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Which is rather critical, given what people use their smartphnes for these days. And Apple has gone to a policy of releasing a new version of iOS yearly, and only supporting the current and previous version. So if your phone is old enough that it can't run iOS 10.3 well, you're forced to upgrade it.
What new technology? There is literally nothing I (or most people, for that mater) do with our current laptops and desktops that we weren't doing 8-10 years ago.
More nonsense.
You do NOT have to update your OS. If your current device cannot run the new OS then don't update to the new OS. Lots of people are still running Windows XP. Dropping support does not mean they send out a self-destruct command. Hardware and software was never sold to you with "lifetime support".
So you're saying nothing has changed and there has been no new technology in the past 8-10 years? You're hopeless. How about touchscreens? Many laptops now have them as well as the hybrid tablets. Solid state hard drives have dramatically improved speed. My system starts up on SSD in less than 10 seconds. 1Tb and 2Tb disk drives, 16Gb RAM, faster CPU's, USB 3.0, etc. As new hardware and software becomes available, I want to be able to get it and take advantage of it. You can continue to live in the past as you please.
But now that you mention it, can the batteries be replaced on an Iphone? Having only had one for a year, that question had not occurred to be yet. Is it not like a Razr where I have bought at least 2 batteries for it so far and just slipped them in.
Any cell phone repair shop can replace the battery in your iphone for under $100, most of that being labor. You can do it yourself if you have the tools, patience, and care but it's not intended to be "user replaceable". Very tiny screws, maybe a bit of soldering, and high potential to damage the phone.
You do NOT have to update your OS. If your current device cannot run the new OS then don't update to the new OS.
Yes you do, if you want your apps to continue to work. Often old apps are discontinued and cease to function, and the new version requires the new OS in order to be installed. So if you want to continue to use your device as you have been, the update to the new OS isn't optional.
I would have kept my old Macbook laptop running Lion, except that when I had to replace my iPhone (because it broke) the most current version of iTunes that Lion would support wouldn't sync with the new phone. So I updated to Yosemite, which gave me a working version of iTunes but irreparably broke my photo processing software and slowed my laptop down to a crawl. The update did absolutely NOTHING as far as actual improved functionality was concerned. In fact, as far as functionality goes, it was a downgrade, as that photo software mattered more to me than iTunes did. (The laptop's now old enough that I'm probably just going to bite the bullet and replace it soon. I don't expect tech to last forever, but I do expect it to last longer than it currently is.)
Quote:
So you're saying nothing has changed and there has been no new technology in the past 8-10 years? You're hopeless. How about touchscreens? Many laptops now have them as well as the hybrid tablets. Solid state hard drives have dramatically improved speed. My system starts up on SSD in less than 10 seconds. 1Tb and 2Tb disk drives, 16Gb RAM, faster CPU's, USB 3.0, etc. As new hardware and software becomes available, I want to be able to get it and take advantage of it. You can continue to live in the past as you please.
None of those things make much difference in terms of what people actually DO with their equipment. We're still surfing the web, running Office (or ts equivalents), checking email, working with Photoshop, etc. I can't think of a single thing I do now with my laptop that I wasn't doing just as well 10 years ago. Not a single thing! As you yourself said, some people are still running Windows XP. That is telling. The new machines may be faster, but they're not significantly more functional.
Smartphones and tablets, being newer, are still developing a bit, but even there we're starting to see things plateau.
Yes you do, if you want your apps to continue to work. Often old apps are discontinued and cease to function, and the new version requires the new OS in order to be installed. So if you want to continue to use your device as you have been, the update to the new OS isn't optional.
I would have kept my old Macbook laptop running Lion, except that when I had to replace my iPhone (because it broke) the most current version of iTunes that Lion would support wouldn't sync with the new phone. So I updated to Yosemite, which gave me a working version of iTunes but irreparably broke my photo processing software and slowed my laptop down to a crawl. The update did absolutely NOTHING as far as actual improved functionality was concerned. In fact, as far as functionality goes, it was a downgrade, as that photo software mattered more to me than iTunes did. (The laptop's now old enough that I'm probably just going to bite the bullet and replace it soon. I don't expect tech to last forever, but I do expect it to last longer than it currently is.)
None of those things make much difference in terms of what people actually DO with their equipment. We're still surfing the web, running Office (or ts equivalents), checking email, working with Photoshop, etc. I can't think of a single thing I do now with my laptop that I wasn't doing just as well 10 years ago. Not a single thing! As you yourself said, some people are still running Windows XP. That is telling. The new machines may be faster, but they're not significantly more functional.
Smartphones and tablets, being newer, are still developing a bit, but even there we're starting to see things plateau.
Well said. I find it interesting (and did more so when I was still consulting because I saw it every day) that the vast majority of users don't care about all the latest and greatest. They just want to continue to do what they've been doing. Email, surf the internet, maybe some writing with Word or something similar. As they see it, as long as the equipment they have does what they want there is no reason to buy anything new.
And they are right.
Story:
A woman I was working with lived in a trailer park. She was older, retired on a fixed income. I was cleaning the junk out of her computer after her son brought his kids over and they downloaded a bunch of games to it. The games didn't work well because the PC was older, slow, and had minimal RAM.
Her son told her she should buy newer faster computer so when the kids came over they could play their games. I asked her if the one she had did what she needed and she answered yes. I told her to tell her son that if he wanted his kids to play games at her house he should buy her a new computer as hers worked just fine.
I found out about six months later that he did. She was still chuckling about getting a new computer for free.
None of those things make much difference in terms of what people actually DO with their equipment. We're still surfing the web, running Office (or ts equivalents), checking email, working with Photoshop, etc. I can't think of a single thing I do now with my laptop that I wasn't doing just as well 10 years ago. Not a single thing! As you yourself said, some people are still running Windows XP. That is telling. The new machines may be faster, but they're not significantly more functional.
....
You are lucky and it appears your needs are unusual and minimal. I only run a few programs. I do photo editing. The programs and plugins I use require Windows 7, 64 bit, or later. I cannot run many of the newer photo editing programs and plugins because my 2013 machine is too slow and does not have enough memory. I was looking at one program that requires a minimum of 8 gigs memory and ideally 16 gigs. I think I could expand to 8 gigs but it seems pointless to try to get a program to function starting at the absolute minimum system requirements. I also installed a simple free app for viewing sports videos and slowing the playback for analysis. Again Windows 7 was the minimum. Drivers for new hardware can also be an issue. Many flatbed scanners require Windows 7 or later. Unfortunately electronic gear often just becomes obsolete with time. I used a cellphone for too many years and my bank changed the app and I could no longer do online mobile banking.
Frustrated?
Just with my old Kindle. I bought one of the first ones and I am slowly being blocked out of my apps. The weather radar informed me that it would no longer run, and lately IMBd said the same thing. Looks like I will have to buy something else before long. I might prefer a netbook, if someone has some recommendations...
Win 7:
I built my own computer a couple years ago and have my own copy of Win 7, 64 bit. Because I started from scratch and have no crapware, it works without a hitch. Hopefully, it will work for a long time. Regardless of what it does, though, I can fix my hardware or my software.
iPhone SE, Amazon Echo, online financials; all that stuff works well for me. But I was a navy technician years ago and sort of kept my fingers in things. Retired 2010.
You are lucky and it appears your needs are unusual and minimal. I only run a few programs. I do photo editing. The programs and plugins I use require Windows 7, 64 bit, or later. I cannot run many of the newer photo editing programs and plugins because my 2013 machine is too slow and does not have enough memory.
But that's my point. I bet you WERE doing photo editing back in 2013. Are the current versions of the photo-editing software you're using, which are memory hogs, truly so much better than the ones that you were using in 2013? So often updated software simply becomes bloatware (rather than adding new and genuinely useful functionality) merely because the later hardware is faster and so programmers simply write sloppy memory-hogging code rather than lean, elegant code that makes the most efficient use of the system resources, and tack on an ever-increasing list of "features" that few people actually want (much less need). Microsoft Office is probably the best example of this. (And now that Adobe has moved to a subscription model, simply staying with an older version of Lightroom or Photoshop is no longer a viable option.)
Photo editing is the one area where software "improvements" have managed to currently completely break my old, entirely satisfactory workflow, and I have yet to find an alternate approach that I'm actually happy with. At least 10 years ago I had a functional version of Aperture on my machine.
All too often, we're just playing a tech version of the Red Queen's game; running and running ever faster just to stay in place. Where's the sense in that?
Just hearing about the apple issue with "slowing down" iphones. You can all have it, I don't need more frustrations with all this tech stuff. This is on radio with a lot of call in people with their experiences. I have enough issues with desktop and changing my vtech desk portable phones. Just installed a newer one. I know I'm in the major minority but I'm less stressed and connected ENOUGH.
But that's my point. I bet you WERE doing photo editing back in 2013. Are the current versions of the photo-editing software you're using, which are memory hogs, truly so much better than the ones that you were using in 2013?
Absolutely, miles ahead. In addition the files I work with have doubled in size going from 12 mpixels to 24 mpixels. Many others are even further ahead using 40-50 mpixel cameras with greatly improved resolution and image quality. Those larger files put a strain on older computers. In fact the files are often large enough that a fairly recent computer just cannot keep up with the demands.
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