Technologies no one asked for

[Muse]

Toyota RAV4 Limited and after 4 years, kept getting an amber key indicator on the dash. Recommended was to take it to the dealer immediately to resolve.

Reality, replace the keyfob battery (DL2032) for a couple of bucks and resolve the problem. Wonder how much a visit to the dealer would have cost me?

Sheesh, I think I'll keep my 21 YO Mazda. Battery replacement in the door lock gizmo, big deal. Nothing fancy. Lately the alarm doesn't work for some darn reason. It has lifetime guarantee but I can't find the control module, so I'd have to take it to some expert and probably pay to address the alarm issue. Feh! I don't keep valuables in it, doubt any car thief would want to steal my car. Figure to keep it 'til a self driving vehicle that rocks is available at a reasonable price. Meantime I'm vigilant to not let myself become dependent on a car, period.

 

[DietDrThunder]

Sheesh, I think I'll keep my 21 YO Mazda. Battery replacement in the door lock gizmo, big deal. Nothing fancy. Lately the alarm doesn't work for some darn reason. It has lifetime guarantee but I can't find the control module, so I'd have to take it to some expert and probably pay to address the alarm issue. Feh! I don't keep valuables in it, doubt any car thief would want to steal my car. Figure to keep it 'til a self driving vehicle that rocks is available at a reasonable price. Meantime I'm vigilant to not let myself become dependent on a car, period.

I drove a 1963 Chevrolet Corvair Monza Convertible as my daily driver for 10 years, up until 2015. Talk about simple tech and easy to work on. I would have kept it but my wife didn't want my daughter driving it as her first car.

 

[Muse]

I drove a 1963 Chevrolet Corvair Monza Convertible as my daily driver for 10 years, up until 2015. Talk about simple tech and easy to work on. I would have kept it but my wife didn't want my daughter driving it as her first car.

Yeah, reminds me of some Car Talk advice in that regard. Those older cars are nowhere near as safe. A beginning driver just doesn't have the safety chops yet. Good call there. Took me a long time to become really safe behind the wheel.

 

[IronWing]

LEDs on wall warts, smoke alarms, and other items that seem to exist solely to indicate that the item they are mounted on exists. Pointless light pollution.

 

[Chaotic42]

LEDs on wall warts, smoke alarms, and other items that seem to exist solely to indicate that the item they are mounted on exists. Pointless light pollution.

No joke. They seem to be more and more blue now too. My computer is in my bedroom and I have to cover all of those lights up to sleep.

 

[destrekor]

One of the places I contract at just added Apple Pay to their vending machines. All I have to do is bonk my cell phone against the machine and it gives me Snickers bars. Way too dangerous

It's only dangerous from a self-control aspect!

Not sure why it's something we "didn't ask for" though. It's exactly what we've all been longing - stupid easy processes that are quick and painless, and best of all, secure!

However the convenience of contactless for me is far less than just grabbing a card. Why? Because I otherwise keep NFC turned off, so I have to dig out my phone, turn on NFC, and then I can use it, if the merchant has it that is. Not all of my frequent stops have them. And worse, some still have incomplete chip setups, either still requiring a signature or just being agonizingly slow. Those places just never upgraded the software on the terminals, because chip is pretty fast now for current firmware and software. There's probably a cost to upgrade the firmware/software too, which would explain it at small places. (of course no chip acceptance is definitely a cost factor for small places because they don't want to spend for the hardware).

 

[Muse]

LEDs on wall warts, smoke alarms, and other items that seem to exist solely to indicate that the item they are mounted on exists. Pointless light pollution.

Not really. I have some of mine on power strips. If they are powered on 24/7 that's a waste unless they are powering something. Most of the time they are not, so I turn off the power strips. The glowing LED indicates that they are in operation, thus for example, they are charging my tablet, smartphone, powering my amplifier, etc. Similarly, a lot of power strips have an LED indicating that it's switch is set in the on position.

 

[Muse]

No joke. They seem to be more and more blue now too. My computer is in my bedroom and I have to cover all of those lights up to sleep.

Poor baby. I cover a lot of LEDs with tape, always have. Generally not so totally that I can't see that they are there but enough where the light doesn't annoy me.

 

[Herr Kutz]

Inspired by that other thread, what are some technologies we've been blessed with that you don't recall being on your wish list?

Talking gas pumps

Just another way to serve up ads. Being constantly bombarded by ads all day every day is getting is out of hand.

 

[Muse]

Just another way to serve up ads. Being constantly bombarded by ads all day every day is getting is out of hand.

Agreed! Fight back:

I listen to commercial free college radio (where I DJ!). What little TV I watch is in timeshift mode and I skip the ads 95% of the time. When reading a newspaper, I skip the ads.

 

[destrekor]

Remember all the futurism and dystopian movies and TV shows where ads are literally everywhere and often even follow us?

It isn't fiction. It's coming. Way faster than even I thought too.

 

[balloonshark]

social networking
mobile internet access
smart everything (especially phones)
windows 10
windows 7 & 8's telemetry
constant updates

Now get off my lawn!

 

[Chaotic42]

Poor baby. I cover a lot of LEDs with tape, always have. Generally not so totally that I can't see that they are there but enough where the light doesn't annoy me.

Sleep has been my lifelong enemy. It's always a crap shoot and I need all the help I can get.

 

[mikeymikec]

LEDs on wall warts

Related: LEDs on mains sockets. I wish I had veto'd the electrician's choice of replacement for a couple of our kitchen wall sockets. Why on earth does anyone need a mains socket with an easy-to-determine (ie. its state) power switch on it PLUS an LED to tell you its state?

 

[feralkid]

When reading a newspaper, I skip the ads.

Is there an app for that?

 

[Starbuck1975]

Alexa
Social media
Smart coffee makers

 

[sdifox]

social networking
mobile internet access
smart everything (especially phones)
windows 10
windows 7 & 8's telemetry
constant updates

Now get off my lawn!

you don't like smartphone and mobile internet?

 

[momeNt]

Yeah, reminds me of some Car Talk advice in that regard. Those older cars are nowhere near as safe. A beginning driver just doesn't have the safety chops yet. Good call there. Took me a long time to become really safe behind the wheel.

I drove a 1963 Chevrolet Corvair Monza Convertible as my daily driver for 10 years, up until 2015. Talk about simple tech and easy to work on. I would have kept it but my wife didn't want my daughter driving it as her first car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPF4fBGNK0U

Closest I could find of similar era construction vs today's modern "safe" vehicle.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Keurigs - Perfect way to turn an age-old invention of drip coffee and turn it into a profit producing machine because people are too lazy to take out a filter, put a new one in and dump 3 scoops of coffee grounds in it.

"Smart" IoT devices... Smartwatches, smart refrigerators, smart light bulbs, etc...

 

[DietDrThunder]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPF4fBGNK0U

Closest I could find of similar era construction vs today's modern "safe" vehicle.

1) The Corvair is a unit-body constructed vehicle, with no engine up front, the Corvair has a good sized crumple zone.
2) I placed a couple of u-joints on the steering column shaft so the steering wheel would not be driven into my chest.
3) I had 4 point harness seat belts.
4) I had no delusion that the Corvair isn't as safe as a new vehicle.
5) I really pay attention when I drive and have not been involved in any car crashes.
6) The video you linked has already been criticized because the NTSA removed the engine and transmission of that 1959 Chevrolet. Therefore not a true test.

 

[DietDrThunder]

Keurigs - Perfect way to turn an age-old invention of drip coffee and turn it into a profit producing machine because people are too lazy to take out a filter, put a new one in and dump 3 scoops of coffee grounds in it.

"Smart" IoT devices... Smartwatches, smart refrigerators, smart light bulbs, etc...

We have a Keurig but we also have a reusable k-cup in which you put a tiny coffee filter in. It is great when you only drink one cup.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

We have a Keurig but we also have a reusable k-cup in which you put a tiny coffee filter in. It is great when you only drink one cup.

I have the same thing because some asshole family member got it for us as a Christmas gift some years back. I am the same way in that I use the re-usable ones. Still, I would honestly rather have just stuck with my old standard drip machine.

Just filling up the stupid water in the Keurig is just as annoying as a standard drip one. Plus, if you're using a reusable cup, why the hell even switch? It's the same amount of work.

 

[sdifox]

I have the same thing because some asshole family member got it for us as a Christmas gift some years back. I am the same way in that I use the re-usable ones. Still, I would honestly rather have just stuck with my old standard drip machine.

Just filling up the stupid water in the Keurig is just as annoying as a standard drip one. Plus, if you're using a reusable cup, why the hell even switch? It's the same amount of work.

more work. You have to clean the tiny Keurig adapter and there is too little coffee ground for my taste.

 

[momeNt]

1) The Corvair is a unit-body constructed vehicle, with no engine up front, the Corvair has a good sized crumple zone.
2) I placed a couple of u-joints on the steering column shaft so the steering wheel would not be driven into my chest.
3) I had 4 point harness seat belts.
4) I had no delusion that the Corvair isn't as safe as a new vehicle.
5) I really pay attention when I drive and have not been involved in any car crashes.
6) The video you linked has already been criticized because the NTSA removed the engine and transmission of that 1959 Chevrolet. Therefore not a true test.

well you had said "but my wife" which made me think you weren't on board with the decision of not letting your daughter drive the vehicle. My mistake.

 

[DietDrThunder]

well you had said "but my wife" which made me think you weren't on board with the decision of not letting your daughter drive the vehicle. My mistake.

Not a mistake. My daughter only had a 1 mile drive to school, but on longer trips it was my plan for my daughter to take a different vehicle. But my wife convinced me otherwise. Wife said "If you want to die driving that antique metal death trap that is one thing, I will kill you if our daughter dies driving it." But I did teach her to drive a 4 speed stick shift and I'd let her drive it with me in the car.