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There seems to be a bit of push-back happen to "smart" things in general. As now, many Smart things are tied to some shit-ass SaaS. We see it in TV, Car, Toast

There seems to be a bit of push-back happen to "smart" things in general. As now, many Smart things are tied to some shit-ass SaaS. We see it in TV, Car, Toaster, Lamps, Mower, Fridge, etc. I think there is room for manufacturer of just dumb things. Or how can consumers push? Well, they can't really. If all the options are smart what do you do? Forego the purchase? Or spend many hours shopping around?

supportengineer 3y ago
“Buy nothing” groups.
hoosieree 3y ago
> what do you do? Forego the purchase? Blasphemy!
fendy3002 3y ago
The problem isn't the "smart" things. It's that companies are exploiting that "smart" to have more leverage and control over user and increase revenue. Even worse, even some regulations are supporting that practice rather than against them. In the future (or maybe it already is), most of our appliances and vehicles will be subscription-based just because companies can push it.
- OneLeggedCat 3y ago
  > In the future (or maybe it already is), most of our appliances and vehicles will be subscription-based just because companies can push it. This makes me angry and sad. But evidence so far shows it to be completely true. Free markets are not properly sorting this out, because markets are not really free. Instead they are mostly oligopoly, and can thus control image and regulation and competition.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
blake1 3y ago
I saw a Wi-Fi enabled lightbulb today. I cannot think what the use case is for such a device.
- arcticbull 3y ago
  They're super common. For instance, you can adjust the color instead of the brightness as needed. You can set them to a different color at night - like red - or to match the content you're watching. You can have it turn off automatically when you leave home, and come back on when you return. You can tie it to sensors, like a door ajar sensor to automatically turn on when you open a closet and back off after. I generally don't turn lights on or off, but do have RunLessWire passive switches to override. It's great - we're finally getting to the point of ubiquitous computing where the devices around you meet your needs without you having to engage with them at all. It's all incredibly reliable if you stick to Philips and Lutron.
  - smolder 3y ago
    > You can tie it to sensors, like a door ajar sensor to automatically turn on when you open a closet and back off after. This is very simple to do without wifi. Refrigerators have been doing it a long time.
    - arcticbull 3y ago
      Well when I can stack my coats in a refrigerator, I'll be sure to let you know. The nice thing is that as an individual you can do everything with a screwdriver on a weekend.
      - vel0city 3y ago
        I just put my closet lights on a motion sensor, it was like $10 to do once. No wifi needed.
        arcticbull 3y ago

supportengineer 3y ago

“Buy nothing” groups.

hoosieree 3y ago

> what do you do? Forego the purchase? Blasphemy!

fendy3002 3y ago

The problem isn't the "smart" things. It's that companies are exploiting that "smart" to have more leverage and control over user and increase revenue. Even worse, even some regulations are supporting that practice rather than against them. In the future (or maybe it already is), most of our appliances and vehicles will be subscription-based just because companies can push it.

OneLeggedCat 3y ago
> In the future (or maybe it already is), most of our appliances and vehicles will be subscription-based just because companies can push it. This makes me angry and sad. But evidence so far shows it to be completely true. Free markets are not properly sorting this out, because markets are not really free. Instead they are mostly oligopoly, and can thus control image and regulation and competition.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

blake1 3y ago

I saw a Wi-Fi enabled lightbulb today. I cannot think what the use case is for such a device.

arcticbull 3y ago
They're super common. For instance, you can adjust the color instead of the brightness as needed. You can set them to a different color at night - like red - or to match the content you're watching. You can have it turn off automatically when you leave home, and come back on when you return. You can tie it to sensors, like a door ajar sensor to automatically turn on when you open a closet and back off after. I generally don't turn lights on or off, but do have RunLessWire passive switches to override. It's great - we're finally getting to the point of ubiquitous computing where the devices around you meet your needs without you having to engage with them at all. It's all incredibly reliable if you stick to Philips and Lutron.
- smolder 3y ago
  > You can tie it to sensors, like a door ajar sensor to automatically turn on when you open a closet and back off after. This is very simple to do without wifi. Refrigerators have been doing it a long time.
  - arcticbull 3y ago
    Well when I can stack my coats in a refrigerator, I'll be sure to let you know. The nice thing is that as an individual you can do everything with a screwdriver on a weekend.
    - vel0city 3y ago
      I just put my closet lights on a motion sensor, it was like $10 to do once. No wifi needed.
      - arcticbull 3y ago