u/lisaluvr

I was looking through my expense tracker today and realized how much my monthly subscriptions were adding up…It’s probably not a lot compared to most people, but as someone who’s pretty frugal, having three subscriptions already feels like a lot: iCloud, Netflix, and a gym membership.

If I had to keep only one, it’d honestly be the gym membership lol.

How many subscriptions do you currently pay for, and if you had to cut them down to just one, which would you keep?

I'm curious if anyone here has ever made a tech prediction that actually ended up happening...It could be about smartphones, AI, gaming, social media, or anything tech-related.

What's one prediction you got right, even if people didn't believe you at the time?

So I’ve been looking for another monitor to replace my current one on fb marketplace… I know the things there are either a hit or miss, at least around my area, but at least it’s cheap.

(For context, I use a laptop and I’m replacing my 2nd monitor since it’s a hand-me-down)

There were several sellers who I have talked to already and one that I actually went on to meet, but our deal fall through because the monitor had more defects than what they posted… So in the end I decided to buy a new one instead, it costed more but at least I won’t worry about hidden issues lol

I know I’m cooked when I can’t go “bored” you know what I mean.. I tried picking up books again. It took me 10 days to finish a 250+ page book that can be done in a day or two. It’s hard to stay attention especially when I’m so used to short form media now…

So far reading books doesn’t help me that much with fixing my attention span, but it was worth trying.

How about you guys, what are you doing to fix your attention span?

It is the addition of AI summaries to most apps and websites that I come across these days. There are times when I just want to read the original piece on my own, but the screen is filled with the AI summary.

What do you think is the worst example of "AI for the sake of AI" till now?

I've seen many people fall in love with the iPhone 17 Pro Max design, tbh its not my cup of tea. If I had to pick based on looks I'd probably choose the Google Pixel series. I like how simple and stylish it looks...The camera bar is a touch. It makes the phone stand out without being too flashy

What's your choice if we're just looking at design?

I feel like remote work has given everyone at least one weird habit. Wearing pajamas with a formal shirt for meetings to only show half of your body during meetings is probably the most common one 😂 Mine is a little worse... my work tracks activity, so if I have to step away for a bit, I've literally tied my mouse to my fan so it keeps moving and doesn't mark me as inactive. I'm not proud of it, but it works lmao.

What's the weirdest tech habit you've picked up since working remotely?

With how fast technology is changing, especially with AI becoming more common, I can’t help but wonder if there are tech skills that won’t really matter anymore in the next five years.

Is there one that comes to mind for you?

Or do you think most tech skills just evolve instead of disappearing?

Maybe I’m just getting old, but why does it feel like every app nowadays is trying to become a social network? For once I just want an app that’s offline lol

I download an app to do one specific thing, and somehow it ends up having stories, followers, likes, short videos, or a feed I never asked for…

I’m sure this is a common experience for gen z lmao but for me, it was when my grandma asked me to recover her Facebook account because she forgot her password.

I asked her what email she used, and she just stared at me. Then I asked when she created the account and she said she couldn’t remember either 😭 At one point I literally told her, “Ma, I wasn’t there when you created this account.”

In the end, we had to create a brand new Facebook account for her because she wanted to reconnect with her high school friends for a reunion.

That’s when I realized I had officially become the family IT guy. What was your moment?

For those of you working remotely, what specific piece of office hardware made the biggest difference to your posture or productivity? Could be anything... an ergonomic chair, standing desk, monitor arm, keyboard, footrest, etc. I'm curious because it seems like a lot of people don't realize how much a small upgrade can improve their work setup.

What was the game changer for you?

I wonder what answers everyone will give since I believe every single one of them will have some update that made the software worse in their experience.

It might be a change in the design, removing some feature, adding mandatory subscriptions, or just slowing the app down. What is the worst update for any software that made it absolutely unusable?

I feel like a lot of people buy laptops based on aesthetics or marketing without really thinking about what they’ll actually use the laptop for.

What’s the biggest mistake people make when buying a laptop in your opinion?

For me, it’s Sleeping Dogs. I actually finished it for the 4th time last Sunday and it still never gets old. I love the atmosphere and ambiance of the game..it really makes me feel like I’m walking around Hong Kong.

Considering it came out in 2014, I still think it’s an amazing game.

What’s a game that you think everyone should play at least once?

I know RAM prices are kind of crazy right now, but it got me thinking…which PC component do you think people tend to overspend on the most?

Could be something that offers diminishing returns, something that’s mostly bought for aesthetics, or just a component that people generally spend way more on than they need to.