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When the company calls their home appliances "smart", what I hear is: - they spent money on features I don't care about So no, I don't want "smart" home appliances. 125 comments
 @hamatti Other people have other use cases. I *don't* want a TV that "shows channels" as that would be no use to me as I don't have a TV licence. I want a TV that plays DVDs (and yes, I accept that that's via another device) and shows stuff from the internet (and I don't see why that should need another device, it's only software and the telly already has a computer in it). @TimWardCam @hamatti non UK readers might not understand the concept of a "TV licence". In Britain, you can't watch TV until you've taken the Television Aptitude Test, or TAT, which gauges your understanding of BBC4 arts programmes, your ability to follow long running soaps in a regional dialect, and whether or not you laugh at Ant and Dec. @rvkennedy @hamatti Well, I wouldn't qualify. Never heard of BBC4, never heard of Ant and Dec. But I do know the "long running soap in a regional dialect"- that's The Archers, for which no TV licence is required seeing as how it's on the radio not the telly. @rvkennedy @TimWardCam Does Dirk Gently count as BBC4 arts program? If it does, I might qualify ๐ @hamatti @TimWardCam the Stephen Mangan original? I believe so! Might be time to book that test! @TimWardCam @rvkennedy Yeah, that's the new one with Samuel Barnett. Which was also good. The original one from BBC4 was made a bit earlier and stars Stephen Mangan https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2303367/ Dirk Gently books are so great. @Kyleric @rvkennedy @TimWardCam @hamatti They are joking; TV licenses are just a required fee: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_United_Kingdom  @iampytest1 @Kyleric @rvkennedy @TimWardCam @hamatti In other words a tax. Literally funding bigotry, because that money goes to the BBC. @rvkennedy @TimWardCam @hamatti I recently failed my level 3 licensing exam so now I canโt watch either Eastenders or Pointless. @TimWardCam Yeah, we all like different things. TV manufacturers won't support their streaming apps for as long as the tv functions. So when they stop updating, your smart tv won't show Youtube or Disney+ or whatever service anymore. Then you need to replace your tv even though the display device would be good for years. And worse, when some of them stop working, it may make the entire smart tv software stop working or get annoying to use. @hamatti Yeah, I know. Or ... one could keep the TV and buy an external device to replace the dead services. @TimWardCam @hamatti  @TimWardCam That's why I don't want those services internally in the first place because they absolutely *will* break. @wonka @TimWardCam And the TV software isn't designed to gracefully work when services start to fail but will become an annoyance to work with. @tokyo_0 @hamatti I'm not an expert, but there does seem to be a crossover, particularly with the sort of large expensive kit you put in meeting rooms these days. Traditionally a "monitor" didn't come with the sort of remote control you'd want with a TV but I would not be astonished if that's completely different now. @TimWardCam I've been thinking about this for a while, since I noticed the 3,800x1,800 display on my laptop screen makes me not want to plug anything (like a PS4) into my TV anymore. When I looked at the price for updating the TV, it was silly. Worth checking if buying a TV card for your PC and running a monitor would be cheaper. You can get a remote for a PC, too. @hamatti @TimWardCam @hamatti But why would you need software running that's connected via the internet to play DVDs or even Bluerays? All of this was long possible without running deprecated forks of Android on our TVs. @thejackimonster @hamatti I wouldn't. I "would need software running that's connected via the internet" to play content that's on the internet, such as Netflix.  @hamatti Related: as much as I really love my Sony neckband Bluetooth headphones (that they don't make anymore because people prefer the tiny ones that run out of battery after an hour and fall out of your ears and get lost) I don't like that they *only* work with an app. It's Bluetooth, they should work with anything that has Bluetooth audio. Sure, have an app to change settings, but it shouldn't be required, and it definitely shouldn't need an account on their servers. @hamatti I'm already at the point that I don't even want my TV to show channels. I just want a big monitor with good image quality and multiple ports to connect my own devices to it. TV itself has already been killed by offerings via internet. So at this point, I just need a low-power SPC with free software on it that can decode video and I'm good. I would also be fine with the TV itself running free software. But I doubt this will happen any time soon. @hamatti  @rekiwi @hamatti - Worse than not caring about them, all of the โsmartโ features actively work against what you want to do, and the 2 seconds it saves you in one area will be paid back by the 40 minutes of increasingly frustrated menu navigation, looking for the manual, craning your neck at painful angle to see the item number so you can google its manual which has clearly been scanned and uploaded by a bored 7 year old @hamatti your experience is quite similar to a study of 1,000 consumers' response to adding "AI" on products: https://www.fastcompany.com/91165839/ai-artificial-intelligence-product-name-description-hurts-sales @benjaoming I'm also really happy this is happening and people are getting fed up with the AI hype bullshit.  @hamatti @benjaoming from what I can see, most managers and marketing people have no clue of statistics and epistemology. None. Zero. Most consumers are not managers or marketing people, and they quickly understand that products got worse, not better, by applying buzzword technology. @benjaoming @hamatti To your point, I was buying a new laptop for myself and faced with having to buy a windows machine with Copilot built into the OS, I switched to a Mac for the first time in 20 years. Shame Apple has plans to do the same, but for now I'm safe from that BS. @msftnews @dawnnafus, as I'd replace the OS with something Linux-based, the laptop's hardware is what matters: adequately supported, no proprietary drivers needed, that kind of thing.      @hamatti Two houses ago, our washer&dryer could use a power-line modem to talk to a remote display. They were in the garage, and we had the display set up in the living room. We could see how much time was left, and it didn't require an app. They discontinued it, and went to WiFi and apps instead, and it wasn't as nice or easy. @hamatti We really should redefine "smart device" to mean "device that actually does something to make life easier" like this one Japanese combo washer/dryer I saw in a video a few months ago: not only is it a combo unit that eliminates the "transfer soggy clothes" step, it has an automatic detergent dispenser so you don't need to think to use it: just toss clothes in, select the mode, hit go, clean clothes come out later. @EdCates While you remember, others don't, because of depression, ADHD, ...  @hamatti I recently saw an ad for a smart litter box. Seriously, who asks for this stuff? @Barbramon1 @hamatti Yeah I have a computer that looks at my cat's litterbox to check if they need it cleaned. My eyes and brain. @TheTenuousOrder @Barbramon1 @hamatti I'd like to know what you're feeding your cats... it's very apparent when our cats' litter trays need attention from several rooms away @hamatti Just to dip my oar in the water, my dad recently had to go into memory care. We needed a tv that was as dumb as we could find, something super simple. We managed to find a "non smart" tv at Best Buy; in fact, they have a whole section of them. It's just a tv. It doesn't connect to the internet at all. We hooked it up to a good antennae, got him a very simple remote and he's happy as a clam. Now I'm envious!  @hamatti my washer, dryer, oven and fridge are all smart, and it seems only to give me notifications. Like, I seriously donโt need any more notifications! @hamatti I want the simple washer and driers that do the job designed to do and nothing more and will do so for a very long time ...wringer washer works for me .. can soak what I want too and then get washed and dried and done .. none of other bullshit crap that never is used washer and wringer and timer and drain only ... @Lstn2urmama @hamatti Let's see my stainless steel washpot send data back to its maker... @LukefromDC @hamatti Never needed that when machine worked well for many years and only thing needed replacing was a belt every few years and could get covers for them if sight was too much for some .. but at least fitted rolled into closet...    @hamatti As a disabled person who has reaching struggles, my passion for smart capabilities very much depends on the item. If I can run my TV or air purifier with my phone, thatโs life-changing. If I can run the microwave? Still canโt put in or take out the item that got heated. Useless. I often want a dumb appliance with the quality of the "smart" ones. I still work very hard at buying dumb appliances anyway.  @hamatti How can you have a garage door opener, a clothes washer, a clothes dryer, a dish washer, a window air conditioning unit, central heating and air conditioning, or even a television, without Internet? It's never be done before!    Foreseeing a burgeoning industry of skilled technicians hacking surveillance capitalism devices Washing machines sending 300 gigs of data daily to a Saudi data center filled with malware Smart fridges sending a gig of indecipherable junk to a Chinese cryptocurrency fraudster. TV's sending telemetry of a static-filled screen to AT&T to gift to Russian ransomware Hacking John Deere tractors so anyone's repairs work Mass layoffs in tech, it gives hobbyists time, motivation, & a goal  @hamatti This is actually why I intend to stick to my 15 years old car for as long as it's possible. The only LCD screen on it looks like it was taken from a 1980's watch, shows me times, miles driven and average/current fuel consumption. It drives as well as any modern car and it does not try to interfere with my driving... I remember when I hired a car once that tried to correct me when going on the mountain road to such extent that I had to actively steer the "wrong way"... @hamatti I will never own a 'smart' lightbulb, a 'smart' speaker, a washing machine that commits ddos attacks, or anything like that. ever. that stuff scares me.  @hamatti we all have to learn a little tech. TVs can just be monitors. A lot of unused feature set can be configured off. Thereโs a lot of valuable and even safety-forward functionality in smart devices. And they can last a very long time if you manage them. ๐คท๐ปโโ๏ธ @BGAtlanta @hamatti - my tv is a just a terminal viewer(monitor) just plugged with my smart devices (rasbperry pi, mi box,...) - never used the tv sound (horrible to my ears !) just plugged a sound device not smart at all Et voila happy life :-) @hamatti I tried so hard to get a "not smart" TV. Best option was a commercial monitor but the prices were way higher. I ended up taking the "we're going to spy on you" discount with the smart TV and then skipped the wifi setup after plugging in. I'm hoping that works and it's not backdooring my wifi router.  - at some point in the future, the most important features will require you to pay a regular subscription, if you want them to keep working. @hamatti I'd love to have a bunch of "smart" appliances that follow the principles of API-first design. Switches that I can control from my computer easily and effectively without relying on third-party servers. A furnace I can monitor and instruct via ethernet and USB. But these attempts to insert yourself into my business so you can sell my switch-using or furnace-using habits to anybody with a bit of money, nope.  @hamatti All I want is a dumb TV and a box of smarts I can connect to it. That way I can keep updating my box rather than the whole TV.  PS: Remember when gaming consoles were offline? Same attitude. A family member recently bought my mother a TV and I was shocked, but pleased, that I could skip connecting it to the 'net. I wonder how long that'll last. I'd very much prefer for "smart TVs" to be entirely optional. Some may like them but I want nothing to do with them nor other "smart" appliances. @hamatti Nearly impossible now to find a traditional dashcam / thermostat / TV / car... Also related: "Smart" usually means "able to carry out owner's instructions", where "owner" = manufacturer.   I have given up trying to persuade my other to *not* leave automatic updates on, for our android TV. As a result, it just gets slower, and slower, and slower, and now some apps are crashing randomly. I think I might accidentally oh my how did that happen reset it to factory defaults some day soon ... I not only don't want "smart" appliances, I don't want them in a "smart" home. The same characteristics apply. I'm tired of my "smart" home systems breaking down, and I certainly don't want them spying on me. |
Gregory's Server
If I buy a TV, I want a TV that shows channels and to which I can plug other devices to watch the other stuff.
If I buy speakers, I want to connect whatever I have to them and not risk remote bricking of devices by manufacturer.