Why connect random ownable devices to your network, especially for the low low benefit of <checks notes> ... knowing when the clothes' drier is done ?!?
Connected firmware updatable white goods allow appliance manufacturers to do even less QA because they can always fix it later, which wasn't possible before. If you're the paranoid who won't connect random crap to the net, this is bad news, as you'll get lower quality appliances.
I'd like to think that shunning home automation isn't the answer, rather demanding open protocols and no internet connection required, such as with ZWave and more so Zigbee.
To me it just seems like going from a dimmer switch on the wall to an app on a phone is being heralded as a revolution, when it isn't.
Outdoor lights with light or motion sensors are common.
Garage lights typically turn on automatically when the garage door opens. If you mean the human-sized door to the garage, light bulbs with built-in motion sensors are available; I have used those in entryways and in closets. I don't have a garage, but if I did it would be nice to be able to close it remotely if I forgot to.
I have also installed timer switches to make sure things like vent fans for the shower do not stay on longer than necessary.
Switching all lights at once is nifty if you live in a large home. I have a small home, so it's quite trivial to turn off all of the lights.
For myself, I just don't think it's worth it to setup more sophisticated automation at this time. For one, I rent. Second, of all of the inconveniences in my life, these are at the bottom of the list.
One of the best minor conveniences I addressed recently was getting a larger-volume soap dispenser so that I have to refill it less often.
A motion sensor hard wired vs one that goes back to a Zigbee/Zwave hub running OpenHab are not too different. One is some added complexity for added flexibility.
Its time for an open source washer!
Unless you're saying because it is rented, the landlord won't allow you to install your own switches, though I'm not sure why they'd care as long as you restore it before moving out. I own rental properties and would definitely allow tenants to do that. Hell, I'd even do it for them if they asked.
Nothing is really essential in our life. Do you really need washing machine? You can do laundry by hand. It saves time and more convenient to use a machine. The problem with a lot of automation schemes is that it takes more time and less convenient because of poor design.
Or you could lockdown certain modes and temperatures behind a paywall. Similar how the car industry is already doing it.
"Subscription-only features include caramelization, slow cooking, and frying."
https://www.vorwerk.co.uk/thermomix/thermomix-friend/
I have the dumb TM31.
Non-geek friends are always shocked that I do not typically want additional new tech-stuff in my life unless the payoff is very high.
Novel and interesting are not sufficient on their own.
I am immersed in layers of technology (and poorly-thought-out Authentication schemes) everyday for 10-12 hours and it presents a noticeable amount of frustration.
I rarely am looking for more of it. I am pretty sure I don't want my dryer on my network.
A couple of weeks ago I had to spend an afternoon in Wireshark to make some "smart" lightbulbs work with the corporate WiFi.
One of the owners wanted to add iPhone controlled mood lighting to the office.
In their perception, I should be all over every new little gadget and interconnected doodad, but those sorts of devices just drive me up the wall. There is always some annoying issue or limitation, a lot of them don't even perform their primary function adequately, and if something goes wrong, you have no logging or diagnostics possibilities, short of maybe cracking open the case and looking for a JTAG connector or something.
It drives me crazy when I can't just look at a log file or at least get a descriptive error message, it's always just "oops, something broke, sorry about that teehee". Then you power cycle the device and hope that works, if not then you try a factory reset. If that doesn't work, what do you do? Everything is so integrated today that old-school fault finding on a PCB won't yield anything of value. I hate it.
I do have some smart/IoT/modern gadget tech devices. The thermostats on our radiators are intelligent. By this I mean they have a programmed daily schedule, to lower temps at night. They also sense open windows from the temperature drop and shut the heat off and then on again when we close the windows. The only connectivity on them is Bluetooth, which has to be turned on by a button press on the individual thermostat, every time you want to connect to it. That is the sort of connectivity I will accept from "smart" devices.
The other is a Chromecast, which is reluctantly tolerated because it's the lowest-friction way to have a collaborative queue of videos to watch, when you're in couch potato mode. But if anything goes wrong, you have to break out the garlic and black candles and hope you can perform the proper incantation to make it happy again. If I could get similar functionality on the HTPC in a web browser tuned to https://youtube.com, that little puck-like bastard would be forever banned from the premises.
If I want more home automation, I will program it myself using a Pi or Arduino or ESP32 or something, combined with commodity electronics and sensors. So far, the need has not presented itself.
You have articulated the situation really really well. Thank you for that.
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/01/unauthorized-bread-a-...
Well, that's an everyday sales lead for us these days. The devious "Product as a Service" is by far the most demanded feature.
Consumers need to outright reject these attempts by manufacturers. Is there risk that some appliances already put some sort of timer chip and stop working after some time? Kind of the HP inkjet business model?
We need some open source washer companies, I would pay a premium for an open source washing machine.
Voters need to ban these attempts. Limiting our power to that of mere consumers is what has allowed things to get this bad in the first place.
https://www.npr.org/2021/02/17/968704526/why-printers-are-th...
I tend to agree that subscription models will evolve into many more devices.