smart tv: what is my purpose?

me: HDMI 1

Which projector do you use?

Car, computer, printer, stove, TV etc...

Unfortunately lots of affordable projectors are also "smart" these days, running some kind of Android TV

How long until we have no real choice? The vast majority of TVs are smart TVs now

I paid around $200 extra for a washer/dryer that did not have built in malware and internet access.

Do you not have a faucet?

I'm all in favor of smart appliances... as long as they don't connect to the Internet. Give me a local HomeAssistant integration. That way, I can check what's in my refrigerator from my bed without worrying about it showing me ads.

I would very much like a tablet on the wall, like a digital cork board/calendar/photo frame etc

Building it into the fridge with what I assume are zero options about the actual software involved ain't it though.

"Luddite" has been turned into a slur over time but it is actually a view point that humans should have a say on what technology does to them and for who. They were not technophobes. They were technodeterminists.

They have electrolytes.

In my country they run ads for a "Smart" line of appliances and there's a part the guy is like "Adjusting thr fridge's temperature from my phone? Now that's smart!"

Like mf how often do you need to adjust the temp??? I do it once after buying groceries or maybe when the season changes and it's like 1 press of the button at the door, tf?

Do you leave work at different times each day and week that you don't know about until you are at work?

Unless you do, a regular programmable thermostat would be fine.

My parents bought an Echo Show that they pretty much just ignore nowadays, except to set a timer or tell them the weather every once in a while. All it does all day is sit there and show ads for random stuff. It makes a terrible clock because its too busy showing ads half the time to actually show you the time in a font you can read from across the room. I know you can ask it to tell you the time, but thats so much slower than just looking at a normal clock

And then scroll shit loads of ads on insta

I feel incredibly split on ads.

On one hand the incessant need to market things can be actually positive, offsetting service expenses, allowing things to be cheaper. Streaming is a perfect example of this, as people don't seem to realise just how expensive it is to maintain the infrastructure for it compared to traditional cable infrastructure, not to mention keeping the apps maintained and bugfixed etc., and then we haven't even talked about things like content licencing fees, residuals, and so on. Residuals alone mean that a single user can stream enough in just one month to "spend" their whole annual subscription fee on a single actor's residuals (this is technically unlikely, as one would need to stream a singular TV show or movie 24/7 for 30 days, but still possible).

And obviously people want to pay less. The least possible, that is. Netflix at $5.99 was a steal. Disrupting cable, globally. But that price was also only possible because of various venture capitalists investing heavily in Netflix, which allowed them to pay for the service mostly from that money, and keep prices low to acquire more users. The recent hikes (all the way up to what, $20?) are the result of venture capital drying up, as Netflix went from a market-shaker startup to revenue generating machine. Which is the point of capitalism, isn't it? Take an ide and make profit/revenue off it.

So how do you offset these increases? By involving a third party who's willing to pay you, in return for inserting their service into yours, essentially providing your userbase to them. This would mostly be... Advertisers. Marketing.

The problem is that advertising is a cutthroat business, with intense (and incredibly dumb) KPIs to fulfill. For which they need targeting, for which they need data. And this constant crusade for absolutely pinpointed ads that result in the most sales is what's making it such a disgusting business. It's not enough to shove ads in your face, those ads HAVE to be perfectly tailored to you, and for that, every smidge of information will be utilised against you.

And this is where I'm torn. On one hand, taking these fuckers' money to make services we do want, more affordable, is great. On the other hand, them wanting to know literally everything about us, and weaponising it against us, is fucking disgusting.

Eat some vegetables

I’m afraid I can’t do that 🍰

Right? That’s what my Samsung smartwatch is for

Modern fridges last less than 7 years.

I like smart devices and IoT but I hate that for normal people this has been diluted down to cameras and screens on everything with no consideration about privacy or boundaries.

Yes screens on fridges are stupid but... The display will definitely last more than 5 years. I'd even go so far as to say that it will last longer than the compressor of the fridge. Where do people get the idea that displays fail very easily?

Throughout history mankind has suffered the burden of stupid fridges. We need to celebrate this momentous breakthrough.

As always, it's because some people have too much money.

As long as you’re not named Carol and taking antipsychotics

Yeah I have a smart LG tv and I turned that crap off even. I got sick of ads for shows on various apps showing up when it’s waiting for an input. Now it just shows me the apps I have installed and my various hdmi inputs, it’s nice.