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I just have my kids do stuff. "Water the yard!" "Turn off that light!" "Change the channel!" "Go get the mail!" Simple. Fairly reliable. Best DIY project t

I just have my kids do stuff. "Water the yard!" "Turn off that light!" "Change the channel!" "Go get the mail!" Simple. Fairly reliable. Best DIY project the wife and I have ever done.

kingosticks 7y ago
Really, really expensive solution.
- jlgaddis 7y ago
  Not only that, you're forced to support it for (at least) 18 years after the last version is released. Requires a lot of maintenance the first few years especially!
  - Wistar 7y ago
    ... with nearly continuous updates.
    - kohtatsu 7y ago
      Some not by you!
  - lurquer 7y ago
    I suppose. The beauty of it is, though, that when they get old enough, and Christmas rolls around, one of them will inevitably buy you an Amazon Echo. And then you can issue them your last command: "Set this thing up for us!"
- joe_the_user 7y ago
  I don't have kids but it seems obvious people don't have kids to do house and yard work for themselves. Kids are there 'cause you wanted kids. Get kids to do any drudgery and the result is "co-production"; You get home automation and kids for the price of kids.
- agumonkey 7y ago
  Carbon tax kids ?
cbsks 7y ago
Huh. I’ve tried that but I haven’t had positive results yet. I’ve waited two years, and now it’s out of warranty. I think it might be defective. Did yours come with a user’s manual? My wife and I are thinking of making another. Will that help?
- agumonkey 7y ago
  Practice makes perfect
- thebitguru 7y ago
  Even if there was a manual, the darn things keep changing and every unit has it's own set of quirks! =) Sometimes it feels like there is no quality control. You would think that by now someone would require a mandatory recall program, but it hasn't happen yet... I only have one, but I have heard that a second one could be a hit or miss. In some cases, it will help fix the first one, but in other cases it has resulted in getting spoiled itself.
monkmartinez 7y ago
My home automation is setup similar but more as a barter system. "Would you like an hour of screen time? ... The dog excrement is rather unsightly and requires collection. Post collection, we run a mile together." "I will give you 15 minutes of screen time for every 5 burpees completed to my satisfaction" "The $10 dollar bonus this week will be based on the lack of dog excrement in the yard and you packing your own !!Heathy!! lunches!" "I will give you $10 dollars for every book read with accompanying book report (usually only two paragraph summaries)." "If we find any clothes that are not in hampers, we deduct $1 dollar from allowance per item." So on and so forth... the rules are consistent, but do allow for bonuses and cutbacks based on performance. The conservation of electricity and water are biggies!!!
yitchelle 7y ago
I can really recommend the R&D program for the first version.
gdhbcc 7y ago
Fun to make too, though it does take a while to get it up and running
martin1b 7y ago
Voice activated too. Although it does require an internet connection..

I just have my kids do stuff. "Water the yard!" "Turn off that light!" "Change the channel!" "Go get the mail!" Simple. Fairly reliable. Best DIY project the wife and I have ever done.

kingosticks 7y ago

Really, really expensive solution.

jlgaddis 7y ago
Not only that, you're forced to support it for (at least) 18 years after the last version is released. Requires a lot of maintenance the first few years especially!
- Wistar 7y ago
  ... with nearly continuous updates.
  - kohtatsu 7y ago
    Some not by you!
- lurquer 7y ago
  I suppose. The beauty of it is, though, that when they get old enough, and Christmas rolls around, one of them will inevitably buy you an Amazon Echo. And then you can issue them your last command: "Set this thing up for us!"
joe_the_user 7y ago
I don't have kids but it seems obvious people don't have kids to do house and yard work for themselves. Kids are there 'cause you wanted kids. Get kids to do any drudgery and the result is "co-production"; You get home automation and kids for the price of kids.
agumonkey 7y ago
Carbon tax kids ?

cbsks 7y ago

Huh. I’ve tried that but I haven’t had positive results yet. I’ve waited two years, and now it’s out of warranty. I think it might be defective. Did yours come with a user’s manual? My wife and I are thinking of making another. Will that help?

agumonkey 7y ago
Practice makes perfect
thebitguru 7y ago
Even if there was a manual, the darn things keep changing and every unit has it's own set of quirks! =) Sometimes it feels like there is no quality control. You would think that by now someone would require a mandatory recall program, but it hasn't happen yet... I only have one, but I have heard that a second one could be a hit or miss. In some cases, it will help fix the first one, but in other cases it has resulted in getting spoiled itself.

monkmartinez 7y ago

My home automation is setup similar but more as a barter system. "Would you like an hour of screen time? ... The dog excrement is rather unsightly and requires collection. Post collection, we run a mile together." "I will give you 15 minutes of screen time for every 5 burpees completed to my satisfaction" "The $10 dollar bonus this week will be based on the lack of dog excrement in the yard and you packing your own !!Heathy!! lunches!" "I will give you $10 dollars for every book read with accompanying book report (usually only two paragraph summaries)." "If we find any clothes that are not in hampers, we deduct $1 dollar from allowance per item." So on and so forth... the rules are consistent, but do allow for bonuses and cutbacks based on performance. The conservation of electricity and water are biggies!!!

yitchelle 7y ago

I can really recommend the R&D program for the first version.

gdhbcc 7y ago

Fun to make too, though it does take a while to get it up and running

martin1b 7y ago

Voice activated too. Although it does require an internet connection..