Ancient Technology

RUNNING WITH A ZIMMER

Technology ages faster than us. Just like cats and dogs, we think of our equipment's lifespan in terms of years whereby, 1 human year is the equivalent of 10 years for something like a smart phone. I left my (still sprightly 30 something year old equivalent) 2013 5s at a friend's house yesterday and am currently tapping out these words on my old 2012 4s. Comparing the phone and features, I can see there's really very little difference in how the other newer phone works. In fact, I kind of like the weight and sturdiness of my older 4s considerably more.

We've become so caught up in the advancement of technology, that we can be suckered into believing something completely adequate for the job, is defunct and useless. We spend the equivalent of a week's luxury holiday on a piece of kit, that if we're completely honest with ourselves, has very little extra to offer from the expensive piece of kit recently marketed out to the knacker's yard - and evidently still capable of doing the job as well.

One thing that I remember at the time of the iPhone 5 launch, was the (slightly) larger screen being touted as a real game winner. And coinciding with the launch of iOS7, rightly optimised for the extra screen space, there were obvious gains to be had upgrading to iOS7 for this 'new' fandango technology. I, on the other hand, chose to jailbreak and add the then missing nifty features to my perfectly functioning iOS 6 4s device. Strange how my phone worked a treat and other 4s user, fed up with their now sluggish iOS7 driven device, gave up with their ancient (6-12 months old) phone to get the benefits of whatever new features the latest version offered - but at the normal speeds experienced by new adopters on the most current model. Apple are pros at marketing. They have done a great job of re-packaging the same thing over and over ever since the iPhone first launched just a short time ago in a little over nine short human years. The new iPhone, due out in just a few weeks time, will be the same phone, badged as being revolutionary, I'm sure.

Don't Believe The Hype
It's not just the phone and computer manufacturers trying to convince the world that they really do need the latest gadget on the market - car companies are constantly trying to reinvent the wheel. Yet, whenever I'm driving my 41 year old Mercedes SL, I can't really see much difference in the ride quality, in fact, I'd say the ride is superior because I can still hear the engine, feel the road and 30 still feels fast to me around town - 70 is exhilarating on the motorway with the roof down. This car is the last of the great cruisers. They don't build them like this any more - otherwise, why buy a new car? So what if I have to wind the window up and down by hand. I already know the fuel economy is low compared to a Prius - that's because I'm driving a V8. Do people really watch that Eco-fuel reading anyway (and weren't the fuel economy results all bogus)? A driver's focus should be on checking the road for hazards. The only other function apart form adjusting the temperature, should be to change the volume on the stereo as far as meddling with in-car entertainment goes. Otherwise, plug in the iPhone 4s to the Aux for some tunes and navigate with it's perfectly functioning SatNav, readily supplied by Google maps, perfectly adequate kit to reach your destination.

The above commercial, with iPads covered in cream leather, the key feature of essentially, the same overly expensive car (with an already outdated bit of kit by the time it was aired), was, incidentally, shot on an iPhone 5s. So there you go - a 30 year old piece of kit (in technology years), really cutting it back then in 2013, to create a pretty slick premium advert.

So, if you believe the kit you have now is becoming a bit slow and out of date - it's because you're being suckered in by the marketing from the technology giants in a very lucrative market - the smart-phone market. With the re-invented wheel, surely comes a (I know it's cynical), built-in obsolescence with the current model. But if my jailbroken 4s can even run Siri (not that I need it anyway), as well as the other gestures for fast app switching shipped with iOS7 and beyond, as well as provide the (now standand) revolutionary features from 2007, like play music and videos - in exactly the same way as the very first iPhone could do, then why do we keep falling for the same tricks? Perhaps it's because technology became so exciting as a way to improve so many already dull lives and supposedly offer us life-enriching possibilities. Or maybe we've become obsessed with stuff we don't really need...

Less Is Most Definitely More
A thousand songs in your pocket? That was the original iPod advertising slogan. And it's so much more now with improved WiFi and 4G streaming options that we're really spoiled for choice. And the same goes for other media content. I have over a thousand books saved on my iPhone 4s. But I only have one set of eyes, so I have to limit the options -  otherwise there's choice overload. So I've narrowed it down to a very generous half a dozen books on my 5s. I like listening to new music - but the value is lost when I'm racing through an artist's blood sweat and tears to get on to the next track, album or genre. Too much choice in my music library is making it harder to choose what I want to listen to. I'm literally getting lost in music! To prevent this, I now aim to listen to an album a few times over - just like I used to. I'm even ditching music from iTunes and the like - because I don't need it. Chances are, I'm never going to listen to it again anyway.

Pay Attention
Attention spans have shortened across the board. We're addicted to the buzz of technology without actually appreciating what it can offer us any more. Look at all the bored couples in restaurants. Nothing to say, but instead, grabbing a smart phone for a fix of anything they can get, rather than make an effort to chat. We need to switch off and tune in a lot more to what's really going on in the real world.

Technology Downtime
When technology works and makes our lives easier- great. But when it's trying to replace jobs that can be done just as well as before - for the sake of it? Switching the lights on with an app. Nah, I'll use my good old fashioned finger, thanks. It's bad enough playing around with a troublesome router when technology fails. My recent time-eating experiences of technology problem-solving, have woken me up to a very clear realisation. Why waste all that time fixing a problem that wasn't there in the first place - especially when the light switch was just a finger-click away? Hence, like many others I know, I'm steadily moving towards a more lo-tech future to realistically make my life easier.

I'm also moving back to a pre-tech social state of being. We all tend to grab our smart phones on auto-pilot these days. Next period of downtime, observe how you go for the phone without even thinking. Because of this mild addiction to technology, the next holiday, I may even leave my phone at home, dig out my Sony Sportsman with maybe 2-3 D60 cassettes with a selection of tunes and pack only two easy-read paperbacks to occupy my mind with. Sure I'll get lost on route without Google maps, but at least the girlfriend and I will be talking again - plus that's another part of the fun we're missing out on by not having a map and navigator in our pockets too - arguments aside, we discover more of the things we didn't know we were looking for.