the constant desire for NEW

[taylordeupree]

some time this morning i found a definition of the new (?) phenomenon of the constant desire for the next best thing.. the latest OS, the next version.... someone had a term for it, that i thought was really great...

was it on this forum? or did i read it somewhere else? anyone know what i'm talking about?

the reason i want to find that term again is that i want to start a new discussion based around this idea...

if it was on this forum, let me know.. i poked around, but couldn't find it.

[billygomberg]

I'm not familiar w/the term you are thinking of but I'm VERY familiar w/the phenomenon..."oh this is the new version of X?  crap i gotta order it!"

[radere]

I still use Ableton 7........must...resist...urge.....to.....UPGRAAAADEEEE! 

[billygomberg]

I still use Ableton 7........must...resist...urge.....to.....UPGRAAAADEEEE! 

yeah I upgraded to Logic 9 last week and was like "oh cool all this ... new... stuff...which I may not use. huh."

but it's still AWESOME

[radere]

I still use Ableton 7........must...resist...urge.....to.....UPGRAAAADEEEE! 

yeah I upgraded to Logic 9 last week and was like "oh cool all this ... new... stuff...which I may not use. huh."

but it's still AWESOME

I hear you.

Here's my belief: Having Live 8 opens the door to Max For Live, which, in turn, opens the door to an endless stream of new devices and tools. As a result, my work flow will always be in flux and I will never finish a track ever again. If I can limit my tools to a core set, it'll be easier to actually get things done; whereas, if I'm always trying out new things I'm in a constant state of tinkering...and we all know that leads to, well, nowhere.

[moodchannel]

for anything computer related... I always wait until it's not new anymore... as new always means bugs.  I'll let the eager types smooth out the bumps before I get involved.

I'm always suspicious of a new OS as they usually seem to be bloated with more functionality, perhaps in anticipation of faster future hardware, but still annoying.

if I do seek an upgrade... there is usually a specific reason for it.  I try not to let myself get caught up in the pursuit of shiny objects.

though... I do have a weakness for tiny computers... which I resist as much as possible... but still manage to lapse on occasion...

for me... I am trying to focus on being creative with the tools I already have... which are enough to last me a lifetime already.

[radere]

for anything computer related... I always wait until it's not new anymore... as new always means bugs.  I'll let the eager types smooth out the bumps before I get involved.

I'm always suspicious of a new OS as they usually seem to be bloated with more functionality, perhaps in anticipation of faster future hardware, but still annoying.

Case in point: http://createdigitalmusic.com/2009/12/28/ableton-suspends-development-to-focus-on-bug-fixes-for-live-8/#more-8829

[Guy Birkin]

Not sure what that phrase might be, Taylor, and I don't remember seeing it on the old forum. If anywhere, it'll be amongst psychological research. 'Neophobia' is fear of the new, so I guess 'neophilia' might be the word? 'Desire for the new' is a clear phrase at least.

From the opposite point of view, in the field of design there is the idea of 'in-built senescence' - designing products that don't last, so they get bought more often. The idea comes from biology (ageing and death, which is still a bit mysterious, expecially 'programmed senescence'). There is no widely accepted phrase for it, perhaps because it's accused rather than admitted practice. Bringing out needless product 'upgrades' is related because it implies senescence of previous versions.

This could be an interesting discussion - bringing in psychology, design and environmental issues.

[moodchannel]

for anything computer related... I always wait until it's not new anymore... as new always means bugs.  I'll let the eager types smooth out the bumps before I get involved.

I'm always suspicious of a new OS as they usually seem to be bloated with more functionality, perhaps in anticipation of faster future hardware, but still annoying.

Case in point: http://createdigitalmusic.com/2009/12/28/ableton-suspends-development-to-focus-on-bug-fixes-for-live-8/#more-8829

I work is software dev... and I understand that time and resources spent on bug fixes and stability are not as appealing as sexy new features.  often our clients build project timelines which do not account for any time to fix and stabilize... while overpromising new features.

ableton should not have know better than to let it become a problem... as their app is sold for... uh.. live performance... which is a very uncool place to have bugs creep in...

[taylordeupree]

it was something like "neophilia"...

my point is... if we all shut off our internet connections for a YEAR... would we not get more done? we we stop thinking that what we already have is inferior? would we stop wanting new things? would we use what we have more, and in better ways?

i think the answer is "yes" to all of those questions. now that i have firmly planted myself in a world where i am doing things to OTHER people's music (mastering, mixing) i feel a huge responsibility to have the right tools and, probably rightfully so... but still, i argue that it has nothing (or very little) to do with the TOOLS as it does the person using them.

i am as much, or more, of a gear addict than the next guy.. looking at new gear sites/news countless number of times each day, just to see if anything new was released the past hour! now, i don't BUY as much gear anymore, as i've gotten to the point where i'm quite comfortable with what i have... but i always feel like there's something "better" out there and suffer from neophilia, for sure.

it would be great to have an "internet turn off year"... (in some ways!)....

in my own little way to distance myself from gear, or to at least concentrate on what i have.... when i go to florida next month for a week i'm brining my virus TI... and i'm going to spend the week, when i'm not with the family, exploring the TI in ways i never have before. away from the rest of  my gear, away from websites...

i yearn for such a simpler life, but i know that i could never do it, so i've got to find ways, find pockets of quietude amongst the overload and constant desire for more that we're bombarded with every day.

[billygomberg]

it was something like "neophilia"...

my point is... if we all shut off our internet connections for a YEAR... would we not get more done? we we stop thinking that what we already have is inferior? would we stop wanting new things? would we use what we have more, and in better ways?

in retrospect, it was really liberating having my computer stolen.  I was thinking of all the things I could get done, except that everything I wanted to work on needed my computer!  I do secretly wish for the internet to go away.  so much less distraction.  I'd write you all letters with cassettes in them.

in my own little way to distance myself from gear, or to at least concentrate on what i have.... when i go to florida next month for a week i'm brining my virus TI... and i'm going to spend the week, when i'm not with the family, exploring the TI in ways i never have before. away from the rest of  my gear, away from websites...

i yearn for such a simpler life, but i know that i could never do it, so i've got to find ways, find pockets of quietude amongst the overload and constant desire for more that we're bombarded with every day.

I did spend a lot of time playing my Virus in the last few weeks...but as my recorder got stolen I couldn't record anything.  well, besides that, it was great just to sit and play my favorite instrument, no internet, no software, no recording!  I do really wish I had my old Tascam Portastudio 424 (before my band's guitarist spilled a beer in it - "such simpler times" I guess, no way to upgrade that thing!

[taylordeupree]

in retrospect, it was really liberating having my computer stolen. 

damn... you know, i can give it back.. i was really hoping to cause pain and suffering.. but, if you're liberated.. hell, i'll just return the thing to you...

[billygomberg]

in retrospect, it was really liberating having my computer stolen. 

damn... you know, i can give it back.. i was really hoping to cause pain and suffering.. but, if you're liberated.. hell, i'll just return the thing to you...

I've always wanted to commit insurance fraud.

[sublamp]

I've been thinking about this recently too. Every time I find myself putting off a project because I don't have the right equipment, or because better technology is just over the horizon, I realize I'm really just looking for an excuse not to get any work done. I have to remind myself that overcoming the limitations of what I have now makes me MORE creative. Listening back to some of the noise recordings I made 15 years ago with only two tape recorders reminds me that surprising things can happen when you are operating beyond what your equipment is designed to do.
I think it's fascinating that there also seems to be an equal and opposite desire for discarded technology, like the rise of plastic lens cameras that were once considered cheap toys but now are widely adored for their quirks. We have a blind spot for present technology maybe?

[Guy Birkin]

i yearn for such a simpler life, but i know that i could never do it, so i've got to find ways, find pockets of quietude amongst the overload and constant desire for more that we're bombarded with every day.

I think that's the right strategy to cope in these bewildering, information-rich, self-centred times. Not sure about an internet-free year, because it's more than commercialism (this forum, for example), but I take the point. This Christmas, I thought how nice it would be if there were no adverts on TV, just for the day.

Let us not get drawn into a nostalgia trip here, though - "new things bad, old things good". OK we're not neophiles, but nor are we neophobes. Love new things or not, the pressing issue is not simply psychological quirks, but the sustainability of the lifestyle that results. If someone wants to spend every last penny on the latest gadgets, that's up to them. But if what they're doing impinges on the current or future wellbeing of others (human and non-human), then I would argue that it becomes our problem too.