Nerdulous

Let's compare the S9 to the S23.

The S23 has Wi-Fi 6E support, Bluetooth 5.3 support, twice as much base storage and RAM, 5G support, an in display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, 3 high resolution cameras, 120hz refresh rate, twice as fast internal storage, a 33% larger battery, a much newer version of Android and to top it off a processor that's roughly 3X as powerful as the S9.

So to me it might not be fair to call the S9 dialup but I would say a comparison between broadband and fiber is pretty accurate. At the very least the other features are worth upgrading for if not the speed. Now I suppose the S9 is still a perfectly good phone to be used as just a phone but these things are really portable computers and the increase in processing power becomes tremendous in a short period of time.

As much as I agree that individual releases are lackluster and uninspiring usually I just can't agree with a 13yo phone being very capable today. The benefits that are compounded after 3 or 4 releases is usually worth the switch. However I do firmly believe these devices should last at least that long.

Not to mention most people are ecstatic to have their washing machine, refrigerator, water heater, or even their cars for so long and usually it isn't without compromises. Just about any appliance lasting that long is considered good luck.

Computational devices are even harder to continue using for so long and usually not because they break but because they become inadequate as processing power follows Moore's law. I would guess most people use their laptops for about 5 years before feeling like they have to upgrade because it feels slow but I remember the laptop I had 13 years ago and the thought of still using that now fills me with dread.

Open link. See PragerU. Immediately close link

I don't think I can agree with you here. Elden ring, for all of its flaws, is one of the last true honest to God video games you can buy recently. For $60 you get a complete, no microtransaction, no battle pass, no cosmetics, whole, playable game.

There aren't pieces taken out and sold back to you one item at a time like Sims 4. You don't have to buy the horse dlc or spend money to get the magic battle pass. It wasn't a completely buggy mess from the start like no man's sky or cyberpunk 2077. There's no integrated battle pass designed to suck your wallet and your soul dry like in Overwatch 2 or COD. There's no cosmetics to make you look like SpongeBob SquarePants or any other fictional character like in Fortnite and countless other games. This is a game that knows what it is and doesn't try and bait you into playing it like the others.

Sure it's difficulty is hard and it doesn't hand hold you but it certainly doesn't require you to use the wiki. Don't get me wrong your experience WILL be better with it but one of the big marketing points was the sites of grace pointing you where to go. The game actually goes through some trouble to make sure you understand what it is when you get to the round table hold. Gameplay mechanics are also explained in the inventory under the info items tab. But by and large you're supposed to learn through doing here.

Largely I agree that recent games are more slot machines with collectable crap tacked on but Elden Ring is not an example of a zoomer game. Hard? Sure. Garbage? Not on your life.