Very possibly a factor on Windows OS, not so much on iOS or Mac OS.
but old kernels on Linux can be problematical too… especially if newish peripherals are introduced in to the mix of things…
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This is an interesting conversation.
Say what you will, I have loved Apple since my first computer, which looked like a red gummie bear with a screen. (Rather wish I’d kept it as they now sell as collectibles for $$$).
Apple fans have grown to expect frequent innovation and cutting edge design that on the whole has regularly been delivered. Music on the go! Walkman may have started it all but the iPod made it cool. And how can we not appreciate the Macbook Air is tech elegance?
I worried when Jony Ives (Sir Jonathan Paul Ive KBE ) announced he was leaving Apple but seems they’re buying his design anyway so probably it was a sensible move.
Technology has quietly been busy, more recognisably depending on where and how you are living. For those with les moyens - A connected home with internet connected alarm system and a fridge that lets you know when to shop for provisions!
CCTV has become increasingly prevalent in crime prevention but also more ominously used with facial recognition. Big Brother will definitely be watching you. (BBC One has S2 of The Capture which is thrilling and I hope not reality.)
All the fun things aside, I believe the Next Big Thing will integrate AI into our daily lives. Whether it will be a gadget or something more ethereal remains to be seen. But if the actions of China are anything to watch, rare minerals will probably play an essential part.
This subject is a wonderful exploration, one which someone somewhere is already working on. Let us hope that whatever evolves will be a benefit to humanity for good, and not the tools for an odious regime to hurt people.
Although, Pandora’s box is already open
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Oh yes, I forgot to mention where technology has been advancing is in the realm of warfare, of course.
Drones are currently being used both for surveillance and for precision delivery of explosives. Drones have also been used rather raffishly to make “deliveries” to prison inmates.
Advanced radar and hypersonic missile delivery is now possible and Israel’s extremely effective Iron Dome are all controlled by tech.
Yes - hard to find John’s threads as he generally starts about a dozen every week (though he’s currently quiet - out sunning himself by some billabong down under no doubt)…
Thank you! I shall beetle over 
This is an excellent article in the NYT by Kevin Roose.
A.I. is going to change our world. No longer ‘if’ but ‘when’, which may be much sooner than we thought
“ Even if the skeptics are right, and A.I. doesn’t achieve human-level sentience for many years, it’s easy to see how systems like GPT-3, LaMDA and DALL-E 2 could become a powerful force in society. In a few years, the vast majority of the photos, videos and text we encounter on the internet could be A.I.-generated. Our online interactions could become stranger and more fraught, as we struggle to figure out which of our conversational partners are human and which are convincing bots. ”
Kevin Roose
Might prevent a few house fires?
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Thats a bit one sided, plenty of tech has provided a wonderful life for some. Bezos, Jobbs, Musk, Gates to name but a few.
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I think there’s an uncharacteristic @Geof_Cox assumption in the title of this thread, ‘Has technological progress stalled?’
Surely, the implicit association of technology and ‘progress’ is increasingly seen as a Hegelian / modernist fallacy. Few would question that technology has ‘evolved’ or ‘continued to develop’, but sadly all too often that’s not progress’
In its own terms, the development of new. faster or more powerful technologies is I guess ‘technological progress’ - but I agree this does not equate to ‘progress’ in more general terms - measured for example by how happy most people are.
Thinking about it, I suspect the material things that most affect happiness are the basics - a safe warm home, good health, hot and cold running water, etc - but even these are not as important as the spiritual side - a loving family, good friends and neighbours, aesthetic experience, the natural world.
We think the latest gadget or dress will make us happy - we imagine shopping will cure us (‘retail therapy’) - but in fact they’re pretty empty.
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I completely agree with you about the basics.
On that score, if tech will provide improvements to keep us warm and cosy.
I hope they hurry up because I’d bet China is already working on a copy
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It IS an oldie. We need one now with someone standing up straight, using a smartphone and walking into a lamp post.
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Technolgical prgress is doing what it always did and is progressing discretely in iterative steps.
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Apart from during wartime or the various USA Vs. CCCP arms and space races when government money arrives by the truck load with a note that reads “Get this **** done a week last Tuesday!”.
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