glitchsoc - Link to source

When I was young, there was a joke among computer people: "sorry, I'm posting here from my coffee maker" (or a fridge, or a washing machine, or a kettle). It was very fun to think about such ways of computing.

I was reminded of the joke last month, when I've had an interaction with a coffee grinder at the office. The coffee grinder refused to grind any beans; it was running a modern Android as an operating system, got a wireless software upgrade, and lost the WiFi connection it required (?!) for the grinding operation.

reshared this

in reply to Adrian McEwen
mastodon - Link to source

David JONES

@amcewen @jernej__s a washing machine is not too complicated, "just" a motor and a heater. And a pump. And a valve or two.

A _bread maker_ tho, is just a heater and a motor (and a timer and a light, I suppose).

Mind you, I've never seen a controller die on a bread maker, whereas they seem to die all the time on a washing machine.

@Jernej Simončič � @Adrian McEwen
in reply to David JONES
mastodon - Link to source

Adrian McEwen

@drj @jernej__s yeah, replacing the controller is more about removing the "smart" features and phoning home that you might not want, rather than making it more repairable.

The repairability is a different facet of the convivial tech, plus a way to leverage other supply chains as you slowly expand to open the whole device.

@Jernej Simončič � @David JONES
in reply to David JONES
mastodon - Link to source

Jernej Simončič �

@drj @amcewen I've never had the controller die on a washing machine; I replaced my previous one (10 years old) because it never spin-dried well, and when the belt dislocated, I used that as an excuse to get a new one (I gave the old one away, as it should still work fine after repairing the belt).
@David JONES @Adrian McEwen
in reply to Jernej Simončič �
mastodon - Link to source

RealGene ☣️

@jernej__s @drj @amcewen
I've had two failures:
The controller of a Miele front loader, and the connection between the top-mounted controller and the bottom-mounted motor driver board of a Whirlpool Duet. I fixed the Whirlpool two or three times by cleaning and reseating the connections, but finally gave up.

The Miele board cost 1/3 the price of a new machine, and was unavailable for months.

@Jernej Simončič � @David JONES @Adrian McEwen
in reply to Jernej Simončič �
ActivityPub - Link to source

Svavar the Neurospicy

@jernej__s
So they didn’t want to spend the money to make a new panel with the extra button for the WiFi model so they made the product worse so it would be a bit more profitable and quicker to develop.

At least in cars the panels have all the slots for the buttons that control premium features but they’re just filled in on cheaper models.

#Enshittification

#enshittification @Jernej Simončič �
in reply to ~M~
mastodon - Link to source

ಚಿರಾಗ್ 🌹✊🏾Ⓥ🌱🇵🇸 (he/him)

@tildeMtilde One of the reasons I was hesitant about getting a smartwatch was the sense that many of them would require sending stuff to the cloud (or at least they would do so by default).

Just got a Pebble Time 2 and it's great because data is local by default. And everything is open source so you can nominally verify the fact.

@~M~
in reply to ಚಿರಾಗ್ 🌹✊🏾Ⓥ🌱🇵🇸 (he/him)
glitchsoc - Link to source

Nina Kalinina

@chiraag @tildeMtilde that's neat!
I've used to have smart watches for a few years, but then one day realised that they don't add any joy to my life. When I need a wristwatch, I can wear a pretty wristwatch or a Casio
@ಚಿರಾಗ್ 🌹✊🏾Ⓥ🌱🇵🇸 (he/him) @~M~
in reply to Nina Kalinina
mastodon - Link to source

ಚಿರಾಗ್ 🌹✊🏾Ⓥ🌱🇵🇸 (he/him)

@tildeMtilde I use it to track steps and workouts (esp heartrate). Another neat usecase is storing my membership cards (like Costco and Sprouts) on there so I don't need to pull out my wallet haha. I want to try storing my next flight ticket on there as well!

Also, the Pebble Time 2 lasts weeks on one charge so I can almost forget about needing to charge it lol, it's great.

@~M~
in reply to Neo Ehproque
mastodon - Link to source

ಚಿರಾಗ್ 🌹✊🏾Ⓥ🌱🇵🇸 (he/him)

@ehproque @tildeMtilde I use the "Member Card" Pebble app: apps.repebble.com/member-card_69d0e95574b3f70009a8c78e

And I use this app to get barcode/QR code details: f-droid.org/packages/com.atharok.barcodescanner

Member card - Pebble Appstore

Wear your membership cards on your wrist. Works with linear and 2D barcodes: CODE128, CODE39, CODE93, EAN8, EAN13, UPC-A, CODABAR, ITF, Data Matrix, PDF417,
Pebble Appstore
@Neo Ehproque @~M~
in reply to Nina Kalinina
glitchsoc - Link to source

sarah tonin

oh our dishwasher has that too, but we still have buttons for the programs, the app is only to get a notification when it's done and do things we can already do with the buttons

my mum and i laughed at how silly it all was; why would i need the dishwasher to ping me when it's finished ? it's not like the dishes will fly into the toilets if we don't put them quickly, and anyway there's always the option of listening if there's noise, or looking at the clock and go "oh 4 hours have passed, it's probably done"

in reply to tkchia
mastodon - Link to source

Stuck_Here

@tkchia @SRAZKVT
The Internet and the apps and the smart phones allow a company to do multiple things they couldn't do before. They can create a rental economy. If you want a feature or just use the thing you must pay. Their app on your phone can collect marketing data that they can then sell. And an internet connected machine can have a life span of the company's own choosing.
@sarah tonin @tkchia
in reply to Gabriele Svelto
mastodon - Link to source

F4GRX Sébastien

@gabrielesvelto do you mean that some modern roombas can be used standalone without apps? Wife wants one but OOOF everyone of them want to upload their lidar maps to apps and cloud and stuff so thats a big nope!

edit: modern ones, because I have an old eufy, fully standalone, but it would use an upgrade.

@Gabriele Svelto
Esta entrada fue editada (hoy, 13:12)
in reply to F4GRX Sébastien
mastodon - Link to source

Gabriele Svelto

@f4grx ours is from the 6xx or 7xx series, those that bumped into things basically, no LIDAR on them. They still sold them a few years ago, I don't know if that's still the case. Probably going to last forever, we have another one from the 5xx series and it's 16 years old.
@F4GRX Sébastien
in reply to Nina Kalinina
friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

Carlos Solís

That reminds me: posting from your fridge became less of a farfetched nonsequitur and more of a genuine compatibility test nowadays. Fridges with bundled touchscreens and WiFi generally come bundled with either an old version of Android or a custom OS, and being able to successfully log into a social network and post from there is sometimes its own adventure.