What is a technology/gadget you refuse to use and why?

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Virtual assistants, e.g. Alexa, Cortana, Siri
I don't want to interact with the companies they represent basically at all, let alone give them nearly unfettered access to my electronics and their data.
- I confess to having an iPhone and other apple products, but they will Always have that "finish setting up" message forever because I will NEVER turn Siri on. Ever.
  
  I mean I'm ~~openly a hypocrite~~ not a purist either when it comes to these companies, especially Google and Amazon. Like my phone is an Android and I posted an Amazon link the other day. But, I'm still trying to find ways to get them out of every possible aspect of my life. I'm just done with their particular brand of bullshit.
- I've dabbled in the virtual assistants because I wanted to see what they can do. Siri (it's been years so I don't know if it improved), Alexa, Google, are all horse shit. Every time I try to use them it works like garbage. They either trigger incorrectly or try to implement something I don't want. The few times they do work correctly I don't trust them because of all the other garbage experiences so I have to double check what they did. That negates the entire point from a time and convenience standpoint.
  
  Google really wants to refer me to a garage door company instead of closing the damn thing.
  
  My dog is better at following basic commands, and she's old, deaf, and dumb as a box of hammers.
- I have never used Bixby, I've used the Google assistant a few times but other than that, no thanks
  
  I use Google assistant to set timers and alarms, and check the weather. Besides that, nothing. The times I tried, I wrestled with it for a few minutes until I did it myself.
  
  I use Google assistant in my car all the time. It came with android auto built into the head unit. So I can tell it to navigate to a location, play a specific song on Spotify, call my wife, read and respond to text messages... All using voice commands. I don't have enough smart home devices to make it worth having an assistant constantly listening at home, though.
  
  I know people who worked on Bixby and the one thing they have in common is they all hate Bixby and think it's garbage.

248 comments