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

The tech monoculture is finally breaking

jasonwillems.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

191–200 of 349 posts

Re: The tech monoculture is finally breaking

#191

Post by yoyohello13 »

CrimsonCape wrote: post #138
mikkupikku wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hope Linux is never suitable for windows users, who's tolerance for abuse is matched in magnitude only by their lack of taste. You have no idea just how over I am with the very premise of Linux evangelism. I will go as far as find reasons or even just flimsy pretexts to oppose and criticize any change to Linux calculated to win over Windows users, because being co-users with such people is plainly against my own in…

I was ready to install Linux. I installed a new 1TB ssd in my laptop. I shrunk the windows volume using Windows' Disk Management. Then I started reading the Arch wiki on this task. It forced me to learn things like MBR vs GPT. Then it said Windows by default makes an EFI partition way too small so I have to re-create a new partition by temporarily mounting EFI, saving the files, deleting the EFI partition, and recrea…

Downloads distro famous for its manual install process, complains about how manual the install process is…

Re: The tech monoculture is finally breaking

#192

Post by idibiks »

fumar wrote: post #174
idibiks wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a problem with "single-purpose" devices for kids, too. Drawing tablets, music players. They're all actually full Android phones (sans cell modem) and tablets. It sucks.

Why is android bad here? An android launcher can create the illusion of a single purpose device. What difference does it make? Battery life?

They can do too much stuff, so it’s yet another do-anything device to have to police.

Re: The tech monoculture is finally breaking

#194

Post by Foreignborn »

I value the author's optimism, but this list activates a deep fear in me. It feels like a such an American point of view to think a techno-ideal is defined simply by buying a different set of consumer electronics, many of which are just as throwaway as the ones before.

I know we can't get away from buying things--even a self-hosted homelab needs parts, and I'm not rejecting capitalism. But it feels like capitalism culture is so strong that it goes through everything people think like thread through a needle, everything they do is stitched with its color.

This makes me sad for the future my children will inherit. I want them to be excited by what comes next, the way I was excited by the N64 or the early web. But those things were exciting because they were _new frontiers_ and new stories, not because they were products.

If the only future we can envision is a curated list of retro-gadgets and subscriptions, we have lost the plot.

Re: The tech monoculture is finally breaking

#195

Post by trinsic2 »

nobodyandproud wrote: post #126
Aurornis wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You cannot buy a dedicated MP3 player today with the software polish and quality of life that an iPod had in the early 2000s I could see how many people would assume this, but it’s actually false. There’s actually a big selection of dedicated audio players that do the job very well now. The battery life and audio quality are extremely good because there’s a niche market for them with a lot of competition. If you th…

I like Alan Moore’s take: A culture retreats into the comfort of nostalgia in especially uncertain times. I feel retro fad of this generation is precisely this. Edit: I’m sure that observation has more refined roots, but I’m far from well-read or well-cultured. But if someone happens to know, please let know!

Ohh that's interesting. Never heard that quote from him I don't think. I like Alan Moore's perspective on life. Seems like he had an interest more in the ancient arts, but more from an intellectual perspective.. Thanks for the reminder. I need to look at his behind the scenes stuff. I remember watching a documentary on the Watchmen (2009 film) DVD when I was a kid. Maybe it was in that. Looks like he is doing short courses this days [0]

[0]: https://www.bbcmaestro.com/courses/alan-moore/storytelling

Re: The tech monoculture is finally breaking

#196

Post by christianqchung »

arandomhuman wrote: post #79

>Looking at my own purchases from 2025, the pattern becomes obvious... Is it me or does this list really goes against almost everything preceeding in the article?

I mentally checked out by the time he mentioned buying ray bans as some radical personal statement on privacy and tech nostalgia.

Re: The tech monoculture is finally breaking

#197

Post by davidzweig »

saulpw wrote: post #166
Retric wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They likely want to use the device without looking at it, thus the requirement is physical buttons not a specific OS. It’s the same issue with touch screens in cars. Anything that’s a touchscreen simply fails a core MP3 player requirement for many people.

Yup. I want to be able to use it to listen to music, start/stop/pause/skip/volume while I'm at the dentist.

I've got the first boards on my desk for a media player based around the Sifli 58 chip. 1.8" amoled display and 16 buttons.

https://imgur.com/a/45GuaEA

https://forums.rockbox.org/index.php/topic,55419.0.html

Anyone want to help with porting Rockbox?

Re: The tech monoculture is finally breaking

#198

Post by reaperducer »

hshdhdhj4444 wrote: post #101
sylens wrote: post #29

I think the author is correct to a point but I don't believe the examples they've chosen provide the best support for their case. Gen Z buying iPods and people buying N64 games again is not evidence of the monoculture breaking apart - it's a retreat into the past for the enlightened few because their needs are not being met by modern goods and services. You cannot buy a dedicated MP3 player today with the software po…

Yeah, the author’s examples point to nostalgia-core, kind of like why Stranger Things is so popular. They’re not evidence for the tech monopoly breaking.

As pointed out by Saturday Night Live, Stranger Things is the new Star Wars.

Re: The tech monoculture is finally breaking

#200

Post by xboxnolifes »

BeetleB wrote: post #188
xboxnolifes wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How often are you installing apps that it's that frustrating?

It's the principle. I get that you think it's not a major inconvenience, but if I now throw yet another (pointless) popup for you each time you install an app, are you OK with it? When I install something on my PC (Linux), I never get such a prompt. If any Linux distribution started giving a prompt on each install, power users will stop using it.

If I installed apps on linux at the frequency I installed apps on my phone, which is a few apps per year, I wouldn't care at all. That being said, I get fewer interruptions installing apps on my phone than I do on most linux CLIs, since on my phone I just press install and it installs, no question. The real problem is first-launch pop-ups/notifications/settings, and linux apps can have as many first launch popups as my phone does.
Post reply on HN