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Tired of AI, people are committing to the analog lifestyle (edition.cnn.com)
submitted 9 months ago by to c/antisocialmedia@piefed.social
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With our homes and lives swarming with AI-powered devices, assistants and chatbots, a backlash is brewing.

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[–] 59 points 9 months ago (16 children)

You don't have to have smart shit.

I specifically buy dumb things so I don't have to deal with this spying bullshit.

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  • [–] 25 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    Even if I didn't care about the spying, the UX is objectively worse in so, so many cases.

    No one ever wished their printer could order it's own ink.

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  • [–] 11 points 9 months ago (8 children)

    It was an actual issue when I was looking for a dumb ceiling fan that could be speed controlled from a wall switch. I didn't want a remote, I didn't want the bullshit non-servicable integrated light, I didn't want a wireless remote, and I sure as shit didn't want any wireless or Bluetooth built in... It took going direct to the manufacturer and buying a discontinued model to get that. Absolutely fucking crazy. The light on one of the fans at my mom's house died and because its a built in led module, on a 5ish year old fan, they aren't made anymore, and you can't just swap it with an off the shelf setup because it uses some crazy non-consumer available connector.

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  • [–] 10 points 9 months ago (5 children)

    Ohh built/custom housed LEDs are a no from me.

    A good LED bulb can last a long time, but only the bulbs are interchangable. And often the chips overheat and fail even though in theory these lights can last 20+ years.

    Now when there's an issue you have to throw out the whole housing, which makes you have to buy a whole new set of lights.

    There was a an angry nerd guy who had like a 30 minute video on just this, but I have no idea what his name was. He also has a see through dish washer video if that helps you find him.

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  • [–] 13 points 9 months ago (4 children)

    Technology Connections? It sounds like

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    That’s the one!

    also: he has way more LED light videos since the one I saw, including Christmas lights, which my wife will tell you I’ve been complaining about for like 10 damn years. 

    This guy is a kindred spirit for me, he has all my gripes but articulates and researches them better. 

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago

    Is there 3phase going off that switch? Could probably slice the connector off and splice in any random fan/switch combo. Even if you mess up the phases it'd just rotate backwards. Though Im just guessing, Ive never seen a ceiling fan in my life.

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  • [–] 7 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

    I buy privacy respecting smart shit

    I have smart lights, but they operate off a radio (not wifi) in my house. That radio is connected to my home server, that I fully control. There's also physical switches on the wall to control them, which IMO is absolutely mandatory.

    I'm a massive nerd tho so I don't expect the setup to be viable for most. Although I think Home Assistant are selling the servers as little ready made kits with the radio and all nowadays. But I'd still recommend some tech proficiency.

    Plus my bedroom fan, my TVs, my robovac, etc all controlled locally through my server.

    I fully concede it's all unnecessary tho it's just my hobby and there are some benefits. My lights slowly get dimmer and more yellow the later it gets. I have a little button on my nightstand that turns on/off my bedside lamp or I can double click it to toggle the overhead light. I can toggle lights from my phone without getting off the couch. It's nice.

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    • [–] 22 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    The joke goes like this:

    People who don't work in tech: "I have a smart TV, smart doorbell, smart thermostat, smart fridge, smart clothes washer..."

    People who work in tech: "The only computerized devices in my house are the Linux PC and the printer, and I keep a gun next to the printer in case it makes a sound I don't recognize."

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  • [–] 5 points 9 months ago

    Honestly seeing how companies handle user data was profoundly shocking, and then they complain and act like you're wasting time when you make sure it's handled correctly. And that's before even considering what they do with it.

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    • [–] 13 points 9 months ago (4 children)

    Having just got a vinyl player and a DVD player to deplug and own things again this is real.

    I also deleted any algorithmic social media, all part of a New Year's resolution to not be advertised to constantly and feel drained all the time.

    It's slightly tough right now, but I hope it'll get easier. At least I'm reading more books!

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    I haven't gone back to physical media, but I bought a MP3 player last month and it's so nice to listen to music on a dedicated device (with a headphone jack!).

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago (1 child)

    Been thinking about this too, how good are they these days?

    As we're not in the era of limewire I wonder how easy it is to use, and what the audio quality is like on dedicated MP3 players.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago

    A lot of them seem to lack the features of older MP3 players (like queuing the next song or creating playlists) so I got one with android (Hiby M300) and just disabled the play store and browser. Getting music on it is as easy as the players I had in the past, just plug it into a computer and copy over files in the file explorer. The sound quality ranges from decent to incredible as the market has more focus on audiophiles these days. The real problem is that a lot of them are way too big and have poor battery life because of the integrated amps.

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    • [–] 7 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    somehow when its coming from CNN, i trust this less

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    • [–] 4 points 9 months ago

    Alright! Some of the best news I have heard in a while!

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    [–] 4 points 9 months ago

    It’s hard to quantify just how widespread the phenomenon is

    I guffawed. No data to steal = hard to quantify. Duh!

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    [–] 3 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    https://archive.is/HaVLl

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    • [–] 1 point 9 months ago

    Going back to my childhood delights from the 90s has been such a pleasure. At least I know those aren’t AI. 😂

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