Tech you miss/ new tech trends you hate - ok boomers

[Kendall Motor Oil]

it is asking me to create an account to use the fucking thing. WHY?!

Old women

the program is a fucking 400+MB web browser that can only display the Cricut webapp.

It used to be an offline program. Now they plaster ads all over the web application to get you to buy fonts and designs.

Why is this needs to be so anti consumer?! AND HOW IS THIS A POPULAR MACHINE?!

Old women

. And I hope that there is a collective effort to make an open standard for cutting machines soon, both in software and hardware, because the popular hobbyist choices (Silhouette and Cricut) do this trend of "if you do not give us your data, then you can not use our products even if you have already paid for them".

Old women won't buy it. It'll be relegated to hackerspaces which there are basically none of. Makerspaces will just buy Cricut.

Oh, well, tomorrow I will start surfing the seas, maybe I will find something of interest. Worst case scenario, I will make yet another burner account to use the damn machine, or I will try to get my $80 back somehow.

Good luck. I haven't found anything to break the lock-in. The best you can probably do is replace the control board and write your own firmware and then deal with the lack of software. Some 3D printing programmer would likely have an easy time writing firmware for it since it has XYZ movement. You can also sniff the USB and see if someone can reverse engineer it.
Old women with disposable income and no tech knowhow combined with influencers are driving this. Arts and crafts are overpriced but these women don't seem to care that much. It's a racket.

 

[Starbuxxx]

Paying for parking in the past:
• Put coins in meter

Paying for parking in the current year:
• Download an app or go to a shitty website on your phone
• Type in the lot and/or space number
• Enter your license plate number
• Create an account with your name, email address, phone number
• Agree to terms and opt-out of being added to their spam list
• Add make and model of your car to your account
• Enter your credit card information
• Pay a "convenience fee" for the privilege to do this, even though the pay station is down so you'll get a ticket if you don't pay by phone

 

[The Last Stand]

Kudos to Apple for opting for USB-C as a charging method. But shame on them for continuing to REMOVE ports for whatever reason.

Buy an adapter or buy our online storage. Thanks.

 

[Rozzy]

Ok frens, I need to vent yet again, this time with cutting machines!

I bought a cheap open box Cricut Machine as a way to unload smaller works from my Mimaki and because I have heard good things about this brand. So far everything went smoothly: I connected the machine to my PC, plug it in to the wall, downloaded and installed the software and... it is asking me to create an account to use the fucking thing. WHY?!

I have not created anything with it and I am really sure to not give my info to use this thing. And now the more I read about this, I just found that you must have an internet connection to work with it. Again, WHY?! Because you need to "upload" your designs to the damn server of the manufacturer to even "create stuff". Ok, the software has an "offline mode" that you have to enable online because it asks you for your log in credentials, but it is only limited to what you have downloaded, and the option to "create" is unavailable as you really need to upload your designs to work with it. Also, to rub even more salt to the injury, the program is a fucking 400+MB web browser that can only display the Cricut webapp.

This is a clusterfuck, because I fell through a rabbit hole: this brand have always relied on having some kind of DRM on their machines; the older ones had "cartridges" that had pre-loaded designs since they could not be used with a PC, the "middle ones" that had a plug in that you had to install manually to your web browser to access the servers and use the machine to design, and the newer ones that uses a stand alone desktop software that needs to be online to design stuff. Why is this needs to be so anti consumer?! AND HOW IS THIS A POPULAR MACHINE?!

Oh wait, there is some alternative software that tried to give usage to these machines without an internet connection and it was made available for people to buy, and it is called SCAL? Oh, never mind, they lost a suit filled by Cricut. EDIT- Forgot to mention: since the lawsuit, newer versions of the machines can not be made compatible with said software, in the other hand, some of the manufacturers of competing products even bundle it with their machines.

I can use Inkscape? Yeah! But I still need to upload the file to the proprietary software to cut it.

I really want for this trend to end of stuff that asks you for personal data (or a subscription) in order to use what you have already bought. And I hope that there is a collective effort to make an open standard for cutting machines soon, both in software and hardware, because the popular hobbyist choices (Silhouette and Cricut) do this trend of "if you do not give us your data, then you can not use our products even if you have already paid for them".

BTW, Silhouette (the competitor) asks you to create a "free" account to use their machines with decent options and tools available, with a paid option with all the bells and whistles. The software limits itself to the barebones of usability if you do not create a free account, as in you can not export anything outside the program, nor import files created outside of it to be cut, and if you try to print as PDF, it makes everything a flat image that you can not apply an ICC profile to match colors. YOU MUST PAY AND YOU WILL BE HAPPY! At least you can sent your design to the machine and cut it.

Oh, well, tomorrow I will start surfing the seas, maybe I will find something of interest. Worst case scenario, I will make yet another burner account to use the damn machine, or I will try to get my $80 back somehow.

Yet more goddamn DRM where the manufacturer owns your product and can pull support at any time rendering it unusable. It's much the same with some printers where you have to take out an ink subscription in order to be able to use them, stop paying the subscription and your printer is unusable including the built in scanner.

 

[Sneeds]

I miss when flagship/premium phones had metal/aluminum backs. And I also miss HTC, they were the only phone maker that once made me switch to android with the HTC M8.



It was probably one of the best phones I’ve ever had

 

[glow]

Kudos to Apple for opting for USB-C as a charging method. But shame on them for continuing to REMOVE ports for whatever reason.

Buy an adapter or buy our online storage. Thanks.

Apple was the first major computer vendor to drop floppy disks as standard, and later CD/DVD drives. If you wanted backwards compatibility you really chose the wrong brand. USB-C is the future so why would they also look back?

Surely by now we all know what we're getting when choosing Apple?

 

[Doppelmonger]

Forced facial recognition for log in even with 2FA code enabled

Try to log in in Mercado Libre (Latin American Amazon/Ebay) on your PC

• Open browser on PC and go to site
• Enter user and send 2FA code to phone
• Receive code and put it on web page
• "You need a device with a camera to make sure it is you"

>>Oh well, I better check it on the phone

• Open App on phone
• "We detected a log in attempt on other device, we will send you a code using 2FA"
• Receive and enter the code on the phone
• "Give permission to your camera and scan your face to make sure it is you"

>> Fuck it, I need to check the status of an item that should have arrived last week

• Scan face
• Multiple attempts failed
• "We can't verify it is you, your account is now blocked"
• "Upload your Voter ID to confirm it is you and unblock your account"
• Uninstall App

For all the shit Amazon gets, at least they have not gotten to the length of asking you for your ID nor your face as far as I am aware, as soon as my item arrives (and if it arrives regardless), I am deleting my account in Mercado Libre and stick to Amazon. God knows when they implemented this but it is very frustrating as they were supposed to be the go to place when amazon and ebay were not even an option here.

Why do they have my face data? I used to receive payments from customers using their services, so I had to send my ID and a my TAX ID number. It has been a while since I stopped to use them for a better alternative when the CLABE was implemented, but now I see that my data is still with them even after I cancelled their services.

 

[Stasi]

Kudos to Apple for opting for USB-C as a charging method. But shame on them for continuing to REMOVE ports for whatever reason.

Buy an adapter or buy our online storage. Thanks.

Pretty sure the USB C thing is because of a legal mandate from Europe where the EU said use USB C or you can't sell in our market. Something about reducing e-waste, I dunno.

Anyway, lets not give apple credit they don't deserve.

 

[skjora]

It's been around for decades now, but I fucking that thin matte black rubber they coat plastics with in electronics and car interiors. That shit sloughs off and starts looking horrible incredibly fast with any amount of wear and tear, or even just through cleaning it.

 

[Captain Chromosome]

I genuinely hate cell phones and email. The modern convenience they grant isn't worth the stress they create. I don't want to be on my phone 24/7 to keep up with clients and business emails or have them leave for another *job redacted* for someone that will feed into their need for a parasocial relationship AT ALL FUCKING HOURS.

Modern life is too fast and tech was supposed to make it easier. Ted was right.

-Sent from my Android

 

[PC LOAD LETTER]

This has probably been brought up in this thread before - I hate how every piece of software, especially business software, is now nothing more than a glorified web browser, running all the actual code on someone else's computer (the cloud!), and you get to pay monthly for the privilege of checking your email or whatever.

And you also have companies like Adobe who thought it would be a good idea to charge their customers more money if they want to use colors in Photoshop. Why? Because they know they're the only game in town and can squeeze more money out of people because nobody is going to move to anything else.

 

[AnOminous]

And you also have companies like Adobe who thought it would be a good idea to charge their customers more money if they want to use colors in Photoshop. Why? Because they know they're the only game in town and can squeeze more money out of people because nobody is going to move to anything else.

That wasn't Adobe's fault. That was Pantone squeezing Adobe for not paying them.

 

[PC LOAD LETTER]

That wasn't Adobe's fault. That was Pantone squeezing Adobe for not paying them.

Was it? My mistake then - but granted, given all of the other crap Adobe's pulled over the years, I wouldn't put it past them.

 

[RainwaterDrop]

Windows is only getting worse.
Apparently, MS wants to pursue the SaaS model. Imagine paying $40 a month for each PC's operating system.

Welcome to the Future.

This shit is why I always pirate my OS's, it's simply so much better to avoid these new horseshit trends that only work to fuck over the customer. Fuck, I get when they gatekeep some features, they have to make money somehow, but right now it's getting fucking ludicrous that you can't find a single fucking app with the bare modicum of functionality not locked away behind some fucking paywall!

I avoid signing up for these perfunctory services with any meaningful information whenever possible, most of the time I just throw them a disposable account and then fuck off. It's really fucking annoying that most tech seems to be going this way, subscription models are precisely like NFTs, in which they add no real value to anything and just make simple, existing concepts and tasks worse!

 

[Command Prompt Disabled]

I hate how we are slowly going towards cloud services for all hardware, even Microsoft now offers Windows desktop in the cloud. I want to own my hardware, I don't want any future where literally everything is in the cloud. I can understand CRMs but life shouldn't have a fucking stupid online only connection requirement like some games.

 

[ditto]

Software subscriptions. Not because of the money but once you subscrive they will never leave you alone and continue to upsell.

Evernote was good enough that I paid to get rid of the nags but then it continued to nag to upgrade to bigger and bigger plans. Same with Inoreader that punishes you for not renewing your subscription by putting up a huge ugly banner which I got around by creating a new, free account and never upgrading it.

 

[Super Dilator Duel 3D]

Software subscriptions. Not because of the money but once you subscrive they will never leave you alone and continue to upsell.

Evernote was good enough that I paid to get rid of the nags but then it continued to nag to upgrade to bigger and bigger plans. Same with Inoreader that punishes you for not renewing your subscription by putting up a huge ugly banner which I got around by creating a new, free account and never upgrading it.

I refuse to pay for software, just on principle. Free access to unlimited winRAR free trials is an inalienable human right, damn you.

Also, I really hate being forced to upgrade hardware. Think Apple slowing down older iPhones and Microsoft implementing modern telemetry to Windows 7. I mean, I'm sure most of you do too, but it's so slimy and underhanded I find myself getting irrationally mad about it more than most other tech things that annoy me. I like using my old boomer tech on my own terms for as long as I want. If I want to stick with an iPhone 5 for a decade and a half, I should be allowed to without Apple sticking their adware-infested cock into my charging port.

 

[RainwaterDrop]

I refuse to pay for software, just on principle. Free access to unlimited winRAR free trials is an inalienable human right, damn you.

Also, I really hate being forced to upgrade hardware. Think Apple slowing down older iPhones and Microsoft implementing modern telemetry to Windows 7. I mean, I'm sure most of you do too, but it's so slimy and underhanded I find myself getting irrationally mad about it more than most other tech things that annoy me. I like using my old boomer tech on my own terms for as long as I want. If I want to stick with an iPhone 5 for a decade and a half, I should be allowed to without Apple sticking their adware-infested cock into my charging port.

I'm cut from that cloth as well, everything I use is as offline as possible bar stupid shit like games on my phone. I only update when things are getting really bad, otherwise I stick with them as long as my stuff isn't glitching harder than a poorly modded game lol!

Even today, there are plenty of good free solutions that work just as fine as the paid ones, I mostly use free software and I've been fine. The one time I got fucked was when I had to edit some PDFs and spent an entire day looking for an editor that wasn't freemium, using the online ones wasn't an option as having fucking documents leaking around is never a good look. That was the day I found out that printing to PDF on my PC works just as fine without any of the stress, but I'm still on the lookout!

I hate how we are slowly going towards cloud services for all hardware, even Microsoft now offers Windows desktop in the cloud. I want to own my hardware, I don't want any future where literally everything is in the cloud. I can understand CRMs but life shouldn't have a fucking stupid online only connection requirement like some games.

I don't think this will last, all it takes is a storm for you to have a functionally bricked device. Not to mention how lack of functionality, say, a glitchy connection, also leads to that. It will probably stay on the long term for some services and products, but eventually most companies will realize there isn't a need to put literally fucking everything in the cloud once they experience that for themselves!

The only roadblock between the users and this SaaS horseshit is precisely the fact that most people don't try and learn about tech. There is so much free, accessible stuff out there a click away, yet most are content with staying still, open to any horseshit these companies will try to pull. I think it's more of a problem with Google nowadays, if you know where to look and learn, it's easy. If you don't, Google makes it fucking impossible by promoting horseshit all the way to the top of search results. Fuck, I was trying to find a specific movie to watch, one that isn't even old (came out in 200 and it was a livid fucking hell to find it for download anywhere, to the point I was almost dusting off my old DVD player and buying an used copy, couldn't find the damn thing fucking anywhere. I would have been fucked if not for checking one of my trusted websites, this new web only gets worse by the day!

 

[Trump's Chosen]

• Pay a "convenience fee" for the privilege to do this, even though the pay station is down so you'll get a ticket if you don't pay by phone

It's called a convenience fee because it is more convenient keeping one webservice up than every pay station.

 

[XYZpdq Jr.]

those serious fucking business child murdering refrigerators that latched shut
my aunt had one literally outside in Florida and it ran like a tank forever