[Message on the ACME freezer] The subscription for your ACME freezer ended. Please renew if you want a fully operational freezer.
[You] Fine, fine, I’m going to pay that bloody subscription again. It’s just a few cents per second.
[You try to renew subscription in the ACME site.]
[ACME site] Support for your freezer model has ended. Here’s a totally-not-advertisement-disguised-as-suppport link for a newer and expensive freezer model.
[You] Screw it, I can’t buy a new freezer right now.
[You, a few days later] WHY DID ALL THE FOOD IN MY FREEZER THAW???
Even without targetted business harassment (oopsie, my bad, I’m supposed to call it “advertisement”, right?), you’re giving up power over your home appliances to a company. And of course a company will use it to try to squeeze your dry, while pressing/bribing/“encouraging” lawmakers to allow it.
Someone else implied that this mindset is a “boomer thing”; well, no, it isn’t. And if I had to take a guess, boomers are the ones who fall for it the most, as the technobabble goes past their heads and they think “wow this is super modern I assume that it’s better”.
The connectedness is awesome. I love being able to control things from a phone or a tablet etc, but the price of your data and personal info is not worth it. Stay disconnected.
At least in theory there is a way to reap the benefits of the connectedness without that price, if the system relies on a local computer instead of someone else’s, running open source in both ends. I actually remember reading about a system like this somewhere; if I can recall its name* (as the underlying tech doesn’t interest me directly, for me it’s just a “meh why bother?”), I’ll post about it here.
*EDIT - as another user pointed out, it was Home Assistant.
Me, neither:
Even without targetted business harassment (oopsie, my bad, I’m supposed to call it “advertisement”, right?), you’re giving up power over your home appliances to a company. And of course a company will use it to try to squeeze your dry, while pressing/bribing/“encouraging” lawmakers to allow it.
Someone else implied that this mindset is a “boomer thing”; well, no, it isn’t. And if I had to take a guess, boomers are the ones who fall for it the most, as the technobabble goes past their heads and they think “wow this is super modern I assume that it’s better”.
Yeah im 25 and dont even have a google home or alexa in my apartment. Fuck all that
The connectedness is awesome. I love being able to control things from a phone or a tablet etc, but the price of your data and personal info is not worth it. Stay disconnected.
At least in theory there is a way to reap the benefits of the connectedness without that price, if the system relies on a local computer instead of someone else’s, running open source in both ends. I actually remember reading about a system like this somewhere; if I can recall its name* (as the underlying tech doesn’t interest me directly, for me it’s just a “meh why bother?”), I’ll post about it here.
*EDIT - as another user pointed out, it was Home Assistant.
I believe you’re referring to Home Assistant.
Would recommend. Having a free (as in freedom) smart home is incredibly convenient, without most of the downsides folks are worrying about here.
Yup, it was this one - thanks for finding it! I’ll edit the comment to mention it.
“Unauthorized Bread” by Cory Doctorow is a short story about this. Great read.
Of course he had a story about that. That guy is a visionary.