Tell us something we don’t know.

[turnkey4099]

I don't think anyone trusts them. I would love to see manufacturing return to the U.S. Unfortunately, American workers have priced themselves out of the market for a lot of products, and equally unfortunately we seem to have raised a generation that sees that kind of work as beneath them.

There is also the danger of their buyying farmland by the square mile. Won't be long and they'll own some states.

 

[Eaglesfate]

There is also the danger of their buyying farmland by the square mile. Won't be long and they'll own some states.

Wouldn't there be more than enough room where old industry sat but now sits in ruin or are empty lots to fill back in?

 

[two_bit_score]

Wouldn't there be more than enough room where old industry sat but now sits in ruin or are empty lots to fill back in?

Remediation costs probably exceed the value of the "old industry" occupied land. You can't really replace farm or ranch land sold in sections with some empty urban lots or old factory sites.

 

[dstig1]

I know 4 people, including myself, who spent a career staying up to date on computer hardware, software and applications, who once retired ditched almost all of it. I have a laptop and phone and I'll be fine. Pretty soon I'll be like the pygmies who saw a screen for the first time, and looked behind it to try to find the horses.

Generally, as economies mature workweek hours go down.

Geez, I just suggested a decent monitor to make it easier to see for us older guys. I didn't say you needed the newest Intel Strontium Octuplet core Cray Mini Super processor or anything. When i bring my laptop home from work I plug it into one of my 2 monitors from my Home PC and flip it back and forth between them as needed (rarely - and just a button push for which port). Sooooooo much easier reading stuff on the monitor than the laptop screen, and it's just a half decent 21" monitor that is a few years old.

Old eyes, ya know...

 

[Jstpssng]

There is also the danger of their buyying farmland by the square mile. Won't be long and they'll own some states.

I wrote a reply, but deleted it as it was rather political.

 

[Oaktree]

I know 4 people, including myself, who spent a career staying up to date on computer hardware, software and applications, who once retired ditched almost all of it. I have a laptop and phone and I'll be fine.

Add me to the list of retired tech workers that want nothing to do with tech. I don't even carry or use a cell phone..... No social media and this is the only forum I read.

Another former tech worker here who has only a minimal use for tech toys now that I'm retired. If something genuinely makes my life easier or somehow better I'd consider it, but so much of the tech-y stuff just adds clutter. I have no need or desire for a smartphone, tablet or Alexa. Yeah, I'm sure I could figure out how to work it but any added value to my life would be minimal, and it seems that the ability to be reachable anytime anywhere quickly morphs into an obligation to be. No thanks.

I do participate in a few forums in addition to TBN, but no Facebook, Twitter, etc.

I think you would find that upgrading your computer monitor would be a real eye-opener, if yours is really old. The new ones, even the modestly priced ones, have great resolution and clarity and allow you to zoom in quite nicely. It may also depend on the graphics capabilities of your computer or graphics card, but for most people, it doesn't take much graphics power to have a huge impact on the quality you see. Especially if you have a laptop, which it sounds like you do, plugging in a monitor or two to that (may need a docking station for 2) has a huge impact on ease of use/vision.

+1 on newer monitors! A couple years ago I added a 2nd one to my desk computer and my only regret was not doing it sooner. It makes it so much easier to juggle multiple open windows especially when switching between open programs. I don't know how anyone can accomplish anything on the dinky screens touchscreen gadgets use.

 

[Dftodd]

Another former tech worker here who has only a minimal use for tech toys now that I'm retired. If something genuinely makes my life easier or somehow better I'd consider it, but so much of the tech-y stuff just adds clutter. I have no need or desire for a smartphone, tablet or Alexa. Yeah, I'm sure I could figure out how to work it but any added value to my life would be minimal, and it seems that the ability to be reachable anytime anywhere quickly morphs into an obligation to be. No thanks.

I do participate in a few forums in addition to TBN, but no Facebook, Twitter, etc.

+1 on newer monitors! A couple years ago I added a 2nd one to my desk computer and my only regret was not doing it sooner. It makes it so much easier to juggle multiple open windows especially when switching between open programs. I don't know how anyone can accomplish anything on the dinky screens touchscreen gadgets use.

99% of my tablet use is reading books. I figured out what I was spending for books a month, so I downloaded the Kindle app and got a Kindle unlimited membership. The unlimited membership is about what you would pay for a couple of books, and I read 3 to 4 books a week. The 1% usage a month is paying bills and surfacing the internet on occasion.

I listen to audio books and podcasts while driving. Downloaded to my smartphone. I also use the navigation app pretty much daily for work.

 

[RSKY]

It ain't just IT customers that are stupid. I'm a mechanic for an equipment rental company. Just when I think I've seen it all, someone steps in and ups their game

I consider myself somewhat knowledgeable about machinery BUT I rented a concrete saw one time and put the blade on completely wrong. When I took it back and the guy showed me what I had done.... Well I'm an idiot. So I believe you when you saw you see some strange stuff. That was years ago but I drove twenty miles to another rental place to keep from renting from them again I was so embarrassed.

 

[Jstpssng]

99% of my tablet use is reading books. I figured out what I was spending for books a month, so I downloaded the Kindle app and got a Kindle unlimited membership. The unlimited membership is about what you would pay for a couple of books, and I read 3 to 4 books a week. The 1% usage a month is paying bills and surfacing the internet on occasion.

I listen to audio books and podcasts while driving. Downloaded to my smartphone. I also use the navigation app pretty much daily for work.

Yet there's something about reading a real book which digital can't match. Maine has gone to digital lawbooks for fishing and hunting. Trying to decipher the fishing laws in particular was a challenge with the paper version; doing it on a "smartphone" is just asking for a fine. I've held a hunting/fishing combo with various endorsements every year since 1977; if I can't get a paper copy I won't renew this year. I used to keep a copy in my tackle box, and another in each vehicle.

 

[Pixguy]

Geeze! I only had to walk to school uphill, both ways. Those kids had it tough.