I don't understand article's complaints on issues with buying alternatives. All "hard to buy" items are available on the internet in a couple of clicks.
Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money
471–480 of 982 posts
Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money
#472Earlier quoted context omitted.
My wife and I got rid of our TV last year when we moved. It was a nice break, but we want at least one in the house, so we're currently shopping around for a nice 4K 70+ inch. I've come to realize the market is headed toward a TV without any ports. You'll plug it in and immediately prompted to link with wifi so you can log into your streaming services. Fuck that. I'm hell-bent on getting something with zero smart fun…
Just get one with an HDMI input and buy a Roku. Never give the TV your wifi password.
If you care about privacy but still want to use something off-the-shelf, go for an Apple TV rather than Roku.
Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money
#473Why is a thread on electric razors not the top comment on a post about the expense/waste of straight razors? I get that they have some downsides, but if we’re talking about the expense/waste of straight razors, then it would make sense to consider electric razors. I’ve seen so many ads about companies trying to “invent” the most effective, lowest cost straight razor and it still confuses me, given we already have ele…
I have a weird combination of skin type and hair. My skin will inflame if I use an electric razor, even using a cheap 2 layer razor will make me itch and scratch for a week. The two things that do work are shaper electric ones (can't get a close shave with that) and 3 blade cartridge ones. Thankfully I can get away with rarely grooming completely, just use the shaper.
Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money
#474Why is a thread on electric razors not the top comment on a post about the expense/waste of straight razors? I get that they have some downsides, but if we’re talking about the expense/waste of straight razors, then it would make sense to consider electric razors. I’ve seen so many ads about companies trying to “invent” the most effective, lowest cost straight razor and it still confuses me, given we already have ele…
I’ll add my support for electrics too.
I shave my head as well as my face, and I’ve only gone through two razors in 15 years. I’m only a couple years into using the second one.
The first one I actually broke down, cleaned, and partially repaired several times. I replaced wiring that had corroded and had to replace small parts. I suppose I might be on my third by now if I couldn’t repair stuff.
They do the job quickly and make it so a regular razor is easier to use if you want that close of a shave. I rarely care that much because the electric gets almost indiscernibly close by my standards
Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money
#475Add dishwasher pods to the list. It’s literally just smoke and mirrors for nearly the same formula as powder, only less of it per package. All those fancy colors? It’s die. It’s the same formula across the entire pod. So… Yep: more cost, more waste, and it has some reasonable downsides. For “convenience,” since I guess deciding how much to put into the tray is just too much work. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll6-eGD…
The fact that it takes 3 seconds to grab a pod and put it in verse 10 seconds to get the correct amount of powder is not nothing.
How do you live your day where 7 seconds is a a significant amount of time?
Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money
#476Why is a thread on electric razors not the top comment on a post about the expense/waste of straight razors? I get that they have some downsides, but if we’re talking about the expense/waste of straight razors, then it would make sense to consider electric razors. I’ve seen so many ads about companies trying to “invent” the most effective, lowest cost straight razor and it still confuses me, given we already have ele…
I think you mean disposable razors, because straight razors are the least wasteful.
Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money
#477Earlier quoted context omitted.
Step 1: take an angle grinder to the pan and grind the pebbly surface to a smooth finish.
That's maybe step 4. Step one is going to home depo to find a food-safe angle grinder disk.
Yeah, it’s metal man. You’d be shocked at how many non food safe implements of destruction have touched that pan in its fabrication. Being metal, it’s easy to clean up to become food safe. A little oil, maybe a little salt scrub, a rinse, then low heat with some oil for a while to drive out the moisture and start the season.
Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money
#478I totally agree on this and I would like to add an item:
- glass smartphones - the iPhone X and Pixel 3 are all in a unibody of glass that is very fragile despite all gorilla glass marketing bullshit. The result is that we have to use plastic bumpers. We could have just stayed with plastic/aluminum frames that allowed to open the back and replace the battery. Glass unibody smartphones are made to last less and be less repairable. I'm sick of this and next phone I'll get a Fairphone https://www.fairphone.com/ and I purchased a Nokia 105 for 25$ whose battery last 35 DAYS on standby as backup.
Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money
#479>Other examples of products that seem to exhibit a similar trend, where purported convenience leads to higher prices >Cooking equipment: essentially indestructible Cast Iron skillets transition into teflon pans. The newer pans perform worse, and must be replaced on a shockingly regular basis. They also seem to be poisonous. They have their uses. I wouldn't try frying eggs in a cast iron, for instance (technically you…
> smart TVs are cheaper than dumb TVs because they're subsidized by ad revenue. What if you count having to view ads, and having the tv spy on you as a cost? RN,for many TVs you can just not connect to wifi, but how long until the TV won't work unless it is connected? > Also, the claim itself doesn't really make any sense. Even if you stop getting software updates, that doesn't prevent you from using it as a dumb dis…
>What if you count having to view ads, and having the tv spy on you as a cost?
I don't connect it to wifi, problem solved.
>for many TVs you can just not connect to wifi, but how long until the TV won't work unless it is connected?
Is there reason to believe that it won't work? The "smart" TV I have hasn't been connected to wifi for years and still works.
>Perhaps a better argument is that a bad software can brick the TV, or the components of the smart functionality break in a way that prevents you from using it as a dumb tv (i.e. it has more "moving parts")
I don't get it, are you trying to have your cake (smart functionality) and eat it too (smart functionality randomly breaking stuff)? If you use it as a dumb TV from day 1 I can't imagine why it would randomly break later.
>and if you don't use the smart functionality, then it is a waste of the materials to make those components, and probably electricity running through the circuits
The nvidia shield TV uses 6W while streaming. Presumably the smart TV component probably uses something similar or less than that. In the grand scheme of things it's nothing.
>And it isn't too hard to imagine a future where the tv just stops working if it can't phone home.
That's seems to be more of a theoretical concern than something that's actually happening right now.
Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money
#480While I believe that many things stated in this post are correct, this still has that hard 'old man yelling at the internet' odor. If you are to compare stuff, stuff like modern razor cartridges and double-edged razors, you ought to mention the convenience side of the things. I hate being the devil's advocate, but shaving with 4-blade cartridge designed for easy shaving is still 'miles' ahead compared to shaving with…
This is interesting.
For me shaving with DE razor is miles ahead in comfort over cartridge