Fancy tech purchases

[Gray]

I think with my daughter it's more peer pressure than fashion.

The pressure to be like the rest.
But isn't that what fashion really is?

 

[plastic penguin]

The pressure to be like the rest.
But isn't that what fashion really is?

Possibly. It's not quite how I would define fashion. The only addition is she would never have a flip phone, which is more of a fashion statement.

 

[James105]

Possibly. It's not quite how I would define fashion. The only addition is she would never have a flip phone, which is more of a fashion statement.

They still do flip phones? I remember just before the last ice age one guy I knew had one he was a trekkie too and I thought it was cool.

 

[plastic penguin]

They still do flip phones? I remember just before the last ice age one guy I knew had one he was a trekkie too and I thought it was cool.

Samsung are producing new ones apparently.

Buy Galaxy Z Fold 4 5G | Price & Deals | Samsung UK

Buy the New Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 5G folding phone. Enjoy Exclusive Trade In Offers, 0% Finance, Free Delivery & Free Returns at Samsung UK.

www.samsung.com

 

[Edbostan]

Samsung are producing new ones apparently.

Buy Galaxy Z Fold 4 5G | Price & Deals | Samsung UK

Buy the New Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 5G folding phone. Enjoy Exclusive Trade In Offers, 0% Finance, Free Delivery & Free Returns at Samsung UK.

www.samsung.com

My daughter has one. The screen folds in half.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

They still do flip phones? I remember just before the last ice age one guy I knew had one he was a trekkie too and I thought it was cool.

A Motorola Razr? Had one and loved it.

 

[Friesiansam]

Samsung are producing new ones apparently.

Buy Galaxy Z Fold 4 5G | Price & Deals | Samsung UK

Buy the New Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 5G folding phone. Enjoy Exclusive Trade In Offers, 0% Finance, Free Delivery & Free Returns at Samsung UK.

www.samsung.com

Samsung have been selling them for a few years now, the first version was withdrawn from sale quickly, as the screens failed very quickly. I think there are still some question marks over longer term durability. Add the ludicrous price, that Samsung only update Android for two years, that I don’t want to be followed around by Google and, I won’t go near one. My iPhone 12 cost less than half as much, will have an up to date OS for at least 5 years and, iPhones are reliable and durable.

 

[jjbomber]

Samsung are producing new ones apparently.

Buy Galaxy Z Fold 4 5G | Price & Deals | Samsung UK

Buy the New Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 5G folding phone. Enjoy Exclusive Trade In Offers, 0% Finance, Free Delivery & Free Returns at Samsung UK.

www.samsung.com

Oppo as well. Google Pixel and Motorola are other options. My cousin has one and they are wicked. Way better than I was expecting.

 

[JDL]

After getting into Hi-Fi and spending hours listening to my rather mediocre system that nonetheless did cost more than £500 to put together, people around me though I was embarrassing myself spending this sort of money just to listen to music. However, spending this money on a smartphone or a PC is not frowned upon is it?

People just have no idea what distortion-less music sounds like. There is no way I would get more amusement, to say nothing of positive mental and psychological benefits of listening to music (this varies with music genres), if I have spent this money on more popular tech products.

Buying a hi-fi system is not a fancy purchase, at least not in a society where spending similar money on a smartphone is normalized.

I wonder what "sort of people" it is, that you "have around you" that would "frown" (?) on you spending five hundred quid on your music system. Moreover, whether or not people, whether they be those you know or not, don't understand the immense benefit of being able to listen to music of your choosing, suggests a lack of understanding and appreciation of what music is.
Some of the greatest genius souls that ever came into this world were composers. To bring their music into your life is not only worthwhile but essential to some of us.
After all, if none of us were to bother, then the Mozart's and Bach's and Beethoven's etc, of this world would be forgotten.
I would suggest that there are plenty of people who don't spend five hundred, but five thousand or more. People with no appreciation of high quality music systems and the sound of the music they can re- produce won't know until they've heard it. I just spent a fair bit of money upgrading my music system and to me it's one of the best things I have ever done.

 

[Al ears]

I wonder what "sort of people" it is, that you "have around you" that would "frown" (?) on you spending five hundred quid on your music system. Moreover, whether or not people, whether they be those you know or not, don't understand the immense benefit of being able to listen to music of your choosing, suggests a lack of understanding and appreciation of what music is.
Some of the greatest genius souls that ever came into this world were composers. To bring their music into your life is not only worthwhile but essential to some of us.
After all, if none of us were to bother, then the Mozart's and Bach's and Beethoven's etc, of this world would be forgotten.
I would suggest that there are plenty of people who don't spend five hundred, but five thousand or more. People with no appreciation of high quality music systems and the sound of the music they can re- produce won't know until they've heard it. I just spent a fair bit of money upgrading my music system and to me it's one of the best things I have ever done.

which only goes to prove that some people's idea as to what is really important in life differs greatly to other people's, and so it always will be.

 

[jjbomber]

which only goes to prove that some people's idea as to what is really important in life differs greatly to other people's, and so it always will be.

Absolutely. There are 7 million people in the UK who smoke 20 or more cigarettes a day. Average of £12 a pack. People will happily pay £5,000 a year on damaging their lungs, but not £5,000 on an amplifier to damage their ears! It's their money; they can waste it on what they like!

 

[Al ears]

Absolutely. There are 7 million people in the UK who smoke 20 or more cigarettes a day. Average of £12 a pack. People will happily pay £5,000 a year on damaging their lungs, but not £5,000 on an amplifier to damage their ears! It's their money; they can waste it on what they like!

You're right, cough cough.
Gave up damaging my lungs years ago.
Life has done for my hearing.....

 

[Friesiansam]

Absolutely. There are 7 million people in the UK who smoke 20 or more cigarettes a day. Average of £12 a pack. People will happily pay £5,000 a year on damaging their lungs, but not £5,000 on an amplifier to damage their ears! It's their money; they can waste it on what they like!

A near neighbour of ours died of lung cancer a few years ago, after a long time of it wearing him down, painfully. If he had spent the money on HiFi, he might be a bit deaf but, he might also still be with us and able to drive his lovely Alfa Brera. He was only a few years older than me...

 

[jjbomber]

, he might also still be with us and able to drive his lovely Alfa Brera.

Why did the Romans build their roads straight?

Because Italian cars are cr@p at cornering!

 

[Al ears]

Why did the Romans build their roads straight?

Because Italian cars are cr@p at cornering!

Ho, ho.
Didn't they used to say that about Yank cars?

 

[JDL]

Why did the Romans build their roads straight?

Because Italian cars are cr@p at cornering!

Ha ha good point

 

[roaduck]

I got a little bluetooth box from China that is IR remote control and I can hear my full 2-way phone conversation on my stereo.Plus I have flac and wav files on the phone`s total 640 GB storage anyway.I also have a permanent link to all my 150 TB on 50 Linux Redhat / JBOD//SSD/NVMe striped raid 0,1 and 6 servers on my phone which has roaming and unlimited data.I have a Shanling battery 32/384 DAC/ phone amp for my Asus ROG laptop and USB C phone so I can have better sound for my HD600`s as well when I`m out of the house or abroad.
I`ve had a Worldwide server link for over ten years.I used 40 GB of data on Saturday alone on my cheapie rooted Samsung Galaxy A13 5G.I always put custom ROMs in my phone that way I can have no adverts at all popping up on my phone - it speeds it up tremendously.So you can have an integrated system especially if your phone is rooted and your laptops and desktops are dual and triple booted Redhat/Zorin/Win 10 computers ( I have eight) with non NAS and offline servers plus tens of thousands of full offline website back-ups.I also do constant incremental back-ups so my stored websites are always up to date.I`ve been building / programming PC`s since 1980.

 

[roaduck]

I have a few 2G and 3G old dumb phones together with a script blocker and an IP hopper/ nested proxies / browser in a sandbox and my Nord VPN - I`m sorted.
They know the car is out of the garage but not where I`m driving it - you need a good connection though because a VPN slows traffic right down - personally I think it`s worth it.
I`ve been in Perth, Australia for over 3 years now - virtually - haha!

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Didn't they used to say that about Yank cars?

Yep, typically there's little significantly wrong with the handling of Italian cars.

 

[DCarmi]

Add the ludicrous price, that Samsung only update Android for two years

Not true. Many Samsung phones and tablets get 5 years of updates support including 4 OS upgrades.
For longest updates support look at the more sustainable and repairable Fairphone. The Fairphone 2 received it final update 7 years after release.

People still using 3G phones should be aware that Vodaphone are well on the road to shutting their 3G network down, with EE starting soon and Three following in 2024. O2 have not yet said when they will start.

2G will remain for the time being for calls and texts.

 

[Gray]

The Fairphone 2 received it final update 7 years after release.

Wow!
It was good for a whole 7 years 😱

Seriously, if I ever buy any hi-fi component that doesn't (massively) exceed 7 years of life, I will feel extremely hard done by.

Yes I know I'm not comparing like with like....but that's the real problem with phones / computers.

 

[Friesiansam]

Not true. Many Samsung phones and tablets get 5 years of updates support including 4 OS upgrades.
For longest updates support look at the more sustainable and repairable Fairphone. The Fairphone 2 received it final update 7 years after release.

People still using 3G phones should be aware that Vodaphone are well on the road to shutting their 3G network down, with EE starting soon and Three following in 2024. O2 have not yet said when they will start.

2G will remain for the time being for calls and texts.

Maybe things have improved re Samsung updates but, it was certainly the case that you got two years worth of updates, when I used a Galaxy S8. At least that was my experience. I'm expecting to use the iPhone for at least 5 years, then replace the 12 with a 17.

BTW, still got that phone, it is now a portable music player, in conjunction with my Mojo, with all network access disabled. Also I agree with others, phones are too short lived, if your usage requires an up to date OS, for security reasons. I binned the headphones I owned before I bought the AKG K550s, because they were basically knackered, after 25 years of frequent usage.

 

[DCarmi]

Seriously, if I ever buy any hi-fi component that doesn't (massively) exceed 7 years of life, I will feel extremely hard done by.

...and you would expect that providing it does not have a network connection or has more than 7 years of OS support. It is not that long ago researchers were able to hack into a network through a Hue lightbulb (since patched).

 

[DiggyGun]

After getting into Hi-Fi and spending hours listening to my rather mediocre system that nonetheless did cost more than £500 to put together, people around me though I was embarrassing myself spending this sort of money just to listen to music. However, spending this money on a smartphone or a PC is not frowned upon is it?

People just have no idea what distortion-less music sounds like. There is no way I would get more amusement, to say nothing of positive mental and psychological benefits of listening to music (this varies with music genres), if I have spent this money on more popular tech products.

Buying a hi-fi system is not a fancy purchase, at least not in a society where spending similar money on a smartphone is normalized.

Enjoy your Hi-Fi and music. Spend as much or as little as you want on our hobby. Don’t worry what other people think.

DG…

 

[jjbomber]

Galaxy Z Flip 4 is reduced from £999 to £599 on Amazon if you're quick. Bargain!