A "Well Rounded" YouTube... Why is Tech "Fashion" Changing for the Worse? And More
It seems they took "Don't be a square" a bit too literally.
TL;DR:
Make tech corners square again please, thanks
It’s Thanksgiving weekend! Greg from How To Drink shows you how to celebrate with these delicious drinks! (21+)
Black Friday / Cyber Monday is upon us. Amazon has some amazing deals happening! Check them out here! Recommendations are below.
Tech is Going Round and Round…
In case you haven’t noticed yet, no matter where you look, everything in tech is constantly moving towards rounded edges on everything. From Gmail’s new reskin, new generation Apple devices having rounded corners, even YouTube in their recent update removing the corners of thumbnails. And now even Windows 11 is going for that rounded-corner look as well.
Why?
Why does tech “fashion” change like this? Who is going “You know, we don’t need to see the edges of our videos, our photos, our programs, let’s just chop them off and make them circular.”?
As a power user of tech, I care a lot more about practicality than looks. Unfortunately however, it seems most consumers of tech end up being the basic users. A video here, an email there, and that’s pretty much it. They like simplicity over functionality. And that is the market that tech companies have been targeting with these new changes. To make it look more nice on the eyes, I guess.
Unfortunately the backend compatibility aspect of YouTube changing to this rounded corner style is pretty bad. Those who had thumbnails with borders, or with important information on the edges will now have some of that information cut off due to the corners. All just for a reskin. The data is there, but they’re covering it up with curves just for looks.
Other weird issues come up all across the internet because of these issues too. I noticed one where the Gmail reskin covers a portion of the scroll bar on the bottom right side of the screen, making some weird curve to it at the bottom. Subtle, but weird.
You can probably tell I’m certainly not a fan. Why should I be? We went from rounded TVs back when TVs and film technology was starting up in the early-to-mid 1900s. When it had no choice between rounded or square edges. We then had square TVs at the turn of the century, and now, because our screens aren’t just the TV anymore, all of our other important screens are becoming rounded again. iPads have rounded corners as their screen. Same with the iPhone. All of the software run by the big tech companies are moving to this new standard, and it’s not helpful to those who don’t care.
It offers no tangible benefit to the users of these devices / software. It’s only used for aesthetics. How did we come from needing rounded edges due to technological limitations to now accepting it when we don’t have to?
The answer, to me at least, is of course money. As I mentioned earlier, it’s the basic users who care about this, probably without even realizing it, and they are the ones that are the main consumers. Naturally, the companies are offering these consumers a new and unique experience with every iteration, at the cost of the power users.
I’m not sure what kind of profits the investment of hiring developers to design these rounded edges create, but surely it can’t be a big difference… Right? Right?
With tech being at the forefront of our society’s massive advancements over the last century, we need to remember that functionality is what gets the job done best. Looks can come after, especially when they offer no actual benefit.
This competition for every company to look and feel new and different made them end up all looking the same.
At least that’s my opinion.
Let me know your thoughts on this topic on our Twitter. I’m looking forward to hearing your take! Do you disagree with my opinion on this?
Drinks to Celebrate Thanksgiving Weekend (21+)
Disclaimer: As this is an all-ages newsletter, please note the following sub-article is for those 21 years old or older.
If you’re looking to make some drinks that may have been drunk on the Mayflower, I highly recommend you check out How To Drink’s new video, where Greg takes you through many vintage drinks, such as the Philadelphia Fish House Punch, a Flip, and even the Rattle Skull! If those sound not-so-tempting, Greg does a better job explaining them than I can 😅
Don’t forget your industrial strength electric coil…
Happy Thanksgiving, and I hope you enjoy your weekend!
My personal drink is non-alcoholic, and it’s a good ole Hot Spiced Apple Cider!
But I’m too lazy to be boiling and sifting apple water, so I went with Mountain Cider’s Spiced Apple Cider concentrate. Just pour 1oz concentrate into 7oz hot water, and you got yourself a delicious, authentic-tasting drink! I recommend you give it a shot, check it out on Amazon here!
Amazon Black Friday / Cyber Monday Sales
It’s Black Friday / Cyber Monday weekend, and if you have some items in your Amazon cart, or Save for Later section, there’s no better time to check on their new sale prices now.
Some items I highly recommend you check out are the following:
Beats Earbuds and Headphones are going for some significant discounts! Up to 57% off!
Amazon Kindle devices are going for up to 37% off. If you’re a reader like me and want to read in the shower, your pool, or at a café, and you don’t want to lug books around, the kindle is an incredible device that is sure to get to your book reading goals in 2023!
Disclosure: This email / post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click on a link and purchase something. The support is well appreciated!