On a note that's rarely even talked about, though, and admittedly minor in the grand scheme of "sh*t show" related items happening on a daily basis, I would like to point out a new epidemic that's probably touched all of us and yet no one really seems to be addressing: endless updates.
I don't know about you, but I would swear just about every app and webpage under the sun, you name it, have been doing updates galore. What kind of updates? Well, usually they say something like 'security' but there are changes in page layouts, colors, how to login, overall functionality, and so on. In fact, the list is endless. Unfortunately, so are the inconveniences.
Google Chrome alone probably holds the record for the biggest number of updates on a weekly basis. Dare I say there are perhaps four weekly? It seems like every time I turn around, Chrome has an update and I get the dreaded "Chrome has been updated - check out the new features..." Like I f***in' care about new Chrome features. I mean, who does?! And, well, if you do...you need a serious hobby, at least in my opinion. At least half of these updates clear your cookie cache and then you need to reenter all of your info on your regularly visited pages, which usually triggers the secondary authentication issue, otherwise none as "adding hell onto your already hellish day". There's no great feeling quite like the message "we don't recognize your device - is this a new device?" Ugh.
Windows isn't far behind but at least lately it's slowed down slightly to possibly only one update per week. God forbid you have more than one computer, though, with one being idle for a few weeks because it'll start downloading endless items once powered up, bringing your CPU to a crawl. I'll give Windows credit where it's due, though, since it can usually now force the update and NOT have you lose all your open windows and information. Of course, that took some doing and painful learning along the way but...
The real fun, though, are all the little updates that seem to be going on in various app's. Yahoo Mail has become a freakin' nightmare, in my opinion. I mean...how did we forget how to have standardized formatting in an email program? And then, there's Outlook, of which suddenly decided to move buttons around, hide functionality, and the dreaded auto AI pop up's, with messages ala 2000's Clippy saying "hi, how can I help you today?" My answer is usually "go f*** yourself" which strangely doesn't have an answer.
Seriously, folks, does EVERY app need to be updated?! What happened to the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality?! Well, it obviously flew out the window and now we're being inundated daily with bizarre changes that sometimes you can't even get your heard around. I tend to ask at least twice a day "who the hell would have asked for THIS change?!" Apparently, it's some mystery person that's putting in requests to make our lives pure hell.
Technology used to be considered "fun", "exciting", and the "new frontier". These days, though, it's more for the faint of heart, people who love to have their process changed daily for no reason, and/or have nothing better to do but submit weird update requests to programmers. It's no wonder my 85 year old father can't figure out how to do the simplest task on a computer; I can't either. All hail 2026! It may just be the year that finally does us in. Seatbelts buckled...
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