Am I the only one who is sick of things changing all the time ?

[Justin Smith 10]

An internet forum is probably the wrong medium to complain about this but surely I can`t be the only one who is getting bemused at how fast things (especially technology) are changing all the time, and it`s getting faster all the time.....

In fact I`ve reached the stage where (other than advances in medical science) I don`t want things to change anymore, I`m happy with things the way they are ! I don`t want yet another way of recording/playing back music/TV or yet more annoying special effects on the TV programmes themselves or some incredibly complicated type of railway ticket etc etc...... Half the time the "advances" are not actually advances at all, eg Digital TV, Plasma or LCD TVs all of which are vastly over rated, I`m a TV engineer so I do know...... (see external links). Somethings are actually getting worse, eg the service from the Royal Mail.......

My watch failed the other day and all I wanted was one just the same. Guess what ? "They don`t do that one anymore Sir", implying that it`s out of fashion. Gordon Bennet, it`s a bleedin` sports watch which was only a few years old, how can it be "out of fashion".......

 

Stop the world. I want to get off.......

 

By the way I`m no luddite I was one of the first people I know to get a mobile (for my business) or a GPS receiver (for my walking interest) and I`ve got my own website which I did myself. I just think things are going too far.....far too far.......

 

 

The failings of Digital TV

http://www.aerialsandtv.com/digitaltv.html#digitalnegatives

The failings of Plasma/LCD TVs http://www.aerialsandtv.com/tvrepairs.html#plasmasLCDs

[Hodge 10]

Two words: Planned Obsolescence. It's a sorry state, but the companies that produce consumer/electronic goods want precisely this - to keep people buying products. But at the end of the day, everybody has the choice not to buy into it.

[lesbaxby 10]

I'm sick of people moaning about change ;-)

[Justin Smith 10]

I'm sick of people moaning about change ;-)

 

We deal with a lot of customers and I`m telling you from experience many of them (particularly, but not exclusively, older people) can`t operate/don`t understand the stuff they`ve got now.

You may not feel so unsympathetic when you`re older.........

 

Or was lesbaxby`s a satirical post in the first place ? I can`t even tell !

[Joanl 12]

I must admit, I do agree with you in a way. It changes too much for my brain to keep up. Like I was quite happy to stick a video in and record something during the day, I have to keep asking for lessons in the dvd recorder.

My dad was a technical person and I often wonder what he would have thought of some of the stuff that can be done today. He died before even the video recorder came in.

 

I've had my mobile phone for a couple of years now...just a basic one but one of the first small ones. I'm happy with it but if I needed to replace it, I couldn't. Moved on now. It doesnt have a camera but if I wanted to take photos I would take my camera out with me.

 

Mind you, for someone that was impressed at using telex for the first time in the early 70's, I would have never dreamed that I could have been sitting here doing this now, or "speaking" to my son in Japan or my daughter in Luxemburg ,while sitting in my own home in Bournemouth and often at the same time.

[swarm 10]

change in technology is great. huge advances in medecine etc can only be a good thing. plus footy on an hdtv is sublime. can't agree with the 'better in my day' brigade.

[pk014b7161 11]

change for the better is good, its change for change sake i dont like

[TwoFour 10]

Everything changes, mate. We are born, we live and we die.

 

Ride the wave or float on your board. It only bothers people who let it.

 

I know people who have 4 TV channels, no mobile and no PC and they are amongst the happiest people I know.

[artisan 10]

Its when things come with loads of unnecessary setting on them that irritates me.

Washing machines and microwaves are the main two.

I just want to throw my clothes in the washing machine and let it get on with it. Instead, you need to study dials and buttons and what have you.

All I need are two settings, dark clothes and light clothes, instead I have to select from hundreds.

The same with microwave ovens, all I want is to shove the food in, set the timer, and warm it up, I dont want a ten minute dialogue with the machine to decide the best way to do it.

It is over engineering and is a waste of time and resources, and therefore money.

[Justin Smith 10]

change for the better is good, its change for change sake i dont like

......`nuff said........

 

Incidentally in response to an earlier reply, I specifically excluded advances in medical treatment.

[JoeP 11]

It's called Future Shock and was invented 30 years ago.

 

Do a Google on 'Alvin Toffler' and his book 'Future Shock'. He did a follow up called 'The Third Wave' and there's an interesting, if slightly dated novel around some of the concepts called 'The Shockwave Rider' by John Brunner.

 

It is stressful, though - working in technology fields I've experienced it all my life and it's a bummer.

[BasilRathbon 10]

This isn't a new idea; it was covered a good ten years ago by the great philosopher Gary Barlow and his band Take That in the song "Everything Changes".

Yet Barlow gave us cause for optimism by including the qualification "but you" at the end of the phrase "Everything Changes", giving the listener reassurance that, whatever the technological advancements, "You" will remain a constant.

I think there's a lesson there for all of us.