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Solved Problems (by kplx) (piefed.kobel.fyi)
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[-] LillyPip@lemmy.ca 51 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Counterpoint: I’m old and don’t miss any of that. Fewer devices is very, very nice. And fewer physical pieces of media is even nicer for the environment.

I actually don’t miss having to be kind and rewind, or spending 15 minutes with a pencil spooling my music back into a listenable format after being a bit careless with my tapes, only to have Glenn Frey sound like he’s eating marbles next time.

Less waste and less hassle. Nostalgia is overrated.

[-] ceenote@lemmy.world 20 points 4 months ago

It's more nuanced. We like having all that stuff on one device. It's the other stuff the device does that annoys us.

[-] LillyPip@lemmy.ca 8 points 4 months ago

That’s not an issue with the medium, though.

And I really appreciate being able to watch hours of content with no adverts now. Back in the day, nearly everything had unskippable ads. There was no adblock; you had to watch everything on someone else’s schedule, and the only way to not watch ads was to pee or make a sandwich.

I haven’t seen an ad in years and, my god, it’s awesome.

[-] harmbugler@piefed.social 6 points 4 months ago

I guess i just miss having a walkman mode, where all it did was play music. If I could turn on a walkman mode on my phone, I sometimes would definitely do that.

[-] squirrel@piefed.kobel.fyi 8 points 4 months ago

Turn on do-not-disturb and you don't get notifications or calls. It's not a true walkman mode but it turns off some distractions.

[-] harmbugler@piefed.social 4 points 4 months ago

A good suggestion. The harder problem is actually me. Oh, imma skip this song I don’t like it. Maybe they have a new album out, I’ll just quickly check. Hmm, what’s the weather tomorrow. Etc.

[-] feinstruktur@lemmy.ml 10 points 4 months ago

Hmm, not sure about that. Waiting for my TV to boot or update or connecting to Wi-Fi or my m music streaming app to 'think' for two minutes until it works at all is tedious. Don't get me wrong - it's still net positive. But I would instantly choose any option that offers less features if it would give me back this cosy feeling, that I'm the customer and not the product. Don't want to go into details here but it feels at certain edges that some of these integrated functionalities have simply not been tested for an actual user, but simply to offer ... more.

Writing that, it also could just be age bias. :-p

[-] Best_Jeanist@discuss.online 4 points 4 months ago

Dump Spotify and embrace yt-dlp

[-] yermaw@sh.itjust.works 4 points 4 months ago

I think the problem we're facing now is that we've basically hit on as good as its going to get for a while.

Previously things had to improve upon what came before, but with phones being as versatile and all-encompassing as they are, there isnt really much room for improvement until the next big leap, whatever that will look like. Companies still want to make more money though, and they will do whatever it takes to get it.

We're no longer customers as we used to be, we're targets. We're being analysed at ridiculous levels of scrutiny so they can turn the dials in just the right way to trick us into parting with just a little more money.

I mean, you know, alwayshasbeen.jpg and whatever, but the feeling is gone.

[-] Ephemeral@feddit.org 2 points 4 months ago

I only use streaming services to discover new music. General listening to music I like, is through local files. Those are always plug and play. No need to wait. Just listen to whatever you want.

Tv shows or movies are also downloaded and streamed from Jellyfin, a local media server on my pc. Local just works. And I'm the owner of my files.

[-] thermal_shock@lemmy.world 1 points 4 months ago

My situation is very similar, I stream, but also have a vast collection of local media.

[-] Taldan@lemmy.world 4 points 4 months ago

How far back are we talking? Because I remember in the '90s using the VHS recorder to record shows to fast forward through the ads later

[-] LillyPip@lemmy.ca 1 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Yeah, but you had to sit there for like a minute to do that, and you had to be on alert for that, not enjoying it but waiting for the ad break. Nowadays, the whole thing just plays uninterrupted.

[-] thermal_shock@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

One benefit I find of less options is you enjoy it more. You paid good money for CDs back then. I carried enema of the state by blink182 and Americana by offspring everywhere with my cd player. Played them beginning to end, two of my favorite albums at that time.

Now, there is just so much, you could never consume it all. And when you do find new cool shit, next week it's something else. I still fall back to offspring when I don't care what to play. I missed offspring supercharged when it came out but they made a new one called running and cycling with the offspring that has some of the same tracks and I really like it.

I just feel quality and your care for an album due to the money invested was greater back then.

[-] FatVegan@leminal.space 1 points 4 months ago

I do like to listen to some vinyl every now and then, but that's about it. I've listened to portable music all my life. Loved my walkman, don't miss the quality and the cassettes. Loved my walkman, don't miss the skipping, broken cd's and how limited it is. Love minidisc, it solved most of the problems before and LP minidiscs were pretty nice, and of all the things i would say i miss them the most, because how futuristic it felt using a cassette/cd hybrid. But then mp3 players came soon after and that solved everything (almost) and now with tidal, my phone and good headphones, i can listen to everything at all times in lossless quality? What's not to love?

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[-] dellhiver@sh.itjust.works 13 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

I miss physical buttons for when I'm listening to music.

Having to unlock my phone to skip a track or advance a podcast is really annoying.

I used to be able to click a button in my pocket. I could even slide a bit to skip forward and back 30 seconds.

I also like to listen to music in bed in the dark. The bright screen, the messing around with the unlock, really breaks the flow.

Yes I have earphones that are touch sensitive, but poking it messes with any good isolated fit I've achieved, the touch doesn't always register and after a while, one ear starts to hurt. Especially when you need to tap three times to restart a track.

I've now got this stupid setup with a BT dongle in a usb a-c converter; which plugs into my phone and controls a tiny physical keyboard.

There are lots of mp3 players, but they don't support streaming platforms. The ones that do, also went mainly touch screen only and cost a fortune. There is one physical Spotify player with buttons but it's just a dumb cube with very basic functionality.

[-] humble_boatsman@sh.itjust.works 6 points 4 months ago

You had me in the first half, but streaming on Spotify can go right to Dell.

[-] dellhiver@sh.itjust.works 1 points 4 months ago

I totally agree. I still have a large mp3 and flac collection.

When Spotify came a long I used both for a while. But my Spotify playlists became so full of completely random tracks, it was never financially viable to even buy 10%, and its become more difficult to do so legally.

For the bands/artists I really like, I've bought CDs or if that's not possible, bought digital versions.

I am attempting to transition away from streaming completely, but I have playlists which are 100+ hours long; which I've curated myself. I have a dozen others which are 8-20.

You could accuse me of having too much music. That i can't possibly listen to most of it. Perhaps there is some truth in that. When you've had access to an unlimited buffet, it's difficult to go back to a set menu.

Yes, ultimately I want to own all my most listened to music, but for now it would be nice to do both and have a player with physical buttons.

[-] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 5 points 4 months ago

Most decent headphones still seem to have physical buttons. The big ones. With earbuds you're kinda out of luck

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[-] caurvo@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 4 months ago

I don't use streaming, but I have high hopes for Snowsky. The Echo Mini is very close to what I want, and the slated release for the Echo (normal?) is soon.

I'm very grateful to 2010 me who decided to rip my family's CD albums into a hard drive, which has stayed with me through multiple countries, pcs, and listening devices. Built on with Bandcamp and Soulseek.

[-] mEEGal@lemmy.world 9 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

You miss the emotions the walkman brought, especially that nowadays you don't even own data that's on this small all-in-one device, let alone the music you listen to...

So of course you don't get as much joy out of it when it basically is a door to the hell where souls go to agonize wishing they'd die already

sigh but yeah, I get your point

[-] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 8 points 4 months ago

you don’t even own data that’s on this small all-in-one device

If I don't own it, why does everyone keep insisting I stole it?

[-] regdog@lemmy.world 7 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

If buying is not owning then copying is not stealing.

[-] UnspecificGravity@piefed.social 7 points 4 months ago

The problem is that this one device we adopted kept getting worse at what it was supposed to do and got repurposed as a real time ad delivery and social engineering machine instead.

[-] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 6 points 4 months ago

I really do though. I would splice a guitar cable into one and use it as a portable guitar Amp so I could practice wherever

[-] Honytawk@feddit.nl 1 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Do you carry your guitar wherever as well?

[-] kepix@lemmy.world 5 points 4 months ago

i only miss the device controls. the buttons and clickwheels were so awsome.

[-] vogi@piefed.social 4 points 4 months ago

i hear this a lot but it’s not like those things do not exist anymore? they are even still being produced.

[-] kdcd@sh.itjust.works 3 points 4 months ago

Just the other day I was noticing how you don’t see vhs or cassette tape ribbon just littering the ground anymore. It’s better this way

[-] funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 2 points 4 months ago

now you don't even see the lithium batteries leaching into the water supply!

[-] fishos@lemmy.world 4 points 4 months ago

Yup, thank God each device just has one lithium battery, instead of the HUNDREDS UPON HUNDREDS of alkaline batteries you'd go through in the life of a device in the past. You got about 6-8 hours of gameplay in a GameBoy from 2 AA batteries. Kids played these every single day. You have any idea how many we went through?

Or stereos/walkman of the time using even more? Stereos used 4-12 C/D batteries and lasted maybe 2 hours.

You have no idea how incredibly better you have it with lithium batteries and the waste they create. We used to buy alkaline batteries by the 24/48 pack as a regular grocery item.

[-] Grass@sh.itjust.works 1 points 4 months ago

I've used recchargeables for all my life. some of the first ones still work. No idea where they actually end up but I always brought them to the battery section at the recycle depot when they finally died.

[-] PhobosAnomaly@feddit.uk 2 points 4 months ago

I remember getting my Nokia N95 nearly twenty years ago, and it was fucking awesome being able to reveal the four media control buttons, and blindly control music in my headphones from my pocket while walking to work or on the bus or train.

As other commenters have said - I look at my old Ixus camera or LG Soul MP3 player or Nokia 3330 with fond nostalgia memories... but thank fuck I'm not lugging all that about now.

[-] Screen_Shatter@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago

Can I get it all in one device without requiring an internet connection for functionality?

[-] rumschlumpel@feddit.org 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Not missing discmen, though. Those sucked.

But yeah, seriously. Walkmen were extremely primitive and all kinds of inconvenient compared to later digital devices, but that also meant that they didn't contain ads, spyware or feeds full of propaganda. And they were fairly rugged (in stark contrast to the various mp3 players I had, which didn't even have touchscreens), didn't have glued-in batteries in proprietary formats (again in contrast to mp3 players), and definitely didn't just become unable to perform their functions because of software stuff.

[-] DrDystopia@lemy.lol 2 points 4 months ago

Not missing discmen, though. Those sucked.

30 seconds anti-skip worked great until one moved for more than 30 seconds at a time-me-me-me-me-me-me-ERR

[-] Th4tGuyII@fedia.io 2 points 4 months ago

Personally I don't think the feature consolidation was the problem. It IS still nice to have my music library, a camera, and a fairly capable computer all able to fit in my pocket...

The problem is we consolidated around specific device makers, letting them get too big and too comfortable - we've gone from being customers to being money chattle.

[-] titanicx@lemmy.zip 1 points 4 months ago

I'm glad I only have one device now. Fuck having 12 things.

[-] myfunnyaccountname@lemmy.zip 1 points 4 months ago

The biggest problem we created is that you used to own things. Like music. Now you just lease them. Or stream them. And don’t forget the 65 minutes of ads for every 23 minutes of music. Or maybe that 33 minute ad in front of that 87 second long YouTube video. The device isn’t the issue, or the lack of devices. It’s the bullshit we have to deal with now that everything is a subscription or ad.

[-] roserose56@lemmy.zip 1 points 4 months ago

What if you have half? A smartphone and a Walkman!

[-] Tigeroovy@lemmy.ca 0 points 4 months ago

CDs and players still exist. Just go buy them and live how you want.

[-] bytesonbike@discuss.online 2 points 4 months ago

Right? This is confusing.

Go for it. Buy a portable DVD player with a portable screen and head phones to watch movies. Buy a clock, a dumb phone, a little portable game device. Buy a magazine with nudie pictures. Buy a camera and take it to a photo place so get physical copies of your dick pics. Mail them to your friends. Buy a megaphone so you can yell racist things to your neighbors.

All of this is still possible right now. No smart phone needed.

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this post was submitted on 18 Dec 2025
186 points (96.0% liked)

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