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Samsung makes ads on smart fridges official with upcoming software update

arstechnica.com

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Re: Samsung makes ads on smart fridges official with upcoming software update

#351

Post by AlexandrB »

j1elo wrote: post #256
Fwirt wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Samsung appliances have among the worst reputations for ease of repair and lifespan. Sadly most other brands are rebrands of Chinese conglomerates or not much better on the quality chain. But honestly it's also a lottery. We bought a fridge on sale for $500 as an emergency stopover when our expensive fridge was delayed by a month during a move, and it's still plugging along out in the garage, a hostile environment fo…

I got another way of looking at it: it's not worth it having appliances that last 20 years, because in that time the tech itself can and does improve a lot. Ready example is my aunt: a very good and expensive Miele washing machine, that was made to last as things were before. But now 10 years have elapsed and modern washers come with bigger drums, much lower noises, optimized water and electricity usages, and more ef…

Counterpoint: some appliances reach "good enough" status and the only "improvements" are cost-cutting that makes them more fragile or less reliable.

My friend has a microwave from the late 70s. The time/power are set by turning knobs - no fiddling with a bunch of buttons and modes - the turntable is metal so it can't break. The only thing I would consider missing is a popcorn mode, not a big deal.

Edit: Another great example is toasters. Toasters have not gotten better in my lifetime and older toasters are probably more reliable than what I could buy today.

Re: Samsung makes ads on smart fridges official with upcoming software update

#352

Post by tclancy »

VladVladikoff wrote: post #326
messe wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More than technically correct—the best kind of correct—you are plain correct. (I've used em-dashes since before LLMs and I'm not fucking stopping now) EDIT: s,',,

Sounds like something an LLM would say.

Sounds like something Bender would say.

Re: Samsung makes ads on smart fridges official with upcoming software update

#353

Post by Nursie »

kstrauser wrote: post #12

This guarantees I'll never buy a Samsung appliance. If they're this willing to screw with their customers today, they'll do it again tomorrow. Sadly, I'm including their TVs in this. I have one today, displaying the output of an Apple TV and not directly connected to the Internet because hah, no way, but I'll be shopping around when it comes time to replace it. Pity. They make nice stuff. Not nice enough that I'm wil…

I won't buy Sony TVs any more because of their software, because it started displaying ads on the home-screen.

It's Google TV, and I don't mind ads for content on the home screen. I use a bunch of streaming services, I might want to watch whatever's up there, that's not entirely incongruous. Then about a year after purchase we started getting ads for L'Oreal shampoo and other products. Nope.

Sony acted confused when I sent a support ticket, and eventually said "Oh, that's because it's Google TV, nothing we can do about it". I replied saying perhaps they had given too much control over their tv experience to a third party. I was able to activate "App Only Mode" to make them go away, but you lose a bunch of the features and have to disable it to get to the play store if you want to install anything else.

Pisses me off. I paid a couple of thousand dollars (AUD) for that tv, I shouldn't have advertising shoved in my face.

Re: Samsung makes ads on smart fridges official with upcoming software update

#354

Post by nchmy »

II2II wrote: post #328
analog31 wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe we need a new boots theory: The rich person buys a $3500 pair of boots that comes with surveillance, useless AI, and bricks itself on the next firmware update. The poor person buys a pair of boots, that are... boots.

It's probably more like a rich person will spend $50 on a pair of boots that will last 10 years, while a poor person will spend $10 on a pair of boots that will last a year. The upper middle class person will spend the $40 on a pair of boots that comes with surveillance and useless AI, while a middle class person will spend $30 for the same, except it bricks itself on the next firmware update.

where, outside of thrift stores, are you finding boots at these prices?

Re: Samsung makes ads on smart fridges official with upcoming software update

#355

Post by hansvm »

bleomycin wrote: post #206
tempest_ wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The issue is that the 10k fridge is not actually any better. The "luxury" appliances can be double that and are still shit.

Not quite accurate as a blanket statement. Munro did a very detailed tear down series of a sub zero refrigerator that’s very interesting. Youtube link: https://youtu.be/KAYj6m9QtDU I wish more content like this existed. It’s the only type of review that is worth paying attention to. Long story short if you live in an energy market like california the energy savings of the sub zero will likely offsets its additions co…

It's a little funny that, by far, the worst power and internet I've ever had [0], both by cost and by quality, has been in the Bay Area. The easiest way I'm aware of for me to cut my internet bill in half, cut my power bill 4x, have 30 fewer days per year containing electrical outages, and get back up to normal fiber speeds is to move to the Midwest.

[0] Excluding anywhere I lived for less than a couple months, like the middle of the Pacific or an exceptionally rough road trip through Wyoming.

Re: Samsung makes ads on smart fridges official with upcoming software update

#356

Post by hedora »

j1elo wrote: post #256
Fwirt wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Samsung appliances have among the worst reputations for ease of repair and lifespan. Sadly most other brands are rebrands of Chinese conglomerates or not much better on the quality chain. But honestly it's also a lottery. We bought a fridge on sale for $500 as an emergency stopover when our expensive fridge was delayed by a month during a move, and it's still plugging along out in the garage, a hostile environment fo…

I got another way of looking at it: it's not worth it having appliances that last 20 years, because in that time the tech itself can and does improve a lot. Ready example is my aunt: a very good and expensive Miele washing machine, that was made to last as things were before. But now 10 years have elapsed and modern washers come with bigger drums, much lower noises, optimized water and electricity usages, and more ef…

We have a high end bosch (the absolute best model of the best brand the year we bought it), and it’s been wonky for three of the five years it has lasted so far, and now rubber noiseproofing is falling out and the racks are rusting through / breaking.

Definitely keep the old dishwasher till it dies.

(The bosch is quiet and cleans well, fwiw. The magic heat free drying minerals are nice. It’s a shame they’ll be in a landfill in a few years.)

Re: Samsung makes ads on smart fridges official with upcoming software update

#357

Post by AlexandrB »

kstrauser wrote: post #12

This guarantees I'll never buy a Samsung appliance. If they're this willing to screw with their customers today, they'll do it again tomorrow. Sadly, I'm including their TVs in this. I have one today, displaying the output of an Apple TV and not directly connected to the Internet because hah, no way, but I'll be shopping around when it comes time to replace it. Pity. They make nice stuff. Not nice enough that I'm wil…

Samsung makes great components and terrible appliances. Buy a monitor with a Samsung panel or a Samsung SSD and you'll be a happy camper. Buy a Samsung fridge or washing machine and your life will be hell.

Re: Samsung makes ads on smart fridges official with upcoming software update

#358

Post by AlexandrB »

_whiteCaps_ wrote: post #213
scotty79 wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't it just affect US citizens?

Canada and Mexico too thanks to CUSMA.

In light of the ongoing trade war, I think Canada should just tear up this agreement.

Re: Samsung makes ads on smart fridges official with upcoming software update

#359

Post by hedora »

nappy-doo wrote: post #139
kstrauser wrote: post #12

This guarantees I'll never buy a Samsung appliance. If they're this willing to screw with their customers today, they'll do it again tomorrow. Sadly, I'm including their TVs in this. I have one today, displaying the output of an Apple TV and not directly connected to the Internet because hah, no way, but I'll be shopping around when it comes time to replace it. Pity. They make nice stuff. Not nice enough that I'm wil…

I beg to differ that Samsung makes good stuff. We had a Samsung front-loading washer. The drum and the crank that holds the drum were made of two different materials, and in the presence of the water and detergent, a galvanic reaction occurred, dissolving the drum arm. Replacing the arm was $400 in parts and over 8 hours in repair time. (There's lots of YT videos of this exact repair.) What kind of monkey designs som…

Ours died with a “cannot communicate with board A” error. The wiring harness (yes, an irreplaceable harness) between A and B looked fine. We replaced boards A and B, which were half the price of the machine and not returnable. Same error code. We threw it out and got a Speed Queen.

Our Samsung fridge’s manual says it’ll automatically and silently mesh network with any Samsung TVs in range, use AI and hidden cameras to recognize what’s in the fridge and when we use it, then have the TV inject targeted ads into programming based on its findings.

We’ll never purchase another Samsung product.

Re: Samsung makes ads on smart fridges official with upcoming software update

#360

Post by zdragnar »

Fwirt wrote: post #25
kstrauser wrote: post #12

This guarantees I'll never buy a Samsung appliance. If they're this willing to screw with their customers today, they'll do it again tomorrow. Sadly, I'm including their TVs in this. I have one today, displaying the output of an Apple TV and not directly connected to the Internet because hah, no way, but I'll be shopping around when it comes time to replace it. Pity. They make nice stuff. Not nice enough that I'm wil…

Samsung appliances have among the worst reputations for ease of repair and lifespan. Sadly most other brands are rebrands of Chinese conglomerates or not much better on the quality chain. But honestly it's also a lottery. We bought a fridge on sale for $500 as an emergency stopover when our expensive fridge was delayed by a month during a move, and it's still plugging along out in the garage, a hostile environment fo…

> rebrands of Chinese conglomerates

Eh, I've got a very reasonably priced Haier fridge that I've had no issues with at all. Maybe I'm just lucky, and it definitely helps that there's no built in ice maker or water dispenser (those things seem to break first) but it's lived longer than the refrigerators that the rest of my family have.

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