this post was submitted on 13 Jan 2024
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Privacy

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[–] [email protected] 46 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (5 children)

I don't understand the craze of slapping wifi or bluetooth connectivity to everything without giving proper thought. Cameras, television, vehicles, coffee pots, medical devices, laundry machines, hipster juicers... what's next? Is my salt shaker going to have it?

[–] [email protected] 18 points 10 months ago (1 children)

That's a great idea! You can check your salt levels while at work or on vacation. You could even have your salt shaker automatically order more salt from Amazon when the level got too low. Or how about you program your maximum daily salt intake so it closes up when it's reached.

So much potential!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

Not even a little far-fetched

[–] [email protected] 12 points 10 months ago (5 children)

Every washing machine I've owned for the last 30 years has had a delayed start function and I've never used it once, if that simple function is useless I donno what else a WiFi connection could offer

[–] fuzzzerd 9 points 10 months ago

Delayed start, but from your phone, via their totally-not-tracking-infested app. That's why it needs wifi.

Not sure if I need the /s but here it is just to be sure.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Notify you when a cycle is done, but you could do that with a vibration sensor over zigbee and home assistant, or an outlet power monitor.

People simply don't understand there are other low-band wireless local communication protocols other than wifi and maybe IR, and that is completely taken advantage of by companies who deal in user data.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

That's so odd to me, too. I'm notified when the buzzer goes off. I would hear the buzzer before I heard my phone.

And who needs to be notified immediately when a cycle is done? I'm lucky if my laundry doesn't sit there for hours after I've heard the buzzer and said to myself, I should do that laundry.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

I had a WiFi enabled range and the only remotely useful thing it could do was send my phone a notification when the timer went off.

It could preheat the oven via the app too but I wasn't too keen on turning on my oven when I wasn't near it.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I do use the timer delay to run the wash cycle when the power is cheap. I'd really like it if I could set it as "ready to go" and something else give it the "go" when the power is cheap.

Once I have that, it's also useful to have something to tell me there's wet washing that needs to be unloaded.

If my washing machine was older I could do all of this with a remote power switch and sensor, but because my washing machine has touch buttons instead of click/clacks, I can't. Turning the power on just makes it wait for a button press.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

Ok setting the delay for off peak electricity actually does make a bit of sense

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

I have a wifi enabled AC unit. It also has a remote control.

No, I have never used wifi to control it. Why would I? It has a remote control.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago

And the bad part is that it is being forced upon us. You can't even find non-smart TVs to buy anymore.

I wouldn't be surprised if appliances come with their own data plan, because the data they collect is valuable.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

Something something "the internet of things is the future"...