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Should We Decouple Technology from Everyday Life?

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Re: Should We Decouple Technology from Everyday Life?

#91

Post by insane_dreamer »

AlexandrB wrote: post #26
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…

Strong disagree on Alexa. Maybe it's the way I talk, but I find voice assistants wildly inconsistent. There's nothing more frustrating than having to repeat yourself to a robot. Maybe AI will improve the situation in the next few years, but I'm not convinced.

In this case Siri not Alexa, but it does horribly at interpreting kids' speech. No end of frustration for my 8 year old who wants to play music on our HomePod.

Re: Should We Decouple Technology from Everyday Life?

#92

Post by kemayo »

Aerroon wrote: post #90
MrJohz wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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'm not sure that's true. A physical button only works if I'm near that button. Alexa only works if I'm near a microphone (and comfortable with that microphone). Whereas my smartphone is always in my pocket, and therefore always useful. That's not to say a button isn't also useful - it's…

> Whereas my smartphone is always in my pocket, and therefore always useful. Sure. Now how long does it take you? Take that phone out of your pocket, unlock it, open the lights app, skip past whatever update/ad/welcome screen, find the correct light button and press it. Anything on a smartphone takes substantially longer than a physical button. Not to mention that the physical button tends to be more reliable at doin…

> Now how long does it take you?

Rather less time than it takes you, apparently. My process is: pull phone from pocket, swipe down, tap button.

I don't need to unlock it as a discrete step because it did that automatically when it saw my face. I use the built-in smart-home management, so all the controls are available in the system-level control center widget -- which doesn't have any sort of junky updates / ads / welcomes.

It's certainly slower than pressing a physical button if I'm standing next to one. But it's genuinely faster than standing up and walking over to press said button.

Re: Should We Decouple Technology from Everyday Life?

#93

Post by the_snooze »

Aerroon wrote: post #90
MrJohz wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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'm not sure that's true. A physical button only works if I'm near that button. Alexa only works if I'm near a microphone (and comfortable with that microphone). Whereas my smartphone is always in my pocket, and therefore always useful. That's not to say a button isn't also useful - it's…

> Whereas my smartphone is always in my pocket, and therefore always useful. Sure. Now how long does it take you? Take that phone out of your pocket, unlock it, open the lights app, skip past whatever update/ad/welcome screen, find the correct light button and press it. Anything on a smartphone takes substantially longer than a physical button. Not to mention that the physical button tends to be more reliable at doin…

>Not to mention that the physical button tends to be more reliable at doing what it's supposed to.

This is the big problem with "smart" devices. They take an existing reliable solution to a problem (e.g., flicking a switch to turn on a light), sprinkle on some nice-to-have whiz-bang features (e.g., doing it from afar), but compromising the initial reliable solution in the process.

If those extra features were strictly optional and additive, then it wouldn't be a problem. But that's not how it works in practice.

Re: Should We Decouple Technology from Everyday Life?

#94

Post by kemayo »

bongodongobob wrote: post #36
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 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.

My favorite thing about them is having a "good night" automation. When I get into bed I run it, and it turns off any lights that're still on in my house and locks the doors.

Re: Should We Decouple Technology from Everyday Life?

#95

Post by HocusLocus »

I just bought a car battery charger, a soldering station (not the crazy thing with the RTOS and the apps, standalone and basic), a spare charging cable for my FLIP-PHONE, an Arduino, some MOSFETs and a capacitor/resistor assortments.

It's too late for me to decouple technology from everyday life. Best go on without me. I wish you all luck.

Re: Should We Decouple Technology from Everyday Life?

#96

Post by SAI_Peregrinus »

encom wrote: post #37
david422 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If parking somewhere requires an app I mean... it is pretty handy to just add more time from your phone instead of running out to the meter to feed more quarters in.

Before this app-madness, you would usually just check out with your debit card and pay for the time you used (common in Denmark anyway). No need to guess in advance how long you need to park for.

In most of the US you had to pay with coins. No cards allowed, and you'd definitely have to guess how long you'd take. Even in the few places that accepted cards you'd still have to pay for a time slot in advance, and go back to the meter in person to extend that time slot.

Re: Should We Decouple Technology from Everyday Life?

#97

Post by eesmith »

brunospars wrote: post #61

We've had technology for 150 years now and much has been positive. Consumers could be encouraged to favor quality , responsiveness & longevity . Cars & appliances have regressed into unreliable, overstimulated and unpresonsive disasters. Much of this is how they are marketed and sold. Cars seem flashy until you own it for a few months . It's up to consumers to make a choice.

You can only make a choice if there is a choice.

The author argues for "a restoration of choice: a campaign to ensure analogue alternatives to digital tools."

If you had a viable choice besides a car (like a combination of mass transit, walking, and bike), would you choose it?

But of course most people in the US cannot make that choice because where they live was, over the last century, designed around cars, and often eliminated choices which were present.

Had those choices remained, there would be more pressure on car manufacturers to build better cars.

Consumers alone aren't going to transform cities into a walkable place.

Re: Should We Decouple Technology from Everyday Life?

#98

Post by MrJohz »

Aerroon wrote: post #90
MrJohz wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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'm not sure that's true. A physical button only works if I'm near that button. Alexa only works if I'm near a microphone (and comfortable with that microphone). Whereas my smartphone is always in my pocket, and therefore always useful. That's not to say a button isn't also useful - it's…

> Whereas my smartphone is always in my pocket, and therefore always useful. Sure. Now how long does it take you? Take that phone out of your pocket, unlock it, open the lights app, skip past whatever update/ad/welcome screen, find the correct light button and press it. Anything on a smartphone takes substantially longer than a physical button. Not to mention that the physical button tends to be more reliable at doin…

I completely agree, but like I said, I don't always have the physical button next to me. Having a device that can always do the same as that physical button (at the cost of being more complex to use and taking longer to do any individual action) is a worthwhile tradeoff in some situations.

It's not the right tradeoff for everyone or at all times (there's a good reason why physical switches are the default in most homes!) but it's a useful feature. It is by no means irrational, as the previous poster was suggesting: it was designed with a lot of rationality to suit a use-case that that poster may not have.

Re: Should We Decouple Technology from Everyday Life?

#99

Post by eesmith »

eulerian wrote: post #58

The cynic in me finds it hypocritical for this article to be published on the internet (major technological feat).

The author saying people should be able make their own choice, and specifically "not advocating a Burkean return to the past".

How is publishing this on the internet at all hypocritical?

Re: Should We Decouple Technology from Everyday Life?

#100

Post by bluGill »

bitwize wrote: post #83
bluGill wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Alexa - when it works - can do things that cannot be done better in a different ways. There are times when turning on a light or unlocking a door with a phone is better than the alternatives as well. However there are a lot of times where the 100+ year old way of doing the task is better. Even if voice assistants worked perfectly every time they would still be worse than the switch by the door for controlling the lig…

But "The Clapper" would do just as well in the case where you are in bed, and is less complex, less expensive, and doesn't send your claps to the cloud.

which might or might not be good enough. Alexa can turn on other lights, play various types of music, give you the weather... Depending on what you want this might be worth it.

Home automation systems (Home assistant, openhab...) are making good progress on local only voice control as well.

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