A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now • Hacker News Board

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#81

Post by UncleMeat » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:08 PM UTC

quartz wrote: post #25

Wait is this actually better? It's well presented in the ad but: - that removable veggie holder in the door looks crazy heavy and super awkward to put back in place (lining up at a sharp angle while gripping likely slick sides) - you have to open the refrigerator door to get at the freezer - the door compartments are narrow and probably can't handle odd sized containers - the shelves have holes in them so anything th…

Yeah the only two features that this fridge has that my fridge doesn't have are the pull out shelves and the removable bin for vegetables.

I've got no idea why you'd really want the removable bin for vegetables. Carry all my veggies over to the sink first and then pick out the ones I want? And look at how small that thing is.

Pull out shelves seem nice I guess, but they'd only be useful on lower shelves. My fridge seems to be about a foot taller than the one in the video. This person wouldn't be tall enough to see all the stuff on the top shelf if it were pulled out.

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#82

Post by ilyt » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:08 PM UTC

bayindirh wrote: post #14

The most enlightening comment is "capitalism breeds innovation" (told sarcastically), but it's incomplete. The complete version is "Capitalism breeds innovation for getting consumers' money out of their hands".

Yup, competition breeds innovation but captialism will do everything it can to not have to compete. Patents, secrets, pirce fixing, and walled gardens, anything but trying to compete on actual product

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#83

Post by jxramos » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:08 PM UTC

LegitShady wrote: post #61

ilyt wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a level where you don't care about more improvements. Fridge is a box of cold stuff. I don't need much more than that. Sure it could be slightly more efficient but even 20 years old ones are pretty efficient, and I'd rather just slap an extra solar panel or two on the roof rather than replace whole fridge and junk the old one.

Sure but how can I code an ai bot that lives in your fridge and analyzes your shopping habits, and sells that to the highest bidder? Maybe with amazon grocery integration so that it sends your groceries before you even knew you needed them. And Microsoft Tay integration! Ask your fridge questions and have it answer, in a hilariously racist fashion! New Andrew Tate plugins sold as DLC.

No thank you.

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#84

Post by CamperBob2 » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:08 PM UTC

bayindirh wrote: post #14

The most enlightening comment is "capitalism breeds innovation" (told sarcastically), but it's incomplete. The complete version is "Capitalism breeds innovation for getting consumers' money out of their hands".

What system do you recommend instead?

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#85

Post by JumpinJack_Cash » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:08 PM UTC

dustincoates wrote: post #7

This reminds me of the same types of complaints around air travel now versus the 50s/60s. Both ignore the relative costs and the fact that you can still buy high-end fridges or first class tickets if you are willing to spend the same amount of money that you would have had to back then.

> > This reminds me of the same types of complaints around air travel now versus the 50s/60s

The huge difference compared to banck then is TSA, for cultural reasons I don't think many people would complain about not being able to smoke on board or the fact that planes are a tad slower.

Air travel completely changed because for some reason ill intentioned people decided to bring their ill intentions to fruition on a plane instead of a train.

As a matter of fact the same group targeted trains in Madrid and London as well as malls, but the assumption is that since trains and malls cannot be defended fatalism is not only authorized, but it's the only game in town. Stark comparison to the process you have to undertake to catch a plane, where you have to provide an x-ray of your bowels before being allowed to board.

In the 50s and 60s where you could board first and then purchase the ticket on board....can you imagine something like this today?

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#86

Post by CamperBob2 » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:08 PM UTC

toss1 wrote: post #20

Very true. Many solid comments deriding the current generations of wifi-enabled (and randomly disabled when they shut off the servers) carp, but the seventh comment down nails it: >> "capitalism breeds innovation" haha Indeed, in many areas, 'capitalism' has not produced innovation that benefits anyone using the products, but merely increases the ratio of cash extracted from buyers in return for reduced value provide…

What system do you recommend instead?

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#87

Post by firesteelrain » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:08 PM UTC

drcongo wrote: post #43

vGPU wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

See: Samsung fridges. A huge touchscreen and a water pump/ice maker that will fail in <5 years are standard.

My Samsung fridge is the worst thing I've ever bought.

Agree. Mine lasted 6 years. Replaced with a Whirlpool. Lowe's sales rep told us at the time that the Samsung's were great. I went back 6 years later and told him that we bought a Samsung from him 6 years ago when he told us 6 years later not to buy a Samsung. Needless to say, he was apologetic.

Now, my Bosch dishwasher has been solid. No issues.

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#88

Post by ethbr0 » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:09 PM UTC

pikahumu wrote: post #66

ethbr0 wrote: post #16

1950-1970 seems like a local optimum in UX that we've yet to surpass. My personal, completely-unsupported theory is it was a combination of 3 qualities. (1) New types of things, while unlike anything that came before, were still simple and understandable enough that someone without formal engineering training could understand their use and offer improvements . (2) Engineering was still seen as something that was appr…

(4) "Optima" is plural, "optimum" is singular. So, 1950-1970 seems like a local optimum .

Fixed! Thanks. Sans coffee typing

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#89

Post by drakythe » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:10 PM UTC

passwordoops wrote: post #18

rascul wrote: post #4

A lot of those features are available in today's fridges. Also, they use less power today. And you really don't have to get one with wifi and a touchscreen.

Yeah but I'd bet the one we see in the video is probably still working, while I'm on my third fridge in 20 years. I think that negates any energy efficiency gains

Remember when looking at old technology that still works Survivorship Bias is a thing to be aware of. Yes, that elderly family member with the 1950’s fridge makes us jealous. But how many of their friends who bought that same fridge had to upgrade because theirs crapped out?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#90

Post by taeric » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 2:10 PM UTC

marricks wrote: post #57

photonerd wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve had 8 fridges in 22 years, up until my latest I’ve they were all from this supposedly better age. All failed, in some cases disastrously. The only one that’s survived longer than a few years for me ? The new one. Going 6 years strong. Not everything on my new one is perfect—I managed to break the built in water jug—but I feel a lot of the replies here need to take into account survivorship bias.

What do you do to your fridges??? I'm in my 30's and have never had to replace a fridge. Never had a "modern" fridge except as a kid. All looked like low budget fridges from the 80's or 90's.

Quality of power supply to your house will almost certainly be one of the bigger factors in how long things last. Combined with standard stochastic behavior, I'd expect anecdotes of both kinds.