What's a big tech product that you actually find useful?
What's a big tech product that you actually find useful?
Most of us in Lemmy know the importance of privacy and owning your devices in a big tech owned world (me included) but for once I thought to make the opposite question and ask if there are products by them that you actually use and enjoy them.
Important to say, I mean products you use even though there are alternatives, not monopolies like YouTube.
Steam or anything from Valve
41Agreed, but the prices on Steam are fucking ridiculous nowadays so they can occasionally put things on "sale"
I just opened it and it was trying to sell me Half Life Alyx for sixty fuckin quid
5Thats fair but steam is such a blessing imo:
- Its so convenient
- linux support is huge and better than windows with some games
- family sharing, etc..
7The standard price for AAA games on all platforms went up somewhat recently, at least where I'm at. It's not just steam that went up, I think that's just the industry standard nowadays, as crappy as it is.
5Seems like a regional issue? Steam has the same price as any other store here in the US. Excluding subscriptions.
1
Steam.
I fuckin' hated it and even the idea when it was new. I liked updates and being able to download my games (even though I just had dial-up at the time; it was slow, but at least I could get any game and not just what was available at the local EB). I didn't like the idea of not having it stored off-site, though. I didn't like the interface or having to run an extra thing. I especially didn't like not being able to use the online gaming services I had been using for years because they shut down WON.
But now I would be lost without it.
30The thing I like most about Steam is that games under Linux just work, for the most part. I don't play AAA games online multiplayer which is, I believe, where that falls down, but other than that it really is pretty seamless
13Even then with AAA multiplayer, it's not a guarantee it's unplayable. Every Halo game on Steam works just fine, and Apex Legends was one of the first AAA MP games to support the Deck.
4This, my dad refuses to download proton or lutris and prefers to use wine baseline, and he has been waiting for months now for his game to be playable again, meanwhile I'm over here installing games right and left and just playing them, even newly released games, it just works (most of the time)
1
Agreed. I hate, however, that I don't "own" the games, I can't play game A on computer 1 and game B on computer 2 at the same time even though I bought game A and game B.
7You can with Family Sharing. It also can be done a bit easier with some games that are otherwise DRM free by just running the executable from its install directory instead of through steam. Like Kerbal Space Program.
The latter method will even sometimes allow you to play the same game on two machines over the internet. I don't know if you can do that with Family Share.
4
Android. Sure the main branch is open source, but I use the Google version Ann's don't bother flashing a new version.
23Google Maps is best-in-class IMO. Some other services come close but aren't quite as good.
22Maps is good but most of the time the algorythmically placed addresses are off. Then I moved to OpenStreetMap (Organic Maps on Android) and everything is exactly where it should be. But it relies on people adding all the things to it and some places are missing a lot of stuff, but it's also easy to just add it yourself
5Just recently started exploring openstreetmap and it is so nice to be sure that it is locally stored and not draining my battery to use it.
2
I feel like it depends on where you are. I used to travel a lot for work and Google maps would be less reliable than Here maps. Kept taking me to unpaved roads that no one used or like dead-ends. It was even more useless in a lot of third world countries I went to. They are really good at navigating around traffic and their POI data is way bigger than any other mapping solution.
1HERE maps is pretty good... It's one of the only major competitors to Google Maps. I've used their APIs in the past.
1
I love Google maps but recently the "Recommendations" and "Reviews for things close by" gets annoying. It's.becoming intrusive that I might switch to other service. I just want A to B direction, not "A to B and everything in between you might like."
1
Honestly.. I might get some pushback for this but Chromecast audio. Being able to get full home audio streaming for a fraction of the cost of a normal system with a few of those and a few old hifis. Worth it for me
12Where I am, your ISP always provides a free TV streaming box with your router. They've been Android for years now so my Chromecasts have been stuck in a drawer gathering dust
2Ah this isn't the chromecast streaming devices I'm talking about. It's the older pucks that plug into an aux cable that you can stream music from your phone to
3
I've got to say that I've enjoyed having Echo speakers around the house and the things that they can do. I know Amazon may be listening in on me, but they're bored to tears if they are! But I enjoy having the Echo speakers turn lights on & off around the house, set the Nest thermostat without having to get up, play music, answer questions, etc.
11Agreed, and they help family life so much - "announcing" when meals are ready, using "drop in" as an intercom rather than shouting around the home, not to mention the stuff you've already mentioned.
3
A tv with integrated Amazon Fire TV. I'd very much prefer some other smart tv operating system but apart from maybe Samsung (which is just way too expensive for me), most of them have a tiny selection of apps. I really love the LG WebOS on my other tv but last time I checked they still didn't have a steam app and I'm really lucky that they have something for jellyfin.
8I get that, I use my fire tv cube a lot. If I'm not watching media on it directly I'm probably casting to it using bubble upnp.
One downside is it's pretty picky with audio types and very locked down when it comes to things like setting default apps.
2There's a game streaming app in the lg homebrew market, I haven't tried it though.
1
No one product, but more of a collection of technologies underlying the Apple ecosystem. For example, AirDrop or Continuity (drafting something on one device and continuing/finishing on another).
7Permanently Deleted
5
I love my Google Home and how it's connected to my Phillips Hue bulbs. I love being able to just yell "hey Google, nightlight" when I stumble home after a long night out, no need to fight with switches and too-bright lights after drinking
7Permanently Deleted
3Bro, fucking yes!!
I have 3 Google nest mini speakers or whatever they're called, and I bought these smart outlets at target.
Connected 2 of them in the master bedroom, to bedside lamps for wifey and i. Being able to use the Google home app from our phones to control, or as you said just "hey Google, turn on Daddy's lamp" is fucking solid. I hate flicking on light switches. Never realized it until I set this up.
2
Google Chrome cast dongle, I try to avoid Google products but this one for the kids has saved me on rain days countless times.
6I pack one any time I travel
2
Not sure if it's big tech but anyways... The Stream Deck (not to be confused with the Steam Deck portable gaming console). This macro keyboard brought my productivity through the roof and now I don't understand how I went so long without it.
6In what way, if I may ask?
4Just spent five minutes reading about it. I suppose if you use hotkeys and shortcuts a lot it'd be quite handy
2
I guess elgato could be getting to the point of big tech. They're basically dominating the streaming space.
2Yes I guess you're right... I wouldn't know because I don't stream or create content. The device is marketing towards those types... But it's really a productivity tool that anyone can use.
1
macOS as much as I love Linux on the server, it’s just not cutting it as a desktop OS for my workflows
6My PS5?
My nVidia GPU in my PC?
I'm not sure if that would count. I certainly find them useful for my main hobby. Which is playing video games. And they are made by big tech companies. 🤷🏻♂️
5Important to say, I mean products you use even though there are alternatives, not monopolies like YouTube.
I don't think this is quite true when it comes to YouTube. There are plenty of alternatives that content creators could use (and some do), from Vimeo to Nebula to PeerTube.
The reason content creators prefer to upload on YouTube are the user base and monetization opportunities. They're not forced to do so, and in fact YouTube is facing competition from e.g. Twitch and TikTok.
4Permanently Deleted
4Google drive, sadly.
It's mainly because it's the single most supported "cloud" service. You can almost guarantee that any ap or program is going to be able to use it without jumping through hoops, and that's vital when you need quick, reliable off site storage.
Out here in the country, I might have seconds to back up what I'm working on if weather gets crazy fast. It isn't often, and even rarer that it would also cause problems with my own storage too, but I've lost an entire almost finished novel to a lightning strike before, so I'm a tad paranoid.
3Samsung TV.
3I’m glad you’ve had good luck with your Samsung TV. We have a Q60 and I absolutely despise it. I can’t wait to get rid of it. Apple TV had made it useable, so I’ll probably stick with it until it dies. My problem with it is the OS. It’s absolutely garbage in my opinion, and slow as hell.
Wishing a good future for yours!
1My TV is very old, it only has 1080p with 50 hertz. I don't usw the OS of the TV itself very offen, but what I can say is that, when switching sources it's a real pain, especially with HDMI-CEC.
1
Honestly I cannot think of any right now because I am so fed up with corporate proprietary crap.
3I have Google smart speakers in every room except the children's rooms. the fact that the music can be played synchronously in every room alone is worth my data to me.
2Pretty much nothing. Why would i use it if there is an alternative?
1