• PM_ME_VINTAGE_30S [he/him]@lemmy.sdf.org
    3·
    1 year ago

    Virtual assistants, e.g. Alexa, Cortana, Siri

    I don’t want to interact with the companies they represent basically at all, let alone give them nearly unfettered access to my electronics and their data.

    • Baylahoo@sh.itjust.works
      1·
      1 year ago

      I’ve dabbled in the virtual assistants because I wanted to see what they can do. Siri (it’s been years so I don’t know if it improved), Alexa, Google, are all horse shit. Every time I try to use them it works like garbage. They either trigger incorrectly or try to implement something I don’t want. The few times they do work correctly I don’t trust them because of all the other garbage experiences so I have to double check what they did. That negates the entire point from a time and convenience standpoint.

    • AugustMetronome@slrpnk.net
      1·
      1 year ago

      I confess to having an iPhone and other apple products, but they will Always have that “finish setting up” message forever because I will NEVER turn Siri on. Ever.

      • PM_ME_VINTAGE_30S [he/him]@lemmy.sdf.org
        1·
        1 year ago

        I mean I’m openly a hypocrite not a purist either when it comes to these companies, especially Google and Amazon. Like my phone is an Android and I posted an Amazon link the other day. But, I’m still trying to find ways to get them out of every possible aspect of my life. I’m just done with their particular brand of bullshit.

      • StranaMente@lemmy.world
        1·
        1 year ago

        I use Google assistant to set timers and alarms, and check the weather. Besides that, nothing. The times I tried, I wrestled with it for a few minutes until I did it myself.

  • Addfwyn@lemmy.ml
    2·
    1 year ago

    Most social media.

    I used to use reddit, I have moved all my presence over here. That’s about it.
    I have a FB Messenger account because that is how a lot of my family keeps in touch with me, and I have this. I had a proper FB account back when I was in uni and Facebook was still only for uni students, but I think I dropped it shortly after that.

    It’s not some grand principled stance, I just don’t get most of them because I am apparently an old man. Like Instagram, why do I want to share pictures with just random people? How am I networking with anybody by doing so? I honestly don’t get why it is so popular.

  • Vex_Detrause@lemmy.ca
    2·
    1 year ago

    Apple Ecosystem. Since I learned that iTunes changes mp3 files when “sync” to iTunes I stopped using apple products. That was back when iPhone 5 was released.

  • PonyOfWar@pawb.social
    2·
    1 year ago

    Smart speakers with personal assistants like Amazon Echo etc. Not remotely useful enough to be worth placing spying Equipment all over my home.

    Wireless headphones. So now I’m supposed to recharge my headphones and get worse sound quality for it? In a few years they become e-waste, while good wired headphones can last decades. No thanks.

    • Gormadt@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      1·
      1 year ago

      So much this

      No smart speakers

      It’s a mic sitting there waiting for your commands and everything it does I can do myself easier

    • imaqtpie@sh.itjust.works
      21·
      1 year ago

      I agree with everything you’ve said, but you have to admit that wireless headphones are convenient if you’re on the phone with someone and cooking dinner, or doing laundry, for example.

      • eagleeyedtiger@lemmy.nz
        2·
        1 year ago

        I persisted with my wired earbuds until only very recently picked up some wireless ones and can say they’re better in every way. Unless you only ever use them while sitting still. Exercising, gardening, mowing the lawn, working on the car or in the garage, anything where you’re moving about really. Not having the stupid wire getting caught on anything or accidentally pulling your phone out is a godsend.

        Audio quality is fine for 99.9% of people. I think some people are stuck on views from 5 or 6 years ago. The tech has come a long way.

        • bug@lemmy.one
          2·
          1 year ago

          I find the audio quality to be pretty irrelevant when all I can hear is the bump bump bump of the wires bouncing against me with every step I take!

      • CmdrShepard@lemmy.one
        11·
        1 year ago

        They certainly have their place but they can’t/don’t check all the boxes to replace wired headphones. It’s not like having a thin cord running from your ears to your pocket is a big enough issue that having to charge another device before eventually throwing it in the garbage after a couple years is a worth tradeoff.

        • rabs@lemm.ee
          2·
          1 year ago

          Bluetooth and nfc audio codecs have gotten so good that unless you’re running high impedance headphones with an amp/dac, wireless is effectively indistinguishable from wired, at least for most applications, and especially if using a mobile device.

          • CmdrShepard@lemmy.one
            01·
            1 year ago

            Audio quality wasn’t even on my radar since I’m not an audiophile, but them being at parity doesn’t sway the argument one way or the other. Good technology typically outpaces the thing it replaces in all aspects. In this case, BT is effectively neutral or worse in many cases which is why I don’t feel like it should replace the old method (headphone jack removal) but rather coexist alongside of it. I feel like we’re going backwards wheh dongles enter the picture. It gives me flashbacks to the very early days of mainstream cellphones/smartphones and all the proprietary connectors that came with it.

    • Mane25@feddit.uk
      0·
      1 year ago

      Wireless headphones. So now I’m supposed to recharge my headphones and get worse sound quality for it? In a few years they become e-waste, while good wired headphones can last decades. No thanks.

      I tend to avoid any wireless peripherals, I still have a wired mouse because I don’t need to think about charging my mouse and whether it’s going to run out of charge.

      • DzikiMarian@lemmy.sdf.org
        0·
        1 year ago

        Leaked emails indicate, they use iMessage to actively lock down users in their walled garden. This is area with literally zero innovation (or even regression) for past decade. At least.

        Giving money to Apple basically equals to strangling innovation in exchange for getting (sometimes or even rarely) marginally better UX in boring, well explored areas.

        Also once you are bought into their ecosystem you are stuck with some mediocre products like iPhone, because if you want alternative, you have to throw away watch, tv and speakers and then redo entire home automation due to lack of elementary interoperability.

        • jemorgan@lemm.ee
          01·
          1 year ago

          That’s some real salt there buddy.

          You are definitely entitled to your opinion, but ‘apple hardware and software is objectively inferior’ isn’t much of one.

          It’s especially disingenuous to present those opinions like they’re established fact, when they definitely aren’t. You may not think that Apple is particularly innovative or that their UX is particularly good, but I think you’d definitely be in the minority there, especially outside of niche online communities filled with people with an axe to grind.

          I’m pretty close to being as much of a power user as someone can be within the use case that I have for general purpose computing. I also feel like I probably know the mobile/desktop software space better than the average person on the street, I’m a SWE by trade.

          I honestly think that the gap between the UI/UX design on Apple software and the UI/UX design on windows in particular, but android to a lesser extent, is the most compelling reason to use apple. And I also think it’s ridiculously out of touch to claim that Apple’s innovation’s (especially in hardware) aren’t significantly better executed and consistent than the competition. Sure, they don’t throw every half-baked idea into every new product they release, only to abandon that idea in 18 months for a new batch of experiments. I think that’s one of the reasons Apple users like Apple products. Personally, I’m not buying a phone because I want to spend two weeks trying out a bunch of gimmicks and then never using them again unless I’m showing my friends the cool thing my phone can do.

          But, of course those are my subjective opinions and I’m not faulting you for disagreeing. There are people out there who thing Outlook is good UX, and they’re entitled to that opinion lol. But I do think it’s a little silly to disagree in a way that makes it obvious that you think that anyone who disagrees with you has no idea what they’re talking about.

  • jinarched@lemm.ee
    1·
    1 year ago

    “The cloud”.

    In the end “the cloud” is just someone else’s hard drive. Call me old fashioned, but I’ll keep my data on my own hard drives.

      • jetAEnglish
        2·
        11 months ago

        One solid benefit is heart rate and blood oxygen monitoring

    • dan@upvote.au
      0·
      1 year ago

      If you’re using Linux, there’s a bunch of open-source code from Meta running on your PC. Same with some small parts of Windows. :)

  • Candelestine@lemmy.ca
    0·
    1 year ago

    LLMs. Despite how absurdly useful they are, I can recall a time when I had the skills of remembering phone numbers naturally and being able to easily navigate with no maps of any kind.

    These skills have deteriorated significantly in the past 10 years, and they’re not the only ones. The common thread they all have is my smartphone replaced them.

    I fear losing a skill that is less innocuous, from the new tech effectively replacing my need to practice it.

    • banana_meccanica@feddit.it
      0·
      1 year ago

      Try not having a smartphone with you when you leave the house. Actually many starting returning back to basic phones just for calls and SMS.

      • Sentinian@lemmy.one
        1·
        1 year ago

        Kid who doesn’t remember a time without a phone, using a “dumb” phone is impossible despite a want for it. So many things are qr based or require a phone at my college. I learned this the hard way when my phone broke and I didn’t replace it for 2 weeks. Couldn’t even access my accounts cause of 2fa.

        I would love to use a “dumb” phone for text only but the most random shit will require a “smart” feature.