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Amazon Dash Button

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Re: Amazon Dash Button

#401

Post by mbarrett »

teddyuk wrote: post #59
afandian wrote: post #26

The video reads like some kind of dystopian consumer hell. Everything comes in a packet from a trusted brand who is taking care of you. Consume! Consume! Consume! See you useless you are when you can't consume! Your whole day is ruined. Good job we've got your back. We'll send you some more of those precious packets.

what isn't to love about this, oh look i'm running out of bog roll so I push the button ordering more....a little while later it arrives - probably the next day with 0 p & p as i have amazon prime. I get lots of small deliveries of whatever i need an can spend less time shopping - perfect.

This is the part that bothers me most. A lot of small deliveries are convenient and all, but the cost to ship multiple small items (maybe separately) to your door has an impact.

We are currently in a single-serve consumer-focused environment and this takes it a step farther.. potentially a single item shipment environment.

Unless they batch days or a full week, I think this is a bad habit to get in.

Re: Amazon Dash Button

#404

Post by JonnieCache »

hobarrera wrote: post #345

Isn't the 1st of April tomorrow?

It's already 5 hours into april the first in australia. This is surely a cross-branded april fools joke. I'm just shocked that so many people are taking it seriously. It's testimony to the insane state of the industry/world.

If it's real then I might need to go and have a little cry.

Re: Amazon Dash Button

#405

Post by melling »

dguaraglia wrote: post #334
melling wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In that case, I'd rather just have a tiny iBeacon/NFC device that launches my phone app then let's me tap on a software button.

How is that any easier than just pushing one hardware button?

I didn't say it would be easier. I want something a lot smaller and less visible. Plus using the beacon is optional. If I'm on the couch and want to place aa couple quick refills...

Re: Amazon Dash Button

#406

Post by digisth »

Not much of an opinion on this, but a step beyond this seems like it could be interesting.

1) You register all the products you reorder with any frequency (detergents, napkins, whatever)

2) Each package comes with a remotely readable electronic tag

3) A device periodically scans for inventory (I'm assuming very little intelligence in the tags, so an evented system is out)

4) When the number of packages per type reaches some critical threshold, you receive an email/app alert asking if you'd like to reorder

Some refrigerators have this, but it would be much more interesting to have it be all products. One of the first steps would be to have some kind of open standard for the tags so any manufacturer could include them.

Re: Amazon Dash Button

#407

Post by mikeash »

debaserab2 wrote: post #379
mikeash wrote: post #299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This only applies if you're incapable of buying the stuff ahead of time without the button. I suppose some people might qualify for that, but is it really a common thing? Don't you have your phone right there already?

I'm not incapable at all, but the point is I have to stop whatever it is I am doing in order to do it. If I'm in the middle of something, I may think to myself "I need to buy more toilet paper soon" but not actually follow through the act of doing it. You've never ran out of a commoditized good before? It's definitely a common thing for me and my fiancee - we're not forgetful people, just busy. The less disruptions a…

I can't say I've run out of anything like this in years, no.

Why not order it on your phone at the moment you notice that you're running low? You can do that right now, without a special Amazon button.

Re: Amazon Dash Button

#408

Post by CraigRood »

natar wrote: post #157

There has been a Radiolab episode about the slave-like conditions the workers at Amazon face: http://www.radiolab.org/story/brown-box/

As someone who has worked in a warehouse facility as a picker - though not Amazon. I find the 'slave-like conditions'a bit unfair.

Now I can't speak for Amazon themselves, most of the complaints seem to stem from the fact that being a picker IS a skill. Not everyone can be good at it. It's physical - which I personally found fantastic, getting paid to stay fit, and on company time. You need to have somewhat a good memory, but more importantly an analytical brain to process the information on the scanner. Whilst the locations of the items might not have any seemingly logical order, the layout of the facility does. If you can process the bin locations immediately then you save many seconds of your target. Which brings me to the targets. It may seem 'slave-like' to have a timer between picks but each and every one is achievable (through analysis of every other pick ever made), and even if you miss a pick by 5 seconds, you've probably saved 5 seconds somewhere else during that same day/week/month (depending on how they evaluate your performance). Again though that's no to say that everyone has the skill to do so.

The episode you highlighted mentions that employees at Amazon tend to enjoy their work. If you can do the job, there's very little stress, pay can be good - we're talking about a generally unskilled job, certainly more than most retail stores. Decent benefits - vacation, healthcare etc. Shifts can be very favourable depending on the facility - 4 in 4 off can mean long weekends and plenty of opportunity for family time.

Some days I wish I was just picking.

Re: Amazon Dash Button

#409

Post by blhack »

icebraining wrote: post #398
blhack wrote: post #323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"only" 78 microamps is a LOT of current for ultra low power applications like this. On top of that, ~~the ESP8266 doesn't seem to implement wifi, it's just 2.4ghz general purpose radio.~~ There is definitely some cleverness happening here that allows them to get this to where it is. I'd love to get one just to tear it down.

No, the ESP8266 does implement Wifi. And not only that, as it can also run custom code, so it could be the only IC in the package.

Oh wow! I didn't realize that! Awesome!

Re: Amazon Dash Button

#410

Post by cesarbs »

vtlynch wrote: post #375
enraged_camel wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, but ordering stuff from Amazon on my iPhone takes way more than 10 seconds. I have to: 1. Find my iPhone (I don't carry it with me around the house) 2. Enter my PIN to unlock it 3. Open Safari 4. Navigate to Amazon.com 5. Type in their search bar and browse through the results 6. Click on the product I want 7. Add it to my cart 8. Go to check out and confirm settings (e.g. delivery speed) 9. Place order It's a…

Wow you are right! It sounds so convenient when you manufacture a description to make it sound like we are currently going through 9 arduous steps instead of opening a website!

I pretty much agree with him. Although I am a smartphone user I don't think they are as practical as usually portrait. I'd rather press a single button on my washing machine to get more detergent than go through the hassle of pulling my phone, unlocking it, trying to type into an on-screen keyboard (where I'll get it wrong 4 times) etc etc. Actually, I HATE pulling my phone to look stuff up on it, it's usually a huge hassle caused by the combination of shitty wait times til things happen (not just connecting to stuff - why do I have to watch a 0.5s animation of stuff sliding or fading for everything I want to do on it?) + clumsy fingers.
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