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Yeah more cheap stuff more things break...then one buys more cheap stuff. And grab the credit cards...should I get better shoes or buy some cheap smart phone....what's cheap anyway...$500+
I know I've heard the rumbles of the latest Apple smart that was going for $1K...cheap right? They are already getting ready for the next "new" Apple SP.
I don't think there is any actual evidence that modern electronics break more often, it is just something people repeat to have something to grumble about. The main reason they are cheaper is because of produciton scale (cell phones are cheaper to make when you're making a million of them) and miniaturization decreasing fabrication costs.
You can buy a good smart phone for $100, your misplaced belief that high end smart phones are the only option doesn't make it so.
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Originally Posted by ComeCloser
A decent PC or laptop is going to cost you at least $500. That doesn't include the monthly charge for internet access. An old model iPhone will still cost about $100, and that doesn't include the monthly bill.
People on fixed incomes are or can be living on $800 a month or less. Those figures are a lot of money to those people. And, that's just retired people. It doesn't include those living on public assistance, or even a two worker household with low income or part time jobs.
And my point was that they are cheaper than ever. A decent PC, laptop, smart phone, TV, whatever would have cost a lot more 10 or 20 years ago.
The existence of people with limited means does not mean electronics have gotten more expensive.
I have been exchanging comments with the tech fellow who has worked on my computers and he is about 35 or younger...so he's right up there with all the tech bells and whistles and he got married and now has a 4 yr old son. He was trying to tell me I SHOULD get a smart phone, he's already given his 4 yr old his older smarts. He just doesn't get it, he works with a person who could be his grandmother and so enjoys keeping her life simple.
I agree on waiting with new tech, both so the bugs can be worked out and so the price comes down.
I used to have a "no upgrade" rule unless what I already had broke (people made fun of me for not having a flat screen ), but that went by the wayside as DH likes new tech.
Jokes on him, he retired early and he will have to learn a new word "budget."
I'm a late adopter, also - I didn't upgrade the operating system on my MacBook Pro to the latest version because some people had trouble with it and I waited for a patch to do so. I've held off on iPhone patches for the same reason. But I have a friend in IT who always gets the latest and greatest version of everything including beta releases - I think he likes the challenge of troubleshooting problems.
Regarding budgets: I retired in October, and yesterday decided I'd get a wifi enabled bathroom scale for tracking my weight online. I got to the store when I remembered, "Hey, wait: I'm on a budget now! I can't afford this!" - so I walked out of the store without the new scale. I bought my MacBook Pro 3.5 years ago, got top of the line and maxed out memory and storage knowing it would be a long time before I'd be able to upgrade.
And my point was that they are cheaper than ever. A decent PC, laptop, smart phone, TV, whatever would have cost a lot more 10 or 20 years ago.
The existence of people with limited means does not mean electronics have gotten more expensive.
The first personal computers and laptops ran into thousands of dollars. I remember the first external hard drives came on the market, they were maybe 40Mb, and cost several thousand dollars. The Motorola DynaTac was the first cell phone in 1983, and cost about $4,000.
And the computing power and storage you get with a smart phone is leagues beyond the CDC Cyber supercomputers I worked on in the 1970s - they had about 0.25MB of hand-wound core memory, and cost millions of dollars.
People don't appreciate how far we've come over the years, how much they get for their money, and how reliable today's products are compared to the past.
He just doesn't get it, he works with a person who could be his grandmother and so enjoys keeping her life simple.
Sometimes "simple" can be looked at in more than one way.
On a flight I had my boarding ticket on my cell phone, so no need to print and carry anything extra. That morning I got the automatic text msg that the flight was on time, then when I arrived at my connection there was another text saying the gate had changed from 22 to 29. I checked the weather after I landed, again on the phone. Showed the car rental lady the receipt on my phone. Used phone to take most efficient route (including up-to-date traffic) to downtown. Looked up a place to stop and eat before arriving downtown, using the phone. Checked into hotel showing email of hotel booking receipt from phone.
To me that is simplicity. I didn't have to print stuff, didn't have to check if flight was running on time or at same gate, didn't need to find a newspaper to get a 12 hour old weather forecast, didn't need a map and copy of the yellow pages to get where we needed to go and find a place to eat, etc.
Anyone can get accustomed to new technology if they would get past this artificial "I'm old therefore can't do this" barrier, and might find it makes a lot of things in life easier/simpler than before.
Only one time ever did my family have the first of anything... we always made do and re-used... parents never bought a new car or much of anything new...
The one time is when Dad surprised everyone... he had a friend in the Radio/TV business and Dad came home with a Brand New Zenith Color TV... Saturday morning was a never ending parade of neighbors and friends coming to see it... we were celebrities... within 6 months we were just one of many... but I will always remember being first that one time. Most shows were not in color but Mighty Mouse Cartoon was... and the color was vivid...
Of course having a friend in the business helped... My folks had that color set until 1980... when it gave up they bought another Zenith... it is still the Household TV 37 years later...
I have been exchanging comments with the tech fellow who has worked on my computers and he is about 35 or younger...so he's right up there with all the tech bells and whistles and he got married and now has a 4 yr old son. He was trying to tell me I SHOULD get a smart phone, he's already given his 4 yr old his older smarts. He just doesn't get it, he works with a person who could be his grandmother and so enjoys keeping her life simple.
That's just your choice, though. You can't blame him or sneer at him for not "getting it". I know women in their 80s who use computers and smart phones with no problem.
My mother is like you. We bought her a computer some years ago, but she wasn't really interested and didn't make any effort to learn to use it even though we sat with her and offered to keep showing her new things. She is a very intelligent woman, but she got it in her head that she couldn't learn it.
Now she is 89 and missing pictures of great-grandkids and conversations between her children and grandchildren. She also has lost much of her hearing, and using the computer would have made it easier for her to communicate with the rest of the family.
Chatted with the tech at Norton Security and asked how to remove Norton Safe Search, which decided, on its own, to be the opener page for Firefox.
He asked me whether I wanted to do it or should he? And he did it. I sat and watched as he took over my computer and accomplished the task. Success !!!
That's just your choice, though. You can't blame him or sneer at him for not "getting it". I know women in their 80s who use computers and smart phones with no problem.
My mother is like you. We bought her a computer some years ago, but she wasn't really interested and didn't make any effort to learn to use it even though we sat with her and offered to keep showing her new things. She is a very intelligent woman, but she got it in her head that she couldn't learn it.
Now she is 89 and missing pictures of great-grandkids and conversations between her children and grandchildren. She also has lost much of her hearing, and using the computer would have made it easier for her to communicate with the rest of the family.
It's not just age; I've known mental health professionals in their 20s, 30s, and 40s who were technologically illiterate and had zero interest in learning something new. That's changing, because technology's becoming more and more of a factor in mental health provision - from billing to use of tech in treatment.
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), but that went by the wayside as DH likes new tech.
