Antiquating

I had to look that word up to see if it was actually a word and since I saw no squiggly lines under it in MS Word, I’ll assume it is.

To me, this word defines many of the technologies we use on a day to day basis. From the moment we purchase these devices, they are on their way out. It reminds me of the first iPhone I bought (yes, I owned an iPhone once). I was so worried that immediately after I purchased the phone, Apple would upgrade to a newer model. I would be okay with that, if software developers did not feel the need to release newer updates for apps that worked fine on previous hardware. Even upgrading to the newer operating system takes its toll on an older hardware.

 

My current phone is Google’s Nexus 4g. I purchased this phone late in its lifespan (almost a year after it was already in stores) with a subsidized 2-year contract from Sprint. Up until recently, the device has functioned flawlessly, more or less. (Sprint service on the other hand…). However, the problem I am seeing has less to do with the hardware and more and more seems to be an issue with my software apps. I am finding out now that software developers, are exploiting smartphone resources. Does Words with Friends really need 30MB of memory? What on earth could it be doing? Google Maps only takes up 7MB and it’s a far more powerful service.

But I understand the game, more or less. Developers continue to look for for faster ways to deliver ads (particularly for all those free apps we use), therefore they love to take advantage of the faster hardware. In the end, it just means that apps that worked great two years ago are now beginning to crash and that’s a shame.

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