Keep Things the Way They Were

I agree.
To add, we need analog radio for this hobby to exist.

Self driving cars?.....I don't even want to see back up cameras. What did we do before!
You had to know where the other side or the back of the car was.


Mark

Some things about the new technology is better and some not so much. Digital Radio is not going to be able to go the distance whereas analog Radio can and with far less power. Digital TV has been a pain when an emergency arises because if the reception is not 100% clean it simply drops out. That is not good in a severe storm whereas the signal often is disrupted when lightning is close by.

Analog Radio will simply pass the information even if some static is in the background you'll most likely get the gest of the message and know what to do when severe weather happens or when another disaster happens.

HD Radio has not shown very good response because you practically have to be on top of a very powerful corporate station in order to receive the signal. Plus if the compression rate (Bit Rate) is not high you'll hear a watery type audio sound. I've heard this on some HD stations when I had the chance to hear some of them. A Good DSP and a good receiver in the first place should be able to make a regular analog FM signal sound quite nice.

AM Radio could do a lot better if the FCC would get stricter on the receiver manufacturers and establish a certain standard to go by for selectivity and sensitivity. This would alleviate the need for such high power stations and this will lesson the potential for unwanted interference to come into other services outside the broadcast band.

I have to agree that technological advances don't always make things better.

The proliferation of smartphones hasn't made communication any more effective - in fact, quite the opposite. We're creating an illiterate generation.

Digital sound doesn't produce 'better' music. The sound may be better, but good sounding crap is still crap.

I wouldn't put my life in the hands of self-driving cars in the forseeable future, knowing what I know about so-called 'artifical intelligence'. Ditto 'intelligent' appliances. These things are only as smart as their programmers, and most of those aren't very smart (technological know how doesn't equate to being smart).

The Internet isn't always a good thing. There can be too much information, particularly if you can't separate the wheat from the chaff. And we're becoming desensitized to the outrageous. Trump and company use this to their advantage.

Would I go back in time? Probably not. I'm preaching that moderation is a good thing, along with common sense. Use technology to your advantage, but don't rely on it.

And don't automatically throw out old technology for the new. I like old technology, because it tends to work - generally, a lot more (and in many cases better) than the new stuff.

Old Technology That Never Goes Off Line

Books are how old?

They contain useful information.

Require no batteries, no internet connection, no fuel, no app.

Are portable, never lose their memory, cannot be hacked.

Men who don't read them are doomed to politics

Carl,
    I share many of your sentiments except I am probably more receptive to self-driving cars, after spending the last 6 years working (and driving) in Michigan. 
    BTW, if you know anyone who makes a living as a driver, tell them to start preparing now for a career change.