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Should We Decouple Technology from Everyday Life?

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Re: Should We Decouple Technology from Everyday Life?

#71

Post by canadaduane »

insane_dreamer wrote: post #46
ninetyninenine wrote: post #2

I don't have a problem with technology. I have a problem with technology trends that are irrational. For example the smart phone. A physical button or even alexa is easier to turn off the lights. A smart phone menu is just stupid. I want to decouple stupidity away from technology. That's not possible though. Most places where I worked... just a exploring the code for a couple minutes I encounter something stupid. So…

A good example of this is the glovebox on the Tesla Model 3. There's no button to open it with. Instead you have to press a button on the steering wheel to activate Google Assistant, then say "open glovebox" in a clear voice so it doesn't misunderstand, then wait a second or two, and then finally the glovebox opens. It bothers us to no end.

Incredible. This sounds like an ideological decision rather than a design decision.

> In The Design of Everyday Things, Don Norman discusses how poorly designed doors—often called "Norman doors"--fail to communicate whether they should be pushed or pulled. A well-designed door should naturally indicate how it operates through affordances (such as a push plate vs. a pull handle) and signifiers (like labels or arrows). This concept is part of a broader discussion on human-centered design and usability.

At a minimum, a poorly designed door can be opened!

Re: Should We Decouple Technology from Everyday Life?

#72

Post by bluGill »

ninetyninenine wrote: post #53
bongodongobob wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can still use light switches to turn off my lights. I can also turn them all on or off at once, change the brightness, color, and temperature. Smart light are great, I'm sorry they confuse you.

I just tell Alexa or Google home to do set the temperature and change the color. Superior technology less hassle. It has nothing to do with me not being able to set it up. It more has to do with the stupidity of the user interface of pulling my phone out of my fucking pocket, navigating to the app, navigating to the menu and picking the lights and the color and flipping it.

That depends on what you want to do. If you want to control one specific light in a large room the phone app may be best - try to explain to google which light you mean.

Most people don't have such a complex setup that this ever comes into play. However if you have a stage in your house (not a movie theater, a full stage) you would want that level of control. There are probably a few dozen such houses in the US.

Re: Should We Decouple Technology from Everyday Life?

#73

Post by eli_gottlieb »

I'm just gonna throw into this thread that when I bought a car, I deliberately demanded a model with a physical, metal key. Software is for things that are supposed to be flexible but don't really need to be reliable. For things meant to be reliable but not necessarily flexible or changeable, get hardware.

And if someone's giving you software where hardware belongs, ask what flexibility they're getting out of it.

Re: Should We Decouple Technology from Everyday Life?

#74

Post by bluGill »

getnormality wrote: post #30
aeblyve wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Opium use in China was largely ended because of the Communist revolution there in the 20th century, and its policies on the matter. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/347925/

That was what I had heard too, but apparently it's gotten a bit complicated in recent decades [1][2]. Still, I get the impression that drugs are not a part of public life in China the way they are in America. [1] http://us.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/zggs/202406/t20240620_114... [2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16669899

From my perspective drugs are not a part of public life in America either. I hope this continues (My kids will enter high school soon, and that is one of the places where they will leave my bubble for both good and bad)

Re: Should We Decouple Technology from Everyday Life?

#75

Post by hooverd »

neilv wrote: post #64
yoyohello13 wrote: post #8

I recently won a water bottle in a raffle. It looked nice, stainless steel, big (probably 2 liters). When I unwrapped it, I saw a QR code that said "Instructions." Weird, why would I need instructions for a water bottle? Then I saw a large rubber plug in the bottom. I realized with horror, it's a bluetooth enabled heating/cooling element controlled by an app I'm supposed to download. The heating element is huge, take…

> a normal insulated bottle Anyone who hasn't already experienced a good vacuum-insulated water bottle, you're in for a treat. Warning: Normally, when you pour hot coffee or tea into a mug, it cools significantly within a minute. But put it in an insulated bottle for the first time, and it might surprise burn your tongue half an hour later. (Or maybe I was the only one who didn't anticipate this.)

I swear my Zojirushi travel mug defies the laws of physics.

Re: Should We Decouple Technology from Everyday Life?

#76

Post by vaidhy »

bdcravens wrote: post #25
bell-cot wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reminds me of the first time I had a car with a slow-motion-open glove box. Maybe that's cool, if you're showing off how Old Money fills the hours of their do-nothing lives? Vs. if you have a job, a family, and often too-few hours in your busy days? NO. I don't travel in a horse-drawn coach paced by footmen, either.

When I wash my car, I push the seat forward and backward to vacuum. I like having electrically adjustable seats, but that's one time I'd prefer the older-style lever. Similarly, I saw a self-defense video where if someone hides in your back seat and puts something around your neck, you can lean the seat back QUICKLY in an escape maneuver; impossible with electric seats.

I think if escaping from garrotting is something you should consider when buying a car, you are better off sitting in the backseat and let someone else drive you around :)

Re: Should We Decouple Technology from Everyday Life?

#77

Post by blueyes »

The thing is we can't wholly give up our devices and apps, because so many peoples' professional and social lives depend on them. So we have to manage it. It's more like a food addiction than alcohol, since alcohol, you can live without.

I wrote about this here.

https://vonnik.substack.com/p/how-to-take-your-brain-back

Re: Should We Decouple Technology from Everyday Life?

#78

Post by bdcravens »

vaidhy wrote: post #76
bdcravens wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I wash my car, I push the seat forward and backward to vacuum. I like having electrically adjustable seats, but that's one time I'd prefer the older-style lever. Similarly, I saw a self-defense video where if someone hides in your back seat and puts something around your neck, you can lean the seat back QUICKLY in an escape maneuver; impossible with electric seats.

I think if escaping from garrotting is something you should consider when buying a car, you are better off sitting in the backseat and let someone else drive you around :)

Better to have the knowledge and never need it :-)

Re: Should We Decouple Technology from Everyday Life?

#79

Post by psadauskas »

ninetyninenine wrote: post #2

I don't have a problem with technology. I have a problem with technology trends that are irrational. For example the smart phone. A physical button or even alexa is easier to turn off the lights. A smart phone menu is just stupid. I want to decouple stupidity away from technology. That's not possible though. Most places where I worked... just a exploring the code for a couple minutes I encounter something stupid. So…

I wouldn't mind it so much, if it benefited me in any way. Phones are listening all the time, Google and Apply know where I am constantly, they all have access to all my credit card purchases. Why can't I ask arbitrary questions I know they have the data to answer. Some examples of things I feel like should be trivial:

> Hey Google, when's the last time I bought gas for my truck? What did I pay, and how many MPG did I get?

> Hey Siri, the other day at the bar, my friend was telling me about a TV show he recommended I watch. What was the name of the show again? What service streams it? Play the trailer on the living room TV.

Instead, they just harvest all the data, sell it to whoever they feel like, just so everyone can show me intrusive adds for shit I don't care about.

Re: Should We Decouple Technology from Everyday Life?

#80

Post by insane_dreamer »

saurik wrote: post #69
insane_dreamer wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A good example of this is the glovebox on the Tesla Model 3. There's no button to open it with. Instead you have to press a button on the steering wheel to activate Google Assistant, then say "open glovebox" in a clear voice so it doesn't misunderstand, then wait a second or two, and then finally the glovebox opens. It bothers us to no end.

I mean, the point that a physical button (even if it were backed by software, due to the PIN code lock feature) would be appreciated certainly resonates, but it's at least somewhat better than that ;P... open the menu--which probably defaults to Controls; but, if not, click Controls--and then there's a giant Glovebox button.

So three taps instead of one button. Exactly the problem with many other Tesla's controls, like defogging, for example. (At least they did have the sense to put control buttons on the steering wheel to which they have added some functionality.)

Tesla does get a lot of little things right -- auto sensing for seat and steering wheel heating, auto-setting seats to your profile as you enter the car based on your phone, automatically setting/unsetting the emergency break when you park, auto locking the doors when you leave, etc. But its "thou shalt not have physical buttons" dogma is annoying. The other thing I miss is the absence of a HUD right in front of you. Again, feels like dogma rather than good design. Other brands (BMW, Polestar, etc.) succeed in that regard (my favorite being the BMW where it projects the HUD onto the bottom of the windshield right where it doesn't obstruct the view but is extremely convenient.

I don't dislike the Tesla but even if Elon wasn't going full fascist, I'd pick another brand next time.

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