- Joined
- Dec 12, 2022
Probably when the race for thin/smaller frame TVs hit the point where the only place you can stick speakers internally is behind, pointing at a wall.
Tech you miss/ new tech trends you hate - ok boomers
- Thread starter Kenobi
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2015
With over-the-air updates becoming more and more common with newer cars, aka car makers are following more and more video game trends, including the "just ship it now, we'll fix it later" with OTA updates, some of them are getting more and more extreme about it. On GM's newer cars, in the Limited Warranty guidelines, owners are told to install OTA updates within 45 days of them becoming available. / Archive
It also says that if an owner does not do that, any damages to the vehicle that happen due to not installing an OTA update WILL NOT BE COVERED UNDER THE VEHICLE'S WARRANTY.
Cars are indeed becoming more and more like video games, with copying the "Live Service" model, and patches rendering older versions obsolete. This is literally screaming for lawsuits if an OTA update either bricks a car, an OTA update sneakily adds features like even more spying and even auto-bricking the car due to "Social Credit Score" violations that more and more countries look like they want to implement it, and even removing existing features like Apple CarPlay/Android Auto support, since GM's newer cars do not have it because they don't want to pay the licensing fees to Apple/Android, and they also want to keep all of the telemetry data for themselves to sell later on.
And it's also ironic that GM is pushing their OTA updates harder with this order, while Chinese auto makers are being told by the CCP to reduce the amount of OTA updates for cars:
It also says that if an owner does not do that, any damages to the vehicle that happen due to not installing an OTA update WILL NOT BE COVERED UNDER THE VEHICLE'S WARRANTY.
Cars are indeed becoming more and more like video games, with copying the "Live Service" model, and patches rendering older versions obsolete. This is literally screaming for lawsuits if an OTA update either bricks a car, an OTA update sneakily adds features like even more spying and even auto-bricking the car due to "Social Credit Score" violations that more and more countries look like they want to implement it, and even removing existing features like Apple CarPlay/Android Auto support, since GM's newer cars do not have it because they don't want to pay the licensing fees to Apple/Android, and they also want to keep all of the telemetry data for themselves to sell later on.
And it's also ironic that GM is pushing their OTA updates harder with this order, while Chinese auto makers are being told by the CCP to reduce the amount of OTA updates for cars:
China's MIIT has implemented tighter restrictions with automated driving features in cars. / Archive
Public beta tests of features and remote parking and car summoning features are banned, automakers are to avoid using marketing terms such as "automated driving", over-the-air updates have been more restricted to reduce the frequency of them, and hands-on-the-wheel is to be strictly enforced when using automated driving assists. Given how reckless Chinese drivers are, why those laws weren't implemented sooner is puzzling.
The MIIT will also be implementing safety standards for EV batteries which will take effect on July 2026, saying that EV battery fires are not allowed to happen. / Archive
It's already verythat EV battery fires can be prevented completely due the current nature of them, but how will the law be handled in the case of situations like a severe car crash, or outside vandalism or outside fire source igniting an EV battery?
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- Joined
- Nov 21, 2020
The funny thing to me is that Tesla does updates all the time and adds new features, for better or worse.
GM seems to be doing the traditional automaker thing, sure your get OTA updates but they're all bug fixes, you want more features you should have waited for the 2026 model.
Hulkster
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2025
Pretty much all modern smartphone tech is terrible, but I miss when smartphones were new and hadn't replaced personal computers. Does anyone remember how "cool" the early gimmicky Android phones, Windows phones, or the iPhone were during the era of Angry Birds, back when the app store was new and you had to plug your phone into a computer to install updates? I think when smartphones replaced computers is when the internet really went to crap.
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2024
I hate how physical games are almost dead.
The Game Key Cards on the Switch 2 are fake physical media, fuck all these third party companies for using them, and fuck Nintendo for creating this situation where it's either the 64GB card or key card. Either make the 64GB card cheaper, or make smaller capacity ones, then require the usage of one of these choices. The fact that almost every single third party game that has a "physical copy" on the Switch 2 is a Key Card with few exceptions, and Xbox/PS5 physical copies of games are more and more starting to become useless out of the box, it's almost over.
I've really been ramping up my collecting of older/retro games the past few months, and while there are plenty of valid criticisms of the current market of older games (as well as the communities that inhabit the hobby), it's much more fun than watching the current industry the way it is.
Speaking of plugging phones into computers to install updates, remember when you used to be able to officially (legitimately) backup your iPhone apps and games by copying the IPA files to your computer using iTunes? It was a fantastic way to backup your games to a place you are in control of, and if anything were pulled permanently from the App Store, no big deal, just side load your IPA file in iTunes and you're in business again. I know there are third party tools you can use to backup your IPA files, but I feel that once iTunes removed the ability to transfer IPA files between phone and computer, that was the beginning of the end of the era of old.
Early Android phones were cool. My first Android phone was the HTC Incredible, this one:
It was amazing, and of course the very first thing I did on it was install a Super Nintendo emulator, and test Super Mario RPG on it (this is back when emulation on handheld devices was much more niche, and more difficult to achieve). I was going back and forth between getting this one or the original Motorola Droid, and so glad I went with this one. I can't remember exactly what replaced it for me, but this phone has a special place in my technology memories.
Nowadays, you basically pick the black candy-bar shaped slab you like the most, and just keep it until it breaks.
The Game Key Cards on the Switch 2 are fake physical media, fuck all these third party companies for using them, and fuck Nintendo for creating this situation where it's either the 64GB card or key card. Either make the 64GB card cheaper, or make smaller capacity ones, then require the usage of one of these choices. The fact that almost every single third party game that has a "physical copy" on the Switch 2 is a Key Card with few exceptions, and Xbox/PS5 physical copies of games are more and more starting to become useless out of the box, it's almost over.
I've really been ramping up my collecting of older/retro games the past few months, and while there are plenty of valid criticisms of the current market of older games (as well as the communities that inhabit the hobby), it's much more fun than watching the current industry the way it is.
People who call their phone(s) "PCs" are awful.
Speaking of plugging phones into computers to install updates, remember when you used to be able to officially (legitimately) backup your iPhone apps and games by copying the IPA files to your computer using iTunes? It was a fantastic way to backup your games to a place you are in control of, and if anything were pulled permanently from the App Store, no big deal, just side load your IPA file in iTunes and you're in business again. I know there are third party tools you can use to backup your IPA files, but I feel that once iTunes removed the ability to transfer IPA files between phone and computer, that was the beginning of the end of the era of old.
Early Android phones were cool. My first Android phone was the HTC Incredible, this one:
It was amazing, and of course the very first thing I did on it was install a Super Nintendo emulator, and test Super Mario RPG on it (this is back when emulation on handheld devices was much more niche, and more difficult to achieve). I was going back and forth between getting this one or the original Motorola Droid, and so glad I went with this one. I can't remember exactly what replaced it for me, but this phone has a special place in my technology memories.
Nowadays, you basically pick the black candy-bar shaped slab you like the most, and just keep it until it breaks.
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2021
Don't care if its a repost but can I get a physical keyboard for my phone again? Samsung does the fold 7 so why not turn the internal screen into a clicky keyboard like the old slides?
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2022
Had a sudden urge to look and see what replacing my current phone (Samsung A53) would be like. I've enjoyed the Samsung A series for a couple phones now because I hate the curved edges of the S series and honestly flagship phones have way more stuff in them than I'm ever going to use or care about.
Started using Samsungs after my favorite phone of all time was no longer supported/made and all of the examples I had died. That was the Blackberry Key series, especially the KeyOne Black edition, easily the best of them.
Look at this glorious thing:
Truly a great phone. Full android smartphone with a physical keyboard for those of us who remember and appreciate how great physical keyboards are. I found this guy after the haptic feedback on the HTC I had before it died and I realized how much virtual keyboards with no feedback sucked. If the Blackberry KeyOne BE was still supported and I had a functioning model I would happily keep using it.
Sadly that's not the case but I digress.
My A53 is also pretty great, and as of now its working perfectly. I have no need to replace it. However as a 2022 phone its starting to get on in years and that's always worrisome for modern technology. I also know that Samsung only tends to support their smartphones for like 4-5 generations of Android and then go to security only, which can be a good thing or a bad thing.
Anyway I continue to digress, the point of all this is that I was looking at new phones and this brought on two horrifying realizations.
The first is that these new phones are branded as "AI" Phones, and that's the most concerning. I do not trust AI, and I do not interact with it, I don't even like talking to my technology in general. I've never used any of those virtual assistant apps like Siri, Cortana, Bixby, etc. So I certainly do not want a fully AI integrated phone.
Second, they stopped including Micro SD slots. From a functionality standpoint this isn't the biggest deal per se. Most of these modern phones come with plenty of internal storage. Still, I do like having my collection of FLAC music and other things on the Micro SD.
All this to say they keep adding features I don't want and taking away features I like. If they keep doing this I'm going to end up going back to a dumbphone, but even that is annoying these days, especially when you've grown accustomed to having so many smartphone capabilities on hand.
EDIT: GOOD NEWS!
After more research I found a couple contenders for a future phone, though neither are without their drawbacks.
First up, the Unihertz Titan 2.
Pros:
Physical Keyboard
5G
Current Android
No AI
512GB storage
Headphone jack
$400
Unihertz is a proven company that makes phones.
Works with all US carriers.
Cons:
Large, unconventional shape
Harder to pocket
Isn't available til October
No MicroSD slot
No aftermarket options.
LCD screen
Second, the Zinwe Technologies Q25 Pro "ChinkBerry"
Pros:
It's a modernized BlackBerry Classic
Has a MicroSD
Also $400
It's a modernized BlackBerry Classic
Compatible with all BlackBerry Classic cases and such
Compact perfect phone size
ITS A FUCKING MODERNIZED FUCKING BLACKBERRY FUCKING CLASSIC
Cons:
Made by some unproven Chinese tech company no one has ever heard of
The first run of complete phones that are only just starting to ship this month are considered a "closed beta test"
Non-Zero chance of Chinese spyware
Only 4G
Android 14
Best they can say is that it should work with all US carriers, with some caveats like maybe needing to activate the sim on a different phone first, or even possibly requesting a whitelist
Between the two I am so tempted by the ChinkBerry it's not even funny. The idea of a smart blackberry classic is viscerally appealing to me, but there are just enough uncertainties to keep me from throwing $400 at them right now. Their website doesn't exactly inspire confidence either (https://zinwa.cn/) but it is worth noting that they have plans to give the KeyOne and Passport the same modernization treatment. That said the Classic form factor is still the most appealing to me.
The Unihertz is definitely still a viable option. The weird size and lack of an SD slot are drawbacks though, especially with the lack of aftermarket stuff like cases. I'd be very worried about its width making it prone to bending in my pocket, if it can even fit comfortably at all. The SD slot is more of a minor inconvenience since it does have plenty of internal storage.
If I could combine the 5G connectivity and Unihertz reputation with everything else about the ChinkBerry I'd gladly pay double the $400 asking price for it.
Started using Samsungs after my favorite phone of all time was no longer supported/made and all of the examples I had died. That was the Blackberry Key series, especially the KeyOne Black edition, easily the best of them.
Look at this glorious thing:
Truly a great phone. Full android smartphone with a physical keyboard for those of us who remember and appreciate how great physical keyboards are. I found this guy after the haptic feedback on the HTC I had before it died and I realized how much virtual keyboards with no feedback sucked. If the Blackberry KeyOne BE was still supported and I had a functioning model I would happily keep using it.
Sadly that's not the case but I digress.
My A53 is also pretty great, and as of now its working perfectly. I have no need to replace it. However as a 2022 phone its starting to get on in years and that's always worrisome for modern technology. I also know that Samsung only tends to support their smartphones for like 4-5 generations of Android and then go to security only, which can be a good thing or a bad thing.
Anyway I continue to digress, the point of all this is that I was looking at new phones and this brought on two horrifying realizations.
The first is that these new phones are branded as "AI" Phones, and that's the most concerning. I do not trust AI, and I do not interact with it, I don't even like talking to my technology in general. I've never used any of those virtual assistant apps like Siri, Cortana, Bixby, etc. So I certainly do not want a fully AI integrated phone.
Second, they stopped including Micro SD slots. From a functionality standpoint this isn't the biggest deal per se. Most of these modern phones come with plenty of internal storage. Still, I do like having my collection of FLAC music and other things on the Micro SD.
All this to say they keep adding features I don't want and taking away features I like. If they keep doing this I'm going to end up going back to a dumbphone, but even that is annoying these days, especially when you've grown accustomed to having so many smartphone capabilities on hand.
EDIT: GOOD NEWS!
After more research I found a couple contenders for a future phone, though neither are without their drawbacks.
First up, the Unihertz Titan 2.
Pros:
Physical Keyboard
5G
Current Android
No AI
512GB storage
Headphone jack
$400
Unihertz is a proven company that makes phones.
Works with all US carriers.
Cons:
Large, unconventional shape
Harder to pocket
Isn't available til October
No MicroSD slot
No aftermarket options.
LCD screen
Second, the Zinwe Technologies Q25 Pro "ChinkBerry"
Pros:
It's a modernized BlackBerry Classic
Has a MicroSD
Also $400
It's a modernized BlackBerry Classic
Compatible with all BlackBerry Classic cases and such
Compact perfect phone size
ITS A FUCKING MODERNIZED FUCKING BLACKBERRY FUCKING CLASSIC
Cons:
Made by some unproven Chinese tech company no one has ever heard of
The first run of complete phones that are only just starting to ship this month are considered a "closed beta test"
Non-Zero chance of Chinese spyware
Only 4G
Android 14
Best they can say is that it should work with all US carriers, with some caveats like maybe needing to activate the sim on a different phone first, or even possibly requesting a whitelist
Between the two I am so tempted by the ChinkBerry it's not even funny. The idea of a smart blackberry classic is viscerally appealing to me, but there are just enough uncertainties to keep me from throwing $400 at them right now. Their website doesn't exactly inspire confidence either (https://zinwa.cn/) but it is worth noting that they have plans to give the KeyOne and Passport the same modernization treatment. That said the Classic form factor is still the most appealing to me.
The Unihertz is definitely still a viable option. The weird size and lack of an SD slot are drawbacks though, especially with the lack of aftermarket stuff like cases. I'd be very worried about its width making it prone to bending in my pocket, if it can even fit comfortably at all. The SD slot is more of a minor inconvenience since it does have plenty of internal storage.
If I could combine the 5G connectivity and Unihertz reputation with everything else about the ChinkBerry I'd gladly pay double the $400 asking price for it.
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- Joined
- Mar 29, 2014
I've always seen mobile phone use as annoying, even back in the '00s. The loud ringtones. That taking calls anytime and anywhere. The loud conversations. "Smartphones" added "social media" and everyone recording everything to the mix, making it even worse. I miss how it was back in the late 20th century, back when having a cellphone was novelty.
A "smartphone" is a computer -- it has an OS and all -- but of course not the same as a desktop and laptop.