down and pay attention to road signs.
I think the implication though is that the enshittification is a byproduct of a vampire economy, a.k.a one where there are no new ideas. That could be driven by hitting a technological wall, forcing companies to turn on each other and their customers.
Partially yes, but also partially no. I mean them adding internet and cloud and AI to everything is utter shit and so nonsensical that I cannot fathom anyone thinking it is a good idea.
Remember when AWS servers went down and some people’s beds tilted at an uncomfortable angle and their heating wouldn’t stop? Why the FUCK would anyone want a bed like that?
I bought a new bed recently. The only thing about it that is different than my previous bed was that it has a power outlet for USBs. That is a good idea, but it doesnt need anything else… seriously. It is a fucking bed! I got a nice mattress for it and that was fine.
Don’t get me wrong. Appliances and furniture with fancy features have been around since forever. Beds with heating and automated angling and power outlets and even TV/Radio were around since the 1950s. Ovens and stoves with computer controls and timers have been around for a long-ass time, too. Ditto for fridges and even toasters (i looked up some videos online of high end toasters that are kinda incredible).
But here is the kicker… all those things need is electricity to run. No internet or cloud services whatsoever. And they can do amazing things. Why the hell would anyone ruin these? Why not just optimize them and make them cheaper? Why needlessly complicate everything?