Ugh! Not another update! It seems like I just had an update on my phone. That means I'll have to update my iPad too. I'd better check the computer to see if it's up to date. And I'll have to warn my wife to check her phone and laptop for updates.

I appreciate the security checks. But I never notice any changes or improvements in any of the applications. Although, the last update changed some of the settings on my phone. I had to go into the controls and reset everything back to what I had. It also installed an app that I had no interest in using. So, not trusting it, I promptly deleted it.

Even my so-called, smart TV gets annoying updates every so often, usually interrupting whatever show I happen to be watching. I used to let them run. Now, I hit cancel on the remote. I no longer use the "smart" part of the television. I prefer the dumb side, although there are too many advertisements. I'd rather watch old, interruption-free movies on my computer in the other room.

One feature I like about the new TV sets is the USB port, allowing connectivity to a laptop. I connected an older laptop to one of the newer televisions, turning the TV into a large monitor to watch Youtube® videos and movies.

One day, I was looking through the menus and various apps on the smart TV, and I noticed something new – a Youtube® app. It must have been a download from one of the updates. I picked up my phone, opened Youtube®, and picked a video at random. Then I noticed that I could connect it wirelessly to the TV – AWESOME! – No more hooking up the laptop to the TV like a tired old dog on a leash.

A few days later, I opened the Youtube® app on my iPhone. When I tried to connect to the smart TV, the Youtube® app was gone. If I wanted to reinstall the app on the TV, I would have to pay a ransom, or as they prefer to call it, a subscription fee. Nothing doing. I'll just go back to what I had done before and reconnect the laptop, which had been sitting idly beside the television, gathering dust. When I booted up the tiny computer, I half expected it to display an "I told you so" message on its 12-inch screen.

I later determined that one of the so-called "updates" for the TV must have involved the removal of the Youtube® application. I guess the folks at Youtube® were not too happy about sending out a free app even though the website is freely available on the internet through almost any other device except a toaster. And I would not bet on counting that out, either.

Other features, or even people can suddenly disappear from various applications - (Think: Twitter®, Facebook®. I never used them.) But as I often say, "The technology that giveth can taketh away."

Story and Cover Illustration Copyright © 2022 by Michael DeFrancesco