See: the title of this blog. Yes, I’m a self-proclaimed geek. Yes, I love gadgets. Yes, I love playing with the newest and latest toys. BUT I must confess that I sometimes get a bit scared and concerned about the pace and direction of new technology.
Subscription models taking over simple ownership. Planned obsolescence. Spyware running rampant in anything connected to the internet. Why do we need a “smart” microwave or vacuum?
When we bought an HP printer a few years ago, we didn’t do our research and bought one that required a subscription ink plan. It wasn’t expensive — $3.99 a month — but one month, the printer encountered a network connectivity issue and couldn’t connect to the HP network. Because it couldn’t confirm that we had a valid ink subscription plan, it refused to print anything, although there was plenty of ink in the cartridges.
After that fiasco, we said, “Eff that” and bought ourselves a Epson EcoTank printer. It’s been more than a year and a half since we got this printer and even with regular use, we haven’t had to replace one ink tank.
Car manufacturers have been delving into the subscription model too. BMW was the first to make headlines by charging a subscription fee for heated seats, but killed it after consumer backlash. It kept other features behind a subscription, and other companies followed. Ford and GM charge for advanced driver-assistance technologies. Tesla charges for self-driving. Toyota charges for remote-start.
When we got our new car last year, we were told that we could remote-start our car via an app…but after one year, we would have to pay for that feature. Luckily, we could still remote-start via our key fob.
There’s also the fact that surveillance cameras will be required in all new cars in the US by 2027. This makes me really weary of purchasing new vehicles in the future.
Now, let’s move on to televisions. “Smart” TVs began to emerge in the early 2010s in order to accommodate for the various streaming services and our ever-connected world. At the time, it was pretty convenient. Users could stream their desired content, browse the web, access apps, and view photos straight from their TV screens. Soon, a lot of TV manufacturers even had their own OSes.
Now, in the year 2026, practically all televisions sold here in the US are smart TVs. And a company recently started selling a “dumb” TV, because there has been a growing demand for it. Smart TVs collect data and there is increased privacy concerns from its users. There are risks of hacking as well as eavesdropping, and because smart TVs have limited software updates, they have limited lifespans.
And now, for something surprising for a geeky, gadget-loving household: we still have and use our old LG TV from 2008. It was huge for at the time: 52 inches, so it cost a pretty penny at about $2,000. (That was a lot of money for a television back then!) It was one of the biggest purchases we made for our home when we got married. I remember we went to a Korean electronics store in Queens because it wasn’t officially out in the States yet and it was delivered in a wooden crate!
Obviously our TV is a “dumb” TV. We considered upgrading our TV to an OLED when we moved to New York, but that would have meant we would have to buy a smart TV. I had written about our TV setup back in 2011, and it hasn’t changed much since then. We have decided to keep the Mac Mini (we bought a new one a few years ago) and we can watch downloaded movies, stream via a browser, and do simple computer work. We still have, and use our original Apple Wireless Keyboard but now use a cheap Logitech wireless mouse.
Also connected to our TV is an HD antennae in case we need to watch network TV. We usually do this for sporting events (although we have been known to use the Mac Mini to stream games as well). We also have a now-discontinued Chromecast hooked up to the TV. It still works perfectly fine when we don’t want to use a browser to stream. J mostly uses it to watch his anime on Crunchyroll.
And you can see the gaming systems hooked up to our TV: the PS5 and the Nintendo Switches. (The original Nintendo cartridge you see on the right is a Valentine’s Day card I got for J a couple of years ago.)
Sure, an OLED TV would have better picture quality. But our 18-year-old TV still works perfectly fine and we’re still happy with the output. Claire has her friends over all the time and they play video games and watch movies with no complaints. We never have to worry about data collection or our TV suddenly freezing up.
So there you have it. Am I a luddite? Far from it. I just value my privacy in that I prefer “dumb” appliances, use a VPN, and am not afraid to seek out older technology.
The post When “Old” Technology Is Better first appeared on Geek in Heels.