
Why is hi-tech Japan using cassette tapes and faxes? - rwmj
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34667380
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jmnicolas
I can relate to what is described in the article : there's always something
new that you have to understand, learn and integrate in your daily life.

It require a lot of brainpower for things that are probably not much better
than the old ones, and might not be available in 5 years from now.

The more you add complexity to your life the more fragile your 'system'
becomes and the more you use tech the more you are dependent on it.

Sometimes people just want to get things done in a simple way, where there's 0
thinking to be done : I need to send you some data, should I use FTP, Dropbox,
email, GDrive, etc ? Do you and I have enough bandwidth, do you even have an
FTP (Dropbox account whatever) client on your system ? Fuck it, I'll send a
DVD and be done with it.

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pmoriarty
There are advantages to text, advantages to handwriting, and advantages to
analogue. Many of the supposed efficiency improvements of modern technology
are overblown, and rushing blindly in that direction has made us subjects of a
surveillance state where we're getting ever more powerless against the
corporations and governments who have the real control over the tech we use.

There's wisdom in refraining from chasing the new shiny.

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rwmj
I posted this because it's interesting, but also because I think the article's
analysis seems very flawed and would like to hear HN's opinions. If "10 year
old software" works, why upgrade it? If SMEs are conservative about software
practices, the solution would be education of business owners, not trying to
create more massive companies.

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zeristor
Is this a case of small founder led companies being happy with the way things
are. The thing is if the environment is stable then the healthier more change
adaptable companies will find it hard going. Perhaps there is a birth of a
more modern business ecosystem in Japan?

