Technology...Doing something because you can...A short rant.

lakelover

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To make a long story short, my son got an ipod Nano about 6 years ago. It was about twice as big as this current model in the picture below. He got a newer, higher capacity ipod a few years ago and so was letting me use the Nano. I didn't use it much, but it was a good size for me, and I enjoyed it when I did.

He got an email from Apple a short time ago offering to replace it with a new one because of battery/burns issues that became apparent with some of them that had a certain battery in it. Well, his had "that" battery, so we sent it in and the replacement came today.

The new one is the size you can see in the photo, about 1.5" x 1.5". It's nice that it now has twice the capacity (I would guess I was using only about half the memory on the old one), but tell me, what the **** is the point of making it so small that an old guy like me can barely hold it without dropping it....let alone operate the tiny touch screen with my bumbling fat old fingers/thumbs..... and I sure can't read the screen without donning my reading glasses! My 23 year old son has trouble with the touch screen too.

Great. I've saved all that valuable space:rolleyes:, but now I have to remember to lug around the glasses if I use it. If I use it on a walk or while doing some other activity f'rinstance, if I want to listen to something else, I have to stop & dig out the specs to change song/playlist etc. I'm probably more likely to just push the OFF button.

wDSC_5571.jpg


I know the target market for ipods is not old timers like me. But c'mon. Another case of doing something WAY less than practical "just because you can", a step ahead in user un-friendliness if you ask me. And you didn't. :D I feel better now.
 

tomdinwv

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Re: Technology...Doing something because you can...A short rant.

Lakelover, I agree with you. I think they make all these tech gadgets smaller and smaller to attract their target users (young people.) You have given me an idea though. If a person had the ability to produce and market a device geared more for us, excuse the term "older folks", I would think it would be a money maker. I personaly would need one like those jumbo tv remotes you see in stores or one of the phones with the great big buttons on it. Good luck man, I for one enjoyed and agree with your rant.
 

canoemang

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Re: Technology...Doing something because you can...A short rant.

Technology,cars and most consumer devices go in cycles.. remember the 2" black and white tv.. Even laptops were at one time small.. look at the IBM T42 models.. then they got huge again.. Same with cell phones.. started huge and went small as heck.. and now they are getting huge, like the galaxy S2 that thing is a tank..

If you "old folks" wait long enough it will all come back to size :)
 

lakelover

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Re: Technology...Doing something because you can...A short rant.

Same with cell phones.. started huge and went small as heck.. and now they are getting huge, like the galaxy S2 that thing is a tank..

Ha, you really gave me a laugh to start the day! Made me thinnk of the first cell phone my wife got when she started her nursing job in the 80's. The handset was huge with a big antenna, but there was also a big pouch with a strap that you had to carry over your shoulder! It was more like a cell suitcase!
 

JB

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Re: Technology...Doing something because you can...A short rant.

I agree with you wholeheartedly on most stuff, Lakelover. So-called "smart" phones and their portable cousins in particular.

But hearing aids. . .now there is a device that keeps getting smaller and more effective. Got my new Beltones this week. OMG!! The machine says I am stone deaf above about 3KHz, but all frequencies below that are now clear. I now hear things clearly that I haven't heard clearly in 40 years. (Since I retired from racing unmuffled karts and flying in prop aircraft) That 40 years included 4 different aids, all bigger, heavier, more battery hungry, less effective and twice as expensive.

Sometimes doing it just because you can is a real benefit. :)
 

lakelover

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Re: Technology...Doing something because you can...A short rant.

JB, you got a good one there.

It's great when something actually useful and life-changing comes out of all the research that goes into doing it because you can. I didn't mean to say there's no value at all in it, but I laugh at all the marketing that naive people fall for; I try to point that out to my family all the time so their money doesn't get siphoned away.

(Really, I'm just jealous that I didn't have the idea and get rich off it!) :D
 

erwinner

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Re: Technology...Doing something because you can...A short rant.

Maybe something like this would be more to your suiting?
ipad.jpg

:p
Seriously, though, that Nano is too small for a touch screen. They were OK when they had real buttons, but I like to have the visual display to search, so my iPhone is perfect for me. An iPod touch would be, too.
 

NetDoc

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Re: Technology...Doing something because you can...A short rant.

In reality, we are financing future product development by adopting this kind of technology. My nano sits in a drawer some where. It doesn't have any way to see what it will be playing next. I used it for some long flights and a few walks, but it never really fit my life style. My Droid X, however, has been a GREAT asset. I have a water proof case for it while it's on the boat. I also have "sweat proof" blue tooth headphones that have gone swimming twice and still work great! I get to listen to music until the phone rings, where my music is put on pause automatically while I talk! Yay! I have a cradle for it in my car that includes an AUX feed into my stereo. Again, I get to listen to my music until the phone rings, or I make a call. It's phreakin' magic!

All that being said, if they didn't do it "just because" with the Nano, then I probably would not have my Droid X right now. That would be tragic for me.
 

lakelover

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Re: Technology...Doing something because you can...A short rant.

:D:D Well you can all see where I'm coming from, I don't even know what 75% of these things are that you're mentioning!! :D:D
 

NYBo

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Re: Technology...Doing something because you can...A short rant.

I found the perfect cell phone for you:
rotary-cell-phone.jpg
 

lakelover

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Re: Technology...Doing something because you can...A short rant.

That's more my speed!
 

lncoop

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Re: Technology...Doing something because you can...A short rant.

That's more my speed!

Okay, but how are you supposed to get through the customer service gauntlet without touch tones?:facepalm:
 

mommicked

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Re: Technology...Doing something because you can...A short rant.

I have a Verizon phone almost identical to the one in the pic. My wife got it for me. It is small and thin and also very smooth and slippery in my hands. It's a good thing it's evedently tough, I've dropped it many times trying to open it to answer a call, usually on concrete or asphalt and it hasn't broken yet.
 
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