4 ms·

Very far from hostile. I have this toothbrush and the only thing it does is beep ONCE, when it thinks the head is done. After that I will only show the "please

Very far from hostile. I have this toothbrush and the only thing it does is beep ONCE, when it thinks the head is done. After that I will only show the "please change" indicator, but will still brush just fine. I was actually shocked by how user friendly the whole experience is. It never prevented me from doing anything "not recommended", it'll warn me, sure. But then go right back to accepting my imput.

drewg123 3y ago
Very much unlike my hostile GE fridge, which will refuse to dispense ice and water after a grace period expires when the water filter is too old.
- b112 3y ago
  Old filters can become breeding grounds for bacteria, as they can build up biological contaminants over time. The more biological contamination, the more for bacteria to feed on. So there is a health danger, perhaps? Not sure how likely. (Some municipalities use a lot of UV, and less chlorine and other chemicals to kill bacteria. And people on wells generally have no chlorine. In such cases, there is nothing to slow standing water bacterial growth.)
  - bigallen 3y ago
    That is a great risk that I, a conscious, responsible human being with agency, should be in charge of managing. Not my fridge
    - bosie 3y ago
      How do you as a responsible human with agency manage thi?
      - emmet 3y ago
        Tenner says they don't deal with it at all
    - b112 3y ago
      I agree. But we have members of our society which will sue, even if they are told upon purchase to be careful. So I suspect they are concerned about liability.
      - specialist 3y ago
        Same. Just like the cliché about (safety) regulations are written in blood, I assume all these "commonsense" measures are because someone pulled a stupid, got people hurt, and then won a lawsuit. Then, per the settlement/judgement, mfg has to add another baby bumper. "WARNING: This plastic bag is not a toy. Do not sufficate yourself!" Okay, now I won't. Thanks for the head's up.
    - crazygringo 3y ago
      No. In the same way you shouldn't be in charge of managing whether your electrical devices can electrocute you. When it comes to actual safety issues, it's better that things not work when unsafe. Not too long ago there was a story on HN about hospital patients getting sick from bacterial growth in ice machines. And water filters are breeding grounds for bacteria. That's actually the main reason for replacing your Brita filter every 3 months, not its filtering efficacy.
      - jevoten 3y ago
        > No. In the same way you shouldn't be in charge of managing whether your electrical devices can electrocute you. You think electrical devices should have DRM that detects if you opened them, and bricks the device until you bring it to an "authorized" repair shop? Because if that's not what you had in mind, then we are in charge of managing electrocution. Banning sale of dangerously defective devices (what you were probably alluding to) is completely different to devices disobeying their owner.
    - jrockway 3y ago
      You're at a friends house. They offer you a glass of water. Do you drink it? Do you inspect the filter for biological debris first, and then accept it? If you don't, and you get sick, who compensates you for lost wages? Who compensates your insurance company for the doctor's visit? I think this is, realistically, a complex situation. Having said that, I'm not sure why a filter is needed. Is your tap water not already filtered enough?
  - drewg123 3y ago
    That's a great excuse, but the motivation is for GE to be able to sell high margin filters due to DRM lock-in. Their filters with RFID tags cost 2x to 3x what compatible filters cost on the open markget.
- gertlex 3y ago
  I'm glad our GE fridge will continue to dispense water... because the fucking thing doesn't read the replacement filter cartridges' RFID tags, it seems. (they're genuine, not ordered from amazon, etc.) We just live with the "99 days overdue" message and change it every 6 months anyways.
  - drewg123 3y ago
    I had the opposite problem. My RFID reading board went bad, and it would claim every filter was past due and would not dispense water or ice.
    - gertlex 3y ago
      I wouldn't be surprised if our RFID reader is bad, too. But it was also a brand-new fridge... Wife never followed up on getting warranty service for it, so we'll live with it! (would love to do a tear-down/self-repair, but fridge is kind of inconvenient for that :) )
- benj111 3y ago
  What happens if you don't need a filter???

drewg123 3y ago

Very much unlike my hostile GE fridge, which will refuse to dispense ice and water after a grace period expires when the water filter is too old.

b112 3y ago
Old filters can become breeding grounds for bacteria, as they can build up biological contaminants over time. The more biological contamination, the more for bacteria to feed on. So there is a health danger, perhaps? Not sure how likely. (Some municipalities use a lot of UV, and less chlorine and other chemicals to kill bacteria. And people on wells generally have no chlorine. In such cases, there is nothing to slow standing water bacterial growth.)
- bigallen 3y ago
  That is a great risk that I, a conscious, responsible human being with agency, should be in charge of managing. Not my fridge
  - bosie 3y ago
    How do you as a responsible human with agency manage thi?
    - emmet 3y ago
      Tenner says they don't deal with it at all
  - b112 3y ago
    I agree. But we have members of our society which will sue, even if they are told upon purchase to be careful. So I suspect they are concerned about liability.
    - specialist 3y ago
      Same. Just like the cliché about (safety) regulations are written in blood, I assume all these "commonsense" measures are because someone pulled a stupid, got people hurt, and then won a lawsuit. Then, per the settlement/judgement, mfg has to add another baby bumper. "WARNING: This plastic bag is not a toy. Do not sufficate yourself!" Okay, now I won't. Thanks for the head's up.
  - crazygringo 3y ago
    No. In the same way you shouldn't be in charge of managing whether your electrical devices can electrocute you. When it comes to actual safety issues, it's better that things not work when unsafe. Not too long ago there was a story on HN about hospital patients getting sick from bacterial growth in ice machines. And water filters are breeding grounds for bacteria. That's actually the main reason for replacing your Brita filter every 3 months, not its filtering efficacy.
    - jevoten 3y ago
      > No. In the same way you shouldn't be in charge of managing whether your electrical devices can electrocute you. You think electrical devices should have DRM that detects if you opened them, and bricks the device until you bring it to an "authorized" repair shop? Because if that's not what you had in mind, then we are in charge of managing electrocution. Banning sale of dangerously defective devices (what you were probably alluding to) is completely different to devices disobeying their owner.
  - jrockway 3y ago
    You're at a friends house. They offer you a glass of water. Do you drink it? Do you inspect the filter for biological debris first, and then accept it? If you don't, and you get sick, who compensates you for lost wages? Who compensates your insurance company for the doctor's visit? I think this is, realistically, a complex situation. Having said that, I'm not sure why a filter is needed. Is your tap water not already filtered enough?
- drewg123 3y ago
  That's a great excuse, but the motivation is for GE to be able to sell high margin filters due to DRM lock-in. Their filters with RFID tags cost 2x to 3x what compatible filters cost on the open markget.
gertlex 3y ago
I'm glad our GE fridge will continue to dispense water... because the fucking thing doesn't read the replacement filter cartridges' RFID tags, it seems. (they're genuine, not ordered from amazon, etc.) We just live with the "99 days overdue" message and change it every 6 months anyways.
- drewg123 3y ago
  I had the opposite problem. My RFID reading board went bad, and it would claim every filter was past due and would not dispense water or ice.
  - gertlex 3y ago
    I wouldn't be surprised if our RFID reader is bad, too. But it was also a brand-new fridge... Wife never followed up on getting warranty service for it, so we'll live with it! (would love to do a tear-down/self-repair, but fridge is kind of inconvenient for that :) )
benj111 3y ago
What happens if you don't need a filter???