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How the Cool Stuff At CES Will Ruin Your Life
jfruh writes "Another CES has come and gone, and as usual the press has presented rather uncritically a list of super-cool gadgets that were unveiled at the show and that will make our world better. Let's leave aside the fact that many products shown at CES never make it to market; Paul Roberts provides the pessimistic case on the big CES news, explaining how all these gewgaws will strip away privacy, unleash an army of Clippys onto the world, and maybe even change human brains for the worse."
Just attending CES will change your brain for the worse.
not buy it.
The good ideas/products will stay, the bad ones will die away. That's how evolution works.
Don't feel forced to use gadgetry. There's something called "life" that doesn't require much of it to be enjoyed.
When I was younger, I used to enjoy immersing myself in the latest and greatest toys, back in the 80s and 90s. Many things were new and fun. Nowadays the things of the future presented at shows like CES seem more like evolutions of existing concepts. Nothing really earth-shatteringly new.
As a result, I must admit I've pretty much lost interest, and the fog of high-tech addiction has cleared so to speak. I've realized that a simpler life is more enjoyable and less stressful. Not to mention, non-early-adopters tend to waste a lot less money than those who can't wait to buy the latest semi-working banana product doodah.
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
What is this maybe crap? Oh sure like THIS is the year we'll all wise up suddenly and stop dumping our money on people who make cheap plastic badly made crap.
The pursuit of profit above all else... Excessive greed.. Is really fucking up humanity.
For doing the decent thing and linking to the print-preview version of the article.
After my annoyance grew at all of the silly "WE GO HANDS-ON!!" posts on sites like engadget which ended up on my RSS feed in large numbers I took all those gadget/tech product sites off of the list..
It was actually kind of surprising this morning to learn the CES thing was already over..... after only seeing a few posts about it.
at this point I have to wonder why anyone really covers this CES thing.. All of the pointless HANDS ON!!! filler stuff barely gives people an idea of what the product is, and well, much of it might never be available for purchase anyways... Then you get some silly guy who has 3 minutes to demo the HOT ITEMS on a CNN segment.. again.. not giving us any real idea of what the product is..
At one time I think this stuff interested me.. but sheez. ..from a consumer perspective.. these trade shows seem nothing more but an opportunity for blogs and newspapers to fill up on fluff pieces.
we can look forward to NAMM in a few weeks!
Every tool man has created has had some level of social impact. Embrace change and react to it. Don't fear it.
I don't see how designs that aren't so beautiful will ruin my life.
That point in the article just seemed to be an excuse to kiss the decaying ass of Steve Jobs.
That's a new meme candidate for the new year, right there.
Visual reference
Knids: http://www.roalddahlfans.com/books/charglasknids.php
Clippy: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1991915_1991909_1991755,00.html
He's loveable, cuddly and his extensible architecture allowed attackers in 2001 to inject malware with a single click. But Clippy is not the only gadget phenomenon with unintended features. The world is full of crappy and predatory engineering.
Predatory Engineering: underrated power supplies that run hot; expensive computers with glass bezel displays under tension snapped together with no screws which crack if one attempt to open them; automobiles where software action can cause acceleration; software (not hardwired discrete component) ABS braking or shift management; personal accessories such as headsets with thin wound-foil cords that have no strain relief whatsoever and fail at the slightest jerk; $600 TVs which wind up in the trash because of malfunctioning half cent click-buttons or 5 cent IR receivers; trapezoid shaped mini-USB connectors which actively participate in their own destruction on every attempt to plug them in upside down; and more.
Crappy Engineering, such as power windows in cars with no crank or even provision for one. Parents love power windows and the assurance that comes from disabling the master button, they'll love their power windows all the way to the bottom of the lake as the screaming family tries to beat out the windows with their bare hands. The trick is to wait until the entire vehicle fills with water, then the pressure equalizes and you can open the door and tow your drowned kids to the surface. Good luck.
I love writing about modern technology.
<blink>down the rabbit hole</blink>
He must be a riot around Christmas. Some skepticism is healthy, but there is more to life than a perpetually half empty glass.
Will Smith speaks out on CES.
Why do you always need the latest disposable technology fad? They need you to buy it far more than you need to buy it.
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
Every single one of the "fitness" devices was designed to harvest your data and keep it hostage. not ONE of the products I looked at or talked to the guys at the booth kept your data private on your computer or Phone. All of them are "cloud based" and none of them let you have access to your raw data.
It seems that companies have zero ability to hire engineers that can make a real product that is not dripping in "lock in" or "data mining". And I personally am sick of it.
Outside of those, there was ZERO innovation at CES. Nothing at all that was a game changer like Google Glass, just a bunch of "mee too" rehashes of the exact same junk from last year.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
So Nekomimi brain controlled cat ears aren't going to revolutionize humanity? :(
I was about to buy a pair too
I remember chasing those cool gadgets that were all the rage when I was kid. You know, things like the steam engine, the internal combustion engine, washing machine, telephone, orgasmatron, computer, night vision goggles and Chlorpromazine.
I've given that all up and now live in a cave with running water. A simple and relaxing life. I just wish I could that damn dripping noise out of my head.
Lots of folks were not aware that you could change your Office Assistant to something a lot less annoying. I changed mine to the ginger cat, who did the normal office suggestions, but then when idle batted a ball of yarn around the screen or took a nap. There was also a puppy and a globe. I found the kitty to be much less annoying, probably because it's hard for an animated cat to be condescending.
Occasionally living proof of the Ballmer peak.
Abby, Ziva and Director Shepard from NCIS to disprove your point none of them are particularly pink fans
For one, the folks who "invented" the iPotty need to give away their weapons, their cars, all of their possessions, and let themselves be checked into an assisted living facility, since they're obviously too *STUPID* to live on their own.
None of them have children, either.
Y'know, I bet they don't offer, in the device's warranty, to replace all the iPhones that somewhere between 10% and 25% of the two year olds will throw *into* the potty.
And quality? It's a well-known bit of history (at least among folks who work on their own cars) that around 1925 Henry Ford, the original, sent men to junkyards, to find out what parts of the Model T hadn't worn out, and then had the parts for the new Model A made more cheaply, so they'd wear out sooner.
mark "we won't begin to talk about what you do when your smart house has the blue screen of death"
I think these devices have already damaged his brain. IT'S COULDN'T CARE LESS.
COULD care less is a redundant statement. It's like saying "How much water is in this glass" and a response like "An amount less then what it could be"
From an early age, my dad taught me that anything that was truly popular probably wasn't the best because (1) the best usually costs too much to be popular and (2) most people are too ignorant to make the best choice, so if most people choose it, it's probably not best.
I'm old now and have had a chance to observe how these principles play out in the real world over many decades. You'd be surprised how often I've found his wisdom has applied.
I'm not complaining about my other abusive moderation right now, but this is an important fact. Anyone want to help bring it back up after the shills bombed it down?
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"