361–370 of 397 posts
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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.
They have these in my local Walgreens and I hate them. I think the drink coolers were stocked for maybe a week after they were installed. Since then it’s been 50/50 if the product the screen is showing is actually behind the door. I don’t think the store employees are able to keep on top of stocking without being able to see what’s in the case.
You've got to put on your homo economicus hat and think outside the box of social norms and common decency. The solution is to find something that's the right size to prop the doors open. Then prop the door of each section that you're comparing, so that you can see products and ponder each one. After you pick something out, pay it forward by leaving the doors propped so the next person has an easier time. For full cr…
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…
2 years later, Amazon discontinues updates on the toaster. No one notices, but it still toasts. 8 years later, people hack them and cause them to burn down some houses. Of course, it was the owner's fault - they were running a discontinued toaster that wasn't receiving software updates anymore.
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So I noticed this week that my Canon printer was able to connect to my "secure" Wi-Fi during its initial setup without at any point prompting for a password. How worried should I be? Did it steal the keys from my computer?
That... sounds really really odd. Are you sure you (or someone else in your household) didn’t put in the key at some point? How did you notice that it connected? Which model number? What kind of WiFi security?
Here's the process, for those interested. And I did work hard to see if there's any other way.
1. You download the printer "install software" from Canon's website.
2. Run the installer. It makes you read a long legal agreement, including that you won't use the printer for any antisocial purposes.
3. And then asks for your permission to install monitoring software to collect data from your printer. Probably including whatever confidential documents you print? Apparently in China all this stuff gets sent automatically to a "research firm". Oh yeah, and if you don't agree, it installs the software anyway but they say they won't use it.
4. The printer initially acts as its own WiFi access point. Your PC disconnects from its router and connects to the printer. What if your neighbour has the same printer? Who knows. Maybe you'd connect to that too.
5. The PC then connects back to the router's WiFi network... And the printer does 's too. Somehow. Never gave it the WiFi password. But I'm guessing it just asked my PC very politely.
Scary stuff.
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Yeah, standard American kitchen: butter on the counter (in a semi-airtight butter tray) and eggs in the fridge.
I have never seen anyone in America keep their butter on counter and not in the fridge. I have lived in 7 states in both coasts and upper Midwest. Generally, I assumed if it’s in the refrigerator in grocery store (which butter is) then it goes in refrigerator at home.
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…
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…
I enjoyed reading your story. All the while I couldn't help but want to share how good pan-fried/toasted bread is. It's the butter of course, just generously butter up a pan, spread the bread so it soaks up the butter. Takes a little longer, but you also get to feel like a cook. and no ads
Is this not an ad for pan-fried bread?