# Web News: The Middle Class Can't Keep Up With Tech Anymore Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/html-all-the-things-web-development-ai-and-developer-careers-863818/web-news-the-middle-class-can-t-keep-up-with-tech-anymore Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/html-all-the-things-web-development-ai-and-developer-careers-863818/web-news-the-middle-class-can-t-keep-up-with-tech-anymore.md Podcast: [HTML All The Things - Web Development, AI, and Developer Careers](https://stenobird.com/podcast/html-all-the-things-web-development-ai-and-developer-careers-863818) Published: 2026-05-30T13:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcast/the-middle-class-cant-keep-up-with-tech-anymore Audio file: https://pdcn.co/e/mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/sfr5x3ttn28gv5cq/482_-_Web_News_The_Middle_Class_Cant_Keep_Up_With_Tech_Anymore.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/html-all-the-things-web-development-ai-and-developer-careers-863818/episodes/web-news-the-middle-class-can-t-keep-up-with-tech-anymore Duration seconds: 1735 ## Resource Can the middle class still afford modern technology? From Steam Deck price increases to the arrival of smart glasses and AI wearables, consumers are being asked to maintain an ever-growing portfolio of devices, subscriptions, and upgrade cycles. Matt and Mike discuss the rising cost of tech, whether new gadgets are replacing old ones or simply adding to the bill, and how to balance your enthusiasm for technology with real-world financial priorities. ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/html-all-the-things-web-development-ai-and-developer-careers-863818/episodes/web-news-the-middle-class-can-t-keep-up-with-tech-anymore/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/html-all-the-things-web-development-ai-and-developer-careers-863818/web-news-the-middle-class-can-t-keep-up-with-tech-anymore.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.