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Amazon Dash Button

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Re: Amazon Dash Button

#531

To be clear, this is not for 20-somethings. This is for parents that have screaming babies or have many competing events for their attention. For all you non-parents, there is a distinct possibility that things get forgotten between the time you realize something this out, and the time it takes to pull out your smartphone, navigate to Amazon or Google Express, and order whatever you need.

The use of this by parents immediately had me thinking about how one could child proof this. Imagine how much it would suck if your kid got hold of one of these buttons thinking it is a toy and accidentally ordered 200+ bottles of detergent (at a cost of $1000)? I foresee this being a hilarious potential problem of the future: accidentally buying too many things due to user error or a malfunctioning button.

You mean like this? http://tv.adobe.com/watch/whats-your-marketing-doing/click-b...

Re: Amazon Dash Button

#532

To be clear, this is not for 20-somethings. This is for parents that have screaming babies or have many competing events for their attention. For all you non-parents, there is a distinct possibility that things get forgotten between the time you realize something this out, and the time it takes to pull out your smartphone, navigate to Amazon or Google Express, and order whatever you need.

The use of this by parents immediately had me thinking about how one could child proof this. Imagine how much it would suck if your kid got hold of one of these buttons thinking it is a toy and accidentally ordered 200+ bottles of detergent (at a cost of $1000)? I foresee this being a hilarious potential problem of the future: accidentally buying too many things due to user error or a malfunctioning button.

The page mentions that it only responds to the first push until the order is delivered, but you're right, you could still end up with unwanted orders.

"Billy, did you order 1 of everything again?"

Re: Amazon Dash Button

#533
post #477

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That seems like a pretty solvable behavioral problem. I hesitate to recommend using some todo application since todo apps have turned into kind of a joke in the last few years, but.. maybe try using a todo app?

Why use a todo app that requires me to grab my phone, unlock, start an app and enter a todo item, when I could instead just press a button that'll be right in front of me at the moment I notice I'll need more of some product soon?

I was responding to this:

> It's taken me 2 weeks so far to remember to get it. I go to the store almost daily. :(

This is a behavior that isn't going to change by having a thousand buttons all over your house. Maybe you won't ever worry about running out of detergent or dogfood again, but there's always something else. "Oh shit, I bought pasta for dinner but I forgot to buy pasta sauce!" What's the solution, get a pasta sauce button?

Re: Amazon Dash Button

#534
post #476
post #456

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you willing to bet it's an April Fools' joke? If you're not willing to bet, you don't really believe in it. I'll wager $200 against your $20 that it's not an April Fool's joke. Before you give me your money, consider: * You can have as many buttons as you want. They want you to have as many buttons as you can have. They have hooks and adhesive, which means you can basically have a button physically on every produ…

You had me convinced at 'real solution is to not have children'. While this is a compelling social message, I don't believe Amazon would knowingly, consciously, commit to such a message. Quod erat demonstrandum ... it's an April Fools'.

If it's an April Fools', think it'll be announced as such in a month? Willing to take $200 of my money risking only $20 of your own to put a stake in that belief?

If you won't even risk the price of four Starbucks coffees on your belief, do you really have it?

Re: Amazon Dash Button

#535

Harper's Magazine, September 1996: > From an interview with Kurt Vonnegut in the November 1995 issue of Inc. Technology. Vonnegut was asked to discuss his feelings about living in an increasingly computerized world. >> I work at home, and if I wanted to, I could have a computer right by my bed, and I'd never have to leave it. But I use a typewriter, and afterward I mark up the pages with a pencil. Then I call up this…

That's a neat quote. I read it in Harper's back in 1996 and it has really stuck with me. I feel like it describes some of my days pretty well. But another part of me thinks he's writing from a very privileged position, and doesn't (want to) recognize it.

Did I miss some huge event when going out to buy an enveloped is being in a privileged position?

Re: Amazon Dash Button

#536
My 2 year old and 5 year old will be clicking this button like crazy. I'll come home one day and find 20 boxes of Tide and Toilet paper and a bill for $900.

"Button! Must Click it! What does it do? I don't know! Click it again!"

Re: Amazon Dash Button

#537

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey Google (through my Nest), am I low on anything? If so, go ahead and order it through (whomever is cheapest|whomever can get it here today).

Why would I even have to say this? Shouldn't it already just do it every day? This was my pet peeve with Star Trek... Always having to tell the computer to do basic shit it should just do automatically .

Computer: I'm going to reorder milk, is that okay? Me: Yes

Not

Me: Computer do we need milk? Computer: Let me check, Yes. Me: Order some then. Computer: Ok.

Re: Amazon Dash Button

#538

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It most certainly is "easier" to not negotiate to get the best value for your money. Businesses love taking your money, especially if you give them extra. Hell, I like it when my customers do this too. >For many people, the $10/order of rethinking prices isn't worth the hassle of 15 minutes and uncertainty in a less important decision. I'll just put this here: http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-09-30/consumer-…

You're putting words into my mouth. Consumer debt is another thing entirely. It's much more time efficient not to sweat every financial detail. Save time for the big ones. (Mortgage rates, negotiating cards, optimizing debt, making investment choices, etc)

"Not sweating" the small details is a big part of why we have consumer debt levels where they are.

The two are distinctly connected. People who are likely not worrying about an extra $5-$10 are likely not worrying about an extra $5K-$10K either. It's a mentality, not a number.

Re: Amazon Dash Button

#539

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I definitely would not give up amazon for free education, health care, etc... Those socialists implementations come at a very high cost. Yes, our current system is not well, but it's better than the government taking 60% of my earned income.

I'm in Australia where we get all that stuff (and amazon sells books and not a whole lot else) and my tax rate (in a relatively high tax bracket) is ~35%, a chunk of which is paying off my (government run, non-profit) university debt. Judging by the sibling comments, it seems like that high cost is about -5% tax at best...

Fyi Amazon will ship televisions to Australia for about $130. Usually it still ends up cheaper than buying domestically.

Re: Amazon Dash Button

#540

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pressing a button is milliseconds, and can be done as a complete afterthought, while still doing your current task. Taking out your phone, navigating to a website and placing an order means you have to stop what you are doing, and do something else. When the time to complete tasks changes by an order of magnitude - even going from seconds down to milliseconds - our behavior tends to change. We easily accept this noti…

Imagine if developers only built and tested once or twice a month. Now I come out with a new product where the entire pitch is, that build-and-compile you do once or twice a month now takes one second instead of ten! Oh, and it only works for one project. If you work on multiple projects, buy multiple products. Would this be worthwhile? I don't see it. Developer tasks like compiling and testing benefit from small eff…

It's not just about time saved. I tend to forget things I don't do often, so I automate them, even though setting up the automation might take more time than it will save me. As soon as the automation is set up, I no longer need to worry about it, and next time I can just push the button.
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