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Comment by phantom_oracle | Hacker News Reader

I think I live in a bubble...

But...

Who buys these products? Why does a toaster need to be connected to the internet and synced with your "smart"phone? What exactly can you achieve having this feature?

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Not sure about a toster, but there are benefits to having some household appliances connected to the internet. For example, a washing machine may be able to determine what hour it should operate for maximum energy savings, and ping you when finished. I guess a toaster could be similar; pre-loaded with bread so you could ask it to start toasting before getting up from the sofa.

> Consumers may find it totally cool to design images for toast using a smartphone. Meantime, the resulting data would help food companies understand how people approach breakfast, design new products and market to consumers more effectively.

http://blog.rackspace.com/internet-of-things-why-connected-t...

> [...] pre-loaded with bread so you could ask it to start toasting before getting up from the sofa.

But how did the bread get in the toaster?!

Not really. Those benefits that are marketed are mostly just enablers for laziness, but not actually solving anything. It caters to the self repeating lie of "saving precious time" but actually harms responsibility and security at scale.

Regular toasters are just a funny example (reductio ad absurdum), although I did find a toaster that can print pictures on your toast [1].

An internet connected fridge could be really useful if it integrates with grocery lists, recipes, expiry dates, automatic deliveries, etc. These fridges are still in their infancy, but we're moving towards a fully automated kitchen. I've seen a lot of fridges that run Android, and people like to make fun of them because "Why would you need Twitter or YouTube on a fridge?". Those are just apps that you can install on anything, and it didn't take any additional effort. It's weird when it becomes part of their marketing, though.

Anyway, this is the future we are heading towards: http://www.moley.com/ I believe the technology is already here, and it's just a matter of lowering the cost and improving the software.

[1] https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/258723592/toasteroid-fi...

The vast majority of IoT devices are purchased by manufacturers, utility companies, government agencies, health care facilities, airports, etc. etc.

If you think that any significant fraction of IoT devices are located in homes and controlled by phones, you do indeed live in a bubble. (Don't feel bad, so do lots of HN posters).

>Thanks to the Internet of Things, the ability to collect massive amounts of data and use it in new and profoundly different ways also enters the picture.

http://blog.rackspace.com/internet-of-things-why-connected-t...

No thank you very much.

Can you buy a TV that isn't internet connected now-a-days? AFAICT they are very few and far between :(

You can buy a TV, and then not connect it to the internet.

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