Have You Made a Tech-Related New Year's Resolution? [MakeUseOf Poll]

We have now entered a new year, with 2015 giving way to 2016. Last year was a brutal one in terms of world affairs, but the technology sector rumbled on regardless. And so, we suspect, did your bad habits, whether related to technology or not.

You might have made countless new year’s resolutions for 2016, but we’re particularly interested in those resolutions involving technology. If you’re confused as to what those resolutions may be, read on. Welcome to this week’s MakeUseOf Poll, the first of 2016.

New Year, Old News

To answer this week’s question please scroll down the page until you see the poll staring back at you. But first, we need to look at the results from last week, when we asked, “What Was the Biggest Tech News Story of 2015?”

Out of a total of 358 votes, 39.4% chose The Launch of Windows 10, 22.9% chose The Battle Over Net Neutrality, 9.2% chose The Death of Adobe Flash, 8.1% chose The Ashley Madison Hack, 4.5% chose The Launch of Apple Watch, 4.2% chose Lenovo Installing Superfish, 2.8% chose Paying for YouTube Red, 1.7% chose IE Becomes Microsoft Edge, 1.7% chose The iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, and 5.6% chose Something Else.

This is a strong win for Microsoft and Windows 10. Any new version of the Windows operating system is big news, but with Windows 10 being free, this one made even more headlines than usual. The ongoing battle to maintain net neutrality in the United States came in second, with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) finally acting to prevent fast lanes becoming the norm.

Comment of the Week

We only received a handful of comments, but Comment of the Week goes to Peter Fitzsimmons, who earns our admiration and affection for this comment:

Of all the big tech news to come out this year one stands above the rest for many reason to me.

I think the build up to Windows 10 was met with so much hype and desire for something other than the fiasco and mess of Windows 8, that when it came most people were apprehensive.

Having kept one beady eye and refusing to fall for the hype all year I am still waiting for some good news around the worlds biggest computer company as to whether or not their operating system is fit for purpose.

Built up for months as THE NEXT BIG THING and then some, it has hit snag after snag. New updates present new issues for some and ruin for others (myself included).

I still have one computer that has been saved from the peril of Windows 10, although my laptop has since bit the dust thanks to the ill thought out ideas of Bill Gates and his pals at Microsoft.

We chose this comment because it brings the case for the prosecution against Windows 10. While the commenter concedes this is the biggest tech news story of 2015, he remains unconvinced by Windows 10.

To be fair, a lot of people have upgraded and are perfectly happy with Windows 10, but there has also been a lot of complaints aimed at Microsoft about its latest operating system.

Resolution Revolution

The start of a new year prompts many people to ponder what they want from the next 12 months. Many want to shed bad habits, turning over a new leaf and bettering themselves in some small way. Resolutions are a great way of doing this, and we want to know all about your tech-related resolutions.

Perhaps you have vowed to put your phone in your pocket when talking to people. Or spend less time on the Internet as a whole. Perhaps you want to break your addiction to Candy Crush Saga. Or have made a promise to yourself to back your computer up more often. Whatever the resolution, we want to hear about it.

If you haven’t yet made a new year’s resolutions related to technology, this is your chance. And if you’re looking for inspiration, be sure to check out our end-of-year-resolution recommendations, or see what other people suggested when we asked a similar question at the start of 2014.

Once you have voted in the poll above, please explain in the comments section why you voted that way. If you have made a new year’s resolution related to technology please tell us all about it. If you haven’t done so, please tell us why, and what other resolutions you have made instead.

The more information you can provide with your comment, the more accurate our conclusions can be based on the results. The best comment of the week will win our everlasting admiration and affection. At least until we all meet back here again this time next week with a new question.

Image Credits: Alan O’Rourke via Flickr