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Ability to check refrigerator temperature sounds really cool, but with great functionality comes great complexity. And with great complexity comes increased ris

Ability to check refrigerator temperature sounds really cool, but with great functionality comes great complexity. And with great complexity comes increased risk of failure and restricted ability to self-repair the device. Note that I am clumping not only refrigerator stopped working because wifi is out class of risk but also privacy implications due to increased PII exposure surface. Compared to a smart refrigerator without an internet connection the only killer feature of this setup is notification that the door is open, even that is only relevant to people who have forgot to close the fridge problem. The future is bright with fridge, oven, tv, toaster, phone, echo, thermostat, et. al. happily sending data about your usage habits which companies will resell until it gets combined into a gigantic database. Then someone will analyze that info and figure out how to make money by sending you personalized ads.

tialaramex 5y ago
Also if your refrigerator was installed properly the door closes when it isn't fully open. For efficiency the refrigerator pump wants to be perfectly level and so the fridge comes with adjustable legs to precisely set the level. The people building it will have set the hinges so that once level the door has gravity slightly on its side until you open it very wide. Thus unlike most internal doors in a house if you leave it slightly ajar it will self-close. This makes accidentally leaving a fridge door open pretty unlikely I would think. Unlike forgetting to lock a front door or close a window I've never even worried that I did this.
- ghaff 5y ago
  I've had it happen once or twice with an upright freezer I have in the basement. But, yes, a rare event. I've had an extended power outage more often during the same period. The fact that they're for rare events is a problem with a lot of alert types because it means that: - False positives are a big no no. You'll just delete the alert. - They probably don't work for edge cases like power outages. - Batteries die over time. - If you're not at home you may not be easily able to do anything about the alert, even if you have confidence in it.
allturtles 5y ago
> Ability to check refrigerator temperature sounds really cool... Really? Why is it cool? I think OP makes it pretty clear through sarcasm that it's totally useless. Or are you just making a pun. I'm so confused.

tialaramex 5y ago

Also if your refrigerator was installed properly the door closes when it isn't fully open. For efficiency the refrigerator pump wants to be perfectly level and so the fridge comes with adjustable legs to precisely set the level. The people building it will have set the hinges so that once level the door has gravity slightly on its side until you open it very wide. Thus unlike most internal doors in a house if you leave it slightly ajar it will self-close. This makes accidentally leaving a fridge door open pretty unlikely I would think. Unlike forgetting to lock a front door or close a window I've never even worried that I did this.

ghaff 5y ago
I've had it happen once or twice with an upright freezer I have in the basement. But, yes, a rare event. I've had an extended power outage more often during the same period. The fact that they're for rare events is a problem with a lot of alert types because it means that: - False positives are a big no no. You'll just delete the alert. - They probably don't work for edge cases like power outages. - Batteries die over time. - If you're not at home you may not be easily able to do anything about the alert, even if you have confidence in it.

allturtles 5y ago

> Ability to check refrigerator temperature sounds really cool... Really? Why is it cool? I think OP makes it pretty clear through sarcasm that it's totally useless. Or are you just making a pun. I'm so confused.