4 ms·

Unfortunately, this is becoming somewhere between difficult and impossible. Lots of vendors make their “dumb” stuff unequivocally worse than the smart stuff, b

by wredue 3y ago

Unfortunately, this is becoming somewhere between difficult and impossible. Lots of vendors make their “dumb” stuff unequivocally worse than the smart stuff, but just not using the “smart”. I think the worst part right now is over-complicated circuits to provide like button presses and stuff, then charging $400 when a small part of that circuit inevitably dies so you are forced to take your range to the metal reclaimers and get a new one.

nicholasjarnold 3y ago
I suspect this is because with "smart stuff" we often have the associated cellphone app which gives <corp> much deeper insight into your life. This stream of data from your personal life and home can be monetized in various ways. You can help _be_ the product when you _buy_ the product. Cool. /s
weq 3y ago
I learnt to work on cars because they are nessessary part of life and if you cant fix them your going to be paying that tax everyday of your life. Ditto with computers and software. You know what else has become a nessesity as we grow into a more technological dependant society, learning about electronics. Being able to indentitf circuts, components, debug and replace them. Check out learn electronics repair / northridgefix on youtube if you want to get started. Hardware and software are very similiar, they follow the same principles, they are all made in the same ways, and just as software uses libraries/packages, hardware often will look exactly the same in each device. I bought an assortment of 1000 tactile switches for $10 off ebay, and Ive fixed atleast 5 appliances in the last year with them (head torches, vacume, washer etc). If you dont, your tax will be to be a victim of the companies profit stratergy of planned obselesance. My dyson for instance was perfectly fine, just a peice of plastic in the handle that required you to dissassemble the whole machine was cracked. It was literly a free fix with some plastic welding a screwdriver. PS. You can buy universal kits that will control a washer or a dryer these days in a low tech way amoung many other devices we use daily. When your smart appliance fails, you can retrofit them. PSS. Your software/hacker spirit should not be limited to a text editor!
- blackoil 3y ago
  > if you cant fix them your going to be paying that tax everyday of your life. You have calculated cost of learning? For me apart from very basic things like oil/water change, Learning anything else would have ROI over decades if not more.

by wredue 3y ago

nicholasjarnold 3y ago

I suspect this is because with "smart stuff" we often have the associated cellphone app which gives <corp> much deeper insight into your life. This stream of data from your personal life and home can be monetized in various ways. You can help _be_ the product when you _buy_ the product. Cool. /s

weq 3y ago

I learnt to work on cars because they are nessessary part of life and if you cant fix them your going to be paying that tax everyday of your life. Ditto with computers and software. You know what else has become a nessesity as we grow into a more technological dependant society, learning about electronics. Being able to indentitf circuts, components, debug and replace them. Check out learn electronics repair / northridgefix on youtube if you want to get started. Hardware and software are very similiar, they follow the same principles, they are all made in the same ways, and just as software uses libraries/packages, hardware often will look exactly the same in each device. I bought an assortment of 1000 tactile switches for $10 off ebay, and Ive fixed atleast 5 appliances in the last year with them (head torches, vacume, washer etc). If you dont, your tax will be to be a victim of the companies profit stratergy of planned obselesance. My dyson for instance was perfectly fine, just a peice of plastic in the handle that required you to dissassemble the whole machine was cracked. It was literly a free fix with some plastic welding a screwdriver. PS. You can buy universal kits that will control a washer or a dryer these days in a low tech way amoung many other devices we use daily. When your smart appliance fails, you can retrofit them. PSS. Your software/hacker spirit should not be limited to a text editor!

blackoil 3y ago
> if you cant fix them your going to be paying that tax everyday of your life. You have calculated cost of learning? For me apart from very basic things like oil/water change, Learning anything else would have ROI over decades if not more.