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I must be unimaginative but I can't figure out what a Smart Fridge would do that a normal one doesn't already (besides the incredibly useless remind me to get m

I must be unimaginative but I can't figure out what a Smart Fridge would do that a normal one doesn't already (besides the incredibly useless remind me to get milk or whatever). Will it become as annoying as my printer that tells me when it's time to order genuine non-warranty voiding ink (just click here!)? Or detect if I haven't used OEM parts or a factory certified repair service? Edit: Wait, I thought of one. A Weight Watchers tie in that detects how many times I've cheated and locks the door.

jacquesm 11y ago
That only works if you're the only occupant of the premises.
mgkimsal 11y ago
How about a fridge that can detect when some food is going bad? "your eggs will be off in the next 3-5 days. here's some recipes that fit your lifestyle and taste, and will let you use the eggs vs throwing them away".
- jkestner 11y ago
  More realistically, the manufacturer will generate extra revenue by telling you that the eggs are probably now bad, and hooking you up with suppliers so you buy more. See: Amazon.
  - CaptSpify 11y ago
    That's why we need these systems to be open and modifiable. If I could do that same thing, but point it to "awesome-egg-recipes.com" instead of "amazon.com", it'd be an awesome service. I do foresee your take on the matter being the one that wins out, unfortunately.
    - jkestner 11y ago
      So how do you induce the incentives to create such open systems? Why does Roku exist to connect any TV to nearly any service, but not the same thing for IoT? Is it the insistence on making money through services rather than the lower-margin hardware? (Noting that Roku also makes money through channel placement and probably affiliate fees.) I'm afraid that the only way it's going to happen is if the government wades in. But first enough people have to give a shit about these systems, and that'll require them actually being useful to a majority of consumers.
      - CaptSpify 11y ago
        > So how do you induce the incentives to create such open systems? Unfortunately, I have no idea. Obviously I can say "only buy systems that are open", but it'll take a lot of people to make a significant impact. Hopefully, when things die, we can say "I never had that problem with $vendor because their systems are open!"

jacquesm 11y ago

That only works if you're the only occupant of the premises.

mgkimsal 11y ago

How about a fridge that can detect when some food is going bad? "your eggs will be off in the next 3-5 days. here's some recipes that fit your lifestyle and taste, and will let you use the eggs vs throwing them away".

jkestner 11y ago
More realistically, the manufacturer will generate extra revenue by telling you that the eggs are probably now bad, and hooking you up with suppliers so you buy more. See: Amazon.
- CaptSpify 11y ago
  That's why we need these systems to be open and modifiable. If I could do that same thing, but point it to "awesome-egg-recipes.com" instead of "amazon.com", it'd be an awesome service. I do foresee your take on the matter being the one that wins out, unfortunately.
  - jkestner 11y ago
    So how do you induce the incentives to create such open systems? Why does Roku exist to connect any TV to nearly any service, but not the same thing for IoT? Is it the insistence on making money through services rather than the lower-margin hardware? (Noting that Roku also makes money through channel placement and probably affiliate fees.) I'm afraid that the only way it's going to happen is if the government wades in. But first enough people have to give a shit about these systems, and that'll require them actually being useful to a majority of consumers.
    - CaptSpify 11y ago
      > So how do you induce the incentives to create such open systems? Unfortunately, I have no idea. Obviously I can say "only buy systems that are open", but it'll take a lot of people to make a significant impact. Hopefully, when things die, we can say "I never had that problem with $vendor because their systems are open!"