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I'm not sure it's a fad, but it is definitely not ready for prime time. I have a "smart washer" largely because the smarts came with the washer I wanted. The "

I'm not sure it's a fad, but it is definitely not ready for prime time. I have a "smart washer" largely because the smarts came with the washer I wanted. The "smart" functionality is completely unusable. First, it can only be connected to the network via WPS. (And the reviewers for the smart phone app don't seem to be able to connect it even with WPS. I haven't tried.) Second, the actual functionality of the connected app is a joke. So why do they have smart functionality at all? My guess is marketing. Is anyone going to return their otherwise awesome washer because the smart functionality is crap? Probably not, since there is no washer or dryer with true smart functionality on the market. But having it on there as a feature might sell a couple units. On the other hand, while a refrigerator that detects when I'm out of milk is useless now, I can imagine a future in which it then orders the milk for me, so I never have to worry about it. I honestly can't stand doing inventory and ordering/shopping every week. I would love for that process to be automated.

roywiggins 10y ago
I think you've reinvented the milkman. Regular milk deliveries might be a little bit more inconvenient than automatically ordered milk, but it's vastly simpler.
- nickonline 10y ago
  You're being ridiculously literal. What if you have milk but are out of orange juice or cheese or steak? Unless the 'milkman' is turning up with all these things on the of chance you're low on one this system is much more efficient.
tajen 10y ago
> detects when I'm out of milk That's a fad. I wouldn't be suprised if people just wanted to take a look inside their fridge while they're shopping, so a webcam at each level would be enough.
daveguy 10y ago
> I honestly can't stand doing inventory and ordering/shopping every week. I would love for that process to be automated. A beautiful fact about refrigerators is that they make for perfect whiteboard surfaces and they are magnetic. I take a picture of my fridge before I go shopping, on which I have written everything that needs to be purchased. A magnetic whiteboard marker with builtin eraser stays on the fridge. There is no way a "smart fridge" is going to catch up to that level of ease + utility any time soon.
- lotharbot 10y ago
  I have an actual magnetic whiteboard, which I carry with me to the store and erase as I put things into my cart. The magnetic marker+eraser goes in my pocket, and I put it back on the fridge when I'm putting away my groceries.
- sib 10y ago
  What if there were and "Evernote-OCR + Amazon Fresh" app that would let you take a picture of the whiteboard and then have the stuff show up in an hour?
- Larrikin 10y ago
  To me, this seems far more inconvenient than just taking out my phone and just putting in to my grocery list what I'm out of in something like Our Groceries. It syncs to my phone and my wife's phone and keeps track of items we've previously purchased. No need for a picture of the fridge, one person can just pick up everything on the list without even asking.
- cgriswald 10y ago
  I am perfectly capable of maintaining an inventory. In fact I am quite efficient at it. The reason is that I despise having to do it; which is also the reason I would love an automated process which doesn't require me to snap photos or go to stores. Your solution wouldn't work well for me, though. My refrigerator is covered in stained wood. :)

roywiggins 10y ago

I think you've reinvented the milkman. Regular milk deliveries might be a little bit more inconvenient than automatically ordered milk, but it's vastly simpler.

nickonline 10y ago
You're being ridiculously literal. What if you have milk but are out of orange juice or cheese or steak? Unless the 'milkman' is turning up with all these things on the of chance you're low on one this system is much more efficient.

tajen 10y ago

> detects when I'm out of milk That's a fad. I wouldn't be suprised if people just wanted to take a look inside their fridge while they're shopping, so a webcam at each level would be enough.

daveguy 10y ago

> I honestly can't stand doing inventory and ordering/shopping every week. I would love for that process to be automated. A beautiful fact about refrigerators is that they make for perfect whiteboard surfaces and they are magnetic. I take a picture of my fridge before I go shopping, on which I have written everything that needs to be purchased. A magnetic whiteboard marker with builtin eraser stays on the fridge. There is no way a "smart fridge" is going to catch up to that level of ease + utility any time soon.

lotharbot 10y ago
I have an actual magnetic whiteboard, which I carry with me to the store and erase as I put things into my cart. The magnetic marker+eraser goes in my pocket, and I put it back on the fridge when I'm putting away my groceries.
sib 10y ago
What if there were and "Evernote-OCR + Amazon Fresh" app that would let you take a picture of the whiteboard and then have the stuff show up in an hour?
Larrikin 10y ago
To me, this seems far more inconvenient than just taking out my phone and just putting in to my grocery list what I'm out of in something like Our Groceries. It syncs to my phone and my wife's phone and keeps track of items we've previously purchased. No need for a picture of the fridge, one person can just pick up everything on the list without even asking.
cgriswald 10y ago
I am perfectly capable of maintaining an inventory. In fact I am quite efficient at it. The reason is that I despise having to do it; which is also the reason I would love an automated process which doesn't require me to snap photos or go to stores. Your solution wouldn't work well for me, though. My refrigerator is covered in stained wood. :)