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| Moving On After a Technology Fail Recently my smartwatch broke. I was coaching volleyball and demonstrating something to a few kids when a ball hit the case of my watch just right and broke a corner there the watch band attaches. I've been playing and coaching with my watch in this way for many years and never had an issue, but apparently there was enough material fatigue that this time something snapped. I was very sad as this was my ten-year gift from Redgate, which I've loved, used, and cherished for 7 years now. I wonder if there's a 20-year gift ... In any case, I lived for a day before I realized I really depend on my smartwatch. I quickly realized that I constantly look at my watch to check the time, run a stopwatch at volleyball, track my heart rate and exercise for health, and most importantly, wake me up with a vibration in the morning. Before I had this I set an audible alarm, which my wife hated. At the time the case broke I was very busy, and after a quick set of searches and very minimal evaluation, I just bought a Garmin Venu 2Sq as a replacement. It was inexpensive, but appeared to do most of what I wanted. If I decided I didn't like it, I wasn't out a lot of money. I contacted Garmin, but they said they wouldn't repair or replace cases. Maybe they assume technology that is more than 5 years old is too prone to failure and not worth fixing? Maybe they just want to sell new products and not support old ones? I get all that, but this age of disposable digital tech is a bit annoying and mildly upsetting to me. I constantly fix old things on the ranch and I like keeping devices going as long as possible. Why not make cases replaceable? I feel the same way about a few devices that have embedded and built in cords. One of my Google cameras had a cord failure when a cat chewed it and the entire device is not junk because I can't repair this tiny cable and Google won't. But I'm getting distracted here. This new watch is very different. Less buttons, more touch screen, and a different type of OS. I am having to learn how to use a new tool, which is both exciting and annoying. I am less productive in some ways as I learn a new tool, and I'm sure I'm missing things because I just want the tool to work rather than invest the time to learn about (potential) ways to use it. I know that there might be plenty of features I learn about that I'm uninterested in using, and I'll have wasted time. I see this often in technology. Many of us get used to working with tools in a certain way, and we learn to be productive. We get comfortable, develop habits, and work around annoyances. If the tool changes, or we are forced to use a new one, often we don't like the change. We may feel lost and not see the advantages of a new tool. I see this all the time as I work with customers. Sometimes I can see better ways they can accomplish tasks, and sometimes I see the cost of change is too high. Even a more efficient way of working can't overcome a loss of productivity for a long period of time if too much change is required. Leaning on existing tools, skills, and habits can be efficient and comfortable. Going through the hassles of change can be worth the effort. Like most things in the database world, the devil is in the details and the answer to the value of changes is it depends. Sometimes a new tool is valuable and sometimes it is not worth the effort. Almost a month into a new watch, I'm unsure of whether I like it or not, but in the short term, I'm too busy to spend time looking for a new tool. Unfortunately, that's the state of the world often for many of us. We live with good enough. Steve Jones - SSC Editor Join the debate, and respond to today's editorial on the forums |
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