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The AirPods Effect

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Re: The AirPods Effect

#391

Post by basisword »

_the_inflator wrote: post #346
steve1977 wrote: post #144

What I find interesting is that the article seems to imply that wearing earbuds to isolate is somewhat "unnatural" (for lack of a better term). However it does not take into account that the kind of social interactions where people wear earbuds (i.e. loud and busy environments with many strangers, often physically closer than comfortable) is unnatural to begin with. For me, isolating myself acoustically is a way to n…

Exactly. Noise cancelling is a treasure. And what I really like about them is the ease of use. The moment I start talking to someone, automagically the NC is paused as well as any audio you were listening to. It sounds so easy but is really running smoothly. Over time Apple really perfected the workings. This blend is what makes them so valuable for me. I don’t have to manually do anything, simply speak and interact…

>> The moment I start talking to someone, automagically the NC is paused as well as any audio you were listening to.

This is one of those features I thought would be great and unfortunately had to disable in minutes. If you ever listen to music and sing along, even for a few seconds, the volume cuts because it thinks you're talking to someone. It's a shame. There's so many really great AirPods features and I feel like I've had to disable almost all of them for one reason or another.

>> And people now don’t feel neglected when you keep the Pods in your ear. Social reconditioning was part of the problem so to say. This tool is now accepted.

I think it'll get there eventually but it's still far from accepted in my opinion. Maybe if you're ordering at a Starbucks or something but if someone was trying to have a conversation with my with AirPods in I'd consider it rude. And even if it's becomes widely accepted I think it'll still have some mild stigma (equivalent to wearing sunglasses when having a conversation unless the sun is in your eyes).

Re: The AirPods Effect

#392

Post by basisword »

dd8601fn wrote: post #352
_the_inflator wrote: post #346

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. Noise cancelling is a treasure. And what I really like about them is the ease of use. The moment I start talking to someone, automagically the NC is paused as well as any audio you were listening to. It sounds so easy but is really running smoothly. Over time Apple really perfected the workings. This blend is what makes them so valuable for me. I don’t have to manually do anything, simply speak and interact…

They seem to have done so much work on the magic behaviors of the airpods (most of which I don’t have occasions to use) but they still work worse than a $35 pair of Ankers when it comes to just connecting, staying connected, and playing music without issue. They’re especially flaky if you’re using them with apples watch. I spent a few bucks on the pros, and the phone, and the watch, and the mini, and the tv, and the…

Are you sure you haven't got a faulty pair? Mine switch seamlessly between devices. I bought a bluetooth speaker recently and using it is hell on earth comparatively. The number of times I have to find the device it last connected to and disconnect before I can connect the one I actually want is absurd.

Re: The AirPods Effect

#393

Post by Barbing »

goodmythical wrote: post #374
cassepipe wrote: post #348

To be fair when you live in a big city and you have to take the subway all the time, it just feels physically nice to remove the background noise whether it's the noise of the train itself or the musicians or the people asking loudly for money. I don't even have airpods, I have good old earplugs because I often too lazy to choose the soundtrack of my own life. It's not that don't want to talk to unknown people, it's…

That's kind of the point the article is making though, isn't it? You're making a choice to insulate yourself from your surroundings. That choice has effects on both you and your environment. You see it as a simple salve, but the poor souls you're choosing to ignore see it as a just another bourgeoisie wall. I used to live in a prison. Headphones were a huge fighting issue. People who couldn't afford them would borrow…

Wow, was it a computer fraud abuse act thing, I mean claimed to be? Obviously nothing violent!

Thanks for sharing.

Re: The AirPods Effect

#394

Post by goodmythical »

wolvoleo wrote: post #170
Brajeshwar wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve strange news from the business world. That ability to talk to strangers and be conversational with various topics is actually making him a rather successful boss/business-person. Remember, not just talking, but the far better one is the ability to listen, and take genuine curiosity in the other person’s stories. I learned, and am still learning, to start with very subtle conversations in contextual proximity to…

I'm sure that's true but not everyone is cut out to be a "business-person". I certainly am not. Same with boss, I'm not a team player at all. I don't mind small talk sometimes but there has to be some kind of common ground. For example with conservative family-first suit types I have nothing to talk about and it feels awkward to make conversation, but with the leather/mesh/blue hair alt/goth types I can talk for hors…

>For example with conservative family-first suit types

"hey man, how're the kids?" "Is your wife recovering from [illness] you mentioned last week?" "man, have heard the music on the radio lately?" "what kind of music do you like?" "can I ask you a personal question, what was the hardest part of getting the success you have?" "did you know you wanted to be a boss/manager when you were a kid? No? Oh, you wanted to be an astronaut? Oh man, no way, have you seen the crazy stuff spacex is doing with re-useable rockets? We're getting so close to (relevant sci-fi from when he was a kid)"

You've just got to have an open mind, which you'd think you'd have given your conversational partner preferences.

Re: The AirPods Effect

#395

Post by poncho_romero »

gijsnijholt1980 wrote: post #195
steve1977 wrote: post #144

What I find interesting is that the article seems to imply that wearing earbuds to isolate is somewhat "unnatural" (for lack of a better term). However it does not take into account that the kind of social interactions where people wear earbuds (i.e. loud and busy environments with many strangers, often physically closer than comfortable) is unnatural to begin with. For me, isolating myself acoustically is a way to n…

Agreed. Unrelated pro-tip: wearing them while riding a motorcycle. Reduces fatigue and transforms a rough experience into almost luxurious. Highly recommended.

So you're making noise for everyone else, while enjoying silence yourself?

Re: The AirPods Effect

#396

Post by carlosjobim »

Neywiny wrote: post #216
gijsnijholt1980 wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. Unrelated pro-tip: wearing them while riding a motorcycle. Reduces fatigue and transforms a rough experience into almost luxurious. Highly recommended.

When I got my (admittedly car) license they made it clear that's illegal. Hasn't stopped people from doing it but yeah don't. Maybe get a quieter exhaust

You're revealing that you have never rode a motorbike with your comment.

Riders need to use ear protection within the helmet unless they want to become deaf in the future, because of the wind noise.

Re: The AirPods Effect

#397

Post by goodmythical »

wolvoleo wrote: post #360
psp99 wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Assuming you have nothing in common with someone because of how they dress is just prejudice with better aesthetics :/ The suit guy probably has more interesting stories than you'd expect if you gave him thirty seconds.

If someone wears a suit they have a reason for it, it's not something people do because they like the feel of it. Because they're really restrictive, expensive and feel horrible. They do it to impress others or to fit in in business. Or when they're trying to sell something. I'm more comfortable among other outliers.

You think the green haired folks are doing it because bleaching and dyeing their hair is just super duper fun? They're doing it for the same reasons: attention, approval, to fit in with their peers, trying to sell their identity to their peers.

Re: The AirPods Effect

#398

Post by carlosjobim »

esperent wrote: post #269
psp99 wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is not illegal in every country. Further, wind noise and exhaust are too loud to hear anything anyway, so having music on and navigation is a bonus.

That's completely untrue, speaking as someone who drives a motorcycle every day, at least if you're not driving some horrible (to everyone around you) 500cc beast, you can hear things just fine. Especially horns, trucks, busses etc.

Have you driven a 500cc? Modern supersport and adventure bikes have very quiet exhausts. Any loud exhaust you hear on your commute is usually somebody who put an aftermarket muffler on their 125cc bike.

Re: The AirPods Effect

#399

Post by abdullahkhalids »

steve1977 wrote: post #144

What I find interesting is that the article seems to imply that wearing earbuds to isolate is somewhat "unnatural" (for lack of a better term). However it does not take into account that the kind of social interactions where people wear earbuds (i.e. loud and busy environments with many strangers, often physically closer than comfortable) is unnatural to begin with. For me, isolating myself acoustically is a way to n…

> (i.e. loud and busy environments with many strangers, often physically closer than comfortable) is unnatural to begin with.

What is unnatural about this? We have plenty of anthropological evidence that humans have been doing massive festivals for at least many thousands of years i.e. people voluntarily gathering together with strangers in loud and busy environments with all sorts of sounds and smells.

Re: The AirPods Effect

#400

Post by agentdax5 »

poncho_romero wrote: post #395
gijsnijholt1980 wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. Unrelated pro-tip: wearing them while riding a motorcycle. Reduces fatigue and transforms a rough experience into almost luxurious. Highly recommended.

So you're making noise for everyone else, while enjoying silence yourself?

There’s this thing called wind that makes noise and also other vehicles on the road as well. Did you ever consider that?
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