Sounds cool, easy, and cheap. Not sure what I would do with it. Here is a tear down: http://mpetroff.net/2015/05/amazon-dash-button-teardown/
I can't find how long the battery lasts and with only one AAA, it might not be that long.
How I Hacked Amazon’s $5 WiFi Button
81–90 of 127 posts
Re: How I Hacked Amazon’s $5 WiFi Button
#82I was wondering the Button was configured for WiFi access. It's more interesting than I though. It's configured by running a Dash Button app on your Android or Apple smart phone. The Android version works about as I would have guessed, by using the Dash Button as an access point, and the app helps you connect to it. But the Apple version communicates with the phone by ultrasonic tones! https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/…
Google's Chromecast can be configured using both of those methods, too.
Re: How I Hacked Amazon’s $5 WiFi Button
#83I am really curious to eventually learn the mentality (and financial status) of people who use these buttons for real with Amazon.
They really are a good idea IMO. The idea is you put the button next to the garbage bags, detergent, etc. Hey, the detergent just ran out, click , ordered and done. Very convenient and eliminates the problem of forgetting to add to the shopping list.
One might object that forgetting to add to the list is really not a terribly large problem, and you would be right- but $5 is also not a terribly large sum.
Re: How I Hacked Amazon’s $5 WiFi Button
#84It's popular to observe that cell phones are more powerful than the Apollo 11 spacecraft. Well, this button further highlights just how far along we've come.
The Apollo 11 AGC was 16-bit, 2MHz.
The Dash Button is 32-bit, 120MHz, and at $5 is practically disposable.
Re: How I Hacked Amazon’s $5 WiFi Button
#85Earlier quoted context omitted.
They really are a good idea IMO. The idea is you put the button next to the garbage bags, detergent, etc. Hey, the detergent just ran out, click , ordered and done. Very convenient and eliminates the problem of forgetting to add to the shopping list.
One might object that forgetting to add to the list is really not a terribly large problem, and you would be right- but $5 is also not a terribly large sum.
For me personally, there's usually a gap in time between when I notice needs to be replenished and when I actually do it. Hence, the possibility to forget. Having the button co-located with the item in question essentially eliminates that problem. And $5 is worth it for me not to have to make a special trip to the store when I really DO need .
Re: How I Hacked Amazon’s $5 WiFi Button
#86[deleted]
Re: How I Hacked Amazon’s $5 WiFi Button
#87Well that's probably more useful than what Amazon intended it for.
You say that but... I have an elderly relative, she drinks Keurig K-Cups because with arthritis she struggles to brew coffee the other way(s). She isn't very tech' literate, and she has us order her more from Amazon every so often (since they're cheaper than retail stores). I'd love to give her a Keurig button and say "push this and more coffee will arrive two days later." Literally I would have if they sold one (the…
Maybe I am overlooking something but why don't you subscribe her to Amazon's "Subscribe & Save" program? This way she will consistently get her deliveries and might even save 5% to 15%.
Re: How I Hacked Amazon’s $5 WiFi Button
#88I use eps8266 for my IoT. Can't get any easier or cheaper than that. http://nodemcu.com/index_en.html
That page is absurd. I'm on a pretty good internet connection and the image in the background, of sheep for some stupid reason, was loading slowly in chunks. I'm really starting to hate pages that think they need giant stupid high-res images in the background.
The IP its being served from (121.41.33.127) seems to be from China, which would explain the slowness.
Re: How I Hacked Amazon’s $5 WiFi Button
#89Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's exactly what I plan on using mine for. It makes logging actions so much faster. I would love to just have a smartwatch with a set of about 12 or so buttons that correspond to a specific action, but that will take time to happen, if at all.
Are there any other cheap wifi buttons without the bootup delay? Looking for something to talk to my raspberry py to turn off/on lights or switch spotify songs, would be annoying to have to wait for it.
Not with wifi, no. You'd probably be best off picking up an RF keyfob and matching receiver from somewhere; adafruit has a few, can probably find a bunch on ebay as well. The problem with Wifi is that because of everything involved down the chain, you can either have a really long battery life, or a really short bootup delay. For instant, with decent battery life, you're going to need a much simpler protocol.
Re: How I Hacked Amazon’s $5 WiFi Button
#90I could see this being a useful tool when trying to form good habits. Brush teeth? push the button. Get a fresh glass of water from the fridge? push the button. When analyzing other aspects of my life such as spending, I have tools to show me what I've done in the past, and those tools can help me improve (e.g. spending reports). This is admittedly reactionary, but I find it useful nonetheless. Track enough other "st…
Screw pressing the buttons. Can I train an Amazon Echo to listen for me brushing my teeth?
I heard a VC complaining about a pitch he had for an internet connected toothbrush for kids once. It would notify parents if it wasn't used.
I thought it was quite a good idea!