Whats overlooked is the muscle memory with mechanic switches. In older cars you could find and control them blindfolded.
'Smart' technology is out of control. We adore this dumb tech
11–20 of 33 posts
Re: 'Smart' technology is out of control. We adore this dumb tech
#12Smart Technology is great when it is gets over the hump from being dumb, to overly complicated, to being smart and easy to use. I think of my smart lights as an example. They can be dumb (switch operated), they can be overly complex (remove phone, open app, find light, switch on), and they can be just smart (when I am in the room, turn on the lights, use time of day to decide light temperature and brightness).
I never understood the need for smart lights for able-bodied people. You just stand up for a moment and flick the switch, what benefit do smart lights or even a remote for lights provide? Even if you disregard all the issues these iot/smart devices have and assume they operate perfectly I really don’t see why we should expend any resources to make them.
Its mostly the RGB functionality for me. I still turn mine on at the wall
Re: 'Smart' technology is out of control. We adore this dumb tech
#13Smart Technology is great when it is gets over the hump from being dumb, to overly complicated, to being smart and easy to use. I think of my smart lights as an example. They can be dumb (switch operated), they can be overly complex (remove phone, open app, find light, switch on), and they can be just smart (when I am in the room, turn on the lights, use time of day to decide light temperature and brightness).
I never understood the need for smart lights for able-bodied people. You just stand up for a moment and flick the switch, what benefit do smart lights or even a remote for lights provide? Even if you disregard all the issues these iot/smart devices have and assume they operate perfectly I really don’t see why we should expend any resources to make them.
> I never understood the need for smart lights for able-bodied people.
I've never owned a house/apartment, always rented, fwiw. The best part of having smart lights for me is that I can place my (zigbee) switches wherever I want, as apparently the people deciding where the light switches go, have no idea what they're doing.
So first thing when moving to a new place is replacing the bulbs with my own bulbs, and find better place for the switches.
Re: 'Smart' technology is out of control. We adore this dumb tech
#14Smart Technology is great when it is gets over the hump from being dumb, to overly complicated, to being smart and easy to use. I think of my smart lights as an example. They can be dumb (switch operated), they can be overly complex (remove phone, open app, find light, switch on), and they can be just smart (when I am in the room, turn on the lights, use time of day to decide light temperature and brightness).
I never understood the need for smart lights for able-bodied people. You just stand up for a moment and flick the switch, what benefit do smart lights or even a remote for lights provide? Even if you disregard all the issues these iot/smart devices have and assume they operate perfectly I really don’t see why we should expend any resources to make them.
There was a time when I needed to wake up very early for a long commute.
I seriously considered obtaining and setting up lights that I could schedule to come on at the time I needed to wake up.
Re: 'Smart' technology is out of control. We adore this dumb tech
#15Smart Technology is great when it is gets over the hump from being dumb, to overly complicated, to being smart and easy to use. I think of my smart lights as an example. They can be dumb (switch operated), they can be overly complex (remove phone, open app, find light, switch on), and they can be just smart (when I am in the room, turn on the lights, use time of day to decide light temperature and brightness).
I never understood the need for smart lights for able-bodied people. You just stand up for a moment and flick the switch, what benefit do smart lights or even a remote for lights provide? Even if you disregard all the issues these iot/smart devices have and assume they operate perfectly I really don’t see why we should expend any resources to make them.
You can't imagine how much kilometers of in-wall electical cable installation (at least done euro-style) one can avoid by replacing normal light fixtures and switches with a single group relay, some tracks, and some matter bulbs.
Once everything is set up and switches are magnetically attched to walls, it works just like the dumb lights, but without 230V all over the place. Just need to swap coin battery once a year.
Plus, you can go fancy with colors, dimming and stuff, if you get the urge.
(also, if you ever had home fire because mismatched dimmer switch combusted, you would not want that stuff anywhere near your home)
Re: 'Smart' technology is out of control. We adore this dumb tech
#16[deleted]
Re: 'Smart' technology is out of control. We adore this dumb tech
#17Smart Technology is great when it is gets over the hump from being dumb, to overly complicated, to being smart and easy to use. I think of my smart lights as an example. They can be dumb (switch operated), they can be overly complex (remove phone, open app, find light, switch on), and they can be just smart (when I am in the room, turn on the lights, use time of day to decide light temperature and brightness).
I never understood the need for smart lights for able-bodied people. You just stand up for a moment and flick the switch, what benefit do smart lights or even a remote for lights provide? Even if you disregard all the issues these iot/smart devices have and assume they operate perfectly I really don’t see why we should expend any resources to make them.
To be sure, there is no *need* for smart lights, just like there’s no need for air conditioning, refrigerator water dispensers, and wireless headphones. But they are nice to have.
As someone who recently moved, they were pretty low on the priority list to get them reinstalled, but it was nice once it was done.
Re: 'Smart' technology is out of control. We adore this dumb tech
#18We had a washer/dryer from a prominent German brand. Rock solid. For about a decade.
Went back to the well, and well, it's unwell.
The interface now insists on smart phone integration, and the front panel UX looks done by a new hire.
And it doesn't do the basic job, especially the dryer. It "mostly" drys the clothes, and has crappy lint management compared to the classic design.
Bore me not with these political affectations: accomplish the task.
Re: 'Smart' technology is out of control. We adore this dumb tech
#19I feel this is right up the late Professor Neil Postman's ally. There are many interesting talks of his. Notably, a talk in 1993 hosted by Alan Kay, where Neil playfully gave an argument against computers in front of Apple computer engineers [1].
I find the value of momentarily taking Neil's critical view of technology seriously because it opens up the questions about the true value we bring to users. It challenges the bias companies impose on their engineers in pursuit of money over social value.
Typically for every argument Neil makes you can find a counter-factual and dismiss the point of view. However, the more I age and learn about history, the less I hold the religious belief that we are always doing good by adding abstract layers of information complexity over the human experience.
The recent data on smartphone/social media impacts on young children are a startling example that path we take towards technological progress is not always the optimal path.
Source: 1- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9Pau3v5i8c
Re: 'Smart' technology is out of control. We adore this dumb tech
#20Smart Technology is great when it is gets over the hump from being dumb, to overly complicated, to being smart and easy to use. I think of my smart lights as an example. They can be dumb (switch operated), they can be overly complex (remove phone, open app, find light, switch on), and they can be just smart (when I am in the room, turn on the lights, use time of day to decide light temperature and brightness).
I never understood the need for smart lights for able-bodied people. You just stand up for a moment and flick the switch, what benefit do smart lights or even a remote for lights provide? Even if you disregard all the issues these iot/smart devices have and assume they operate perfectly I really don’t see why we should expend any resources to make them.
My lights automatically change their color temperature and brightness throughout the day. There is more to smart lights than on and off.