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Comment by abroszka33 | Hacker News Reader

I'm starting to hate all smart devices. I love my dumb devices that need no updates, internet or subscription. They just work.

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That, plus blocking all updates from the 'smart' devices; in the last few years, I dont remember anything getting better from updates, everything is actually getting way worse.

I have a Sonos soundbar. It used to be nice. Now it automatically goes to sleep after a few minutes of tv inactivity. I now hate the device and the company.

My old M1 mbp used to feel super fast. A number of MacOs updates later it feels sluggish. I don't see anything better about MacOs of today vs. 3 years ago, literally NOTHING.

My apple tv now routinely drops airplay -- it used to work flawlessly.

Etc. etc. All those companies push shit updates to keep their existing engineering teams busy.

> Now it automatically goes to sleep after a few minutes of tv inactivity.

> All those companies push shit updates to keep their existing engineering teams busy.

Or comply with idiotic energy conservation laws in places like Europe.

Don't update anything unless its broken (apart from computer and phone unfortunately). Never connect to wifi.

Literally anything, there is simply no real gain, potential for loss absolute.

There really is a limit to what smart devices a house "needs" vs what is absolutely unnecessary. Fridges, washers, dryers and stoves absolutely do not need to be smart. Smart lights, smart locks, smart garage doors and security systems (if those can be considered smart in this context) are all chill in my opinion, but the rest I simply don't understand the "why" of the product. Smart tvs were a decent idea, but that clearly went to shit quickly and now dumb tvs aren't even available anymore in styles like OLED - which is extremely frustrating.

There are definitely some uses for a washer and drier with "smart" capabilities. Just alerting me when the program is done so I can put the next load is great. The cycles are not "fixed time" anymore, they all weigh the load and end up variable.

I could do without them, and it's not the end of the world if the laundry stayed 20m or 1h longer in the drum. It's practical, and hopefully not a critical feature of the internal board. One could argue if alerting is really a "smart" feature either.

I don't want any of those except security. Especially not the updating lightbulbs. Even security has its problems, but at least there's a need for it to be smart.

I have smart lighting and absolutely love it.

1. I can change the light in the bathroom while sitting in the bathtub.

2. I can have very nice colorful light synchronized with LEDs is display cabinets

Smart lights are pretty darn nice. Having all exterior lights come on every sunset and turn off every sunrise is stellar - and that's not even getting into the great setup I have indoors.

They have such absurd functionalities too.

- You might start a smart dishwasher remotely. But who is going to load it with dishes? And if the dishes are already loaded, why not just set a delayed start?

- Same with washing machines. Oh, they can also tell me when the detergent is running out, but I will see it during the next washing cycle.

- A smart oven can prepare warm food before you get back home from work. Assuming you want to keep your food in an oven at room temperature for the entire day.

Having seen how an electric oven fails, I don't ever want to run it when I'm not at home. The heating element turns into a sparkler and it looks (and sounds) like fireworks.

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