Tech Update Pause

Do you feel that endless cycle running in the background of our lives? The constant upgrading of things. Be it software or hardware, modern devices demand more than ever to be refreshed and upgraded, updated.

I’m taking a pause from the hardware side of upgrades. I’ll keep updating the software on my devices, but there comes a point when I need to sit back and actually enjoy/use fully what I have.

I made up this silly little sign and placed it on my desktop computer to remind me that I’ve spent enough. In the last year I’ve upgraded my desktop, laptop, phone, drone, camera (2 years ago, but new lenses since then), car, headphones, VR goggles, etc…

While none of it is the super top shelf stuff and I don’t make a habit of buying the latest and greatest just to have it new every year, it is all really nice stuff. Except the phone, all the items purchased replaced nicely aged equipment that had made work slower than it needed to be and often times painful. We can justify most things given enough time to reason.

And reasoning has lead me to this: a four year pause of upgrades. My desktop and laptop can process and render 8K 3D video for VR use. The drone is an iteration back, but it flies like it should, I have invested heavily into it and the videos it produces still sell just as nicely as a new drone’s would.

My phone, while not the newest, takes awesome photos, communicates well, has plenty of storage left and does all the things I want it to do. This one will be the hardest to resist because just last night I told my wife that I plan to get the iPhone 16 Pro when it comes out because I am very intrigued by the new stereoscopic video mode that allows you to create 3D videos for the upcoming Vision Pro VR headset. Sooo….I have some reckoning to do with that desire vs. business case. If someone will pay me for iPhone 3D video, that will make it a no brainer.

This is to say, for me, it’s time to take a pause. All that upgrading costs a lot of money, money that I can be setting aside and earning more money on until it is time to replace the equipment when technology inevitably makes my current high-tech setup a bit more aged and slow and almost obsolete.

This path isn’t for everyone but I’m typing these words for a purpose other than tooting my own horn about having an ounce of privileged restraint. Some of us need a reminder now and again that it’s okay not to upgrade. If you already have learned this lesson, awesome.

But for the rest that might be tempted by the flashy new newness of new stuff, ask yourself if you can put off that purchase for just another month or six. Wring the life out of the tech you have for a while and take a pause from the machine that keeps telling you you need the latest, greatest. Fear of missing out is a strong force, I know.

And it can be overcome with practice. That practice starts, for me, by challenging myself to an extended period of using my current set of tools until they break or become obsolete. Or until four years have passed because by then the video editing demands I place on my gear will indeed bring me great joy when I upgrade and feel the speed that five years of “Our fastest <product> ever!” announcements will bring.