> Within recent memory, people who made software and hardware understood their job was to serve their customer. It was to identify a need, and then fill it. But at some point following the financial crisis, would-be entrepreneurs got it into their heads that their job was to invent the future, and consumers’ job was to go along with that invented future.

I love this quote. It really resonates. I can't think of a major technology product invented in the last, say 5 years, that actually served to fulfill a need that I had. I haven't really been excited about a computer or phone or Cloud-Thinggy for at least a decade. It's just been years of "Look! Slightly better camera and emojis!" and "Slower applications that do less but look so minimal!" and of course "Now with AI!" Plus a dozens of new web sites and streaming services that I'll just never use because I don't understand why I would. Silicon Valley is just "Here's some social media and a bunch of thin laptops. Get used to it."

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altmanaltman a day ago | parent [-]

I don't know about that, Steam deck launched in 22 and its pretty cool

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camgunz 21 hours ago | parent [-]

Gaming handhelds are decades old.

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entropicdrifter 20 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Yeah, but how many played your entire PC game library?

This is like saying that the iPhone wasn't a big deal because we already had palm pilots and blackberries.

	▲	camgunz 9 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Steam decks aren't the iPhone of gaming handhelds. They are another in a long line of them, i.e. another Palm Pilot.
	▲	brnt 18 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		With which Id agree.

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altmanaltman 12 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Yeah the category has existed for quite a while but Steam Deck was an exceptional product and had a lot of innovations.

You cant expect new product categories to be created every year, they take decades to manufacture.

Like do you look at the latest laptop from today and be like "pfft laptops were a thing since the 80s whatever". Thats asinine

	▲	camgunz 9 hours ago \| parent [-]
		> Like do you look at the latest laptop from today and be like "pfft laptops were a thing since the 80s whatever". Thats asinine No, but I don't say something like "I don't know about that, MBP M3 launched in 22 and its pretty cool" in response to "I can't think of a major technology product invented in the last, say 5 years, that actually served to fulfill a need that I had." This stuff is iterative, which is fine--even good! But the valuations and hype are "we invented a new thing", and that's grift bullshit.