Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: When did tech stop being cool?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 367 posts

Re: Ask HN: When did tech stop being cool?

#91

Post by mattbrewsbytes »

supernovae wrote: post #79
mattbrewsbytes wrote: post #23

Its always been, you're just realizing it as part of maturing and understanding the world. Technology cannot solve people problems the same way that some silly agile ticketing software isn't going to fix some broken company culture. There were many silly startups in the late 90's/early 00's. Even the commonly sought after employers of FAANG aren't doing revolutionary things, their cash cows: advertising (F), giant ec…

The wealth divide is a different issue and has always been the regardless of “tech” - a new way to sew isn’t tech as we see it but innovation in looms cost many a seamstress their jobs - ditto with mine improvements, manufacturing improvements and so much more - but at the same time it has improved our lives no longer as we locked in a factory 80 hours a week.. To me, tech has been a great equalizer - and while it’s…

You kind of made my point. Not as many people are "locked in a factory 80 hours a week" that is driven by technology (which includes hardware tech).

When a new car manufacturing plant opens and says they will create 250 jobs that is far less than it was 20-30 years ago when a new plant opened. Robotic manufacturing, software, etc. have driven that. Pick any industry and technology will have driven some jobs out of it.

Re: Ask HN: When did tech stop being cool?

#92

Post by xnorswap »

supernovae wrote: post #59
screye wrote: post #49

Economies of scale ruined it. Good indie games like Super meat boy & Hollow Knight take more human resources than AAA-gamechanger Doom did, back in the day. Your 'kind of useful but fun/dirty' hacker project either becomes ad-infested to survive or is too-useful and gets copied by a big-company. If your problem is cool enough and you can solve it, investors will throw millions at you in hopes of making a global succe…

We still get indy games year over year that take the industry by storm. factorio, stardew valley, undertale, don’t starve, super hot, goat simulator, cup head, rocket league, kerbal space program and so many others. heck steam, Sony and Microsoft are competing to distribute this IP and open it up across platforms and it’s never been better.

All of those games you've mentioned are at least 5 years old now, many coming up to a decade old if you count their early access.

There was a golden age of indie gaming 5-10 years ago, but it does feel like that has passed somewhat.

Re: Ask HN: When did tech stop being cool?

#93

Post by hotpotamus »

supernovae wrote: post #51
rcarmo wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To your point about 3D printing and robots, we haven’t really moved the needle that much. We’ve made it easy for anyone to print a “cool” robot, sure, but it isn’t necessarily a _useful_ one. As a former “maker” and electronics hack I think lot of maker stuff has devolved into “cool” stuff that consists of wire hangers and servos with RGB lighting and very little actual value. But coolness doesn’t really mean much wh…

Being a maker isn’t about creating “things of value” or being “useful”. That same mindset is ruining many a good hobby. Astrophotography is going down a shameful route where the only thing your peers want to see is the misery of all the debt you have to out fancy someone else. as for 3d printers.. they have come a long way and have become a core part of creativity and engineering for programs like First Robotics.. ha…

For some reason I feel the need to weigh in here. I love photography and astronomy but I see no point in mixing the two. We just spent $10 billion to send a fabulous camera and lens into the L2 Lagrange point. Not to mention the over 30 year old Hubble which no amateur has any hope of matching despite decades of advancements in amateur tech (and to be fair to the amateurs, they can do remarkably better than their peers of 30 years ago). But I already spent my money (in tax dollar form) on the best scientists in the world to go and take pretty pictures which also sometimes provide great scientific input.

If people enjoy astrophotography then that's fine, but the most magical part of Astronomy to me is seeing Saturn (easily the visual crown jewel of our solar system) through the telescope with my own eyes and realizing that it really is hanging out there in the sky for all to see.

Re: Ask HN: When did tech stop being cool?

#94

Post by sylens »

I feel like this problem really boils down to the fact that now that you are older, you know too much.

Getting a wireless router for the first time was a religious experience for my household. Now I know exactly how it works and what will improve/worsen its service area and reception and it is decidedly less magical.

One of the worst parts of growing up in the tech industry is that very few things are able to surprise you anymore.

Re: Ask HN: When did tech stop being cool?

#95

Post by mkl95 »

1) A huge chunk of what we know as "software development" amounts to translating solved problems -they were previously solved with pen and paper, and a calculator- into code.

2) Tech is a bit like food. Nutritious food is often perceived as being boring to eat. Profitable software is often perceived as being boring to develop and consume.

3) The elephant in the room is that commercial software tends to run into the same issues: coupled code, slow queries, bad stack choices, etc. Tech debt is endemic in the SaaS world.

As a consequence, there is a high probability you will run into the same problems again and again regardless of switching from some NLP SaaS to a bleeding edge fintech (just an example of two distant exciting fields). And usually you won't be empowered to solve those issues unless you are a staff engineer or above.

Re: Ask HN: When did tech stop being cool?

#96

Post by Clubber »

The internet had so much potential. All that potential died for me when the Snowden revelations came out. Instead of wonder, it turned to fear. Now that all tech is connected to the internet and can report on whatever we do, it really taints it for me. Instead of a wonderful tool, it's something that can be dangerous.

Re: Ask HN: When did tech stop being cool?

#97

Post by oliv__ »

While I agree that a lot of technology these days is being used for dystopian/nefarious purposes, if you live in the US, I'd suggest a drive (or flight if too far away from TX) to SpaceX's Starbase rocket launch site in Boca Chica, Texas: it will rekindle that spark you had for technology.

Re: Ask HN: When did tech stop being cool?

#98

Post by gilbetron »

WJW wrote: post #83
gilbetron wrote: post #13

It's an age thing - the dreams you had when you were younger didn't turn into reality - dreams usually don't. Or at least, not as you expect it. Tech is still really cool, compared to decades ago. But we have so much of it and it is everywhere, that we re-calibrate and think that all this amazing, cool tech is boring. You can get a 3D printer for a few hundred bucks, build it yourself, build a better 3d printer, get…

For sure, there is boatloads of cool tech out there and the barrier to entry is lower than ever. Btw, I think an overlooked part of the OP was: > Nowadays I'm a software dev and tech entrepreneur. Doing anything as a job is an excellent way to kill your enjoyment of it as a hobby. Subconsciously, you start looking at projects in a business light ("can I turn this into a side gig", "will this advance my career", etc)…

Oh for sure. I tell my nieces and nephews and now my son that the best way to kill something you love is to get a job doing it.

Re: Ask HN: When did tech stop being cool?

#99

Post by severak_cz »

There is a lot of cool tech stuff, just not at your work.

The stuff that I found very cool is found outside commercial space. I have few examples:

- Serenity OS project which builds whole operating system from the ground up

- some guy (I forgot his name) who hooked up his arm prothesis to modular synth and now he is literally able to play melodies using his mind

- completely free and open source Bespoke Synth DAW which appeared out of nowhere after 10 years of silent development

- youtube series about restoration of Centurion minicomputer

- you can change map projection on the fly with new version of Mapbox (see demo - https://www.mapbox.com/blog/adaptive-projections) (this one is actually commercial but very impressive)

Re: Ask HN: When did tech stop being cool?

#100

Post by onion2k »

didericis wrote: post #82
onion2k wrote: post #66

There's a good Douglas Adams quote that explains this; Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works. Anything that’s invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it. Anything invented after you’re thirty-five is against the natural order of things. Apply thi…

I like pithy quotes like this, but I can’t help feeling we over rely on them/take stuff like this too seriously. There is no rule that everything has to get boring after 35. If you think like that it’s kind of a self fulfilling prophecy.

I can’t help feeling we over rely on them/take stuff like this too seriously.

Douglas Adams wrote comedy books so I think we're safe.

Post reply on HN