Aaron Adams’s Blowhard Blog

A few days ago, I wrote down my first impressions after the release of Boot Camp. It’s not my best writing, and others, like John Gruber and JC at Mac Geekery have stated the same points much more elegantly than I did in my fast and furious write-up. Since that time, Parallels Workstation for Mac beta has been released. I’m much more excited about Parallels than I am Boot Camp, and after talking to some knowledgeable friends, I’m optimistic that Apple will include its own virtualization software in Leopard alongside the final version of Boot Camp. Within a single day, the Mac became the computer to run whatever OS you want, and that’s nothing but good for the future of the platform. I’ve never been happier with my choice of computer than I am right now, and I’ve never been more excited about the future of the computer company with which my name and face (for better or worse) are permanently associated.

I wanted to channel that enthusiasm and optimism into a blog entry about the pros and cons of dual booting and virtualization, and why I personally prefer one over the other, and how this ability will or will not affect the Mac’s future. But when I sat down to write, I found that I just wasn’t motivated. Why?

As I told my friend Shawn King several weeks ago, I’m burned out when it comes to technology. I want to like technology. I want to be excited about what technology does for us, and its possibilities. I am excited and interested in some narrow areas of technology, but as a whole, my patience is being tested. I’m so put off by the negatives that I can’t even find sufficient motivation to write about what interests me. I’d have to agree that technology, in its various forms, has made the world a better place, but at the moment I feel that improvement curve is on a downward slope. I quite literally find reading about technology, being around technological people, and using technology, exhausting.

I’m tired.

I’m tired of pointless gadgets and the pretentious idiots who feel like they’ve gotta have them. I’m tired of people who have no fucking clue what the hell they’re talking about telling me about their new “Plenty-um” with 300 jigga-bytes of RAM, and no idea what the difference between memory and a hard drive is.

I’m tired of people who feel that it’s OK to take advantage of me because I know something about computers. I’m tired of people who think I can magically fix their computer right there in the grocery store while I’m holding a 20 pound bag of dog food. I’m tired of spending six hours fixing someone’s preventable and self-created computer disaster (with no backups) and then getting the “one more thing…” string of BS that delays my exit for another two hours. I’m tired of other people’s computer screw-ups becoming my never-ending headache and cutting into my personal time.

I’m tired of every new product being a something-killer. Technology is not a zero-sum game where the market never grows. It is not absolutely necessary to knock a competitor out of business completely and piss on their grave before you can even be nominated for success.

I’m tired of talking to foreign tech support people on the phone. Understanding them, and making them understand me, is more difficult than the problem I’m calling to solve. I’m tired of tech support’s goal being to get me off the phone ASAP. I’m tired of punching through phone menus where none of the options seems to fit the reason why I’ve called.

I’m tired of the complexity of trying to do something that used to be simple and reliable for the user, like making a phone call or watching TV. I’m tired of service outages and technical problems without explanation or reimbursement.

I’m tired of reading jackasses on the Internet who propagate factually incorrect or inaccurate technology information and cliches. I’m tired of their never-ending bickering and condescension. I’m tired of people hiding behind the anonymity of a computer screen and using that shield to wreak havoc and disturb the peace in a multitude of ways, without consequence. And I’m especially appalled and sickened by the level of illiteracy and carelessness the Internet has revealed among people who are either too lazy or too stupid to take the time to write clearly. Writing is a reflection of the mind, and I genuinely dislike the contempt for thought so many Internet inhabitants seem to take pride in.

I’m tired of reading pundits with an axe to grind or an agenda to push while feigning neutrality. I’m tired of their misunderstanding of simple situations and trolling for page views by writing purposely inflammatory articles.

I’m tired of people who think that, simply because they want something, it’s OK to steal it online, and I’m tired of whatever circuitous logic they use to justify it. I’m tired of the entitlement mentality that accompanies the spoiled, thoughtless brats who consider a computer and Internet access their God-given right.

I’m tired of every damn thing being an outlet for advertising junk. I’m tired of banner ads that flash 10,000x per second. I’m tired of an inbox filled with spam. I’m tired of offers for mortgages, erection drugs, questionable software, cheap prescriptions, hot stocks, and hot sex. I’m tired of not being able to enable trackbacks or simple commenting on my own blog because it will be inundated with advertising in literally minutes. I’m tired of not being able to get accurate statics about who my readers really are because of referrer spam. I’m tired of criminal enterprises attempting to use my private property as a means to propagate their scams. I’m tired of the time-consuming and/or expensive measures I have to take to thwart them and keep systems usable.

I’m tired of nothing ever being quite good enough for some people who seem to think of themselves as sophisticates with high standards, but who are really just petty complainers.

And now, I’m tired of writing.

This isn’t a laundry list of my personal hang-ups, or a call to revert back to the days of horse and buggy. I think I’m somewhat accurately reflecting the feelings, if not the thoughts, of a growing segment of technology professionals and hobbyists. I don’t want to end with those negative points, though. I make my living working with technology, and I’m damn good at it. Technology can be positive, and I want it to be positive. I also want to end this post with, “What we need to do to make technology more positive, in my mind, is…”, but I can’t, because I don’t know what comes after that.