• PM_ME_VINTAGE_30S [he/him]@lemmy.sdf.org
    2·
    1 year ago

    Virtual assistants, e.g. Alexa, Cortana, Siri

    I don’t want to interact with the companies they represent basically at all, let alone give them nearly unfettered access to my electronics and their data.

  • Addfwyn@lemmy.ml
    1·
    1 year ago

    Most social media.

    I used to use reddit, I have moved all my presence over here. That’s about it.
    I have a FB Messenger account because that is how a lot of my family keeps in touch with me, and I have this. I had a proper FB account back when I was in uni and Facebook was still only for uni students, but I think I dropped it shortly after that.

    It’s not some grand principled stance, I just don’t get most of them because I am apparently an old man. Like Instagram, why do I want to share pictures with just random people? How am I networking with anybody by doing so? I honestly don’t get why it is so popular.

    • dan@upvote.au
      0·
      1 year ago

      If you’re using Linux, there’s a bunch of open-source code from Meta running on your PC. Same with some small parts of Windows. :)

  • PonyOfWar@pawb.social
    1·
    1 year ago

    Smart speakers with personal assistants like Amazon Echo etc. Not remotely useful enough to be worth placing spying Equipment all over my home.

    Wireless headphones. So now I’m supposed to recharge my headphones and get worse sound quality for it? In a few years they become e-waste, while good wired headphones can last decades. No thanks.

    • imaqtpie@sh.itjust.works
      01·
      1 year ago

      I agree with everything you’ve said, but you have to admit that wireless headphones are convenient if you’re on the phone with someone and cooking dinner, or doing laundry, for example.

      • CmdrShepard@lemmy.one
        0·
        1 year ago

        They certainly have their place but they can’t/don’t check all the boxes to replace wired headphones. It’s not like having a thin cord running from your ears to your pocket is a big enough issue that having to charge another device before eventually throwing it in the garbage after a couple years is a worth tradeoff.

        • rabs@lemm.ee
          0·
          1 year ago

          Bluetooth and nfc audio codecs have gotten so good that unless you’re running high impedance headphones with an amp/dac, wireless is effectively indistinguishable from wired, at least for most applications, and especially if using a mobile device.

  • Candelestine@lemmy.ca
    0·
    1 year ago

    LLMs. Despite how absurdly useful they are, I can recall a time when I had the skills of remembering phone numbers naturally and being able to easily navigate with no maps of any kind.

    These skills have deteriorated significantly in the past 10 years, and they’re not the only ones. The common thread they all have is my smartphone replaced them.

    I fear losing a skill that is less innocuous, from the new tech effectively replacing my need to practice it.

    • banana_meccanica@feddit.it
      0·
      1 year ago

      Try not having a smartphone with you when you leave the house. Actually many starting returning back to basic phones just for calls and SMS.

      • Sentinian@lemmy.one
        1·
        1 year ago

        Kid who doesn’t remember a time without a phone, using a “dumb” phone is impossible despite a want for it. So many things are qr based or require a phone at my college. I learned this the hard way when my phone broke and I didn’t replace it for 2 weeks. Couldn’t even access my accounts cause of 2fa.

        I would love to use a “dumb” phone for text only but the most random shit will require a “smart” feature.