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Maybe I've been listening to too much YKS but I can't imagine buying a bike that required me to use an app and company's cloud to control basic functionality li
by ctkhn 1y ago
Maybe I've been listening to too much YKS but I can't imagine buying a bike that required me to use an app and company's cloud to control basic functionality like that
- dylan604 1y agoIs it possible the app wasn't advertised as required, but shown as a feature?
- ben-schaaf 1y agoThis is why I avoid anything that advertises as having an app. Whether it's adding huge latency to a volume change, using it for advertising or removing functionality entirely; the manufacturer simply has too much ownership over a product you've supposedly bought.
- smitty1e 1y agoMy clothes dryer has this stupid touch screen interface and keeps reminding me that it can be controlled by an app. I'm all: "So? I Don't want my phone colluding with the dryer and the garage door opener to overthrow me."
- jmward01 1y agoDon't be ridiculous. They won't collude against you. They clearly will have a turf war instead with each claiming that the TOS you signed by opening the packaging (the TOS being, of course, on the inside of said packaging) gives them exclusive rights to your entire being.
- sandworm101 1y agoWe have a shredder at work with a touchscreen. It is a shedder, basically just a motor and some rotating blades. But every time i use it i have to wait 30 seconds for the touchscreen to wake up. Totally useless.
- lolinder 1y agoI'm old enough to remember when shredders would just turn on when you inserted paper into them. No interface needed, touch or otherwise.
- guappa 1y agoHow did you change the shredding settings though?
- blitzar 1y agoThe shredder needs to scan the document on its way through and send the contents back to the cloud for processing*, only then can the algorithm correctly detect the correct shredding settings. * Information is retained for up to 100 years to improve customer experience.
- sandworm101 1y agoAh, the famous "unshred" function for recovering destroyed documents.
- Scoundreller 1y agoI think I’ve told Gmail.com that 10k times in a row. They will try again tomorrow though.
- dan00 1y agoThe dryer could tell the garage door to open, to reduce humidity.
- geerlingguy 1y agoI couldn't imagine buying a dishwasher that did the same... but somehow that happened. There's no indication that functionality is hidden behind an app. You find that out after you get the thing home, set it up, and start using it (a lot of the time).
- switchbak 1y agoBosch I presume? This is one of few places where I’d like to sprinkle a little more government overreach in just the right way - to prevent manufacturers from walling clearly essential behaviour behind an app. That’s far too gray of a line for governments to handle, but I can dream.
- JadeNB 1y ago> That’s far too gray of a line for governments to handle, but I can dream. I know that GDPR doesn't get much love, but I think that it shows that we (well, not we, because I'm in the US, but the EU) can meaningfully legislate issues involving intent and essential function. IA (obviously) NAL, but I see no reason that "those portions of the essential functionality of a device that do not inherently require the use of internet connectivity must be available without internet connectivity," or even the weaker "a device that is not usable without internet connectivity must be clearly signposted as such or be subject to free return at manufacturer expense for [some period of time]," wouldn't be a meaningful and enforcable law.
- sqrt_1 1y agoI would settle for something like - "any network functionality in consumer devices must be open sourced and user modifiable" It is probably too high a bar for most manufacturers, so they will not likely include such functionality.
- ratmice 1y agoThese days I would prefer it say that the documentation for communication protocols and for any computer control interface or network functionality must supplied and destination any addresses configurable by the user.
- metabagel 1y agoYKS?
- MarceliusK 1y agoRight? At some point we crossed a line where turning on a bike light became a "cloud event." Like… why does my transportation need a login screen?