Am I the only one getting cynical in tech?

[Darren Kitchen]

It seems that the more years I spend in tech the more jaded and cynical I get. It's hard to get excited about any new technology after I've already seen so many come and go. I remember getting so excited about Mosaic when it first came out, and now I look at things like Flock and roll my eyes. Is there a cure for this? Am I doomed to become Dvorak? Will I go on a downward spiral into IRC and start to speak in teh_suck language?

[Duelus]

my dad became like that after he lost his job when 3dfx went under

[manuel]

It seems that the more years I spend in tech the more jaded and cynical I get. It's hard to get excited about any new technology after I've already seen so many come and go. I remember getting so excited about Mosaic when it first came out, and now I look at things like Flock and roll my eyes. Is there a cure for this? Am I doomed to become Dvorak? Will I go on a downward spiral into IRC and start to speak in teh_suck language?

lol you are not alone in this line of thinking... I think it comes from knowing that there are many pieces of technolgy that seem great but fail time and time again. then there becomes too much familiarity with what we know and don't really want to learn what is new. Its kinda like the older generations, they want to learn some things, but they don't really care about the fine details.

[sneaky_rupert]

It seems that the more years I spend in tech the more jaded and cynical I get. It's hard to get excited about any new technology after I've already seen so many come and go. I remember getting so excited about Mosaic when it first came out, and now I look at things like Flock and roll my eyes. Is there a cure for this? Am I doomed to become Dvorak? Will I go on a downward spiral into IRC and start to speak in teh_suck language?

Well, I think it is moreso that for business applications, they seem to just be coming out with hum drum products that are based on current technology. I just watched a bunch of mainframers walk out the door due to them phasing out of their job. I am sure my day could very well come too. It really is hard to maintain a healthy level of sanity when all the fun and new projects are being outsourced, because you are too busy doing the same old same old.

[Kateweb]

I dont think you could ever becoame as bad as devork that guy can get rather rough at times. your to funny.

[take it take]

Take a break from technology, go camping without all those technological gears and maybe you'll have a fresh outlook on technology.

[l0gic]

It is inevitable that each of us so consumed with technology will at some point become overwhelmed. In these instances we must take a moment to reflect on what originally inspired our passion. Firm grasp of the motivation which drives oneself is vital in sustaining our own interest. Perhaps it's not the particular technologies which excite us most, but rather their application as a whole.

Given that technology progresses at an exponential rate, it is a near assurance that we should never exhaust our sources of inspiration. The key to preserving our excitement with the digital world around us is to never lose that sense of wonder and challenge which motivates every hacker; not in a technology itself, but rather in how it can be applied, manipulated, outsmarted, or improved.

In other words, trust your technolust.

[SomeoneE1se]

it's because that's you job.... Your job is to protect the systems and to protect them you have to think of everything that could go wrong. I'm guessing that when you got to IPTV as a full time job, you'll drop the current worries.

[hpr]

well you aren't really in trouble until you create a virus that pings loudly every time you press CAPSLOCK, tehe

[SomeoneE1se]

<PING>DUDE I NEED ONE OF THEM!!!

[hpr]

i call it DEVILSOUND.exe

btw if i hit caps it shocks me with 100000 volts of electricity

[SomeoneE1se]

Put it on the wiki for the switchblade.

No, no, bad noob, no capslock!

could you open source it?

[hpr]

i actually am writing it but i'm having problems with some of the code, but i'll post it when its done.

[cooper]

I actually think this is a good thing:

It means we've outsmarted marketing.

Marketeers will should ever so loudly how much colder their patented Ice Cube is, but we'll just look at it, go "meh" and walk on. Suddenly their tech will need to survive on its merits. If it doesn't, the next time the marketing dept of that company goes "WOO HOO! New Version! Even colder than the last one!" we'll be "Oh, them. They suck" and walk on, without even looking at the product.

Hopefully the next phase will be marketeers realising they've become their own undoing, and put some actual TRUTH into advertising, rather than trying to hype stuff up beyond its merits. Then we might actually get excited when something new comes out.

[VaKo]

I've always though it was more of a case of not finding tech special anymore because its a corner stone of your life. Its hard to get that excited about products when you have a pile of stuff that once was top of the line, but now is hopelessly out of date. Its kinda like getting excited about electric lights.

[Ethan Hunt]

I can't believe it. Some1 finally understands me :D Here's the deal. I don't work in any kind of computer related indistry buy I hopw 1 day since I'm a student on computer science at the moment. A few days ago I was having this discussion with my roomm8. We were deciding that we want new lap tops. Ok simple enough. But when we started 2 look 4 something is specific we always ended up KNOWING that in 2 months that something will be... well old! What's the point of buying new equipment? (if the old one is ok f course) It's gonna get old in a matter of days anyway :( I remember back in the days when I had a spectrum. I mean that was it! The only thing that you could do to improve it was to get a new audio cassete :D And my father modded the keyboard to be bigger cuz it was kinda hard 2 play top gun and we were constantly pushing eachothers buttons :D And that was it!!! Now u can buy the best computer there is (if some1 can define something like that). And by the time you write a post on this forum that thing will already be outdated. So I decided that my new computer will come when my old one stops (smoothly) playing the newest games. I would recommend that 2 every1 at the forum too :D Anyways Darren - I got ur back 100 % . I think that some1 should stop 4 a minute and allow the users 2 enjoy there new 2 gb processor 4 at least a month but.. hey thats technology i guess it's only gonna get worse >(

Thanks 4 reading :D

[SmoothCriminal]

You just need a really exciting piece of technology to come out

and about the cynical part, find something really really cute, maybe a puppy or a baby seal, play with it. Then once you become really attached to it destroy it. will wash away all your cynical thoughts down the drain guarenteed.

lol.....jk

[VaKo]

There's nothing new though... its not like the jump to 3Dfx graphics anymore. Its just last years offering, but with more features, faster and either bigger or smaller depending on the item. The concept of mp3 players was novel, but its not special any more.

[degoba]

I hear ya Darren. My cynicism comes from people more or less. I work in sales, and want to shoot myself every time I walk out of there. I talk to so many people each day that have no appreciation for technology, and some even act like its more of a hindrance. I cringe every time someone buys a 1500 dolar laptop, and 2 days later call me back because it wont turn on. I then find out it isnt plugged in, and their battery is deader n a doornail.

Yea it is the people. I can only stand to hear someone refer to a usb port as a ubs port, or a gigabyte as a jiggabyte so many times before I start to lose faith in the industry. Many large tech corporations are now solely driven by monetary gain. They could care less if they come up with something new and exciting. With the exception of apple maybe. They seem to be innovative. Take laptops for example. The laptops we sell are all top of the line, but they run slow because of all the shit that comes packed into them. What happened to choices. What happened to being able to choose what you wanted installed on your system, rather than a manufacturer choosing for you?

[Uncle Toxie]

Your not cynical Darren, your just an admin. It doesn't help that you put out Hak.5 each month, your saturated in tech man.

[DarkSenay]

Whenever i get sick with tech, I try to build something with my hands. Preferably out of wood. There is something really relaxing about it.

[moonlit]

Yeah, being AFK when you start getting sick of computers and tech works wonders. I like to do something with electronics rather than wood but I totally know what you mean DarkSenay.

[anyedie]

well, maybe you've spent to much time in your area... i get like that about most of my interst every once in a while. With technology there is soo much stuff out there that there is to know that no one can know it all. Maybe you should learn something new, most tech people have one thing in common, they like to learn. So Darren- you may be ubr pro a alot but a total nub at just as much, maybe all you need to do is find something new to learn and get into.

[cooper]

I wouldn't call myself a cynic w.r.t. tech. Instead, I'd say that I'm more distrusting of tech. I went from seeking out the very latest, to finding stuff that actually works, and has proven itself as such.

That means you'll be a few steps behind the front-runners, but allows you to laugh as they dive head-first into something only to realize it's a wall.

[take it take]

I can't believe it. Some1 finally understands me :D Here's the deal. I don't work in any kind of computer related indistry buy I hopw 1 day since I'm a student on computer science at the moment. A few days ago I was having this discussion with my roomm8. We were deciding that we want new lap tops. Ok simple enough. But when we started 2 look 4 something is specific we always ended up KNOWING that in 2 months that something will be... well old! What's the point of buying new equipment? (if the old one is ok f course) It's gonna get old in a matter of days anyway :( I remember back in the days when I had a spectrum. I mean that was it! The only thing that you could do to improve it was to get a new audio cassete :D And my father modded the keyboard to be bigger cuz it was kinda hard 2 play top gun and we were constantly pushing eachothers buttons :D And that was it!!! Now u can buy the best computer there is (if some1 can define something like that). And by the time you write a post on this forum that thing will already be outdated. So I decided that my new computer will come when my old one stops (smoothly) playing the newest games. I would recommend that 2 every1 at the forum too :D Anyways Darren - I got ur back 100 % . I think that some1 should stop 4 a minute and allow the users 2 enjoy there new 2 gb processor 4 at least a month but.. hey thats technology i guess it's only gonna get worse >(

Thanks 4 reading :D

It's definitely a geek thing to enjoy technology. :) There's that sense of euphoria from learning about new things, especially with gadgets :twisted: as well as keeping up with current news concerning technological advances 8). Sometimes it is frustrating to buy a computer that will become outdated, but in that case, geeks always find ways to mod their somewhat outdated computers. :P