A Year in Technology
Looking back at my various posts regarding “technology” this year, a recurring theme has been my ongoing attempts to replace certain mainstream products with alternatives that do the job in-hand better, don’t require constant updates, aren’t bloated by superfluous functionality and are more cost effective or even ethical. Needless to say, this has proven quite hard. Hence I was unable to find a suitable replacement email client for Microsoft Outlook and end my subscription to Microsoft 365 Personal. The main problem is that most alternative software won’t support my email archive due to differences in the mailbox format. One possible work around is to install an older and therefore, non-subscription version of Outlook but this raises support and compatibility issues. It would be a lot easier to divest myself of a lot of mainstream software if I was starting from scratch.
AI is currently everywhere and seems to be the biggest talking point of the year. I have mixed feelings on the subject as I feel that it can be a useful tool in some specific circumstances. I like AI tools that can be used to fix photos, as I am currently cataloguing my parents’ prodigious collection. Some of the pictures are from the start of the last century and have a lot of damage. I occasionally use AI for collating basic data. The sort of information that is not disputed or subject to political misrepresentation. However, I don’t agree with AI being used to bypass paid creativity and sadly that appears to be at the vanguard of its use. I’m sure Disney’s $1 Billion investment in OpenAI will end with negative consequences for the existing animators, voice artists and other creative employees. I look forward to an EU law that mandates that the use of AI has to be declared when buying a product or service.
Another notable aspect of 2025 has been the ongoing war between ad blockers and their respective corporate opponents. YouTube has pushed back hard against such apps and browser extensions. Although advertisements can still be blocked, there are notable delays, sometimes commensurate with the blocked adverts running time, before the desired video will actually play. Advertising has become more pervasive and invasive, even finding a foothold on my Windows 11 lockscreen and desktop. Fortunately such features can be removed. Advertising on social media also became problematic and is harder to remove or bypass. All of which indicates an advertising market that is declining, or at least fragmented, hence corporations are pursuing “their piece of the cake” more aggressively. Again, shareware, freeware and companies offering a one time payment, rather than a subscription become more appealing.
A short break at the end of October served as a timely reminder of the ubiquitous nature of the internet in our life and our reliance upon it for both work and leisure alike. I found myself in an environment (a static caravan) that did not have internet access by default and I briefly lost connectivity. It certainly gave me pause for thought about how I live my life. In the meantime while grappling with this philosophical crisis, I resolved the immediate problem by internet tethering to my phone. Another recent change is how I fill “dead time”. Over this year I have pivoted from reading while waiting for a bus, train or travelling, to relying on my phone to entertain me. This is mainly via the internet, with games such as Roblox. It’s not something I’m particularly proud of and I shall try and address this in the New Year. Using the internet for leisure is fun but everything in moderation.
I bought a little new technology this year, mainly out of necessity. My phone needed replacing due to battery bulge and my ageing monitors were becoming difficult for me to see clearly. So I bought a new handset and a pair of 2K monitors. I hope that I can future proof my current desktop PC for another 24 months. Looking forward to 2026, my next technology based endeavour is to see if I can ditch Windows as an operating system for everyday use. Perhaps set up a dual boot PC with a bare bones install of Windows for running games and some variation of Linux, such as Zorin OS, for everything else. I also need to continue with locking down my phone and making web browsing via that device as good an experience as using my PC. Overall technology is losing its appeal. Too often causes just as many problems as it solves. It also tends to serve the manufacturers needs more than the customers.
