How to get the most out of your gadgets: an idiots guide



These days I am an easy going person. I like my days stress free, and my gadgets enjoyed to the fullest. It has not always been like this however. See, I used to be caught up in a vicious cycle of "technology immaturity" (I just made that one up) that robbed me of the ability to enjoy the gadgets that I rightfully owned. This is what I have learned on my troubled journey with technology, which is really a journey into the mind of a recovering tech addict.

Avoid "fanboyism" like the plague. 
Let's face it fanboyism is really, really stupid, with potentially fatal side-effects. Unless your livelihood depends on taking a stance for a company, it really makes no sense wasting countless hours in internet forums starting flame wars, getting burned and retaliating with name-calling against folks you will probably never meet or lay eyes upon.


In this age where the cult of technology has become a from a religion, we worship the technological pioneers (gods) and segregated ourselves into opposing factions. For this new religion, the internet is the war zone, and many battles have been fought over seemingly mundane things. By this analogy, these are indeed the dark ages of our technological advancement. Although fanboyism provides a thrill, an addictive rush for those folks that indulge in it, it limits our openness to explore different brands and boxes us into a limited technological world-view and experience. Fanboyism also causes unnecessary stress in your daily life. there is always the urge to check on reply to in that tweetstorm you didn't have to start or be a part of and that directly affects your ability to enjoy the products you own.

Maintain your devices
If you asked me, personally I will tell you this; do not overprotect your device, with cases and sleeves that take away from the beauty of the device. Just enjoy the device the way it was intended, but do take care of your device. Respect the technology, and just enjoy it. Also, do take breaks often, because these modern gadgets do get very addictive, and not in a good way.



Have some history with your device
I cannot emphasize on this enough. Do not get caught up in the artificial upgrade cycles of the companies. You will only be making yourself poorer and others quite rich in doing so. Back in the day people prided themselves on how long they were able to keep gadgets and appliances. Loyalty was a thing then, you see, and the companies catered to that. Those were the days of durable gadgets such as film cameras that were built to withstand a nuclear explosion, or two. In our time, the technology companies have a different focus, it's all about their bottom-line. Hence products have become skimpier, and designed to become obsolete after a couple years. All in the name of reducing labor and manufacturing costs, most products have been outsourced to countries with less stringent labor laws and cheaper manufacturing. So here's my advice; as difficult as it may seem, as tempting as it may be, do hang on to your devices. We can change the current culture if we all send the message that we will not be slaves to the artificial upgrade cycles.



Take some time to explore your device
Read. The. Manual. Yeah, I know, it is boring but it can be quite useful to maximizing the life of your device, and you get to use your device at it's full potential. At the very least, watch some YouTube videos about your device, to learn about unconventional uses. I would recommend MKBHD's channel for no-nonsense and informative videos about technology in general.

 

Enjoy!

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