What I (don’t) need
I just read that Kathrin Passig, Mia Culpa and Molinarius wrote down everything they (don’t) need in their technology diary in September 2023. Then I felt the urge to comment on this too.
TV with soundbar and subwoofer, large fridge/freezer combination, dishwasher: In a parallel universe, I’m a minimalist who doesn’t need any of that. But in this universe, it’s all very nice to make yourself comfortable at home and retreat from the outside world. This has become particularly important in 2020 and onwards.
Robot vacuum cleaner: I could vacuum the apartment faster by hand, but my quality of life would be significantly lower during this time. So I start the Deebot Slim and clear the path for it in a relaxed manner: I take the chairs out in the kitchen so that it can vacuum under the dining table, and use it to build a fortress in the living room that prevents the Deebot from getting on the carpet or in Driving through the narrow gap under the sofa wouldn’t do him any good. And then for two hours he does his thing and I do mine. I then quickly vacuum the carpet and the few corners where it can’t reach with the stick vacuum cleaner.
E-readers: Sluggish and difficult to use, I never really warmed to them. Like Kathrin Passig, I’ve recently been reading books on my smartphone and I’m very happy with it. If I already have my smartphone in my hand while reading, I’m not tempted to put the book down and pick up my smartphone every few sentences.
Smart Home: I feel the same way as some of the previous speakers; the setup effort and the feared obsolescence of the solutions put me off. But in order to illuminate my living room well and comfortably, last year I bought nine smart bulbs and a hub, at least for this room, with which the lighting situation can now be adjusted to the activity at hand (working, reading, watching a film) using an app .
Games console: I can’t imagine owning something like that. What little I play works very well on my smartphone and PC.
Printer: I would actually like one, for example for return labels, although fortunately that is becoming increasingly rare. I could also quickly create information material for my Solawi and things like that. When I think about it, I quickly end up at the point where I want the big solution, which is a color laser printer. And he should be able to scan too! But is it really worth it? Besides, there’s no room for it anywhere in my apartment.
Voice control: I mainly use my smartphone to set timers, for example when cooking when my fingers are floury, greasy or wet.
Smartwatch: I got my first watch when I was six and my first cell phone when I was around 18. Soon after, I stopped wearing a watch. Even today, my left forearm sometimes feels strangely naked, and every now and then I toy with buying a smartwatch. However, I don’t think the benefit would outweigh the effort (getting dressed in the morning, undressed in the evening, loading, etc.).
AR glasses: I would definitely want them if they were available in a lightweight form factor (like Google Glass back then) and with good image quality and usability (very different than Google Glass back then). Then I could always chat around on Mastodon and in various chat apps without having to rudely avert my eyes from my real-world counterpart. And I imagine it would also be great for satellite navigation on foot or by bike. But for now it’s still science fiction.
Car: Having easy access to a minivan would be great for camping vacations, moving furniture, group trips, etc. But you would have to somehow share it with a group of close friends for it to be worth it.
(Kilian Evang)