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  • Bynkiibynkii@mastodon.social
    Oct 14, 2026, 12:25 PM

    I don’t get the “it’s cool to hate all smart appliances/things” stuff. (For anyone who doesn’t know me at all, I’ve probably been in tech far longer than you, miss me with “you just don’t know.” I do know.)

    Is some of it stupid? Sure. But for example, my home office is on the third floor. My washer/dryer are in the first. There’d be a real convenience in a notification that cycles were done, so I’m not doing a stair climber workout to check as I can’t hear the happy washer song up two flights.

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Replies

  • Bynkiibynkii@mastodon.social
    Oct 14, 2026, 12:29 PM

    It would have been astoundingly nice when I had my first bout of sciatica and *moving* was painful AF. Sometimes, smart features are for accessibility.

    My house has a basement. To get to said basement, I have to walk outside and around the house. I have ADHD, is there real value in being able to turn off my basement lights from my living room over WiFi? Bet your ass there is.

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  • Bynkiibynkii@mastodon.social
    Oct 14, 2026, 12:34 PM

    It’s not there yet, but could a fridge with a barcode/nfc reader be handy for someone who was, oh, I don’t know, blind, & would like a warning the milk may be bad BEFORE they have to find out the hard way?

    MAY BE

    Smart things help w/accessibility.

    Again, not all smart things are done well, the automotive industry is egregious here. But is the idea of being able to light off the seat warmers in your car, or remotely start it when it’s -10° so when you get in, it’s already warm a had idea? No.

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  • Bynkiibynkii@mastodon.social
    Oct 14, 2026, 12:38 PM

    A bad implementation of an idea does not make the idea bad.

    Are smart things *necessary*? No, for the most part they aren’t. But is convenience worth paying for? If it means I don’t have to go outside just to turn off my basement lights in negative temps, absolutely. And it makes my ADHD life a bit easier.

    Do I NEED a lock that unlocks automatically when I get close? No. Is it nice when I have my hands full so that it’s one less thing I have to deal with in the moment? Absolutely.

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  • Bynkiibynkii@mastodon.social
    Oct 14, 2026, 12:39 PM

    Like, not having to walk down and up two flights to tweak the thermostat when I’m perfectly snuggled into bed is kind of amazing.

    Like relax.

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  • Ben Rosengartfivetonsflax@tilde.zone
    Oct 14, 2026, 6:11 PM

    @bynkii I think people are in a cynical mood right now from being flooded with “innovation” designed to pick our pockets.

    Digital technology has so much potential to help people … but we have to wrest it away from the capitalists somehow.

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  • Bynkiibynkii@mastodon.social
    Oct 14, 2026, 7:05 PM

    @fivetonsflax then who pays to create and maintain it? Like building stuff is expensive when it’s hardware or it has to talk to hardware. And even setting corporate fuckery aside, the security aspect is hard both technically and non-technically.

    Matter’s an open standard, but the idea that everyone will just build their own hub is wild. At some point, ya gotta at least basically trust someone.

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  • Ben Rosengartfivetonsflax@tilde.zone
    Oct 14, 2026, 7:37 PM

    @bynkii You’re not wrong! So who can be trusted to not turn around and demand unsustainable rent as soon as one is locked in? That’s why people are so table-flippy, I think.

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  • Bynkiibynkii@mastodon.social
    Oct 14, 2026, 8:19 PM

    @fivetonsflax part of the problem is the economics.

    So you’re nanoleaf and you sell people a nice smart bulb. You get that one-time price, gives you a nice bit of profit, people never have to send you money again.

    For them, it’s great. That light bulb costs YOU money forever. Updates for newer standards versions, vulnerabilities, etc. The more light bulbs you sell, the more doing those updates costs you because you have more people downloading them, and every download costs you money.

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  • Ben Rosengartfivetonsflax@tilde.zone
    Oct 14, 2026, 8:37 PM

    @bynkii Yeah. This is why I don’t hate subscription software like some people do. I see it as a service, not a thing.

    From a consumer’s perspective, the difference between “aligning revenue streams with costs” and “rent-seeking” is not always easy to spot.

    I think the distrust you see is driven by out-of-control rent-seeking. Too many worms turn out to be lures, and the fish get suspicious.

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  • Bynkiibynkii@mastodon.social
    Oct 14, 2026, 8:46 PM

    @fivetonsflax agreed. I tend to look more at who wants the money and what it gets me. Like, is it literally just for ongoing updates and maybe some free shit? That’s one thing.

    Do I need it to use the thing at all or is it only for “special” features?

    There’s no one right answer, but I think “ALL SUBS ARE BAD” is not it.

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