What kind of pre-enshittification tech do you all use? Stuff where ppl look at you like you’re an alien b/c nobody does it that any more.
Me ->
Oldschool offline mp3 player rather than Spottify or other streaming or phone app, to use when running.
Paper books rather than e-books.
DRM free games I buy on GOG to avoid rootkitting my own comp.
Wired speakers rather than smart speakers.
Old ass pre-connected car.
Prob more but I can’t think of it all rn.
Vintage audio equipment. It’s purpose built without gimmicky features, high quality, high performance, and built to last with discrete components and service manuals. Really it doesn’t have to be vintage, but it’s usually the old stuff that prioritizes these traits. I usually play local files (mp3/flac) over a bluetooth DAC but vinyl is fun once in a while. The same living room system gets used for movies and whatever else too.
damn i regret letting some relatives get rid of theirs. i should have kept it but never had the space for it.
My family promised to save me their 1980s pioneer stereo system, tape deck, 6 cd changer, turntable, and cabinate. I didn’t go ‘home’ when they cleared out my grandparents house and my uncle sold the fucking thing for a few 100 bucks.
looking online i can find a similar system for like $1000, and only in america.
The one safe space I had as a teenager was sat in front of that thing with headphones blocking out the rest of the world. I will never get over this.
my grandfather treated me like a vulture when i asked if i could take it back in 2019, they hadn’t turned the thing on since the 1990s.
/rant #firstworldproblems
If there are any thrift shops or used electronics shops near you, check into those. While back, I scored a sweet mid/high end 1990’s AV receiver for $60 USD at a local surplus & thrift shop.
If you don’t need all that stuff, like you can make do with a normal single CD player, you might be able to put a nice system together on the cheap. Esp if you are willing to collect it bit by bit.