I was lucky enough to grow up with personal computers.
My first was a Timex Sinclair 1000. Oddly enough, it weighed less than the 15" 2013 rMBP I'm using right now.
Anyway, it was great fun - and I tricked the other kids at school that I could hack into the school and change everyone's grades. Programming in Basic wasn't very difficult
Now, if it holds up, I may have bought my last computer. I even have it in a protective case should it get knocked around or dropped - the 2007 MBP that I replaced is still working, but it's dinged up pretty well.
The reason I think I'll never WISH to buy another computer is because either I've reached an age where I finally realize the world has gone mad and everything is BS and hype - or the world has actually gone mad and everything is BS and hype?
The REASON I bought a rMBP was to create retina graphics. It seemed logical that, to accomplish that, I'd need a laptop with a retina screen. And, to provide all of that retina goodness to the world wide web, well I'd have to create a ridiculous amount of "variants" of the same graphic in different resolutions with different filenames. From what I understand, Apple has @2 and @3, while Android has x1.5, x2, x3.
And that seemed like a rather huge nuisance - creating all of those variants and using the different naming conventions - what a headache, right?
But no. As it turns out, on the web where everything MUST be normalized, it turns out that you just save a retina-sized JPEG at 30% quality, which makes it the same file-size as a regular (non-retina) JPEG at 80%. So minus one HUGE headache
Using my fancy new rMBP, I can see all of my images in their beautiful perfect quality, then basically destroy them by reducing them to 30% quality - and... yep, it looks the same as the original pristine image, even on my fancy rMBP. But you blow up the non-retina 80% image? Blech...
WHY this happens I have no idea. But it was the concept that started me on the path to the end I believe I've now reached.
I will NEVER need a faster computer with higher resolution. I've completely maxed out.
I have a 42" Plasma Panasonic 1080p HDTV in my bedroom. I don't even WANT a 60+" TV to replace it. I've read that 60" is the smallest screen on which UHD can possibly be appreciated. But that's just what I've read, which could be a lie?
I enjoy console gaming. So I bought a PS4. Not the new Pro - just the PS4. I'm certain that whatever it's doing under the hood is incredible - but I could see a DRAMATIC difference between the PS2 and the PS3 - night and day. PS3 vs. the PS4 - the PS3 still sits next to my TV, because it's a better machine for handling my entertainment. I never see myself buying into UHD, ever.
Again, when I was much younger, I ran into the same problem with stereo vs. surround sound. I was a dumb kid, so I bought a surround sound system. I hated it. I don't think it would have MATTERED if I would have had it professionally installed by an audiophile and it was the most expensive 5.1 Speaker system the world had to offer - I think it's up to 7.1 now? Then on to 9 and 11 - who knows? In the case of "surround sound", my ears are highly sensitive, and the "ambient noise" produced to create the "surround" sound literally HURT MY EARS. I can hear the humming and I truly can't stand it. I get a headache from it.
So, ever since, I've stuck with a stereo - 2 speakers and a subwoofer. When my last one burned out, I paid MORE to replace it with a dedicated stereo deck.
And I apologize if it sounds like I'm going off on a tangent. What I'm trying to wrap my head around is -
"At what point do so-called 'advances' in technology just become USELESS or just BOGUS?"
Sadly, I think I've reached that point. When I first got my iPhone - WOW! I loved me some Angry Birds - that was just too cool.
The last phone I hope to ever buy now is my iPhone SE. I didn't want the larger phones. Hell, I'd probably still have my iPhone 4 if I hadn't busted it up. And "Hey Siri" is turned off - not because I'm worried about Apple listening to me 24/7, but because I can easily press a button if I wish to repeatedly tell Siri, "Set my alarm for 8AM" until it takes, usually on the 3rd repeat. Because Siri is crap. I know it's crap because I HATE texting and the built-in non-Siri voice-to-text program almost always works like a charm. It sure as hell doesn't force me to repeat the same thing 3 times before it finally "wakes up" and decides to start working
So here's my gripe, condensed:
1.) My computer is already MUCH more capable than I'll ever need it to be. That may have been the case for a very long time now - but it's become abundantly clear now with my 2013 15" rMBP. It thankfully still has dedicated function keys and no "magic/Apple has COMPLETELY run out of ideas since Steve died" touch-bar.
2.) As I remarked earlier, high resolution displays are only helpful in ONE instance - it's much easier for my eyes to read TEXT at a higher resolution. As the 30% JPEG situation proves, no one's brain is able to even appreciate it in a photo. So we sure as hell can't see it at 24, 30, or 60fps. It's bullsh-t.
3.) I need to go back to backing up everything on DVDs. And NOT use any of Apple's file systems - because hey, they're about to introduce their iOS system to their computers. So I guess FAT or exFAT is it? I'll have to do some research. DVDs because hard drives fail and, given I grew up in the computer age, much of my life that I'd like to preserve into my old age is digital. DVDs seem to be the best - I even bought the archive quality ones for that reason.
So am I just getting old and grumpy? Or has technology become a running joke on all of us?
I greatly appreciate any and all feedback. I don't take things personally. I once believed Apple would always be full of wonder. I always thought video games would just become more and more immersive and awesome. And who wouldn't LOVE the latest and greatest tech?
Me. I no longer find any "wonder" in new tech. It's just "trickery" and I believe people are being conned.
I was lucky enough to grow up in an awesomely wondrous age where EVERYTHING was always expected to be changing, always for the better. And we could SEE these amazing things and immediately appreciate them. We didn't have to be told HOW it was cool - it just WAS freakin' COOL!
So maybe I've been spoiled my whole life - maybe I'm old - I don't know. But it seems the thrill is gone. And that's a MAJOR bummer - because wow, that was AWESOME. Seriously.
Thanks to anyone who has taken time to even read my little Sunday rant.
