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Comment by compactmani | Hacker News Reader

I know IoT sounds scary and privacy invasive (it is), but in reality, most of the IoT devices are not dependent on the internet. For example, my toaster, refrigerator, washing machine, dish washer, coffee machine, TV would never benefit at all from using the internet, so I would never connect them.

The only device that actually benefits from the internet is a computer, and maybe a mobile phone (because there is this app craze). The rest I predict will fade when consumers discover the devices were fine the way they were.

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You're right but you won't have a choice. Many devices will require connection to the internet to be configured, and you won't always know ahead of time what they are because most people won't care enough to put it in a review. For example it drives me crazy that my washing machine beeps for over an hour when it's done... I don't care - just stop making that noise... However, it's impossible to search for "doesn't beep like crazy" when buying a new product on amazon.

>Many devices will require connection to the internet to be configured

Impossible. My bachelor pad apartment came with a washer and dryer. Those need to work without the building owner paying $50/month for internet access for a clothes washer. Maybe you could write into the lease terms that the appliances only work if the tenant pays for internet access. Imagine if the thermostat refused to turn on the heat because there's no internet access because no tenant, then the pipes freeze in winter...

Likewise my MiL does not do internet. She has no computer, tablet, smartphone... but she does have a lot of retirement income. Most of the VCRs in the USA blinked 12:00 because most VCR owners were uninterested in using that appliance to set up timed recording. A VCR that forced owners to set the clock before it would play back rented tapes would never survive in the market. She has one of those smart TVs that spy on people and spam them, because she liked the style of the case (bezel, stand, etc), but its not connected to the internet and never will be.

UI design is beyond human ability today, and will only get worse. I have one of those "efficient" nearly silent clothes washers and it drives me crazy that there's no way to predict when it'll finish, because it spin cycles until water stops coming out, etc. So from an efficiency standpoint I want to move damp clothes as fast as possible into my dryer, but the darn thing quietly plays an annoying little song once and then goes silent. I wish it beeped for an hour. Most UI design choices are made solely to impress other UI designers, therefore the user is left out. This is an extremely bad portent for the UI for internet of things.

There's just too much money to be ignored in places without internet access.

I can't see how any appliance would be required to be online for use or configuration. Even every laptop off the shelf doesn't have such a requirement. The only device I know that does is a smart phone (maybe?).

Just as an example: the Logitech Harmony range of remotes. The only way to program those remotes is to go through Logitech's application portal.

I'm not saying it has to be done that way; I'm just saying that it is.

Even every laptop off the shelf doesn't have such a requirement.

While Windows activation can be done offline, for all practical purposes it + Windows Update requires you to be online.

I help an older lady with her technical struggles. Recently she moved into a retirement home and does not currently have internet access for her laptop. Microsoft Office started bitching about it being an illegal copy presumably because it could not phone home and verify her license. Sigh.

This seems awfully shortsighted. Perhaps some 'home' devices are gratuitous at this point but certainly there are other uses for headless devices to be connected to the internet.

Yes, the only thing that benefits from a an internet connection is a computer, but eventually everything will need to have a computer in it.

Are you sure about the TV? Personally, I think streaming services are great. Granted, most "smart TVs" aren't actually that smart, but still useful.

Smart TV's get out of date quickly and are useless. Why else do you think people have been plugging things into the back of them for years now? Boxes which can be easily replaced and still work

Sure, and I tend to agree. It's the same reason I was never interested in an all-in-one desktop computer where the actual computer is integrated into the monitor. I want to be able to upgrade or swap out one without binning the whole thing.

That said, I was recently in the market for a new TV and the models with the best image quality in my price range didn't offer a non "smart" version for less money or even the same price. As a result, I've got a TV with AndroidTV built in and it's actually a lot nicer than having to cast everything from my phone or PC to Chromecast (although that functionality is also built in).

Now, granted, when the AndroidTV bits become outdated as they surely will before the actual display does, I'll be back to plugging external devices into it but for now, there's definitely a lot of benefits to plugging that ethernet cable into the back of it.

I'm living in a furnished flat and the fact my "smart" TV takes 30-40 seconds to boot up is bizarre. I don't think I remember the huge CRT things taking that long.

I personally think they should just bundle something like a Fire TV stick or Chromecast with the TV

I had a Philips "smart" TV that did the same. Even switching inputs was about 10 seconds (if I was lucky).

My next TV will be as 'dumb' as I can find, at the moment off-brand TVs you get in supermarkets still seem to fit that bill.

Fully agree, but those things you plug into the TV are most likely connected to the internet, right? The parent said that his TV would never benefit at all from using the internet. I think it does, doesn't matter if the connection is built into the TV or via a gadget plugged into it.

TV's are specific case of computer monitor. They benefit from devices sending them signals which they can interpret and display on their screens. They benefit from things sending them signals which may or may not have originated from the internet.

Personally, the only thing attached to my TV is a computer. I said previously that a computer benefits from the internet, so I suppose you might say my TV benefits from the internet?

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