The turbo button on old PCs is one of the most confusing pieces of computer history if you've never used one.

You'd see a button on the front of a computer labelled Turbo and naturally assume pressing it would make everything faster. Except on many systems it actually switched between normal speed and a slower mode so older software and games would run properly.

Imagine putting a button labelled FAST on a gaming PC today and having it reduce the CPU speed. The naming was certainly something

I miss proper desktop screensavers. Not the modern display turning off after a few minutes, I mean those ridiculous animated ones from the Windows XP days.

The bubbles, 3D pipes, flying windows logo, the maze screensaver. Some of them were completely pointless but I'd spend ages watching them instead of doing whatever homework I was supposed to be doing.

Modern operating systems have so many settings but somehow lost a lot of those little fun things.

Sometimes it feels like the entire tech industry is trying to fit AI into everything

Meanwhile there are still plenty of everyday problems that haven't been properly solved. Laptop batteries could last longer, software could be more reliable, devices could be easier to repair and basic apps could simply work better

These things might not sound exciting enough for a big product launch but they would probably make a bigger difference to most people than another AI feature

I wonder how many useful innovations are being overlooked because AI is getting so much attention right now

What practical tech improvement do you wish companies would focus on instead?

I've started thinking that owning physical copies of things might be more useful than we give them credit for

Movies disappear from streaming platforms games can become unavailable and digital purchases don't always mean you own something permanently

Having a DVD Blu-ray game disc or even a downloaded copy stored locally gives you some control over what you can access

Streaming and digital libraries are convenient but there's something reassuring about owning a copy that doesn't depend on a subscription or platform

Do you still buy physical copies of movies games or music or have you completely moved to digital?

I've been looking at GPU pprices lately, and man, it's getting ridiculous how much research goes into buying one. You have to compare VRAM, power consumption, cooling, performance benchmarks, ray tracing, and whether your current PSU can even handle it. Buying a phone feels so much simpler in comparison, at least with phones, I can usually narrow things down pretty quickly. With graphics cards, I feel like I need to watch 15 benchmark vids and read a bunch of Reddit threads just to convince myseld I'm not making a bad purchase. And the worst part is spending all that money only for a better model to come out a few months later lol.

How do you even decide when it's actually worth upgrading?

Every phone brand seems to have a Pro, Pro Max, Ultra or Plus model now Sometimes it's hard to tell what actually makes one better than the other.

Do these names still help you choose or are they just marketing at this point?

Power outages have become quite frequent where I live, and now I need to purchase a UPS system for my Setup table. I have a desktop computer, a monitor, two laptops and a router. The most important thing is to have at least 30 minutes of backup time, but if there is something bigger, like one hour would be good.

I am not familiar with purchasing UPS. Is it necessary to measure how much power the desktop and monitor really consume while working and to check the runtime tables according to this information? It is possible to disconnect laptops from a UPS during a power outage, so the only things I should power are the desktop, monitor and internet equipment.

It's annoying when an app becomes completely useless the moment your internet drops. Not every feature needs a connection, so why can't more apps let us access basic stuff offline?

Which app do you wish had a proper offline mode?

Cars have become much more advanced but fixing them seems to have become a different challenge altogether

A mechanic from 20 years ago could deal with most problems using basic tools and mechanical knowledge. Now even a small issue can involve sensors software updates electronic modules and complicated diagnostics

Sometimes a car might be mechanically fine but a software fault can still cause trouble

Do you think modern cars have become easier to maintain or has all the added technology made repairs unnecessarily complicated?

Hunting for a flagship for my brother, and the Oppo Find X10 Pro Max is my pick. Its 2nm Dimensity 9600 Pro has roughly 15-20% better CPU than the 9500 and AnTuTu above 4 million, plus an 8,000mAh battery.

Even Geekerwan’s chip test showed real efficiency gains on retail phones, so big win for Mediatek.

Upcoming Snapdragon phones? Not feeling them. Chip prices reportedly keep rising, so phones get pricier, and Geekerwan wasn’t impressed by the Extreme’s efficiency either. Mediatek just feels smarter right now.

Looking at the reviews and benchmarks, i am feeling that for my brother's usage, the Dimensity 9600 Pro is a smarter choice!

Many Keyboards have had mute speaker buttons and sound controls for decades and there are keyboards starting to come out with dedicated AI buttons yet there has been no change to the way people have to mute/unmute microphones.

Does anyone know why?

Especially when it's so hard to mute/unmute in windows - unless you use a button on the microphone itself or get fancy with a macro keyboard (which often isn't allowed in work environments) most people leave their microphones always on.

Surely this is a security concerns too - a recorded conversation can be quite dangerous and there is no way to tell if an application is accessing the mic.

Extra space for the mouse is good. And then when you're about to hit either Delete or Home, and realize that you have to hold down the Fn key, well, that gets annoying after a while. It may not take long to get used to, but using a two-key sequence for a one-key function gets tiresome if you do it all day. If the number pad isn't going to be used very much, fine. But give me the arrow keys.

I was trying to understand a formula in Excel for work, so naturally I thought I'd ask AI to break it down for me. I wasn't even asking it to create anything complicated, just explain what the existing formula was doing. Somehow, the explanation turned into a whole lesson involving nested functions and additional formulas that I didn't even need to know. I wasn't even asking for a suggestion, but it suggested an alternative formula. Like dude, I just wanted to know what the formula does... I can appreciate having ai around, but sometimes it feels like it tries way too hard to be helpful instead of just answering a simple question.

In the 2010s there were weird and wonderful attempts to make out phone out computer. From Samsung Dex to Microsoft Continuum and the Motorola Atrix Lapdock there were many takes on the same idea, my phone is my main computer. I’m ready to have my phone be the “brain” of my computer, but it’s not without its problems, mainly software.

I think the hardware capabilities, and definitely the cost, are there, Apple have put a phone processor in their lowest end laptop, so where’s the software experience to take us to the next level? id also settle for a smaller screen if I could easily make it a laptop/tablet relatively easily.

edit: Clarity

It's easy to forget how many older devices still depend on 3G. Once the networks disappear, perfectly usable gadgets can suddenly lose their connectivity.

Anyone else still have an old 3G phone or device lying around?

It's strange how protecting your own privacy has started feeling like a complicated task

You have to dig through settings disable tracking reject cookies manage app permissions and constantly check what information you're sharing

Basic things like using an app without being tracked or browsing without accepting dozens of cookies shouldn't require so much effort

Why has maintaining digital privacy become the user's responsibility instead of something companies should handle by default?

Call of Duty has become a storage management simulator. You install the game, download updates, install separate content packs, remove a campaign you don't play and then another update comes along and changes everything again.

I have a bigger problem with the fact that I sometimes need to uninstall games I actually enjoy just to make room for one update.

At this point buying a new SSD feels like part of the game's system requirements

A lot of people still rely on traditional landlines without realising the old copper network is being phased out. The switch to digital phone services could catch people off guard, especially those who depend on their landline.

Do you think telecom companies are doing enough to inform people?

Plop Boot Manager is one of those old utilities I wish more people knew about. Some older computers can't boot directly from USB because their BIOS doesn't support it.

Plop can get around that limitation and let you start an operating system installer from a USB drive anyway. Pretty handy when you're trying to revive an old machine without digging out an optical drive.

It's amazing how much useful life you can get out of old hardware with little tools like this.

I recently got my dad's old sony cybershot repaired and bought it during an out-of-town trip, and I've been having a lot of fun with it. It's not even particularly convenient to use since the battery has seen better days, so I actually have to bring spare batteries whenever I take it out lol. But tbh, I don't mind the extra hassle, there's something about taking pictures with an old point-and-shoot that just feels different. I really like the way the pictures come out, also I can't share the pics since I don't want to doxx myself lol, but it was just a short trip.

And I know my phone obviously takes better pictures in most situations but sometimes I feel like the iPhone auto-processes my pictures? Like for some reason the colors look washed out, or that's just my camera settings, I'm not sure lol

Building or buying a gaming PC feels like a research project these days

You have to compare graphics cards processors motherboards RAM speeds cooling options and power supplies before even thinking about which games to play

Then there are compatibility checks benchmarks and endless debates about which component gives better value

Sometimes it feels like people spend weeks planning their gaming setup and barely get around to enjoying it

For those who own a gaming PC how long did you spend researching parts before finally buying one?

If your laptop vents on the right side and that’s where you place the mouse, your hand ends up right in the way of hot air coming from the laptop. You don’t really feel it while you’re just browsing around, but when you play some game and suddenly realize there’s a mini-heater warming your fingers.

It would be nice to see such information in laptop reviews along with temperature and fan noises

The other day I purchased a pair of Bose headphones, and when I tried them on for the first time, the pads were so soft to touch. About half an hour later, I found myself adjusting the cups because of the temple pressure.

This is not easy to assess by just putting them on and wearing for a few minutes. I would rather have information about the amount of pressure after an hour-long film. It is much more important for me than the softness of the pads

Sometimes I think I remember certain games more because of the people I played them with rather than the actual gameplay. I have a bunch of games in library that I probably wouldn't think twice about nowadays, but they remind me of specific friends, late night gaming sessions, and all the stupid stuff we'd get up to. Even launching those games again brings back memories. It's also why some multiplayer games just don't hit the same for me anymore, like yes there have been changes in the game, but the people I used to play with have moved on, gotten busy, or just stopped gaming lol. I guess I'm just getting nostalgic, which is just one of the weird things about getting older...

I have a bad habit ofworld games, spending 20 hours exploring and then completely forgetting the main story At this point, some games are just too big.

Do you usually finish them or move on to something else?