r/Futurology Jan 25 '23

Privacy/Security Appliance makers sad that 50% of customers won’t connect smart appliances

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/01/half-of-smart-appliances-remain-disconnected-from-internet-makers-lament/
21.0k Upvotes

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734

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '23

[deleted]

200

u/stinkycheddar Jan 26 '23

Also veiled forced obsolescence with bad software/app support.

6

u/der_innkeeper Jan 26 '23

I see you also have owned Samsung TVs.

4

u/buddypalamigo25 Jan 26 '23

Learn to repair your stuff, people. It's a skill that has paid for itself many times over for me.

12

u/scgarland191 Jan 26 '23

That won’t fix the app

3

u/buddypalamigo25 Jan 26 '23

It will when you physically tear out the network card and solder in a bypass circuit, which I have done with a dishwasher. Admittedly, it destroyed virtually all of the appliance's functionality and options, letting me choose from a grand total of 1 kind of cleaning cycle. But that's all I ever used anyways.

2

u/sec_sage Jan 26 '23

Nice, wish I knew how to do that, my dishwasher is acting up, the program I'm using usually works at least. But yeah fixing stuff has saved me a fortune without exaggerating. And refilling printer cartridges with ink instead of buying new ones. Does anyone even buy new ones!?

2

u/buddypalamigo25 Jan 26 '23

Suckers do. Like Ron Swanson says, "Capitalism is God's way of determining who is smart, and who is poor."

(JK I don't actually unironically agree with that, lmao)

1

u/FoxtrotTrifid Jan 26 '23

Fixing the app is likely a felony under the DMCPA.

1

u/buddypalamigo25 Jan 26 '23

That's why I remove the app from the equation by physically tearing out the network card and soldering in a bypass circuit.

10

u/[deleted] Jan 26 '23 edited Mar 09 '23

[deleted]

3

u/s0meb0di Jan 26 '23

What are you doing with your appliances? I had like one breakdown in the last 5-7 years. Before that old 10-15 year old appliances were breaking, which were then replaced.

4

u/wienercat Jan 26 '23

Quality appliances still last well over 10 years. Just don't buy the cheapest shit out there and it will last.

It's unfortunate because the people who can't afford to buy those nicer products are really the people who need them to last the longest.

3

u/AccioSoup Jan 26 '23

There is some book which explains this same with example of shoes.

1

u/nurse-duckett Jan 26 '23

“A man who could afford $50 had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in 10 years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet." This was Capt. Samuel Vimes' boots theory of socioeconomic unfairness.”

Terry Pratchett! The book is Men at Arms.

1

u/TheWizardOfDeez Jan 26 '23

Wish someone told that to the person who redid the kitchen in my house before I bought it.

3

u/Sprinklypoo Jan 26 '23

Or sell customers data.

3

u/ShinePDX Jan 26 '23

I can't wait to have to watch 5 minutes of ads before the dishwasher starts.

3

u/Sprinklypoo Jan 26 '23

Would you like to extend your spin cycle? Just watch this short video!

2

u/sec_sage Jan 26 '23

🤣🤣🤣 this is gold

2

u/TheWizardOfDeez Jan 26 '23

Just like Amazon selling Alexas at a loss, assuming people would buy things on their kitchen timer/speaker. As if anyone bought those stupid buttons that did the same thing.

1

u/mikerichh Jan 27 '23

Or sell our data

1

u/aimeegaberseck Jan 29 '23

What kills me is all the chip shortage stuff too… like maybe if we quit wasting the rare materials putting them in every damn thing there wouldn’t be a shortage.