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Working with technology everyday means I keep up to date with most new computer programs and devices. I remember when I no longer needed CD's clogging up shelves and switched to mp3's on my computer instead. Being able to plug a USB into another computer or my car was brilliant, and the introduction of smart phones and smart tvs was a great idea.
Recently though, I'm getting more and more frustrated by the forced nature of upgrading devices and having to log in all the time. No USB poets on some laptops just seems silly and a backwards step. It seems to have gone a few steps too far for convenience to me. Wireless connectivity is great but you can't beat the stability of a wired connection.
Technology for convenience is brilliant, but over recent years it all seems a bit controlling. Anyone else think the same?
Wireless is great.
I don't regret not carrying around cables to connect everything, or not having to install Cat 5 in my house,
No USB poets on some laptops
USB plugs in.
Orientation is wrong!
USB is sad.
I have a strong feeling that it has passed 'useful'and moved well into the realms of 'gimmickry', often at the expense of reliability
yeah I don't think there's anything inherently unstable about wireless connections (with decent equipment obvs)... 100s of Zwift rides with 100% wireless setup, zero issues.Wireless connectivity is great but you can’t beat the stability of a wired connection.
The forced obsolesce is an annoyance but probably just represents the way tech is moving forward at ever accelerating rates (which is a great thing IMO! I have tech now that I literally couldn't even dream of as a kid 30 years ago, and I'm really excited to see what we'll have in the next 30 years - hopefully still be around and not at the stage where it's all too much 😃).
Agree than no USB ports AT ALL for a computer is a bit much at the moment though!
Agree than no USB ports AT ALL for a computer is a bit much at the moment though!
is this actually a thing? My current laptop doesn’t have a network port but still has two USB ports.
no idea! Haven't seen one myself, I'm assuming OP is correct though? They've been doing without ethernet ports for a while (I think as the connector is physically so big) but IMO as WiFi is so good now that's not an issue at all.is this actually a thing? My current laptop doesn’t have a network port but still has two USB ports.
USB poets
USB BSU what the hell I don't have a clue
What's wrong with a typewriter or calculators to
Bloody USB and internet to
Don't plug it in here You plug it in there
Stupid dull tone where your not getting anywhere
Bloody USB and rom drives to
it could of been French I don't have a clue
Il stick to my telly with no USB 2
Just one friendly red button you know that will do
By Kevin Glenn 08-09-2010
Likely talking usb-c ports on laptop over usb-b ala Macs?
While we are there, how many standards of UNIVERSAL MEMORY BUS are there for flips sake?
Technology for convenience is brilliant, but over recent years it all seems a bit controlling.
I Googled for the correct answer, which is "no".
Mine work one's got two little USB-C ports, no "proper" USB ports - I have to have a USB-C dock that has a VGA and two USB ports to plug in a second monitor and charge me phone.
Technology for convenience is brilliant, but over recent years it all seems a bit controlling. Anyone else think the same?
Yes, but at the same time I'm home-studying Cyber Security in addition to my usual IT sector job and sadly most of it, is justified and necessary.
The frustration usually comes from poor communication, or at least an inability to communicate why things have to be the way they are because it risks the security of them in the first place.
When I worked in banking it was exactly the same, customers got pissed off because the bank had to ask them questions, they got pissed off because they couldn't do what they wanted to do at that very moment, and we couldn't tell them why.
The USB thing, USBA/2/3 or whathaveyou is coming to the end of it's life, especially on laptops, consumers, want thinner, lighter devices. The optical drive was the first to go, then the network port, the only thing left that's 'too big' is the old USB port, I personally haven't see any without a USB C port, but I'm sure there are some. USB C is better, the only downside is all those USB A devices we've got.
As for Wi-Fi, it just makes sense, I know a few years ago having your only little LAN built into your house was fashionable, the old Cat5 v Cat6 debate, seems a bit silly now I suppose. Frankly even now, if someone was thinking of installing a couple of WAPs into their house to "future proof" it, I'd think we're being a bit short sighted. For most people, living in towns, cities and suburbs mobile internet is going to be the future. Your ISP or Mobile provider is going to roll out a package for 'home 5G' soon, and why not, they're installing a 5G mast at the end of my street next week (the local FB group has gone into complete meltdown) but even without it I'm getting about 400Mbps download from 5G now, why I'm I paying Virgin £50 a month for 100Mbps now, when I can get unlimited 5G for half that?
is this actually a thing? My current laptop doesn’t have a network port but still has two USB ports.
Some current gen HP laptops have a single, or two USB C ports, no USB A.
The 11th Gen Intel based Dell stuff we're getting in, is the same.
We've just 'invested' in a small pile of Flash Drives which are USB C one end, and USB A at the other, we often need to flatten laptops and rebuild from a fresh OS from a flash drive and it was a bit of a head scratcher at first.
I love tech, but I see UX choices daily which make me think "WHY?"
Cash machines that offer me a choice of "cash only" or "cash with receipt," choose cash, enter the amount, the next screen then asks "would you like a receipt?"
Scan As You Go, brilliant, but the till interfaces were designed by an abject moron who has never actually used the system they've built. "This till only accepts cards, do you want to continue?" Bit late now, I'll just leave a week's worth of shopping here shall I? "All of your Clubcard points add up!" it squeals excitedly. Here was silly me expecting long division. "Card or contactless?" Contactless please. "Please insert your card or present it to the reader!" OK, there's a logic here in that the card slot is still active but, why bother asking me to make a choice when the outcome is the same. Then it pukes out a bit of paper to go straight in the bin unread alongside countless others in an age where we're banning drinking straws.
I find it astonishing that you can be fined for glancing at your phone whilst waiting at red traffic lights with your handbrake on, yet it's perfectly acceptable to be digging round in touchscreen menus four levels deep to try and change channels on the radio whilst doing 70mph. In-car touchscreens are a Room 101 candidate for sure.
could not be more wrong IMO! You think people are going to want to run their future smart-homes entirely on public networks, rather than their own secure private ones? 5G to the gateway as an alternative to a wired connection yes of course, I am not going to have every single device in my house reliant on it though!!Frankly even now, if someone was thinking of installing a couple of WAPs into their house to “future proof” it, I’d think we’re being a bit short sighted.
Quite a few laptops only have USB C so you have to buy and carry adapters which to me, makes the experience less convenient. A colleague has a new Macbook with no network port or USB A. The amount of times the WIFI drops and the laptop can't be used is laughable.
I spent a while installing cat 5 cables in my house so 4 rooms have sockets. One tv is wired and another is wifi. Guess which one has issues with streaming...
A colleague has a new Macbook with no network port or USB A. The amount of times the WIFI drops and the laptop can’t be used is laughable.
we have one of those MBPs and the WiFi is fine. In almost all instances of this ^^^
and this ^^^,I spent a while installing cat 5 cables in my house so 4 rooms have sockets. One tv is wired and another is wifi. Guess which one has issues with streaming…
I think the issue usually lies with the router/access point hardware or configuration, rather than WiFi being a fundamentally terrible idea (it isn't! Although if you're relying on the el cheapo wifi router supplied by your ISP then yes, they often are terrible!)
“I've come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies:
1. Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works.
2. Anything that's invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it.
3. Anything invented after you're thirty-five is against the natural order of things.”― Douglas Adams, The Salmon of Doubt
Quite a few laptops only have USB C so you have to buy and carry adapters which to me, makes the experience less convenient.
Yup, but the headline device is "more portable and smaller".
I sit here typing at a laptop with a port expander about 1/3 the size of the laptop itself.
Yup, but the headline device is “more portable and smaller”.
I sit here typing at a laptop with a port expander about 1/3 the size of the laptop itself.
This is exactly what I mean. I just got my old Mac out the loft and it so nice to be able to just plug things in without extra adapters.
When I worked in banking it was exactly the same, customers got pissed off because the bank had to ask them questions, they got pissed off because they couldn’t do what they wanted to do at that very moment, and we couldn’t tell them why.
I'm in much the same position as you.
For years, security has been an afterthought. It's something you do, if you can be arsed, after you've built your product. But the world has changed and we can't do things like that any more.
But security makes things harder. Which password would you rather type, "123456" or "DS36!q8#sdh$&36dgbfSDERG"? So people don't like it. The trick is to make it secure and simple, and that's a challenge. Password managers can take care of complex passwords - I don't even know what most of mine are. 2FA, that's a pain, copying passcodes between devices, so you have an authenticator app that goes "did you just try and log in, yes or no?"
Simplifying this stuff is what's going to get people on board. Anything else is always going to be a compromise.
I spent a while installing cat 5 cables in my house so 4 rooms have sockets. One tv is wired and another is wifi. Guess which one has issues with streaming…
The problem there isn't Wi-Fi. It's your Wi-Fi.
(Or that the app on you 'smart' TV is crap, which is equally likely).
Love tech, nothing wrong there.
Hate how its used and sold.
could not be more wrong IMO! You think people are going to want to run their future smart-homes entirely on public networks, rather than their own secure private ones? 5G to the gateway as an alternative to a wired connection yes of course, I am not going to have every single device in my house reliant on it though!!
The short answer is yes. We can split hairs all day I suppose, but I can't think of anyone I know who has any reluctance accessing anything at the moment via mobile data. If you have concern there are some great cloud-based firewall products you can use. The greatest thread to cyber security is insecure devices, not connections.
Like I say, it's only a theory of mine, but I do get a sense of the way the wind is blowing because of my job.
Simplifying this stuff is what’s going to get people on board. Anything else is always going to be a compromise.
Yep, Biometrics and Password managers are a great help, but even those have vulnerabilities. I use LastPass for work and Apples own system for my personal stuff, but yep Microsoft still want an SMS 2FA and others authenticator etc.
When we're setting up systems for clients we try to simplify it as much as possible, 365 is a great tool for, at least trying to simplify things, but all very mobile based and there's always someone unwilling or unable to involve THEIR mobile in their work, and in fact some managers who get all twitchy as the sight of someone with their mobile in sight in work.
security’s only one side of it (albeit probably the biggest) - you’re also dependent on the 5G network’s robustness. If you’re relying 100% on that without a LAN/WLAN then when the cell network is offline (rare but of course it does happen) then no device in your house can communicate with anything else! Which will suck when everything is smart, and connected.The greatest thread to cyber security is insecure devices, not connections.
I love tech although the interface can at sometimes be more than a little annoying. This to me is the deciding factor.
I was around when synths all had knobs and sliders. The came digital synths with a 4 digit display and a data entry slider. Sometimes needing you to have a table of hex values to hand.
This was bad.
Things are good again now.
Although I did forget something I had done on my digital modelling guitar and couldn't work out what was wrong with just the high E string. The fault was user error inevitably.
Yep, Biometrics and Password managers are a great help
We really should be thinking of biometrics as synonymous with usernames rather than passwords, IMHO.