What technology do you wish had never been invented?

[gunug]

Ryan feels fitness trackers “lull people into a false sense of security when it comes to their overall fitness, diet, and health.” He sees people feeling because they walked 10,000 steps in a day that it means they can eat whatever they want. He realizes that in the hands of people who understand the metrics they can be a useful tool but thinks “a lot of people lack the general understanding of how their bodies function and how a multitude of lifestyle choices contribute to overall health.”

https://www.maketecheasier.com/technology-device-invented/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=01062018

I love Mac's and generally like the MAC OS but I think thinner is scarcely ever better.  I thought the anonymous "idiot" light on my cars that tells me of some generic fault that you have to go to the garage to get looked at is not a real advantage.  The tire light was generally okay because all I had to do was stop and check them with the tire gauge.  The Dodge Charger I "accidentally" rented to go to Chicago last week had an indicator on the dashboard that popped up and told me that while one tire had 22 pounds of pressure in it all of the others were okay with 51+ pounds of pressure.  This was interesting information to me; not sure why someone had filled the tires to 51 pounds but I could keep an eye on the one that was low. I fixed the high pressure tires by letting them down to 32 pounds and kept adding air to the one that was low.  It's interesting that the low one only went low when sitting overnight and that even stopped when I "spit" on the valve stem and put the cap back on. 

There used to be a popular book by Dr. Ernst Friedrich "Fritz" Schumacher that called for the application of "appropriate technology" to the situation at hand.  I don't need the latest and greatest only that which just works!

[Xairbusdriver]

Least favorite technology:
In car navigation systems
They all have completely un-intuitive usage methods and confusingly written confirmation steps. I can understand not being able to edit/create a root while the car is moving. Texting while driving is dangerous enough. How long should it take for the navigator "brain" to realize that the driver probably really doesn't want to make a U-turn and drive 153.9 miles just so the computed route can continue?? 10 minutes? 15? 2 hours? Recompute and get on with it! Surely the computer can do that while the driver is busy at the wheel!!!

Built-in garage door openers that can handle only one brand at a time. OK, some people may have more than 5 doors... Generally, 2 is max. How many extra bytes would that take?

[Paddy]

Social media. I truly feel that it's been a disaster for just about everything. And yeah - that one could get us into political hot water really quickly. But basically, it's allowed people to "connect" without really being connected, to think they're being informed when they're being misled, and it's a huge time-sink.

My other pet peeve - shared by the inventor, btw, is single serving coffee pods. Colossal environmental mistake, which he really regrets.

[daryl66]

Total agreement Paddy and ABD

[krissel]

IAW Paddy. 

[kimmer]

Adding on to the excellent comments already here: I'm not a fan of mobile phones. I know they have good points, but I'm so tired of meeting someone for lunch and having to endure them checking their phones, answering calls, etc. I want to shout, "HEY! I'M HERE! IN PERSON!"

[Paddy]

Mobile phones are fine - it's smart phones that are the problem. I consider it very rude to go out for a meal with someone and then look at a phone. Lot's of people don't seem to think along those lines though. Some restaurants have no phone rules, but those tend to be high end eateries, not the places most of us go more regularly.

Interestingly, a few celebs have ditched their smartphones - Simon Cowell has been without his for 10 months now and says life is a lot better without it. He's joined by Elton John, Tyra Banks and Sarah Jessica Parker.

My husband flat out refuses to own one - though admits mine has come in handy a few times. It will be interesting to see if he's less adamant when our Tesla 3 arrives at the end of next week... I don't keep my phone with me at all times - it lives in my purse 95% of the time, and Rogers doesn't allow one to set the number of rings before the voicemail kicks in (4 rings) so most of the time, I either don't hear it or don't get there in time. I use it mostly for the GPS, when I'm out shopping and need to check a price, texting my kids (when I'm not at home - at home, I use my Mac with the keyboard!) and entertaining myself when waiting for appointments! I'm guessing I'm not quite the norm.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/smartphone-addiction-hypernatural-monitoring-technology-nomophobia-social-media-a8253191.html

[krissel]

I'm still using a brick phone and happy with it. It doesn't have a camera, not even a speakerphone. But it has great voice clarity, good reception and the charge lasts forever compared to the smartphones. Eventually I may get one to keep better tabs on my Arlo security system and my niece just gave me a Ring doorbell for my birthday which is basically useless without one. But I'm going to wait to see what Apple comes out with in September.

It's not that I don't see the value in how it can help communication in many circumstances, but it's addictive aspect is frightening. I noticed on my sister's phone bill one month that she had over 800 texts and she told me once she had 1200. Yipes!

[Jack W]

My other pet peeve - shared by the inventor, btw, is single serving coffee pods. Colossal environmental mistake, which he really regrets.

There's a fix for that: I bought a 4-pack of Eco-Fill single serve filters at BB&B that are re-usable. I'm still on the first one for a couple of months.
Seals very well and easy to clean.

FWIW,
Jack

[gunug]

I usually forego my cellphone when I'm eating out or at someone's house; unless the discussion comes around to something the cellphone would know the answer to.    I'm pretty sure celebrities that give up cellphones usually have personal assistants that "carry" one for them!  I didn't think of GPS on my phone being as bad as it turned out to be in downtown Chicago.  Maybe if I had a bigger antenna I wouldn't have had it tell me incorrectly three times where my hotel was!

[Xairbusdriver]

"Smart" phone are NOT addictive!!! I can stop using mine any time I want! 

"GPS gets lost" Those concrete canyons make it nearly impossible to 'see' more than one GPS satellite at a time. It's hard to triangulate off a single point...
Cities should lower the height of buildings to 1 floor. Better yet, make the basement top floor! Then the surface can return to grassland and trees! And heating/cooling costs will drop drastically. And... OK, ok, I'll stop.

[Highmac]

A recent TV drama featured a dinner party. As guests arrived they were asked to switch off their phones and put them in a basket on a side table. Only guest excused was a doctor on emergency standby. The hosts said it was because they were trying to reduce their use of the phones and they would appreciate support.

I know it was fiction but even in real life people will often respond better to an appeal for help than an order.

Over here, the fines for drivers caught using a hand-held phone have been increased, with more penalty points. Cops are also using the powered half of a semi to catch lorry drivers using a phone, watching videos or even texting...   

[Xairbusdriver]

A recent TV drama...

See if you can catch an episode of "Better Call Saul" and see another reason to not only turn the phone off but leave them outside!    

[Highmac]

A recent TV drama...

See if you can catch an episode of "Better Call Saul" and see another reason to not only turn the phone off but leave them outside!

Oh drat! "This video is not available in your location" Ho hum...

[Xairbusdriver]

"This video is not available in your location" Sorry, 'bout that. It's only available in Murikin speaking places. I'll work on getting the "cream" of our TV shows to you if you'll do the same for BBC shows.