Is technology bad or have I turned into a grumpy old man?

I’ve been a passionate technology geek for most of my life.I would have been excited as a kid casio watch I rarely left my family’s first Acorn Archimedes home computer because it had a built-in calculator. Long before podcasting became popular, I used to record “radio shows” with my brother using a tape-based dictation machine. He and I both host technology podcasts as adults. I grew up with technology. That passion has been the driving force behind his 12 years as CNET’s technology writer. However, things have changed in recent years and technology has gone from being a point of real excitement in my life to a real source of frustration where I don’t get too excited when new innovations come along. So I end up wondering: Has technology changed, or have I changed?

It’s not that I hate technology. I think that’s certainly true. It’s that many of the gadgets designed to make our lives easier and more enjoyable don’t actually work as well as they should. Let’s take a game console as an example.my Xbox Series X It’s a lot of fun when it goes well. But often, when you’re in the mood for button mashing and you fire up a game, you’re faced with a long wait while a major update is downloaded to both your console and the game you want to play.

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By the time I make my coffee and stare out the window while updates install, the urge to play is often gone and I end up doing something else. Similarly, PS5. Additionally, there are many games that essentially start up broken and require massive day one patches to make them barely bearable. I’m looking at you, Cyberpunk 2077. You know what doesn’t require huge updates or patches? My Scrabble set.

Then there are the different Bluetooth earbuds that I use. AirPods Pro 2, Anchor Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro, OnePlus Buds Pro — works fine largely Sometimes, one earbud will stop connecting for no apparent reason, and you’ll often have to stop and re-pair the entire set. Even worse, it can get slightly out of sync. This means that the audio in your left ear may be momentarily ahead of the audio in your right ear. induces headache.

Audio is very important to me these days. Most of the time, I love using my Apple HomePod. The sound quality is great and AirPlay works well when I need it. But often they don’t want that and decide to cut off in the middle of the song. And when I try to reconnect via Spotify, HomePod no longer appears as an option.

I’ve had similar experiences with other brands of Bluetooth speakers. Also, don’t talk about how weak his Bluetooth connection is in the car. Every time I turn off my car, I often completely forget about my existence.

Last Christmas my brother gave me a vinyl record player. Soon after, I bought records from all my favorite bands, including Periphery, Incubus, and Royal Blood. To be honest, I found this whole experience to be something of a revelation.

I’m not commenting on the “warmth” or “character” of a record’s audio quality. Because honestly, I don’t really care as long as it’s “good enough”. What’s refreshing is that you can actually put on a record and play it without having to establish a wireless connection or lose connection in the middle of a song. Just drop the record on the turntable, move the needle, and it will start playing.

I’ve also found that I like listening to entire albums again rather than simply adding a few songs to a playlist or shuffling all the songs I “like”. spotify. Going to a record store to find the specific artist you want is a much more satisfying process than just exploring the endless depths of Spotify’s catalog. Maybe going back to DVD is more fun than endlessly scrolling through Netflix and failing to decide what to watch. Although probably not.

It’s worth noting that I just recently turned 36 years old. And then there’s the cliche about people reaching their mid-30s and suddenly becoming obsessed with records. I am a professional photographer and yes, I have also started dabbling in film photography. I enjoy the simpler approach that I don’t get with the super high-tech Canon R5.

To be honest, I’ve always felt a little older than my age. I preferred bubble baths to nightclubs, made homemade scented candles in my mid-twenties, and could always identify the most comfortable chair in any room.

So is it me? Maybe I just reached that age? Or is technology actually just more of a nuisance? Connections that drop out. Requires continuous updates and patch downloads. A bug in the phone’s software that causes a reboot. Apps that crash. The game was released halfway, with future updates promised. What happened to technology that just works? Is it to provide an easier and more efficient way to do things rather than complicate things? Do you just do what’s supposed to be done and provide the frictionless experience you paid for?

Is it wrong to get frustrated when things don’t go well? I love technology and everything it brings to our lives. I love games. I love Zoom calls with my family. I don’t want to go back to the “simple times” when “instant his messaging” was done by mail or when modern AAA games were ball-in-cup. I want things to work properly and not make me feel like I’m fighting technology that is supposed to help.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to grab some hot cocoa and a blanket and go back to my comfy chair.