Technology

I guess it can notify you via your cell phone when a load is done. I could see that having value.

I’m all for smart appliances

I'm personally not. I'm for appliances with a standard interface, maybe, through which it can be connected to some smart home system.

I do not mean internet access or anything else "smart" in the appliance itself. I mean being able to use the same functions as buttons and indicators offer, remotely. I2C will do.

Forgotten laundry leads to mildew. Plenty of home assistance scripts out there to remind users to empty washer/dryer.

Makes sense for manufacturers to want to build this feature into the appliance itself.

I love mine. It reminds me when to clean it, when the drain is acting up, and when it’s done. It can even order supplies on its own. Sure all those things can be handled with a calendar but I’m lazy.

If, just for fucking once, they could use fully open source software to send that information directly to my mobile phone instead of using black box software to send all my info their corporate overlords, we might talk.

In principle these things aren't directly a bad idea. The fact that these asshats inserted themselves in the process is.

My fucking washer has NFC and I cant even figure out why I would ever need that, let alone WiFi?

Features for features sake, I guess? Another bullet point on the features list.

I like my old dumpy dryer. Its a motor, a belt, and the most complicated component: a timer. Ive fixed the thing several times, still runs fine despite being 15+ years old.

As someone else already posted, the 3GB was incorrect, it was a router reporting incorrect traffic.

But that doesn't seem to stop everyone here from continuing to post how the thing that didn't happen in the first place is ridiculous...

Main Menu:

1. Wash laundry

2. Mine crypto

3. Launder crypto

Or ideally just don't put it on the wifi. I just set a timer for when it is done. Even those with variable cycles are fairly predictable and it isn't usually a big deal if your timer is 15min late.

To the average person, putting that much thought and effort into it is for elite hackers only. I know a guy that does cybersecurity and still has smart everything in his house.

1. Newer washing machines vary in time depending on how dirty your clothes are. So the same program may take 50 minutes or 90 minutes. This cannot be solved with a regular timer.

2. If you have a job with varying hours, you might want to start the washing mashine when you're heading home. Then you're clothes are ready to be hung as you arrive and they aren't laying around for hours.

3. If you own photovoltaic, you might want to time energy intense home appliances such as washing machines, dish washers etc. to a period of overproduction.

Not saying, these issues are super important but there definitely are use cases for smart devices. However, I'd always recommend using a local / self-hosted rather than a cloud-based solution.

For most of these events an internet connection isn't necessary at all.

My machine shows the time that is needed for the program when I start it. I know when it will be finished right from the beginning. There's no surprise, no message necessary. If I tend to forget the time, then I can set a reminder in my smartphone.

I can program the machine while I load it to start the washing later. Why load the machine but then program it from a distance? Makes no sense.

Detergent is filled in before each washing cycle. There's nothing to be depleted.

A maintenance or problem alert would be the only thing that could be worth a message function. But: My machine works without problems for 15 years now. So: what should it be messaging me? We can really live better without these useless electronics that only push up the price and the distraction.