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The tech monoculture is finally breaking

jasonwillems.com

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Re: The tech monoculture is finally breaking

#271

Post by nottorp »

nine_k wrote: post #118
cj wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My strategy here is to default notifications off for everything other than calls and texts. And then manually open Gmail to check mail, manually open Instagram when I feel like checking notifications, etc. It’s such a better experience when you’re opening an app because you want to, and not because a notification is baiting you.

Allowing GMail to only show a notification when an email is categorized as "important" is an acceptable compromise. (Setting up a bunch of filters to manually control the "importance" helps a lot, too.)

Slippery slope there... just turn them all off.

If it's a real emergency you'll get a voice call.

Re: The tech monoculture is finally breaking

#272

Post by nottorp »

observationist wrote: post #69
xvector wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tech hiring has shifted dramatically. It used to be people genuinely interested in, and passionate about technology. Top companies used to filter for this as well. Now it's just anyone that wants a big paycheck. And the culture shift is reflected in the products.

It's shifted because you can outsource and race to the bottom, and abuse H1B and other programs to ensure you suppress US wages, and you fatten up the ranks of middle managers to make people leave every 3-4 years, stagnating wage growth, ensuring you get a constant stream of fresh, energized, underpaid workers, some of which can't complain or advocate for higher wages, and all participate in a culture of competitiven…

> and abuse H1B and other programs to ensure you suppress US wages

Heh. Most HNers that seem to have little moral restraints when it comes to making money in their posts seem to be in the US.

Do you even notice how many "solo saas founder" and "faang employee" types defend the right of those large companies that you're complaining about to increase their profits ad infinitum?

Or how many consider "free to play" IAP fests as regular honest video games?

Hint:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46729368

Is that the fault of outsourcing and H1-Bs?

Re: The tech monoculture is finally breaking

#273

Post by pmyteh »

tass wrote: post #259
Y-bar wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

240 grams is twice as heavy as for example an average minidisc player ( https://www.minidisc.wiki/equipment/sony/portable/mz-g750 ) which could often weigh less than 100g. The very first cassette Walkman was about 40 grams light: https://www.soundandvision.com/content/flashback-1979-sony-s... The Rio MP3 player was 109 grams: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/10/diamond-rio-pmp300-m... The classic Creative Nomad w…

Almost certainly a typo, the first Walkman was 390g or 14 ounces (not 1.4oz)

I read the advert as claiming that the headphones for that Walkman are 1.4oz, which seems plausible (they're a very flimsy design).

Re: The tech monoculture is finally breaking

#274

Post by KaiserPro »

I mean I hear lots of talk about it, but I am yet to see wide spread evidence.

It seems at the moment that its similar hipster-esque analog revival, where everyone was going to type on typewriters, use lomo film cameras and wear camelhair coats.

It was at best a fashion garnish, rather than a significant movement.

If this was a "real thing" rather than hot young things, we would see significant market movement to single device objects again (not that they ever really went away, its just they are cheap and abundant, so not exclusive/attractive)

Re: The tech monoculture is finally breaking

#275

Post by ndsipa_pomu »

Wired vs wireless headphones can demonstrate why sometimes, the old simple tech is actually better.

Wired headphones have a great user interface - you plug them into the device making music. That's it. If a friend wants to play you some music, you can just plug your headphones into their device (assuming it has an audio socket) without mucking around with pairing and then later having a problem because it can only pair to a limited number of devices.

Also, of course, there's no issue with recharging them.

A secondary "benefit" is that you're far less likely to lose more bulky headphones than earpods.

Re: The tech monoculture is finally breaking

#276

Post by boxofficebads »

emodendroket wrote: post #245
californical wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I looked pretty hard - I specifically don’t want an android OS called an mp3 player. I want a dedicated media player that has physical button controls (not touch screen), is very snappy, has a good UI, and has a purpose-built OS specific to only playing songs and podcasts, and maybe movies, which I can sync with my computer (maybe with rsync or whatever else). No apps. The only option that I could find was an iPod cl…

How hard did you look? You can type "MP3 Player" into an Amazon search box (and I'm sure Aliexpress and other competitors) and find many devices that are exactly what you say you want.

So i may install "Rockbox" again (yes - that was an upgrade), on an Kinese express-device? But, but, but...that may sound offending -sry, just for a moment i thought, "you were missing the topic completly" so... my 2 cents OT....

Platforms, globally synchronized making the Uniform, and bland?

(Reads:) "Monitored, connected beds. Antitrust pressure seem slowed"

"A Timex ad went viral this year: 'Know the time without seeing you have 1249 unanswered emails.'"

An Opinon-Refusal-Portal; the 'Wise people Of Gotham"-Citizen-Advice-Agency, the 120%-Normality, the Blue-Milk-Canal-Logic (Kishon)

I like watches cos, there once was a time, machines got that big and heavy, that wind-like waterpowered-energy couldn't make them start, nor keep them go, and therefore a 'need' of steam-engines...

"Cos nostalgia revealed a massive, underserved Service-economy-demand."

so... ?

Random thoughts, not? (-;

Re: The tech monoculture is finally breaking

#277

Post by raffraffraff »

pmontra wrote: post #238
raffraffraff wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me it's not arbitrary. An android device is a general purpose handheld touchscreen computer that happens to be used for music. That means a bunch of things to me: 1. "Touchscreen first" UX 2. Heavier than it needs to be 3. Worse battery life compared to a non-Android device Using a touchscreen in the rain is impossible. Running out of battery sucks. Going for a run with a 240g brick is no fun, it'll pull your pan…

My first Android phone was a Samsung Galaxy S2. It weighted two grams less than that Hiby R1. Of course it was much larger, but tiny by today's standards. https://m.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9100_galaxy_s_ii-3621.php

Never mind mp3 players, I'd love a small phone again also. It's ridiculous that there isn't a single decent android phone

Re: The tech monoculture is finally breaking

#278

Post by [deleted] »

BeetleB wrote: post #2

> A Timex ad went viral this year: “Know the time without seeing you have 1,249 unanswered emails.” Having to micromanage notifications is why I have two phones - one without a SIM card. It's nice to be able to do stuff on the phone and know it won't bug you. I simply put the one with the SIM card elsewhere (other room, leave in car, etc). No - I'm not going to spend too much time learning how to "effectively" manage…

[deleted]

Re: The tech monoculture is finally breaking

#279

Post by raffraffraff »

testdelacc1 wrote: post #235
raffraffraff wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me it's not arbitrary. An android device is a general purpose handheld touchscreen computer that happens to be used for music. That means a bunch of things to me: 1. "Touchscreen first" UX 2. Heavier than it needs to be 3. Worse battery life compared to a non-Android device Using a touchscreen in the rain is impossible. Running out of battery sucks. Going for a run with a 240g brick is no fun, it'll pull your pan…

> 240g brick pantsing you Sometimes I wish people from 1995 could read our threads and see the things we’re complaining about.

Well, I had something like this back in the late 90s (can't recall the year exactly)

https://walkman.land/aiwa/hs-px297

    Battery: 1AA gets 30h
    Dimensions: 111.4 x 29.1 x 80.7 mm
    Weight: 132g
Ok, so you were limited to 90 minute tapes with slow seek. But aside from that compare it to the specs I posted for the android vs non-android mp3 players. Remember, this cassette player has some seriously impressive clockwork inside that case and it's still smaller and much lighter than the android.

Also remember you can just buy another AA battery, and keep a few spares in your bag.

Re: The tech monoculture is finally breaking

#280

Post by presentation »

cj wrote: post #15
BeetleB wrote: post #2

> A Timex ad went viral this year: “Know the time without seeing you have 1,249 unanswered emails.” Having to micromanage notifications is why I have two phones - one without a SIM card. It's nice to be able to do stuff on the phone and know it won't bug you. I simply put the one with the SIM card elsewhere (other room, leave in car, etc). No - I'm not going to spend too much time learning how to "effectively" manage…

My strategy here is to default notifications off for everything other than calls and texts. And then manually open Gmail to check mail, manually open Instagram when I feel like checking notifications, etc. It’s such a better experience when you’re opening an app because you want to, and not because a notification is baiting you.

I take a different approach, I use an email client called Shortwave and configured it to deliver most messages on schedules - once a day, once a week, all at once. And then whitelist certain senders and keywords to deliver immediately. That way I don’t feel overwhelmed but I also don’t feel like I’m missing out on important things.
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