Technology is My Bitter Pill
Hello, 2021! This year my loved gadgets are pushed further down the archive.
In late 2020, the latest YouTube update, along with Netflix and Coursera apps, won’t install on my iPad anymore. My version is too low already for their system requirements.
My iPad is not only a productivity tool for me, but at the very start, it has been my main music tool. I skipped the whole iPod and went straight to this one. I now feel like my iPad is now the 80s’ cassette ready to be replaced anytime soon.
My tablet is an iPad 2, bought in 2011 (as reminded by my Apple ID that has 2011 in it). The latest iPad is, I think, a 10th iteration already of what I have. It has been performing slow already despite the available memory and system cleanups I made. Sadly, this is due for a replacement really soon lest none of my apps would work and it would be too late to back up. My gadget is nearing its obsolescence–planned years ahead by the tech giant that made it.
Planned obsolescence is what it is. It’s when a product or service is phased out in an intentional manner. That’s me paraphrasing.
In the bigger scheme of things, technology-wise, that is inevitable. Apple rolls out new phones. Microsoft and all softwares release new updates/patches.
Change is coming and you have to roll with it. Otherwise, you get flattened by it and die. Check out what Charles Darwin said about evolution and adaptation–that’s the gist of his manuscript, not in exact words.
I especially and personally get hit by this because I have a tendency to bond with my gadgets and everything I spend my hard-earned money for; I really take care of them.
My other gadgets like laptop, cellphones and digital cameras don’t get to be replaced until they are worn down or straight out conk out.
It must be the miser or the selectively sentimental in me but I don’t let go of them until they give up on me.
So you can just imagine how much a little piece of my soul gets crushed whenever Apple says, “Hey, we got new phones!” To me it spells, my iPhone 5 SE is further archived.
I started writing this post in my oldest Acer laptop: Acer Aspire V5, year 2012. Get this. This is not even iCore. This is still Celeron, an older and slower processor than iCore. It is semi-permanently plugged to its power source. But guess what, I am still happy working on it!
This laptop got me through graduate school from 2015 to 2018. Small, light and banged up (read: got character), nobody would steal this if I stand up and go to the washroom if I’m in a coffee shop. But truth be told, it has a replacement already and my sister is happily using it. I love getting stuck with this laptop.
For wearables, I am sticking to Fitbit Flex 2. I used to have an Apple Watch, the very first one that came out in 2015. I think I was one first 100 people who have this watch in the Philippines. But it conked out after two years. And I am on this Fitbit since 2018. I think I love this more more than my Apple watch because it is is cheap and it does the job for me. I have an Apple watch versus Fitbit post that you may want to see. I don’t really want to be bothered by my wrist everytime there’s a message or whatnots from my phone (although you can adjust this in the Settings.) I like how simple and lowkey this wrist-candy is.
I lost my first Fitbit and I plan to stick to my second one for as long as I possibly can. But when this breaks down too however, it’s buh-bye. This is one of the earlier models of Fitbit. This has been pulled out of the market already. I can see some of them in second-hand market and that’s the only option I have left.
My digital camera, my source of happiness and good photos for blog, is fraying already. Some of its rubber parts are coming off. Despite my care. Just wear and tear at its best.
And why does everything has to be big? The dick-measuring culture has also permeated technology that all products must be BIG. MAX. PLUS. PRO. All my gadgets are small, slim and can be easily stolen. But they won’t be (I hope) as they are old anyway.
None of my family and friends care if I have old or new gadgets. I guess because I am still a functioning, decent, cheerful member of the society–or it appears to be so. FOMO or fear of missing out is not a strong motivation for my circle, I guess.
I appreciate the value that gadgets bring to my productivity and health. And so I like to surround myself with them. In some cases, I am even an early tech adapter/sneezer. But this planned obsolescence sucks, as it means I have to let go of them soon. Like really soon, despite the care I give them, because they are just obsolete.
Some of my personal gadgets even have a work counterpart, like my laptop. I have this laptop and in the office, I have another one. Same with phone. So my gadgets are not really “tired” every single day. That’s why maybe I am able to stretch out their lives. But that doesn’t matter because they will be SOOOOOO canceled soon, like dinosaurs. I must update too lest I become like the dinosaurs. Got to evolve.
Who says cancel culture started recently?
Many tech companies stopped subscribing to their own creations many years ago to make us buy their new ones.
I will try to ride it out with my gadgets for as long as I can. I wonder how long that would take me.
