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Ask HN: What tech purchase did you regret even though reviews were great?

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Re: Ask HN: What tech purchase did you regret even though reviews were great?

#141

Post by cbull »

gitaarik wrote: post #98
Aurornis wrote: post #33

I’m probably risking a lot of downvotes with this one, but for me it was a Home Assistant setup. Not really a purchase because it’s an open project, but I invested a lot of time into reading the docs and setting it all up only to realize I didn’t actually like it better than using the smart home products directly. It seems like a great option for people who like to tinker and get a thrill out of getting some cheap Al…

I think Home Assistant is when you want to connect multiple IoT devices together and have automations around them, that you normally can't do because the devices are using different protocols because they're from different manufacturers. But if you don't need that it's probably a useless overcomplexification.

I use mine so I own my own data. Almost nothing I use talks to the internet but I still have a smart house (that runs just fine when my internet is out).

And while it took some tinkering to setup (back in the "edit all the yaml" days), I barely touch it anymore, I have it set how I like it and that's that.

Re: Ask HN: What tech purchase did you regret even though reviews were great?

#142

Post by Gud »

zarify wrote: post #112
lesuorac wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't speak to most of those but smart lights are pretty nice. I made sure to buy zigbee ones so that I'm just tied to home assistant which even if it goes out of business will still work with whatever binaries I've downloaded already (as well as it works locally so I can control them during internet outages). I'm sure somebody else can explain why you should get Thread or Matter nowendays but I never bothered to lea…

This is the sort of thing that makes me worry about my solar inverter, battery etc. so much remote management stuffed into these things.

Just make sure it follows open standards and you’ll be fine.

Re: Ask HN: What tech purchase did you regret even though reviews were great?

#143

Post by xthe »

SoftTalker wrote: post #20

Any home tech gadgets. Robot vacuums, smart lights, smart thermostats, internet connected TVs and appliances, most kitchen gadgets especially if they require power. None of it lives up to the hype and it's all e-waste in a couple of years if not sooner.

Same here. I tried a few smart home gadgets and the excitement faded fast. Apps broke, updates stopped, and they became more hassle than help. Simple non-smart devices have lasted way longer for me.

Re: Ask HN: What tech purchase did you regret even though reviews were great?

#144

Post by QuiEgo »

lesuorac wrote: post #116
QuiEgo wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Smart switches > smart bulbs

Isn't switches just more brittle and less control? I can set individual colors and intensity on the lights as well as with a dumb switch I can also have the lights just come on so if I were to sell the house or whatever the next person wouldn't need to have home assistant to work anything in the house.

The hope is that with smart switches, no one needs home assistant to work anything in the house either - they get a UI they have had their whole life, a simple switch or toggle button. The smart part is an optional extra guests don't have to worry about, they just use lights the way they've always used lights.

You can't control color easily, but you can get dimmable smart switches. I find for most lights, I don't change the colors pretty much ever. YMMV.

Re: Ask HN: What tech purchase did you regret even though reviews were great?

#145

Post by brailsafe »

krackers wrote: post #138
brailsafe wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I didn't know it was possible to mess up a scissor switch keyboard, but apparently Matias found a way to do so. That indeed does seem to be the sentiment, and seems true, but to be fair, Apple also botched their laptop keyboards to the point of class action for years. But the current Macbook Pro keyboard seems fine so far.

Apple was using a novel butterfly keyboard mechanism instead of standard scissor switches during that era. The M1+ MBPs went back to scissor switches.

Oh that's right, I thought the butterfly mechanism was just an Apple rebrand of the same thing that failed horribly

Re: Ask HN: What tech purchase did you regret even though reviews were great?

#146

Post by kyriakos »

bilsbie wrote: post #47
SoftTalker wrote: post #20

Any home tech gadgets. Robot vacuums, smart lights, smart thermostats, internet connected TVs and appliances, most kitchen gadgets especially if they require power. None of it lives up to the hype and it's all e-waste in a couple of years if not sooner.

Robot vacuums are the worst. I have to help it every thirty minutes. And anytime I close a door or move something it wants to create a new map. The old randomized ones were actually better.

I never had problems with them, just avoid having lose cables. Mine works pretty much unattended in a 110sqm flat, just need to fill the water tank and empty the waste water every 4-5 days.

Re: Ask HN: What tech purchase did you regret even though reviews were great?

#147

Post by D13Fd »

harddrivereque wrote: post #32
ben_w wrote: post #3

Apple Watch. I'm not even sure when I last wore it, but it was at least 18 months ago. Slighly laggy remote control for my phone, with widgets a little too small for my finger to reliably hit. When I do proper long walks, the battery reliably dies on me during the walk.

I wanted to buy my so an apple ultra watch, is it a bad idea? It seems like a perfect thing that someone doesn't need that would.make a nice present

I use Apple Watch Ultra constantly, it’s extremely worth it to me. The charging is annoying, but otherwise, the watch is amazing.

It keeps me on track every day. I have recurring alarms for my daily and weekly meetings/calls, and for life things like when it is time to pack up and get the kids out time to close things down and go to bed. Each morning I also set alarms for critical events that day. Basically I outsource the “scheduling” part of my brain to the watch and just focus on whatever I’m doing.

I also use it for a stop watch, cooking times, etc. I use it for GPS while hiking and biking. My phone running AllTrails can’t track a 25-mile bike ride through the mountains without dying, but the watch doesn’t even break a sweat.

Beyond that, it’s a great backup phone for when I leave my phone on the table or in the other room, etc. I also bind the button on the side to the flashlight feature, which I use almost every day. It’s not as strong as a phone flashlight but it’s instantly available and more hands-free. It’s so helpful for dealing with crying kids in the middle of the night. It’s nice when I don’t have a hand to hold a phone flashlight, like when I take the trash cans to the curb at night, etc.

Overall I get tons of use out of my Apple Watch every day.

Re: Ask HN: What tech purchase did you regret even though reviews were great?

#148

Post by D13Fd »

SoftTalker wrote: post #20

Any home tech gadgets. Robot vacuums, smart lights, smart thermostats, internet connected TVs and appliances, most kitchen gadgets especially if they require power. None of it lives up to the hype and it's all e-waste in a couple of years if not sooner.

I agree except as to smart light switches, locks, and blinds. For me those have been set-it-and-forget-it devices that are really handy. I have various lights that come on from dusk until bedtime, doors that lock at night, lights that go off after 5 minutes (closets) or a couple of hours (kitchen). The blinds are blackout shades that go down at the kids’ nap times during the weekend. I also have a task light over a work bench that is controlled via my phone, since there is no wired switch there.

I set all this up over the course of several years, as needed, and haven’t thought much about it since. It’s nice.

Re: Ask HN: What tech purchase did you regret even though reviews were great?

#149

Post by moepstar »

QuiEgo wrote: post #144
lesuorac wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't switches just more brittle and less control? I can set individual colors and intensity on the lights as well as with a dumb switch I can also have the lights just come on so if I were to sell the house or whatever the next person wouldn't need to have home assistant to work anything in the house.

The hope is that with smart switches, no one needs home assistant to work anything in the house either - they get a UI they have had their whole life, a simple switch or toggle button. The smart part is an optional extra guests don't have to worry about, they just use lights the way they've always used lights. You can't control color easily, but you can get dimmable smart switches. I find for most lights, I don't cha…

If switch changes state to on, set scene depending on daytime (or other conditions) - should suffice?

To change for another scene, have a button or voice command?

I’m with you here - make control „as usual as possible“, also saves a ton of money and annoyances - and most important: home automation is about automation, not controlling manually via phone…

Re: Ask HN: What tech purchase did you regret even though reviews were great?

#150

Post by moepstar »

myvoiceismypass wrote: post #131
darreld wrote: post #67

Synology 923+. Turns out I’m the only one that connects to it in the house. I don’t actually need it. I’m now retired and really only need some external drives or some HDD’s in a hard drive docking station. I just got a docking station. I’ll grab a couple HDD’s and be done with it. Sell the Synology

I have a DS220+ and I use it pretty heavily as a local plex server for music and videos. Actually barely use it as a backup solution (Time Machine kinda sucks, need to find a better solution for backing up my mac to it)

Having a Synology 2 bay NAS myself and also using the Time Machine feature - what do you find sucky about it?

From my experience it does work, although I never experienced it, say, using a Time Capsule or similar?

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