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Sorry, we replaced that old technology, “see-through glass”

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Re: Sorry, we replaced that old technology, “see-through glass”

#221

Speaking of see-through. Has anyone ever seen two-way glass that allows bidirectional observation within proximity of it's surface but diminishes with distance of either observer or view-field depth? It was used in a pair of bathrooms (men's and women's) for the washbasin "mirror" at a restaurant or nightclub on or near 6th Street ATX about 2004. It allowed washroom patrons to see each other in the other bathroom, bu…

Reading this thread made me crave for one-way mirrored glasses (not sunglasses) with correction, to opt out from eyeball tracking.

Is anyone aware of any such thing?

Re: Sorry, we replaced that old technology, “see-through glass”

#222
post #13

Everyone here who’s worked for some moderately large corporation knows exactly why this was done: it’s a flashy pet project for some “labs” team in an otherwise boring retailer and maybe they’ll recoup some of the cost in ads, minus whatever they lose for it being an awful idea. Some charismatic product manager sold it to execs as “being the future of connected retail” or some other BS. In a few months they’ll be rem…

As a rough estimate, what percent of US economic activity is large piles of money being tossed into a flaming dumpster for the sake of someone's ego? Because every year it seems higher.

Well I'd say maybe 75% of the jobs I've had working for startups are because of something along those lines, so I'm not really complaining...

Re: Sorry, we replaced that old technology, “see-through glass”

#223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Later, when it's discovered that the toaster occasionally catches on fire, users are encouraged to pay $9.99 per month for "Toaster Plus," which causes an alarm to play before the fire starts, so that you know to get the extinguisher. Then they let you customize the alarm noise, so that you can choose how to be alerted of the future house fire. Soon, companies get rich selling $3 "toaster fire ringtones." Eventually,…

Toaster plus is 5.99 if you subject yourself to an add prior to toasting.

Note that our Face Detection technology will be ensuring that you pay attention during the full duration of the ad.

Re: Sorry, we replaced that old technology, “see-through glass”

#224

The year is 2050 and your dingy old toaster has finally given up it's last crumbs. You hop onto Amazon in hopes of finding a suitable replacement as there's no longer any box stores you can travel to. Dumb appliances have been phased out and newer internet connected appliances have taken over. It's better for the consumer they claim. Not wanting an overtly fancy contraption you pick a no frills unit that includes a t…

Ever read Ubik? I think the only thing missing is that it should charge your for each piece of toast you make and remit the payment to either the manufacturer or your landlord. If you are behind on rent, you can’t make toast.

Re: Sorry, we replaced that old technology, “see-through glass”

#225

The year is 2050 and your dingy old toaster has finally given up it's last crumbs. You hop onto Amazon in hopes of finding a suitable replacement as there's no longer any box stores you can travel to. Dumb appliances have been phased out and newer internet connected appliances have taken over. It's better for the consumer they claim. Not wanting an overtly fancy contraption you pick a no frills unit that includes a t…

You forgot the part where it refuses to toast your unlicensed bread.

> You forgot the part where it refuses to toast your unlicensed bread.

The RFID chips make the toast taste better!

Re: Sorry, we replaced that old technology, “see-through glass”

#226
post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Call it what you want, I just called it future because it's already reality for some, clearly. I don't know about you, but for me the amount of ads I see decreased compared to some points in the past. I don't watch TV, I listen to music using a streaming service with a paid subscription, I actively look for interesting stuff to buy, but not because I've seen an ad. Probably because I haven't seen any recently, becaus…

Then why is it that influencers are raking in the dough? Is Madison Avenue just desperately seeking any product placement? Someone's definitely spending ad revenue on TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook. My media consumption is similar to yours, but I think we're the outliers, or maybe we just slipped between the generational cracks of an evolving but still very consumerist society.

You got me there. Couldn't even begin to understand people who are growing up with social media.

Honestly I think targeted ads that are actually interesting to the person they are intended for is the only sane way out of this. No one likes ads that aren't relevant. If I'm going to be tracked and targeted, then at least don't annoy and bore me to death.

Re: Sorry, we replaced that old technology, “see-through glass”

#227
post #186

The year is 2050 and your dingy old toaster has finally given up it's last crumbs. You hop onto Amazon in hopes of finding a suitable replacement as there's no longer any box stores you can travel to. Dumb appliances have been phased out and newer internet connected appliances have taken over. It's better for the consumer they claim. Not wanting an overtly fancy contraption you pick a no frills unit that includes a t…

WiFi password? Even by 2035ish it’d come with integrated mobile data so the user won’t have to worry about ensuring it has consistent network access to the mothership.

Of course! It'll come preconfigured with your Amazon account, so it'll automatically integrate with other Amazon Home appliances that you have.

Except the bread bin your mother gifted you for Christmas is a Google device, and the two do not work together. As such your toaster is always adding a reminder to buy bread onto your Amazon Fresh grocery list. Your fridge is constantly reminding you about this, whenever you are more than 2m away, and it is in "suggested products" mode.

Compared to the adverts you saw before - often for processed junk food even though you are trying really hard to be on a diet - you actually find the bread adverts a relief and less distracting.

Re: Sorry, we replaced that old technology, “see-through glass”

#229
post #197
post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fact is probably worse than fiction here: Samsung fridges have machine vision systems to catalog their contents, then combine the data with data from samsung smart TVs. That way, they can be joined against your tv watching habits. This is all to better target ads. If you disable it, then it breaks the demand response function on the fridge, indirectly killing polar bears and other living things. They cost as much (or…

Got a source for this? A quick search didn’t turn up anything for me. They’re really years ahead of the pack in this villainy, so I don’t doubt that it’s true.

You would have to ask the polar bears.

Except they all got killed by people who tampered with the safety features in their refrigerators.

Re: Sorry, we replaced that old technology, “see-through glass”

#230

The year is 2050 and your dingy old toaster has finally given up it's last crumbs. You hop onto Amazon in hopes of finding a suitable replacement as there's no longer any box stores you can travel to. Dumb appliances have been phased out and newer internet connected appliances have taken over. It's better for the consumer they claim. Not wanting an overtly fancy contraption you pick a no frills unit that includes a t…

Ever read Ubik? I think the only thing missing is that it should charge your for each piece of toast you make and remit the payment to either the manufacturer or your landlord. If you are behind on rent, you can’t make toast.

Ubik was one of my favs. He has to put in a coin to get out the door of his apartment in the morning, right? 5th Element stole that with the cigarette dispenser.
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