3 ms·

I think your sentiment is true of technology and tools in general. If you have a pain point that a particular tool solves, then that tool is probably a good fi

by tmuir 12y ago

I think your sentiment is true of technology and tools in general. If you have a pain point that a particular tool solves, then that tool is probably a good fit for you. But if you buy a tool because you've been sold on all of the cool things you _could_ do with the tool, and you weren't necessarily looking to do any of those things before you knew about the tool, then buyer's remorse is almost certain to come your way. 99% of smartphone apps fall into this category. The internet of things, at least currently, is also an example of this. There tons of products out there that solve problems that no one actually has, but can be construed as game-changing with romantic notions and polished marketing.

Pamar 12y ago
Personally I am keeping an eye on the technology but I haven't decided to buy a printer precisely for that: I know I have exactly one use for it (replacing small plastic part from a piece of furniture) but then I am basically done, and I doubt that just using it once will open up a zillion new ideas for me. But on the other hand, I periodically talk with a few other friends/acquaintances who live in my area and are in more or less the same situation regarding "use cases". The plan is to end up pooling the money, set it in one of our basements and then share it among 4-5 different households (most of the tinkerers at heart).
photojosh 12y ago
My "Internet of Things" concept is a BT/WiFi appliance power monitor... would be able to detect whenever power usage changed. Use case: you get a push notification when the dishwasher/washing machine/dryer/etc finished. Thoughts?
- jpindar 12y ago
  There are wireless power monitors which have their own smartphone apps. I don't know if any of them can be set up to give you that sort of notification, but some of the manufacturers make enough information available that you could write your own app. http://www.belkin.com/us/p/P-F7C029/ http://www.belkin.com/us/p/P-F7C029/ http://developers.belkin.com/wemo/sdk http://developers.belkin.com/wemo/sdk

by tmuir 12y ago

Pamar 12y ago

Personally I am keeping an eye on the technology but I haven't decided to buy a printer precisely for that: I know I have exactly one use for it (replacing small plastic part from a piece of furniture) but then I am basically done, and I doubt that just using it once will open up a zillion new ideas for me. But on the other hand, I periodically talk with a few other friends/acquaintances who live in my area and are in more or less the same situation regarding "use cases". The plan is to end up pooling the money, set it in one of our basements and then share it among 4-5 different households (most of the tinkerers at heart).

photojosh 12y ago

My "Internet of Things" concept is a BT/WiFi appliance power monitor... would be able to detect whenever power usage changed. Use case: you get a push notification when the dishwasher/washing machine/dryer/etc finished. Thoughts?

jpindar 12y ago
There are wireless power monitors which have their own smartphone apps. I don't know if any of them can be set up to give you that sort of notification, but some of the manufacturers make enough information available that you could write your own app. http://www.belkin.com/us/p/P-F7C029/ http://www.belkin.com/us/p/P-F7C029/ http://developers.belkin.com/wemo/sdk http://developers.belkin.com/wemo/sdk