10 tech mistakes you should never make

Regrets, we've had a few - and they're not too few to mention. The more tech you have in your life, the more tech regrets you're likely to have.

Whether it is the platform you jumped on just as everyone else jumped off, the phone battery that died at the worst possible moment, the moment of madness when you bought a Zune or a BlackBerry Playbook.

So which tech decisions are you likely to regret today? These are our suggestions.

Buying the Bad Windows

See if you can spot the pattern. Windows XP was good. Windows Vista wasn't. Windows 7 was good. Windows 8 appears to have destroyed the consumer PC industry. 

We're stocking up on tinned food and guns in anticipation of Windows 10.

Scrimping on storage

Manufacturers' prices for flash storage are often insane, but opting for the smallest capacity is almost always a mistake. The OS immediately grabs a bunch of gigabytes, and a half-dozen cat GIFs will quickly fill the rest.

Forgetting the back up bit

Everybody knows that you should always back up your stuff before installing a major software update - but they know it in the same way that they know you should eat healthily, drink moderately and drive within the speed limit. 

For most of us, the "remember to back up!" bit of our brain only kicks in halfway through reformatting a hard disk.

Picking an 'hilarious' email address

Sure, sexybumbum@outlook.com might seem like a good idea now. It won't seem so good when you're typing it into job application forms or emailing your kids' head teacher.

Leaving the house with less than 63% battery life

63% might seem like a lot when you're at home, but that's because you have Wi-Fi and distractions. Step outside the front door and you're good for roughly six minutes.

Downloading free mobile apps

Free generally means "stuffed with malware", "impossible to play without paying real cash money" or "full-screen video ads! Just what everyone wants!" Not all apps are like that, of course, but the good ones get bought by Facebook or Flipboard as soon as you start to rely on them.

Buying a phone running old-Android

There are two kinds of old-Android buyers: there are the people who don't care which version they have, and there are the people who bought a device expecting the manufacturer or network to provide a firmware update to KitKat. The second lot are easy to spot, because they're crying.

Taking photos at a gig

Even assuming you aren't using an iPad - something we'll continue to protest against, even though we know in our hearts that it's pointless - the odds of getting a decent smartphone shot at a gig are approximately zero, or less than that if you're using the flash.

Keeping files in the wrong formats

If you're transcoding video, ripping music or storing anything for future safekeeping, make sure it's in a format you'll still be able to access years from now, not a format whose continued existence or copy protection system depends on the continued goodwill of a handful of companies (or worse, a single company).