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As much as I love Raymond I have completely run out of time for people who buy unnecessary "smart" devices then complain about them. 6 years ago I would underst

As much as I love Raymond I have completely run out of time for people who buy unnecessary "smart" devices then complain about them. 6 years ago I would understand, but by now we all know this stuff is junk. Yes, all of it.

city41 7y ago
We recently got a new fridge and my friends and family were all amazed I didn't choose a "smart" fridge. "But you're in tech, why wouldn't you want a high tech fridge?", "Because I'm in tech."
- matwood 7y ago
  Agreed. My washer and dryer are close to 20 years old. They each have a few buttons, and the 'computers' are mostly mechanical (think egg timer). I'm dreading when they break because anytime I have looked for simple, basic models like I have they no longer seem to exist.
  - GhettoMaestro 7y ago
    That's why I bought a Kenmore HE3. I can buy most parts for $<50 on Amazon (or eBay in the worst case).
  - artursapek 7y ago
    My mother and father in law have these, they specifically sought them. They're these old brown Maytag machines. Really nice and easy to use. If I ever replace the ones that came with my house I'll probably look for the same kind.
  - JRKrause 7y ago
    If you are really worried just drop a few dollars on spares for all the internal parts. Most everything can be found on Amazon. It's hard to imagine drying enough clothes to wear out the heater element more than three times in the average human lifespan.
    - steve_g 7y ago
      My dryer heating element broke last week, after 14 months of operation. It's awesome that I was able to buy one on Amazon and get it the next day (Sunday). But it sucks that it only lasted 14 months. I'm hoping my remaining lifespan is greater than 2.3 years, but you never know.
  - cheschire 7y ago
    My dryer uses a heat pump similar to refrigeration technology which allows it to dry clothes at a lower energy usage level because it's more efficient than heated air. It's also a condensing dryer so it doesn't spray hot wet lint air out of the side of my house, and has a drain tube I can run straight into my drain pipe next to my washer so I don't have to dump out the water collector every few loads. While I'm generally a fan of simple appliances in concept, there are several significant changes that have occurred in the last 20 years you might want to just peruse. As an aside, my dryer has wifi, but I only ever use that feature just to alert me on my phone that the loads are complete. I've never gotten that shitty software to actually start a load successfully. Not even upset about it, I didn't buy it for the wifi. The internet of things is useless but don't let that hold you back from finding some really efficient modern technology.
    - rootusrootus 7y ago
      Condenser dryers are pretty slow, however, so I'm not sure it's a good solution for average people. They're nice when you don't have good infrastructure in place for a vented model, though.
      - cheschire 7y ago
        Trading convenience for environment isn't a good solution for average people? Then we're fucked.
        xboxnolifes 7y ago
        Thinking that trading convenience for environment is going to work is why we aren't seeing change.
        Symbiote 7y ago
        In the European Union the most inefficient devices are simply banned. (In some cases, I don't keep up-to-date with consumer appliances.) For tumble driers, scroll to the annex of https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32012R0932 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A... "From 1 November 2015: — for condenser household tumble driers the energy efficiency index (EEI) shall be less than 76, — for condenser household tumble driers, the weighted condensation efficiency shall be not lower than 70 %." (And then a definition of what that means.)
  - cameldrv 7y ago
    The great thing about older washers and dryers, esp the Whirlpool made models (with many different brand names on them) is that they are simple and easy to work on. They made so many of essentially the same machine that parts are easily available, and there is a YouTube video for fixing anything that can go wrong with them. You should be able to keep them running indefinitely.
  - at_a_remove 7y ago
    When my washer from 1988 (I checked) started having issues, I thought, "These are almost entirely mechanical given the age. I ought to be able to ferret things out myself." I purchased the repair manual and gambled on the parts that I thought were the problem, plus a couple of cheap parts on either side of where I thought the problem might be. I was able to disassemble the washer, swap out what I thought needed swapping out, and I was done. Worked fine.
    - dzhiurgis 7y ago
      A nice used Bosch washer is like $100 (and thats in an expensive country). Fixing some things are nice, but some are not worth.
      - labawi 7y ago
        In expensive/rich countries, used quality items in good condition are cheap. People prefer buying new and often get rid of old things that still work. In poor countries, people don't buy new things as much, often are of lower quality and have less apprehension buying used if it's a good deal.
  - beauzero 7y ago
    Speed Queen. Made Ripon, Wisconsin. We have a small farm and I can say they are amazing. I believe they still make washer/dryer combos with mechanical/analog switches if you want them. I haven't looked in 5 years at specs though.
  - logfromblammo 7y ago
    AFAIK, a company called Staber builds washers and dryers with nods to repairability.
  - irishcoffee 7y ago
    I may be forced into buying a new car soon if I can’t fix mine, and I’m also dreading it. I have an 07 right now, and I’m really worried about finding a car to buy that I can still work on myself. Having learned how to rip a car apart and put it back together, I can’t stomach paying someone else to fix my car for me.
    - moonbug 7y ago
      How much is your time worth?
      - hermitdev 7y ago
        I used to do simple maintenance on my vehicles. Helped my dad work on an 83 GMC Jimmy, and 88 Chevy Blazer, 78 Ford pickup and an 89 Chevy Pickup. Of all of those, the 83 Jimmy was the easiest to work on. Lots of room under the hood. I could literally sit on the front fender to change spark plugs or wires (I was a small teenager, but there was a ton of room to move around in). Now, I drive a 2013 Charger SRT with a 6.4L V8. There is next to no room under the hood. I wouldnt even bother trying. My hands have enough scars already. At least the battery is accessible in the trunk. My brother had an old Saturn, and you had to remove the passenger side front wheel to replace the battery. My wife's Accura is somewhat annoying, too. The battery is accesible directly from under the hood, but the angles you have to maneuver the battery is ridiculous. What my time is worth has changed over the years, but what I'm willing to put up with has likewise changed. Yet, it's still valuable to know how to do basic things like top off fluids. Dont want to be stranded in the desert or a mountain pass if you dont know how to top off coolant, or seize an engine because your oil level is too low. I dont do most of my maintenance any more, but I think its worth knowing the basics in a pinch. Adding fluids, jumping a battery, changing a tire, etc.
      - clarry 7y ago
        Many of the simpler maintenance jobs are not much slower to do yourself, if we're operating under the assumption that to get someone else to do it, you have to drive your car to their shop and then wait around or walk back home and come get it back later.
    - 7y ago
  - deleted 7y ago
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  - mikekchar 7y ago
    I'm convinced my washer is magic. I put the clothes in and press start. It spins them around once or twice, figuring out how heavy they are. Then it tells me how much detergent to add. I do that. It starts washing the clothes. It even has a heat pump mode that slowly (very, very, very slowly -- over an entire day) dries the clothes for the few times I can't hang them. The damn things has lots of buttons, but it knows I have no freaking clue. "Let's go stupid human. Just press the start button. You know you want to!" I like my washer :-) So far in 5 years, absolutely no problem. It's a front loading Panasonic in case anyone is interested.
    - FridgeSeal 7y ago
      That’s the kind of appliance I can get behind. The washing machine in my house does something similar, if somewhat less smart: put clothes in, tell it what kind of materials they are, it rotates a few times, figures out the weight and distribution then starts and tells you how long the wash will be. Certainly wish it had a heat pump mode.
  - billfruit 7y ago
    Strange that Americans have two devices washer and dryer, where as most of the rest of the world use a single washing machine, that does both, without having to switch clothes between the two. Perhaps it is the marketing efforts of the manufacturers that is preventing Americans from realizing that the work could be done by a single appliance.
    - Bayart 7y ago
      I don't think I've ever seen one of these in France. Everybody has separate machines or hangs their stuff to dry.
    - helb 7y ago
      I'm no dryer expert (using an old fashioned clotheslines or a rack), but i gathered from people who use them that separate dryers work much better (larger capacity, better results) than integrated ones.
    - kube-system 7y ago
      Those machines are available here in the US. I considered buying one. While not having to switch clothes was appealing, the low capacities and long cycle times felt like it cancelled out that advantage. The lackluster reviews I read from those who had made the switch were probably the biggest reason why I didn't do so myself. As I understand, our laundry habits are a bit different than much of the world. We tend to wash everything after one use and clotheslines are few and far between. Also, our energy prices are cheap, so the pay-off curve for the efficiency gain of such a machine is long. They'll probably get more popular as family sizes continue to shrink, and people continue migrating back to cities.
      - billfruit 7y ago
        As per my info, washing machines are available in reasonable enough capacities for most European and Asian families, so I do not think capacity is an argument against them. Also their cycle time is around an hour mark, so I think even that is not much.
  - rkangel 7y ago
    Buy Bosch appliances at the cheaper end of their price range. They're reliable, effective and simple. The one I bought 4 years ago has 3 buttons and that's it.
- kube-system 7y ago
  I'm still surprised how many very intelligent adults don't understand the difference between an enthusiast and a professional -- for basically any profession, not just tech.
- droithomme 7y ago
  Yes! The cheap dumb fridges also have the highest energy efficiency ratings of all the fridges. Who knew that defrosting three ice-makers twice a day had an energy cost?
- rdiddly 7y ago
  If my current non-"smart" TV ever dies, I'm pretty much just going to stop watching TV forever.
  - bradknowles 7y ago
    This is not ... yet ... necessary. Just don't ever connect it via WiFi, Ethernet, or Bluetooth to any kind of source of Internet connectivity. Once they get to the point where they require online connectivity to do anything at all (like power on), then it's time to dump them for something simpler -- and more expensive.
    - danShumway 7y ago
      > Just don't ever connect it via WiFi Anecdotally, I have heard reports about smart TVs occasionally auto-connecting to random public, unencrypted networks that are in range so they can release whatever 'payload' they have. I haven't confirmed, because I've never bought a smart TV.
      - NullPrefix 7y ago
        I'm pretty sure DVB-T allows sending binary blobs as additional payload.
      - mackrevinack 7y ago
        build a faraday cage for your tv or alternatively a cage that would be just big enough to fit you and your tv
    - bscphil 7y ago
      Is there any way to know, ahead of time, that the TV I buy will be fully functional if I choose to never connect it to the Internet? That's what I'm worried about: that I'll get a new TV and something essential, say Dolby Vision support, will just not be enabled unless I leave it connected to the Internet, or at least connect it once - enough time for it to download an ad to show me for the rest of eternity.
    - 7y ago
- danShumway 7y ago
  > "Because I'm in tech." Yeah, there's something about being close to software that makes it more frightening, not less. As Randall would say: https://xkcd.com/2030/ https://xkcd.com/2030/
- WalterBright 7y ago
  I have an automated cat feeder. The user interface is close to the worst I've ever seen. If I push the wrong button on it, I'm in for digging up the manual, then spending 10 minutes trying to figure out how to get out of the mode I'm in without messing things up, and then wondering for the next day if it is actually dispensing food. (This is miserable if you need to leave to catch a plane and you're worried that the feeder isn't configured right.) I've given up trying to program my thermostat. Here's how a cat feeder should work: 1. put cat food in the hopper 2. plug it in Then, it dispenses food 4 times in the next 24 hours, starting when it gets power. That's it. No clock, no modes, no options, no "lock" mode. For the super-advanced model, add a dial to adjust the amount of food dropped.
  - lostlogin 7y ago
    But my cat is fed twice a day... There is probably a better way involving home assistant and a smart plug, but I’m a sucker for those TP link Kasa plugs and default to them for every problem.
    - WalterBright 7y ago
      > But my cat is fed twice a day... Feed it half as much 4 times a day!
      - lostlogin 7y ago
        Then it becomes a dog feeder.
    - james_s_tayler 7y ago
      So buy the model that says "dispenses twice a day"
      - tzs 7y ago
        No need for two models. Make it so that it has four food tanks, which it cycles through. This way, so you can provide some variety for the cat. Have the four food tanks arranged so that two are on the left side, one above the other. Similar for the right side. The 0 hour feeding comes from the bottom left tank, the 6 hour feeding from top left, the 12 hours from bottom right, and the 18 hour from top right. Associated with each top tank is a lever or dial with two settings: feed or skip. The outputs from the top tanks go to a forked chute, with the level controlling which fork is taken. The "feed" fork leads to the bowl for the cat. The "skip" fork leads to the bottom tank on that side.
- mrfusion 7y ago
  Think how much marketing data lives in your fridge now that they have cameras in them.
- userbinator 7y ago
  My fridge is over 80 years old, and in fact I recently completed restoring it, which among other things meant replacing the insulation. According to the power meter it's estimating 280-320kWh/year, which is actually extremely low even compared to modern "high efficiency" units (400-500kWh/year). There's tons of propaganda around about old fridges being inefficient, and that's true to a certain extent --- they focus on comparing late 60s/70s ones which certainly did consume a lot (mainly due to defrost heaters and thin insulation) but conveniently ignore the period before that, in which they consumed far less. When new this one would've probably been in the 400-500kWh/year range, which isn't high either, but I guess replacing the thick 30s cork-based insulation with an equivalent volume of foam made it even better.
  - dredmorbius 7y ago
    I can vouch for that,[1] having done some work on appliance energy efficiency assessments, including studying actual performance (interior temperature, controlled environment, power consumption), a few decades back. Still in the "modern" era of efficiency-aware appliances, though not current experience. The 1970s were a low point, with bad seals, insulation, and heavy-duty case heaters for defrost cycle. One of the objectively most efficient units we studied was a 1950s Crosley Shelvador, one of the early self-defrosting concepts. Rather than operate on a timer, as modern refrigerators do, this one actually counted door-openings, a more useful measure, as frost accumulates as warm, humid air displaces dry, cooled air, and condenses on interior surfaces. More openings => more frost. It also had sufficient insulation and tight-fitting, long-lasting door-seals. The unit was also a beauty. The programme, in which most refrigerators were scrapped (coolant captured, metals recycled), saw this on set aside, though it eventually met with an untimely accident. ________________________________ Notes: 1. Though if you're going to take a self-described Space Alien Cat on its word, you might care to re-assess your life decisions.
  - eitland 7y ago
    Wow, that is one of the most inspiring comments I've seen on this site lately. (I fix "everything" at home, including things that doesn't make sense to fix and I justify it by saying to myself it is a hobby and I'm learning, but fixing an 80 year old fridge is something I haven't even thought of..!)
- RachelF 7y ago
  Try buying a modern car that isn't full of unreliable software that keeps phoning home.
- foxrob92 7y ago
  This just reminds me of a short post: Tech enthusiast: All my devices are IoT-ified! I can control everything via Google Home! I love living in the future! Software engineer: The most recent piece of technology I own is a printer from 2005, and I keep a loaded gun ready to shoot it if it so much as makes an unexpected noise
  - lordgrenville 7y ago
    Source appears to be https://biggaybunny.tumblr.com/post/166787080920/tech-enthusiasts-everything-in-my-house-is-wired https://biggaybunny.tumblr.com/post/166787080920/tech-enthus...
Someone1234 7y ago
He said it was a gift.
akvadrako 7y ago
Not all of it. Zigbee lights are one example of a very useful "smart" device. They save so much effort rewiring, basic functionality is interoperable, are generally reliable and fallback to dumb behavior in the worse case.
cstross 7y ago
I recently bought a spiffy top-of-the-range washer/drier to replaced my 15-year-old one. I did my research; knew it was wifi-enabled, but could be used without the app or an internet connection. So that's what I did at first. Then I tried to configure it to use the manufacturer's app, so that I could check power consumption and consumables remotely. The app refused to let me use it without registering an account with the manufacturer. As part of account setup it demanded my street address, then when I entered it it crashed. (Hint: there's a slash in my street address. Yes, this is my official address as per the Post Office. Yes, Scottish street addresses are odd.) Nevertheless: the app crashed. It handed me a long alphanumeric error code returned by the server ... then thereafter refused to let me abort the registration process or edit the address, instead delivering a variety of new and exciting long alphanumeric server-side error codes every time I tried it. I was not impressed. (I'm guessing it passed the address through to a SQL or other DBMS that didn't properly escape or filter the raw input ... and got part-way through initializing some records that were part of the account but was unable to recover from the dodgy input data, leaving me in limbo.) TLDR: my washing machine disapproves of my street address. (Luckily it works just fine without knowing it. So there's that.)
- onemoresoop 7y ago
  Does your washing machine have an in-built microphone? And maybe a camera to detect something like dirty laundry? Then your washing machine does 2 things, one of them being spying on you.
  - cstross 7y ago
    Nope. (Manufacturer is German, and extremely uptight about GDPR. A redeeming mark in their favour.)
- westmeal 7y ago
  Man it would be a real shame if someone's address dropped all tables...
- perl4ever 7y ago
  I recently bought a washer and dryer, and oddly enough, only one dryer was shallow enough to fit where I needed to put it. Every other one has this weird bulge in back that adds several inches. And the ones that fit did not have any smart features, and in fact didn't have any of the other trendy features like front loading, a missing agitator, etc.
CharlesColeman 7y ago
> As much as I love Raymond I have completely run out of time for people who buy unnecessary "smart" devices then complain about them. 6 years ago I would understand, but by now we all know this stuff is junk. Yes, all of it. I disagree. Yes, a lot of this stuff is junk, but it's also getting harder to avoid. Lots of products have had many of their perfectly-fine controls removed and replaced by "app-based control." Even if you can avoid it, sometimes you have to buy a lower-end item to do so, and miss out other features you'd otherwise like. For instance: it appears all recent Roomba models require Wifi [1] and an app [2] to set cleaning schedules, while older models accomplished exactly the same configuration with a button cluster and 7-segment display [3]. I personally had to hunt around quite a bit to find a discontinued old model to avoid all the connected garbage. [1] https://homesupport.irobot.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/17734/~/setting-up-your-wi-fi-connected-robot-with-the-irobot%C2%AE-home-app https://homesupport.irobot.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/17734... [2] https://homesupport.irobot.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/9029/~/setting-the-schedule-of-a-wi-fi-connected-robot https://homesupport.irobot.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/9029/.... [3] https://homesupport.irobot.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/490/~/how-do-i-set-the-schedule-on-my-non-wi-fi-connected-roomba%C2%AE%3F https://homesupport.irobot.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/490/~...
- JohnFen 7y ago
  > it appears all recent Roomba models require Wifi Yeah, I ran into this problem when I bought a second Roomba. Fortunately, I found a retailer who was selling older models (at a discount, too). If that had not been an option, and if I couldn't find any reasonable used units, then I would have just not purchased one at all.
- baroffoos 7y ago
  It is never made clear that an app is required either. Often devices have an app but you don't need it at all since it was just slapped on as a feature checkbox. I recently got a pair of Bose QC 35 headphones and out of the box they are non functional until connected to the app. I had to borrow a phone to connect them to the app to set up and then thankfully they started working on my own devices with bt and wired without needing an app. Headphones should just work out of the box. The only useful function the app provides is firmware updates and a way to map the button to NC level.
xg15 7y ago
I think we should spare some time for those people and highlight the significant disadvantages of "smart" devices - because otherwise, the only party in that game would be the industry, which has a strong interest in people using those devices - and in the end, we'd end up with all devices becoming "smart".
kevingadd 7y ago
I went looking for a high-quality scale on Amazon and almost all of them were either junk, smart devices, or both. Ended up buying a smart one that would at least work out of the box, but it's always possible I'll discover some core feature requires an app...
GrinningFool 7y ago
> It’s not obvious from the box that you need an > app to set up the clock. The person who bought > the clock did so for the “project the time on the > ceiling” feature, which is a pretty awesome feature Seems like he didn't buy it for himself.

city41 7y ago

We recently got a new fridge and my friends and family were all amazed I didn't choose a "smart" fridge. "But you're in tech, why wouldn't you want a high tech fridge?", "Because I'm in tech."

matwood 7y ago
Agreed. My washer and dryer are close to 20 years old. They each have a few buttons, and the 'computers' are mostly mechanical (think egg timer). I'm dreading when they break because anytime I have looked for simple, basic models like I have they no longer seem to exist.
- GhettoMaestro 7y ago
  That's why I bought a Kenmore HE3. I can buy most parts for $<50 on Amazon (or eBay in the worst case).
- artursapek 7y ago
  My mother and father in law have these, they specifically sought them. They're these old brown Maytag machines. Really nice and easy to use. If I ever replace the ones that came with my house I'll probably look for the same kind.
- JRKrause 7y ago
  If you are really worried just drop a few dollars on spares for all the internal parts. Most everything can be found on Amazon. It's hard to imagine drying enough clothes to wear out the heater element more than three times in the average human lifespan.
  - steve_g 7y ago
    My dryer heating element broke last week, after 14 months of operation. It's awesome that I was able to buy one on Amazon and get it the next day (Sunday). But it sucks that it only lasted 14 months. I'm hoping my remaining lifespan is greater than 2.3 years, but you never know.
- cheschire 7y ago
  My dryer uses a heat pump similar to refrigeration technology which allows it to dry clothes at a lower energy usage level because it's more efficient than heated air. It's also a condensing dryer so it doesn't spray hot wet lint air out of the side of my house, and has a drain tube I can run straight into my drain pipe next to my washer so I don't have to dump out the water collector every few loads. While I'm generally a fan of simple appliances in concept, there are several significant changes that have occurred in the last 20 years you might want to just peruse. As an aside, my dryer has wifi, but I only ever use that feature just to alert me on my phone that the loads are complete. I've never gotten that shitty software to actually start a load successfully. Not even upset about it, I didn't buy it for the wifi. The internet of things is useless but don't let that hold you back from finding some really efficient modern technology.
  - rootusrootus 7y ago
    Condenser dryers are pretty slow, however, so I'm not sure it's a good solution for average people. They're nice when you don't have good infrastructure in place for a vented model, though.
    - cheschire 7y ago
      Trading convenience for environment isn't a good solution for average people? Then we're fucked.
      - xboxnolifes 7y ago
        Thinking that trading convenience for environment is going to work is why we aren't seeing change.
        Symbiote 7y ago
        In the European Union the most inefficient devices are simply banned. (In some cases, I don't keep up-to-date with consumer appliances.) For tumble driers, scroll to the annex of https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32012R0932 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A... "From 1 November 2015: — for condenser household tumble driers the energy efficiency index (EEI) shall be less than 76, — for condenser household tumble driers, the weighted condensation efficiency shall be not lower than 70 %." (And then a definition of what that means.)
- cameldrv 7y ago
  The great thing about older washers and dryers, esp the Whirlpool made models (with many different brand names on them) is that they are simple and easy to work on. They made so many of essentially the same machine that parts are easily available, and there is a YouTube video for fixing anything that can go wrong with them. You should be able to keep them running indefinitely.
- at_a_remove 7y ago
  When my washer from 1988 (I checked) started having issues, I thought, "These are almost entirely mechanical given the age. I ought to be able to ferret things out myself." I purchased the repair manual and gambled on the parts that I thought were the problem, plus a couple of cheap parts on either side of where I thought the problem might be. I was able to disassemble the washer, swap out what I thought needed swapping out, and I was done. Worked fine.
  - dzhiurgis 7y ago
    A nice used Bosch washer is like $100 (and thats in an expensive country). Fixing some things are nice, but some are not worth.
    - labawi 7y ago
      In expensive/rich countries, used quality items in good condition are cheap. People prefer buying new and often get rid of old things that still work. In poor countries, people don't buy new things as much, often are of lower quality and have less apprehension buying used if it's a good deal.
- beauzero 7y ago
  Speed Queen. Made Ripon, Wisconsin. We have a small farm and I can say they are amazing. I believe they still make washer/dryer combos with mechanical/analog switches if you want them. I haven't looked in 5 years at specs though.
- logfromblammo 7y ago
  AFAIK, a company called Staber builds washers and dryers with nods to repairability.
- irishcoffee 7y ago
  I may be forced into buying a new car soon if I can’t fix mine, and I’m also dreading it. I have an 07 right now, and I’m really worried about finding a car to buy that I can still work on myself. Having learned how to rip a car apart and put it back together, I can’t stomach paying someone else to fix my car for me.
  - moonbug 7y ago
    How much is your time worth?
    - hermitdev 7y ago
      I used to do simple maintenance on my vehicles. Helped my dad work on an 83 GMC Jimmy, and 88 Chevy Blazer, 78 Ford pickup and an 89 Chevy Pickup. Of all of those, the 83 Jimmy was the easiest to work on. Lots of room under the hood. I could literally sit on the front fender to change spark plugs or wires (I was a small teenager, but there was a ton of room to move around in). Now, I drive a 2013 Charger SRT with a 6.4L V8. There is next to no room under the hood. I wouldnt even bother trying. My hands have enough scars already. At least the battery is accessible in the trunk. My brother had an old Saturn, and you had to remove the passenger side front wheel to replace the battery. My wife's Accura is somewhat annoying, too. The battery is accesible directly from under the hood, but the angles you have to maneuver the battery is ridiculous. What my time is worth has changed over the years, but what I'm willing to put up with has likewise changed. Yet, it's still valuable to know how to do basic things like top off fluids. Dont want to be stranded in the desert or a mountain pass if you dont know how to top off coolant, or seize an engine because your oil level is too low. I dont do most of my maintenance any more, but I think its worth knowing the basics in a pinch. Adding fluids, jumping a battery, changing a tire, etc.
    - clarry 7y ago
      Many of the simpler maintenance jobs are not much slower to do yourself, if we're operating under the assumption that to get someone else to do it, you have to drive your car to their shop and then wait around or walk back home and come get it back later.
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- deleted 7y ago
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- mikekchar 7y ago
  I'm convinced my washer is magic. I put the clothes in and press start. It spins them around once or twice, figuring out how heavy they are. Then it tells me how much detergent to add. I do that. It starts washing the clothes. It even has a heat pump mode that slowly (very, very, very slowly -- over an entire day) dries the clothes for the few times I can't hang them. The damn things has lots of buttons, but it knows I have no freaking clue. "Let's go stupid human. Just press the start button. You know you want to!" I like my washer :-) So far in 5 years, absolutely no problem. It's a front loading Panasonic in case anyone is interested.
  - FridgeSeal 7y ago
    That’s the kind of appliance I can get behind. The washing machine in my house does something similar, if somewhat less smart: put clothes in, tell it what kind of materials they are, it rotates a few times, figures out the weight and distribution then starts and tells you how long the wash will be. Certainly wish it had a heat pump mode.
- billfruit 7y ago
  Strange that Americans have two devices washer and dryer, where as most of the rest of the world use a single washing machine, that does both, without having to switch clothes between the two. Perhaps it is the marketing efforts of the manufacturers that is preventing Americans from realizing that the work could be done by a single appliance.
  - Bayart 7y ago
    I don't think I've ever seen one of these in France. Everybody has separate machines or hangs their stuff to dry.
  - helb 7y ago
    I'm no dryer expert (using an old fashioned clotheslines or a rack), but i gathered from people who use them that separate dryers work much better (larger capacity, better results) than integrated ones.
  - kube-system 7y ago
    Those machines are available here in the US. I considered buying one. While not having to switch clothes was appealing, the low capacities and long cycle times felt like it cancelled out that advantage. The lackluster reviews I read from those who had made the switch were probably the biggest reason why I didn't do so myself. As I understand, our laundry habits are a bit different than much of the world. We tend to wash everything after one use and clotheslines are few and far between. Also, our energy prices are cheap, so the pay-off curve for the efficiency gain of such a machine is long. They'll probably get more popular as family sizes continue to shrink, and people continue migrating back to cities.
    - billfruit 7y ago
      As per my info, washing machines are available in reasonable enough capacities for most European and Asian families, so I do not think capacity is an argument against them. Also their cycle time is around an hour mark, so I think even that is not much.
- rkangel 7y ago
  Buy Bosch appliances at the cheaper end of their price range. They're reliable, effective and simple. The one I bought 4 years ago has 3 buttons and that's it.
kube-system 7y ago
I'm still surprised how many very intelligent adults don't understand the difference between an enthusiast and a professional -- for basically any profession, not just tech.
droithomme 7y ago
Yes! The cheap dumb fridges also have the highest energy efficiency ratings of all the fridges. Who knew that defrosting three ice-makers twice a day had an energy cost?
rdiddly 7y ago
If my current non-"smart" TV ever dies, I'm pretty much just going to stop watching TV forever.
- bradknowles 7y ago
  This is not ... yet ... necessary. Just don't ever connect it via WiFi, Ethernet, or Bluetooth to any kind of source of Internet connectivity. Once they get to the point where they require online connectivity to do anything at all (like power on), then it's time to dump them for something simpler -- and more expensive.
  - danShumway 7y ago
    > Just don't ever connect it via WiFi Anecdotally, I have heard reports about smart TVs occasionally auto-connecting to random public, unencrypted networks that are in range so they can release whatever 'payload' they have. I haven't confirmed, because I've never bought a smart TV.
    - NullPrefix 7y ago
      I'm pretty sure DVB-T allows sending binary blobs as additional payload.
    - mackrevinack 7y ago
      build a faraday cage for your tv or alternatively a cage that would be just big enough to fit you and your tv
  - bscphil 7y ago
    Is there any way to know, ahead of time, that the TV I buy will be fully functional if I choose to never connect it to the Internet? That's what I'm worried about: that I'll get a new TV and something essential, say Dolby Vision support, will just not be enabled unless I leave it connected to the Internet, or at least connect it once - enough time for it to download an ad to show me for the rest of eternity.
  - 7y ago
danShumway 7y ago
> "Because I'm in tech." Yeah, there's something about being close to software that makes it more frightening, not less. As Randall would say: https://xkcd.com/2030/ https://xkcd.com/2030/
WalterBright 7y ago
I have an automated cat feeder. The user interface is close to the worst I've ever seen. If I push the wrong button on it, I'm in for digging up the manual, then spending 10 minutes trying to figure out how to get out of the mode I'm in without messing things up, and then wondering for the next day if it is actually dispensing food. (This is miserable if you need to leave to catch a plane and you're worried that the feeder isn't configured right.) I've given up trying to program my thermostat. Here's how a cat feeder should work: 1. put cat food in the hopper 2. plug it in Then, it dispenses food 4 times in the next 24 hours, starting when it gets power. That's it. No clock, no modes, no options, no "lock" mode. For the super-advanced model, add a dial to adjust the amount of food dropped.
- lostlogin 7y ago
  But my cat is fed twice a day... There is probably a better way involving home assistant and a smart plug, but I’m a sucker for those TP link Kasa plugs and default to them for every problem.
  - WalterBright 7y ago
    > But my cat is fed twice a day... Feed it half as much 4 times a day!
    - lostlogin 7y ago
      Then it becomes a dog feeder.
  - james_s_tayler 7y ago
    So buy the model that says "dispenses twice a day"
    - tzs 7y ago
      No need for two models. Make it so that it has four food tanks, which it cycles through. This way, so you can provide some variety for the cat. Have the four food tanks arranged so that two are on the left side, one above the other. Similar for the right side. The 0 hour feeding comes from the bottom left tank, the 6 hour feeding from top left, the 12 hours from bottom right, and the 18 hour from top right. Associated with each top tank is a lever or dial with two settings: feed or skip. The outputs from the top tanks go to a forked chute, with the level controlling which fork is taken. The "feed" fork leads to the bowl for the cat. The "skip" fork leads to the bottom tank on that side.
mrfusion 7y ago
Think how much marketing data lives in your fridge now that they have cameras in them.
userbinator 7y ago
My fridge is over 80 years old, and in fact I recently completed restoring it, which among other things meant replacing the insulation. According to the power meter it's estimating 280-320kWh/year, which is actually extremely low even compared to modern "high efficiency" units (400-500kWh/year). There's tons of propaganda around about old fridges being inefficient, and that's true to a certain extent --- they focus on comparing late 60s/70s ones which certainly did consume a lot (mainly due to defrost heaters and thin insulation) but conveniently ignore the period before that, in which they consumed far less. When new this one would've probably been in the 400-500kWh/year range, which isn't high either, but I guess replacing the thick 30s cork-based insulation with an equivalent volume of foam made it even better.
- dredmorbius 7y ago
  I can vouch for that,[1] having done some work on appliance energy efficiency assessments, including studying actual performance (interior temperature, controlled environment, power consumption), a few decades back. Still in the "modern" era of efficiency-aware appliances, though not current experience. The 1970s were a low point, with bad seals, insulation, and heavy-duty case heaters for defrost cycle. One of the objectively most efficient units we studied was a 1950s Crosley Shelvador, one of the early self-defrosting concepts. Rather than operate on a timer, as modern refrigerators do, this one actually counted door-openings, a more useful measure, as frost accumulates as warm, humid air displaces dry, cooled air, and condenses on interior surfaces. More openings => more frost. It also had sufficient insulation and tight-fitting, long-lasting door-seals. The unit was also a beauty. The programme, in which most refrigerators were scrapped (coolant captured, metals recycled), saw this on set aside, though it eventually met with an untimely accident. ________________________________ Notes: 1. Though if you're going to take a self-described Space Alien Cat on its word, you might care to re-assess your life decisions.
- eitland 7y ago
  Wow, that is one of the most inspiring comments I've seen on this site lately. (I fix "everything" at home, including things that doesn't make sense to fix and I justify it by saying to myself it is a hobby and I'm learning, but fixing an 80 year old fridge is something I haven't even thought of..!)
RachelF 7y ago
Try buying a modern car that isn't full of unreliable software that keeps phoning home.
foxrob92 7y ago
This just reminds me of a short post: Tech enthusiast: All my devices are IoT-ified! I can control everything via Google Home! I love living in the future! Software engineer: The most recent piece of technology I own is a printer from 2005, and I keep a loaded gun ready to shoot it if it so much as makes an unexpected noise
- lordgrenville 7y ago
  Source appears to be https://biggaybunny.tumblr.com/post/166787080920/tech-enthusiasts-everything-in-my-house-is-wired https://biggaybunny.tumblr.com/post/166787080920/tech-enthus...

Someone1234 7y ago

He said it was a gift.

akvadrako 7y ago

Not all of it. Zigbee lights are one example of a very useful "smart" device. They save so much effort rewiring, basic functionality is interoperable, are generally reliable and fallback to dumb behavior in the worse case.

cstross 7y ago

I recently bought a spiffy top-of-the-range washer/drier to replaced my 15-year-old one. I did my research; knew it was wifi-enabled, but could be used without the app or an internet connection. So that's what I did at first. Then I tried to configure it to use the manufacturer's app, so that I could check power consumption and consumables remotely. The app refused to let me use it without registering an account with the manufacturer. As part of account setup it demanded my street address, then when I entered it it crashed. (Hint: there's a slash in my street address. Yes, this is my official address as per the Post Office. Yes, Scottish street addresses are odd.) Nevertheless: the app crashed. It handed me a long alphanumeric error code returned by the server ... then thereafter refused to let me abort the registration process or edit the address, instead delivering a variety of new and exciting long alphanumeric server-side error codes every time I tried it. I was not impressed. (I'm guessing it passed the address through to a SQL or other DBMS that didn't properly escape or filter the raw input ... and got part-way through initializing some records that were part of the account but was unable to recover from the dodgy input data, leaving me in limbo.) TLDR: my washing machine disapproves of my street address. (Luckily it works just fine without knowing it. So there's that.)

onemoresoop 7y ago
Does your washing machine have an in-built microphone? And maybe a camera to detect something like dirty laundry? Then your washing machine does 2 things, one of them being spying on you.
- cstross 7y ago
  Nope. (Manufacturer is German, and extremely uptight about GDPR. A redeeming mark in their favour.)
westmeal 7y ago
Man it would be a real shame if someone's address dropped all tables...
perl4ever 7y ago
I recently bought a washer and dryer, and oddly enough, only one dryer was shallow enough to fit where I needed to put it. Every other one has this weird bulge in back that adds several inches. And the ones that fit did not have any smart features, and in fact didn't have any of the other trendy features like front loading, a missing agitator, etc.

CharlesColeman 7y ago

> As much as I love Raymond I have completely run out of time for people who buy unnecessary "smart" devices then complain about them. 6 years ago I would understand, but by now we all know this stuff is junk. Yes, all of it. I disagree. Yes, a lot of this stuff is junk, but it's also getting harder to avoid. Lots of products have had many of their perfectly-fine controls removed and replaced by "app-based control." Even if you can avoid it, sometimes you have to buy a lower-end item to do so, and miss out other features you'd otherwise like. For instance: it appears all recent Roomba models require Wifi [1] and an app [2] to set cleaning schedules, while older models accomplished exactly the same configuration with a button cluster and 7-segment display [3]. I personally had to hunt around quite a bit to find a discontinued old model to avoid all the connected garbage. [1] https://homesupport.irobot.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/17734/~/setting-up-your-wi-fi-connected-robot-with-the-irobot%C2%AE-home-app https://homesupport.irobot.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/17734... [2] https://homesupport.irobot.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/9029/~/setting-the-schedule-of-a-wi-fi-connected-robot https://homesupport.irobot.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/9029/.... [3] https://homesupport.irobot.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/490/~/how-do-i-set-the-schedule-on-my-non-wi-fi-connected-roomba%C2%AE%3F https://homesupport.irobot.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/490/~...

JohnFen 7y ago
> it appears all recent Roomba models require Wifi Yeah, I ran into this problem when I bought a second Roomba. Fortunately, I found a retailer who was selling older models (at a discount, too). If that had not been an option, and if I couldn't find any reasonable used units, then I would have just not purchased one at all.
baroffoos 7y ago
It is never made clear that an app is required either. Often devices have an app but you don't need it at all since it was just slapped on as a feature checkbox. I recently got a pair of Bose QC 35 headphones and out of the box they are non functional until connected to the app. I had to borrow a phone to connect them to the app to set up and then thankfully they started working on my own devices with bt and wired without needing an app. Headphones should just work out of the box. The only useful function the app provides is firmware updates and a way to map the button to NC level.

xg15 7y ago

I think we should spare some time for those people and highlight the significant disadvantages of "smart" devices - because otherwise, the only party in that game would be the industry, which has a strong interest in people using those devices - and in the end, we'd end up with all devices becoming "smart".

kevingadd 7y ago

I went looking for a high-quality scale on Amazon and almost all of them were either junk, smart devices, or both. Ended up buying a smart one that would at least work out of the box, but it's always possible I'll discover some core feature requires an app...

GrinningFool 7y ago

> It’s not obvious from the box that you need an > app to set up the clock. The person who bought > the clock did so for the “project the time on the > ceiling” feature, which is a pretty awesome feature Seems like he didn't buy it for himself.