TECH MYTHS that will change your life- and save you money

 5 minute read

1. “More RAM = More Speed”

There is a fine line of difference between speed and multitasking. More RAM means you can launch and use multiple applications simultaneously.

• RAM of 4GB is enough for faster performance. Albeit, it doesn’t imply more than 4GB RAM will make your device even faster.

2. “Updates make your device faster”

Nothing could be further from the truth. A patch for a bug fix or to clear up a security issue will help your device protected nonetheless. But OS and frequent app updates creates heavier apps that require powerful hardware compatibility. That’s the reason your phone gets slower.

• Just update the necessary apps, and help your phone for optimized performance. You’ll be amazed by the results.

3. “Emptying the Trash or Recycle Bin permanently deletes files”

It would make sense that deleting a file would actually delete it. But when you empty the Recycle Bin (Windows) or Trash (Mac), the data aren't erased, only the links to the complete files are. A computer told to delete a file won't actually remove it but will only remove reference to file and that will deallocate the space it takes up on the hard drive, opening that space up to be written again. That means bits of information still remain, and any snooping hacker could piece them together to rebuild what you thought was gone forever.

• To truly and permanently delete files, you have to instruct your computer to go a step beyond emptying the Trash or Recycle Bin. On a Mac, choose "secure empty Trash"; on a PC, you have to work in the command-line interface of Sdelete, a free program that allows you to totally wipe either all free space or only specific files.

There is an upside: If you accidentally delete something and must get it back, in theory, you can.

4. “Private/Incognito browsing keeps you anonymous”

There’s a misconception that “incognito” and “private” are synonymous with anonymous. If you’re using Incognito Mode in Google Chrome or Private browsing in Safari, it simply means the browser won’t keep track of your history, import your bookmarks, or automatically log into any of your accounts.

• Basically, it's good for keeping other people who use your computer from seeing what you've been doing. But it won’t keep your identity hidden from the sites you visit or your ISP — so keep that in mind if you’re visiting sites you shouldn’t be.

5. “Leaving your phone plugged in destroys the battery”

If you’re like most people, you probably leave your phone plugged in overnight long after the battery is fully charged. Some used to say this would hurt your phone's battery life, but in fact, there's no proof that this damages your phone’s battery in any way.

• Modern smartphones run on lithium-ion batteries, which are smart enough to stop charging when they’ve reached capacity.

Today, no product can get away with being built badly in a way that dangers the user.

Remember the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco?

It had to be recalled because a good number of them exploded.

 After that, a “safer” version of the Note 7 was released. These supposedly “safer” units did the same thing that their predecessor did.

Explode.

This happened because the battery incorporated a new design concept that caused a few internal layers of the battery to come in contact with each other. That device was badly built. If the Note 7 wasn’t able to get away with being built badly, neither can your phone. Your phone is tested to ensure that it comes up to safety standards.

If phones weren’t fitted with charging protection circuits, it would cause millions of phones around the world to explode. Such a situation would be called a terrorist attack rather than a technological failure.

Is it okay to leave your smartphone charging overnight?

• Yes, as long as it’s not a Note 7.

6. “For windows users: Refreshing desktop screen make it work properly”

 Refreshing the desktop screen does not make any difference to the speed or response time of your computer and refreshing it is not necessary.

• Refreshing will just implement any changes of modifications that have been done to the desktop.

7. “I need stronger hardware”

90% of the time, what people actually need is better software and maintain it better. Starting from drivers, the operating system and going to the applications.

Here’s one example:

“My Windows takes too long to boot and is generally very slow”: Well, remove all the programs you don’t need, especially the ones running in the background, get rid of the couple of viruses, declutter your desktop and clean the temporary files. Reconsider if you really need 18 open tabs in your browser.

Better?

After doing that, one can consider if it makes sense e.g. adding ram and getting an SSD. But not before.

Read also: “Better tech always wins”

No bigger assumption has lead to greater disasters than this statement. Companies tend to crush competition by incremental improvements against the competitors in terms of their technology. Very few companies realise that profits and revenues will not flow in because of great technology in their systems. It is always the better package that wins.

When we say Package , it does not only comprise of things like marketing, retail prices, campaigns, user feedback, and frequent updates. It goes much further. Better package is a product which enthrals the developer, the retailer, the customer, the investor and the society. If your product misses out on any one of these, it will not be a winner. It may be a runner-up in the race, but it will not be the winner.

Apple wins because it somehow manages to please every kind of stakeholder every single time. So does Tesla. You never remember which product had the best tech in it. You only remember which worked the best.

It is never a 100 m sprint, it is always a 4X100 m relay race. One great player will never ensure that you win the race. But 4 good players will.

And this is how breakthrough products are always created.

Datum objave: 25.12.2017