What's the latest gadget or tech that you regret buying?
I honestly regret buying my gaming laptop. I barely use it since I don't have space in my room, so I need to attach it to the TV, every time I need to use, move my series X and unplug it... And I need a wired controller. Then, there's always a pesky update, drivers, stuff... When I'm playing on my X I don't have to worry about any of that, is more of a hassle to use (the laptop).
Ngl I basically bought it because I wanted to play Spiderman and other not available games on Xbox but even like that the regret is there.
I regret ever buying an Arlo home security camera system. Neat idea, poor execution. And fuck subscriptions. I took it all down. I don't miss having creepy-looking cameras in my yard / house. Only put it up because of some very sketchy neighbors we had. And they have gone to prison, so, don't need them any longer.
Glad you mentioned the gaming laptop. I've been thinking about getting one but keep talking myself out of it.
Unrelated but my wife’s parents are also in this situation. Bought cameras because a sketchy neighbour. Fortunately though they’re now going to prison! Hooray!
Maybe Boozilla is your wife’s parents
I briefly had that thought and then remembered that a couple of weeks ago, my father in law had to explain to his wife what a “casting couch” was.
Aww. Don't you just love a happy ending?
Same, except I deeply regret getting Vivint home security. Took a year to finally get features I had paid for up front. Massive communication failure between support/billing/tech. Sleezy sales practices. Their hardware must be purchased through a third party credit company. Couldn't transfer my hardware after I moved despite being promised I could. My cameras are sitting on my kitchen counter unplugged because the whole system is a mess. Never ever touch anything Vivint related.
My PS5. Even at the time, I knew my gaming days were behind me but figured I'd still use it for media streaming, Blu-Ray playing, and playing my PS4 disks.
Well, the Playstation Plex app is garbage, I barely watch blu-rays, and turns out I played more than enough of those games a decade ago.
We definitely regretted at first, there were like no games to play. But are using it now
Like I said, I'm just not a gamer anymore and was buying it more as a home media device that me and my partner could play Minecraft on every now and then. Turns out that Sony's support for the media streaming I care about is trash, so my PS5 gets maybe an hour of on time a month
I don't play often, but when I do play, I lose an entire weekend. (I'm almost 50, BTW.)
I really love their VR system; the resolution is amazing.
Ngl if my country would've sold PS5 during the pandemic I would've bought one instead of the X. Having Spiderman and god of war in my current console would've most likely cancelled the plans of buying a laptop... Domino effect.
Fair enough, grass is always greener I suppose. I personally wish I'd have gone with Xbox, which has a functional Plex and Shudder app. ATM, I'm watching most things on my TV by just running an HDMI from my laptop and trying to justify the purchase of a Shield Pro, which would make my PS5 entirely useless
My Flipper Zero. I can force myself to use it and I actually do use the 125khz emulation. But thats it. I feel like I'm wasting it by not hacking with it.
As a side note your gaming laptop wouldnt need to update all the time if it was left on to update. Gaming laptops IMO always suck and desktops are better.
Yeah, neat idea, but if "hacking" isn't already something of a hobby, it's going to just sit around. As mine has.
Same, though in my case my sole use is the IR. Replaced so many random little remotes from random little light up things.
My nephew wants a flipper0! so badly. When i looked into the hardware I found the stack5 cardputer to be more interesting, modular, and cheaper $30 vs $160. I figure $30 is about the right price point for a prank toy (thats all he wants it for) that will get forgotten in a few days, then I can use it myself once its abandoned.
The problem is the space. I can't have it plug all the time and I don't have a desktop
Also I forgot to mention that it forgets my settings on Spiderman and how I settled it with the TV. So many small things that I don't have to worry when I'm using the Xbox
Its because you are unplugging it. Your Xbox only has to worry about displaying to that TV. Your laptop.has to manage when its plugged in or not, and then determine settings based on that. Its why a desktop is generally better for gaming that does not require travel, cause you set it up and leave it, much like your Xbox.
I only have space for 1 "Rig" and a pc cabinet is probably too heavy for my shelf hanging on the wall underneath my bed (my TV is literally on top of me, I sleep under it) also I have so many more games on Xbox 360, one, X... Makes sense why the X is the one always plugged).
I'm just warning you because all the Xbox shit is getting integrated into PC. I dont think Xbox is gonna be here in standalone console form in 15-20 years. They're already interchangeable right now.
Why couldn't they add barcode scanning to the device? Cheap and useful.
Or even a camera? I could use it daily in the IT world for pen testing and video/ picture proof.
It would not add much cost...
Even Wi-Fi is cheap as hell... Yet it doesn't have it.
I got a handheld steam cleaner about a year ago, used it a handful of times, and now it takes up space in the cabinet. It did work fantastically on a spot I’d never been able to scrub out, but I wish I’d rented one instead. Fortunately it also got recalled recently (because it can burn people, which sounds like a skill issue but whatever), so I can still get a refund.
I got the same one, also will be totally recalling, looks like they just need a photo of the unit with the cord cut
Share the photos... Save one device to use
"Generate me a picture of a steamer with it's cord cut, and an appropriate amount of fingers this time"
Very happy with all my recent purchases.
But I did attempt to upgrade my phone a while back. But once I got it, it felt too big and was uncomfortable to hold and put in my pocket. Also the migration assistant didn't work and I had to setup everything manually. I stop halfway through and just kept using my old phone. Eventually my brother broke his phone so I just gave it to him.
Phone sizes are just goofy. It shouldn’t be straining against your pocket like it’s trying to escape when you’re sitting.
Big phones suck so much. I'm using a Samsung S10e, because that's the only model I have found that is small and actually pretty good, despite its age. What phone are you using?
I also regret buying a suped-up laptop, big waste of money! But the latest regret is probably the Manscaped Lawn Mower 5.0 electric clippers. For your balls. Idk maybe I'll have to read/work with it more, but it doesn't seem to cut the hair so much as it tugs & pulls the hair. Which is every bit as delightful as it sounds.
Honorary mention, the Fugoo Tough XL Speaker....amazing, booming sound quality in a small package. Expensive. Then that battery life eventually drops like a stone & it's not good for much.
Eyyy, I got burned by the Manscaped shit too. Grab yourself a Philips Norelco, mine was about $70 and it works great.
The Norelco one blade is the best and even cheaper. Great beard groomer that does everything
Do men really shave their balls that often? I did that shit like 3 times in my life so far, I don't think I'm that hairy down there.
And I'm far from being a teenager.
I fully shave my sack with a razor probably once a week. I’ll trim the tuft on top maybe once every 6 weeks.
Rate of growth can vary. Preferred length can vary.
Amongst several other reasons, I get hot very easily, every little bit helps. Evaporative cooling (ie, sweating) doesn't seem to work well if there's a jungle containing the humidity. Full body, it grows back fast. And long enough to tangle and snag. Painfully.
What do you do about chafing? I prefer having the hair as a cushion even if it does get humid down there
Hasn't been an issue for me, weirdly. Which is weird as my skin is dry AF and I'm fat.
A smart TV.
It was one of the cheapest options for the size I wanted at my local Walmart. I never wanted a smart TV but couldn't beat the price.
The amount of issues I've had because it's designed as more of a streaming platform than a TV is infuriating. The constant updates. Ads. The fact that there are no buttons on the TV so if you lose the remote you're fucked.
It's honestly a pain in the ass I just want a normal TV dammit.
They don’t make them any more. Buy good quality retail panels, the kind shops use in their displays. They’re expensive but that’s because they’re not counting on making money off ad revenue or your data.
+1 on this.
Buy a good panel and don’t use the smart functionality, never even connect it to the internet. Just hook up a cheap Linux box or pc to it over hdmi and you’re good to go.
It’s very much worth it, eh. I have a contact through work I can order them from, 5 or 8 year warranties even if powered on 24x7. Nothing but inputs including usb, sometimes toslink but if you’re running a nuc or something just get one with toslink out for the hifi.
Bought a bass guitar, intending to take lessons. First teacher didn't have availability, 2nd didn't work out, the teacher was fine, the front desk people were assholes.
Then I injured my feet and have been stuck in the house unable to do anything. :(
Hope to re-start once I'm healed up.
Sounds like the perfect time to practice your bass! Even just following along with Youtube vids can get you a long ways. Hope you get back on your feet (heh) soon!
Good luck! As Beefcake the Mighty says, the bass is the most sensitive of instruments.
Smartwatch. Utter shit.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Steam Deck. That thing is amazing.
Huh I love my coros watch. But I mostly use it for sports tracking which it obviously does very well., the messages displayed are nice so I can avoid taking my phone out at dinner, and quickly decide if it's a serious text/call or not
I get well over a week battery with daily workouts in there
What did you go for
With gadgetbridge, they could apparently be pretty great, but I haven't tried it.
It depends what you're using it for. If you aren't using it to track your sports activity, it is not that useful. Maybe the notifications are useful. I really enjoy tracking my steps and knowing if I should be more active. I use gadgetbridge, so that my data stays on my phone.
My switch. It’s been nice and all but my mail account got hacked and some people took all my gaming accounts. All of which I got back except for Minecraft(Microsoft) and Nintendo. And now it’s just a brick. Can’t do shit without the account, you even have to pass like 4 menus trying to get you to log in, when trying to play a game off of a cartridge. I haven’t even gotten an answer from their support except for their stupid automated system.
A picofly is like $15, and sounds like you dont have to worry about getting banned anyways.
Already gave the thing away :D or what’s the picofly supposed to do?
Modchip giving acces to pirated games and the ability to bypass the annoying account checks.
Thanks maybe I’ll try it out sometime.
Do you know how your email account got hacked?
I don't understand how this happens to people.
So, a hosting provider which I used to rent vps‘ses at, got hacked and leaked data(Adress,name,payment method,phone numbers). A lot. And then from there… my email provider is old and cheap. No 2fa nessecary and the password was old and simple. Additionally while the gaming accounts were gone, my PayPal n banking have been untouched.
But also … I also bought a new Chinese keyboard a few months ago and I can’t get rid of the small and probably unjust fear that there might be a keylogger in there. Would fit the timeline though.
Damn RIP dude.
series of unfortunate choices
Same. I bought it when WiFi 6 first came out and had it customized with the faster WiFi, and I loaded up on memory and Windows Pro so I could run VMs. But hyper-v couldn’t handle the networking so VMs never got the fast network, and was generally enough hassle that VMs never went anywhere. Then even new the battery only lasted an hour. So if I use it to game, I need to start with hours of updates, it’s not even portable: wired power, wired controller, wired headset. wtf?
Who even has time for gaming? I game like once a month, plus use the laptop for TurboTax once a year. Why do I even have it? Why am I still suffering with Windows?
Instead of that frustrating detour with Hyper-V, I should have spent the time building out my Raspberry Pi cluster and set up a server
VR headset. I mean, I don't fully regret it yet, as I might someday find a VR game that I actually want to play, am able to play in the small space I have, and that doesn't make me nauseous within 15 minutes.
I like elite dangerous, start wars squadrons, and other Sims I can remain seated for. Feels more immersive that way and doesn't require space
I don't have a VR but I played Google Earth at a friend's house once and it was so fun
I'm waiting for my AceXR handset to arrive. I bought a Quest 3 VR system specifically so i could do dryfire training and get feedback on my accuracy and times. My home range is 1.5 hours away--one way--and ammunition is expensive, so simulation training ends up being the most cost and time effective way to go.
...Or I've just wasted enough money to buy an entry level Tisas 2011 pistol. One of those.
I have more space available to me though; I can train on my screened-in porch, and even outside in the driveway if it's not raining. That's not quite the same as playing a game though.
The VR games for PS5 are pretty neat too. Controls get kinda wonky on some of them.
Color eink tablet. The technology is impressive, but really not ready yet. I'd stick with b&w eink, or if you really need color, just go with a conventional tablet.
I was curious how it would be for manga. I’m trying to find one that has a large enough reading surface so I don’t have to zoom in on panels.
The current best color eink tech (Kaleido 3) has a handful of limitations, but the big one is how the screen is naturally darker than conventional eink devices you may be familiar with. High contrast and natural light readability are usually the best things about eink, but the darkness of Kaleido 3 screens, caused by the dual layers (one for black pixels, one for color), makes backlighting necessary in a lot more lighting situations, whereas you could probably read a conventional eink device by candlelight, just as you could with a book.
All these devices have backlights because they need them, but by turning it on you lose most of the benefits of having eink in the first place. At that point it's like using a standard tablet, except the color depth is only 4096, so imagine the worst tablet screen you've ever seen... and this just looks far worse.
Victron IP67 120vac 25a 12v charger. Piece of shit engineering, absolute crap heat dissipation, PITA return/exchange.
I burned through 3 in four years, even after modding with a 120mm fan, all within the warranty window (s). Went out of pocket above the return and bought a charger with a build for airflow and an actual fan (IP22 30a).
For my DC - DC charger I'm going to go with another manufacturer after finding out the new models are sealed like the IP67 and they get even hotter.
Bullshit that people have to mod what is considered a premium product to keep them from cooking themselves.
Interesting, I've always heard that victron stuff is the most robust and well designed inverter/chargers in the consumer space.
Only most of their stuff, they have some stinkers too.
I got a Lenovo Thinkpad detachable thinking it would have good Linux support. My hope was to make it my new general purpose laptop, like my old Surface was before it broke.
But I bought it online, and didn't realize how small the screen and keyboard would actually be. And the volume keys don't work in Linux, so I can't use it as a tablet.
Bad idea to buy a gaming laptop when you already had a Series X. I upgraded from my Xbox One to a laptop instead since it was only about $300 more for a quality laptop. I know the "but a desktop is better!!!" line, but I do not have the space for a desktop + monitor.
Also, why do you think you need a wired controller? I currently use a wired-only 3rd party Xbox controller because I hate batteries but in the past I could use my normal Xbox controller wirelessly just fine.
Blame Sony for making Spiderman it's exclusive plus not making ps5 available in 2020.
I'm pretty sure you need a pairing thingy isn't? Otherwise you could use a Xbox controller on a PS5 and I don't feel like buying it for a laptop that I barely use.
You'll need to check the specs of your laptop to be sure, but most laptops nowadays have a bluetooth receiver built in. All you need to do is pair your xbox controller to it (and it's natively supported in Windows) and you're good to go.
Of course it has Bluetooth, but I thought Xbox controllers were crypted or some shit like that
Not at all. You can buy a receiver to use Xbox's proprietary wireless standard, which is marginally faster than bluetooth, but I use an Xbox Series X controller with my pc over bluetooth and it works just fine.
So pretty much all of your complaints are cus you assumed things that aren't true and made no effort to fix your actual issues?
Sounds less like the tech is the problem and like you have a Layer 8 issue.
What? Having a wireless controller doesn't solve any of my problems
That was only with the Xbox 360 controller. Newer ones don't need it
DJI drone, the latest and greatest in 2020, then the government was like NO, you can't fly anywhere!
Noncompliance is also a way to go, just a thought.
Fines for unauthorized drone usage are steep, up to $27,500 just for flying an unregistered drone
I'm not saying it's a safe idea, getting caught is expensive.
What're your chances of getting caught if you fly out in the middle of a national forest, hours from the nearest highway? Honest question, I'm not aware of how this is enforced.
A counterpoint would be hunting without a proper tag (poaching) I hunt in the middle of nowhere fairly regularly, but I encounter game wardens at least once a season, so enforcement in my area is pretty good.
FM bluetooth transmitter for my car
How so? They're great, you listen to what you want, be it music or a documentary or whatever. Mine doubles as a charger too, so even without the FM it serves a purpose
I think that the quality of the unit that i bought is bad. The transmission quality is worse than FM radio signal, even though it only needs to transmit maybe 1-2 meters to the antena
Huh, weird.
Not really what you were asking for but you can probably just get a really long HDMI cord or something. I'm guessing they sell HDMI switch's that would make it painless even if your tv only has one port.
Not my latest, but I have a General International Excalibur scroll saw with about 45 minutes of run time in its life, so that was a great investment.
Not a true regret, but I probably could have waited to get a Meta Quest 2 rig.
I really enjoy VR, there just isn't a ton of good content available for it yet. I own about 10 games but find myself doing the free stuff on Meta (like concerts and mini-games) more than anything else.
I like STeam deck. But, the screen is too small and I have lots of battery problem with it and lots of RMA. So, i need to sell it and switch to new item
Sorry to hear about your bad experience. The steam deck for me has been a to successful (sorry for the pun) game changer.
Sonos speakers. They work well for streaming except not from YouTube, I don't have Spotify premium, most of my music is local and Sonos and Linux is not a good combination. I'm not a fan of the Windows application either, but at least that works.
Ngl I downvoted you because I’m a PCmasterrace since birth.
If you want to know why PC is awesome just ask, you’ll get tons of answers here on lemmy.
But for PlayStation exclusives if you don’t like having to handle a Windows or Linux OS, you could have bought a PS5
This is not the right reason to use the down vote button... Just saying.
I mean, I already explained with playing on pc is a hassle for me...
Also I forgot, Xbox has that resume function, not even PlayStation had that. And obviously it's not a thing on pc.
It's called "sleep" and "hibernate". Existed since like windows 95.
Is not the same and you know it. And Xbox does it flawlessly between games. Good luck doing that with a PC without crashing the games plus with a higher electricity consumption.
I know, that’s why I said you should have bought a PS5 for probably cheaper.
But then if you are ready to enter the PC cult, you’re in the right place 😁
Edit: I saw you said in a comment that ps5 was not sold in your country. I’m sorry for that mate. Sony sucks sometimes.
So - you were born some time after 2014?
No why ? My first computer was the IBM ps/1 that got out around 1990.
Because
is just about the most infantile thing you could say in almost any context.
You're new to the Internet aren't you ?
It's not like the jokes war between PC and console is anything new. Now if you want to take thing you read on Internet seriously that's up to you.
I grew up with an IBM PS/2 and PS/1, when Windows was not existing and RAM was stated in Kilo octet. Those machine were my first tech experience in life until today with my too many computers/homelab that use way too much electricity and are driving wifey crazy. So yeah, I'm a !pcmasterrace@lemmy.world since birth, that is just fact.
Oh, you're playing the "you're new to the internet" card.
Should have seen that coming.
Oh well, nobody ever credited people who claim to be part of the "PC master race" with an abundance of self-awareness. That's just a fact.
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