
Technology Still Sucks - lootsauce
http://www.andrewluetgers.com/2014/02/11/technology-still-sucks/
======
loup-vaillant
_Title:_ "Technology Still Sucks"

 _Content:_ "The batteries of Android phones don't last, and Apple's phones
don't play with the web well." There are other minor details.

 _Conclusion:_ none.

Frankly with such a title, I expected more. Wasted my time. Don't waste yours.

~~~
lootsauce
Interesting what were you expecting based on that title?

~~~
jsight
I was expecting some general trends that are not improving, and that indicate
things that the industry should work on. There definitely are some (sigh).

Instead I see:

\- Android phones have bad USB ports

\- Android phones have bad batteries

\- iOS phones have a bad browser

\- Some ramblings about WiMax (huh?)

\- A conclusion that wonders if we will feel like idiots when these problems
are fixed (huh?)

Which of these problems are not being fixed? Android battery life seems to be
improving, at least in the devices that I tend to look at (Moto X, Moto G, LG
G2, Note 2/3). The only Android device that I have had USB issues with was a
SGSII (funny that his was the same :) ), but in general improvements to
battery life improve that problem as well, as they reduce the number of cycles
on the connector.

I know nothing about iOS and its browser, but there is a good chance
alternatives will form there as well.

Should we really be focusing on some sort of idea that because things aren't
perfect and tradeoffs have to be made, "technology still sucks"? It feels a
bit like saying that all cars suck because my GT86 can't haul my boat.

(Note: Don't take the above as bashing. The story is just a guy ranting on his
blog, and not every blog rant has to purport to be something profound to serve
its purpose. There is nothing wrong with that.)

~~~
lootsauce
Sorry to disappoint, this is just one mans frustration with technology and why
it still sucks for me as an example of a systemic issue that will probably
never go away.

As for a conclusion that can be drawn, maybe -

"This is why technology still sucks, big time. You have these arbitrary
boundaries of platforms that for a million stupid reasons can't accomplish the
most fundamental, basic chore like keeping a charge or wrapping text or
playing a video and you are supposed to just accept this without question."

Sorry to wax philosophical about technology and not deliver enough research
and bullet points and trends and obvious conclusions but it would be
interesting if you had any opinions on how these seemingly petty issues shape
our behavior without us thinking of it. Reading the web on an iPhone IS a
horrible experience yet nobody admits it. I conclude with a thought that I was
hoping would lead to discussion of this unquestioning adaptive behavior we
have with broken technology but as with most comments on HN it goes meta
instantly.

~~~
loup-vaillant
> _it would be interesting if you had any opinions on how these seemingly
> petty issues shape our behavior without us thinking of it._

Oh, so _that_ was your main point. Much more HN worthy. Too bad it got lost in
the boilerplate. You should write tighter:
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3QzdIMoLkk](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3QzdIMoLkk)

To answer your question, this problem is called "status-quo bias". As long as
they believe it's the default, people tend to accept things as they are. A
browser that sucks. Manual processes. Even torture and other atrocities, at
some places and times. On the other hand, people resist change.

From there you can get to many absurdities. My latest is the attitude towards
device drivers. When a device doesn't work on Windows, it's the fault of the
device maker. The onus is on them to provide suitable drivers. But when a
device doesn't work on GNU/Linux, it's because _Linux_ sucks. Why? Because
"everyone is using Windows", so if I have a problem, it can't be from the one
thing everyone uses. Linux on the desktop is not as established, so it's more
suspect. My graphics card is popular and got stellar reviews dammit, so if it
doesn't work on Linux, that must be because those kernels maintainers are
morons.

Or the golden prison Apple lock us in: perfectly acceptable for the iPhone,
while anyone who tries that on the desktop would probably be sued. Guess which
is the default on which platform.

------
bhauer
A title after my own heart, though I think you're using hyperbole in the same
way I do.

I agree that charging is a weak point of modern portable computing. Having a
phone with wireless Qi charging helps me appreciate that some innovation is
happening, while not especially quickly. The fact that I still need to connect
my tablet and laptop to charging cables betrays a curious indolence in the
industry. Wired charging is not for 2014. It was for ten years ago.

My own rants: [http://tiamat.tsotech.com/technology-
sucks](http://tiamat.tsotech.com/technology-sucks)

------
ethagknight
Maybe Technology Is Not Perfect, but it doesn't suck.

>>"These devices are on an upgrade cycle that is ridiculous and its the height
of first-world whining to complain about your ”old phone” when, for goodness
sake, it gives you the internet in your pocket with what not-so-long-ago would
have been subject to export controls as a supercomputer."

You complain about first world whining, and then whine about iOS not reflowing
text? I don't understand the objective of this article.

------
adwn
Maybe if the author were using something less powerful than a processor that
"not-so-long-ago would have been subject to export controls as a
supercomputer", the battery would last longer ;-)

But then again it wouldn't run Flash or a browser (reflowing or not). The
phone he wants today will be available in 5-10 years.

