The advancements in technology really are quite neat, and I certainly enjoy all the benefits they offer.
Flash storage is one of my favourites in particular. Just like solar panels, there's no moving parts!
There is so much noise in day-to-day life. Growing up I was around heavy machinery such as tractors, chainsaws, and industrial equipment of that nature (and I didn't always wear hearing protection). Music was also a huge part of my life, because I have many talented family and friends. My personal favourite is drumming (and I didn't always wear hearing protection). I was also in concert bands while I was in school (saxophones rep). But there are cumulative things like listening to music, watching movies, cars, people talking, to ambient things like HVAC that we are so used to we can barely actively hear it.
My phone is silent. My tablet is silent. I just bought a chromebook specifically because it too is silent. This whole article began because I had just replaced the fan in my laptop which I am writing this on currently, still not silent, but goddamn 100% better than what it was before! I had become so used to it that when I brought it to work people were commenting on how loud it was and I hadn't noticed it, to eventually me not using it at all in my home (and thus buying the chromebook) because it sounded like a jet engine! Best $7 I ever spent, and I didn't care that it came from China, because that's where the laptop was made initially!