It feels like all the joy I used to feel from being an enthusiast has been completely voided as computing has become the modern vector for fascism and surveillance. I find myself recoiling from all online spaces, even independent and open source ones that I’d loved and supported in the past.
It’s been an exceptionally strange impulse to go from having an elaborate online presence to now feeling like the only acceptable way to engage with the network is to have as minimal of an online footprint as possible.
This especially hurts when it feels like an issue of skilling, where I know how to do certain tasks with computers, but have to teach myself for the first time the analogue alternatives that my parents and their parents likely already knew well.
How have you chosen to deal with it? Do you find yourself moving away from computing and the internet, despite formerly loving it as a hobby? Have you replaced things that computers used to do for you with analogue replacements?
I’m curious how other people are experiencing this.
My parents got a new car and they thought I’d be impressed that it has an iPad for a dashboard and knows who’s driving by using your phone.
And 20 years ago that would have been cool. But now? Now all I see is data harvesting, bad UI, and expensive repairs that must be done at the stealership.
Tech used to be something fun and new, that gave you freedoms and abilities you never thought were possible. But now it’s just another way for companies to ship expensive crap and exploit us. I’d much rather have my dumb car that makes fart noises and won’t even shift without my help.
One thing I did like is that the interior door handles are well-made and easily accessible.
ditch the marxist leninism and you’ll have a whole new view on everything in the world
it’s a cult and it’s broken your brain
computers are still just computers and still do vast amounts of good
heard of linux?
“Stealership”
Ima be… uhh… leasing that. Thanks.
For 36 months with no money down at our spring savings event!
“bad UI”
Especially that one!!!
There are certain things that should be buttons that don’t move. The hazard flashers, for instance.
They should not be an icon on the “dashboard” that goes away when you’re trying to change the temperature.
Honestly, working on and around the infotainment systems in modern cars is not as bad as I thought it would be. It just takes a different set of skills and knowledge than car guys are used to. I recently added android auto to my 10 year old car, which involved adding a circuit board that goes between the existing screen and it’s OEM circuit board.
Retrofitting infotainment on your terms is entirely different from dealing with it preinstalled in a new car. For example, I’m betting yours doesn’t have an unskippable popup warning about paying attention to the road that you have to dismiss every time you turn on the car. Or telemetry that rats out your driving behavior to the manufacturer and/or the insurance company and/or law enforcement. Or other sorts of adware or malware.
And considering that you had to add it to begin with, it definitely doesn’t disable the entire car if you try to remove it or otherwise neuter the hostile misfeatures.
Especially when the software required to reprogram the modules costs thousands of dollars, if it’s even available at all.
I really want to gut my car’s infotainment system. I’m just worried about the resale value and whether or not part of this shit is somehow critical to the vehicle now.
Not like there’s any useful manuals on this shit out there. And the manufacturer is incentivized to actively thwart my efforts.
Oh we have a Volvo S60 and it has a screen but the map app is so bad that we put our phone there while driving, but every time you go into reverse you can’t see the back driving camera. How does your retrofitted system teal with stuff like that?
Perfectly. The setup retains all stock functions.
I got it from these guys: https://www.gtacarkits.com/