I'm sure there's an untapped market for "Dumb" tech. Bonus points for repairable, dumb tech.
No AI assistants, no Internet connection, no DRM or login needed.
Just a toaster that makes toast, a TV that plays only what you put in it, with repair kits, spare parts available, easy to reach guts and accessible schematics, diagrams and instructions.
I know I'd buy no other brands if just one offered that to me.
[#]repairability #RightToRepair #DumbTech
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from pezmico@mastodon.nz
If the market absolutists were right, and capitalism really was about choice, competition and consumer satisfaction, you'd think there'd be at least a brand or two offering this kind of thing. Someone filling that niche.
But alas, it's not.
Capitalism is all about about profit maximisation, and now even control and surveillance.
We can't have nice things (if they don't make us slaves to the uber rich).
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from pezmico@mastodon.nz
@pezmico i remember asking around about tvs w/o internet connected features and the reply was those TVs they sell to like buildings in bulk but they're actually quite expensive when you aren't a building
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from cam@hachyderm.io
@cam same!
I was told my best option to find a non-smart TV was to keep an eye on the auction sites where liquidated businesses put their stuff in to cover their loses.
Sorta like this one:
https://www.number8.bid/
I didn't because I got a hand-me-down from someone who left the country. But the option stuck with me.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from pezmico@mastodon.nz
@pezmico i have literally kept the same exact 1080p tv since i bought it in like 2011 lol
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from cam@hachyderm.io
@cam @pezmico smart. The New TVs are much cheaper because they collect and sell your data and insert their own ads.
An older TV with a Fire Stick (even better, with a Fire Stick with adguard on it) is a much nicer experience
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from Hiker_Scott@mstdn.ca
@Hiker_Scott @cam @pezmico My "smart TV" no longer supports some streaming services, and I figure the way around it is to connect my laptop to one of the HDMI ports.
Which suggests to me that in general the alternative to a Smart TV is a computer monitor attached to a computer, particularly a Linux box with some media library management software.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from foolishowl@social.coop
@foolishowl @Hiker_Scott @pezmico Yea I've considered that too, though monitors are usually smaller and a little diffferent picture-wise from a TV (though I don't remember exactly how). Also no built in speaker usually.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from cam@hachyderm.io
@cam @foolishowl @pezmico
Unless something has changed recently, most new TVs come with a really really crappy speaker. I bought a cheap sound bar probably over a decade ago and it still has better audio than my parents very expensive TV.
The big thing with the monitors is that they are expensive, partly because of the fact that they don't collect your data and sell it.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from Hiker_Scott@mstdn.ca
@Hiker_Scott @cam @pezmico Yeah, I was excited to buy a monitor with a built-in speaker, then found the speaker was horribly bad. It was easy enough to attach external speakers, though.
The last monitor I bought was about $100, though it's much smaller than smart TVs usually are.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from foolishowl@social.coop
@foolishowl can't tell if this is AI slop but it was pretty informative
https://smarthomeowl.com/difference-between-tv-and-monitor/
edit: and owl themed lol
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from cam@hachyderm.io
@cam Last night I was sitting on the couch with my laptop, and looked uo and noticed that in my field of vision the edges of the television lined up with the laptop.
In other words, the big TV just means I'm sitting farther away. There's no actual advantage to it. Not for viewing by myself, anyway.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from foolishowl@social.coop
@foolishowl @cam Varying focal distance is easier on your eyes, at least for comfort and possibly for their function. You probably won't notice until your 40s though. By then you'll hopefully have someone to watch things with :)
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from saulpw@fosstodon.org
@saulpw @cam I'm 53, and I was trying to figure out what to do with the smart TVs people left behind.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from foolishowl@social.coop
@foolishowl @cam and you can still watch TV on your laptop, after using a laptop all day? I'm not yet 50 and I can't do it anymore.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from saulpw@fosstodon.org
@saulpw @cam Well, I don't watch TV much, but I'm using my laptop for other things.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from foolishowl@social.coop
@pezmico I've said the same
Guaranteed absence of ai and an algorithm etc would be an ideal direction for tech
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from voxofgod@jorts.horse
@pezmico Have you tried the Framework laptop? I am wanting to try it as my next laptop.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from range_marten@dotnet.social
@range_marten @pezmico
I have, at least. Satisfied with it so far, and my roommate is impressed enough to have bought one!
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from pteryx@dice.camp
@pteryx @range_marten I have not, but I'm curious about it. One day when the time comes to change mine I'll actively consider it.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from pezmico@mastodon.nz
@pezmico @range_marten
Keep in mind that the tarriffs will make the price of electronics shoot up soon.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from pteryx@dice.camp
@pteryx @range_marten Thank you.
But I am not going to be doing that soon. My laptop is just under a year old so it makes little sense to replace it now.
I am also not in the USA. I'm sure we'll be indirectly affected, though.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from pezmico@mastodon.nz
@pezmico If I’m not mistaken, what we now know as Gorilla Glass for smartphones was invented for unbreakable drinking glasses - and indeed one could hardly break one, but nobody wanted to sell them. Because you sell them once and barely ever again.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from jubeldoktor@troet.cafe
@pezmico
What would be dumb tech?
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from Homoevolutis1@lonestar.chat
@pezmico
Brands should work on word of mouth or their shit sucks.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from Homoevolutis1@lonestar.chat
@pezmico
I have a BMW moto. They dont let you have the manual. Been fighting that shit.
I wont work on a new BMW cause I instantly break warnenety if I pull a spark plug.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from Homoevolutis1@lonestar.chat
@pezmico this brand is known as “second hand old things” 🤫🤭👍🏻
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from SimonCHulse@mastodon.nz
@pezmico You are missing the #MicroFiction hash tag. Sorry couldn’t help myself.
I’d be all for this just as I am the only dork still lurking around the remaining shops that have CDs and buying whatever I can get my hands on
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from Tubsta@soc.feditime.com
@pezmico @patrickhadfield I used to work in a Panasonic repair shop. Buying a new manual for every TV and VHS machine - that would inevitably break just as the 3 year guarantee ran out - cost a fortune.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from BenCotterill@mastodon.social
@pezmico
You can buy a toaster, washing machine , fridge freezer and cooker without them being 'smart'. Things like electric toothbrushes, televisions are a problem
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from Christo_459@mastodon.me.uk
@Christo_459 @pezmico not true in the US. Where the majority of fridges and other appliances sold in major stores now have “smart” features and digital screens
Unless you go up market to the higher end brands where you can, in fact, buy far simpler machines without all the screens (but these cost 2-3x or much much more)
(Speaking from direct experience buying a new fridge a few years ago as well as seeing what friends and family could choose from in renovations this past year)
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from Rycaut@mastodon.social
@Rycaut @Christo_459 @pezmico Go to Lowes and the cheapest tier fridges from legit manufacturers like Whirlpool don't have screens or wifi. It's the luxury market shit from LG and Samsung that do.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from dalias@hachyderm.io
@Rycaut @Christo_459 @pezmico For TVs there really is a problem. But for lots of these "big appliances" the problem is consumers who see themselves as part of (or aspirationally part of and temporarily embarrassed) a socioeconomic class who is "supposed to buy" something above the lowest price tier.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from dalias@hachyderm.io
@Rycaut @Christo_459 @pezmico Even our mostly-dumb (no internet functionality) fridge that we recently bought still has "I'm smarter than you" features, nagging us to replace the water-filter with a little blinky-icon every time we open the fridge, despite the fact that it has never been hooked up to the water-line and thus the filter has never been used. Gonna have to just put some electrical tape over that blinking annoyance 😈
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from gumnos@bsd.cafe
@Christo_459 @pezmico Rhod Gilbert had a routine on computerized toothbrushes years ago
https://youtu.be/V39qPwKpcGg?si=B1x4qyx-6Ouk4L3G
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from texhewson@datasci.social
@pezmico @patrickhadfield manufacturers stopped shipping repairable machines as of the 80s, at least in audio. As a surprise to no one, pre-80s machines are highly sought after. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyjvn658n6o
My favorite bit:
“With some of the audio equipment, you can even open the case and inside there’s a diagram [of circuitry], even with arrows pointing at the screw; they’re nicely designed.”
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from kumarvibe@mastodon.social
@pezmico @patrickhadfield ironically, Russians contribute greatly to making modern appliances repairable. My “repair guy” in Chicago says he gets most schematics for newer audio gear from Russian language forums. He grew up in Soviet Chernobyl and is a very colorful character.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from kumarvibe@mastodon.social
@kumarvibe @pezmico @patrickhadfield
Same with automotive. Was chatting to a Romanian work colleague about how one another fallout from the war is a whole network of Central and Eastern European hackers who previously worked together reverse engineering just about everything are now at each others throats, the lucky ones are building UAVs and bombs and the unlucky ones are getting killed..
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from vfrmedia@social.tchncs.de
@vfrmedia @pezmico @patrickhadfield oh man, how could I forget about automotive. When leaving the US we sold our 1999 Toyota Corolla but nothing was wrong with it — in fact it ran like a dream. It might even last another 20 years 🚀
As a bonus, it had some gnarly body damage which was a great theft deterrent in Chicago. Gutters are always lined with ghetto diamonds but our windows never got smashed, not even once.
When doing maintenance, the mechanics would always offer to buy it from us 😂
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from kumarvibe@mastodon.social
@pezmico @tpuddle I’ve been thinking about this since around 2015 when I last bought an AV amp - which I still have and my wife absolutely hates. All the smartness is now obsolete.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from samsterby@mastodon.green
@samsterby @pezmico @tpuddle I have a rega brio Amp with a volume button and a source selector. Analog in only. Nice.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from ruettet@mas.to
@ruettet @pezmico @tpuddle believe it or not, I also have a Rega Brio in the other room. Bought that with a Planar 2 when I was 21. Lovely kit. Excellent knob feel.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from samsterby@mastodon.green
@pezmico Yes please! I don't need my washing machine to be internet enabled, I just need it to wash clothes.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from vulgalour@birdbutt.com
@pezmico
My now 14 year old Samsung early generation smart TV is great. It’s too old to stream directly from the internet via third party apps but has a great picture and high frequency HD refresh rate. I simply stream apps via Apple TV or the PS4.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from jeremy_pm@mastodon.nz
@pezmico unfortunately, no-one seems to be making good quality dumb tech, so people have to choose between cheap, shoddy manufactured items (where they exist) and secondhand, sometimes-worn, tech.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from UkeleleEric@mstdn.social
@pezmico I’ve been very impressed with my Vax vacuum. Easy to take apart, even down to the very small parts. Easy to buy spare parts. Definitely self repairable and makes me consider them more in future.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from cehwitham@mastodon.me.uk
@pezmico
mechanics > electronics
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from KevinFlynn@c.im
@pezmico
Absolutely! We have not bought anything "smart" for our household. The number of electric devices is limited, the number of devices that can become obsolete before they break is limited to smartphones and possibly my espresso machine. The rest is mostly repairable and deliberately offline.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from knud@mastodon.social
@pezmico
If not a device (TV, for example) that's created "dumb," what about one that's easy to lobotomize after-market? What about comuter monitors plus (something)?
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from taoish@mastodonapp.uk
@pezmico …and priced such that they're not just virtue-signal baubles for the wealthy.
Also: a practical electric car—spacious, capacious, sturdy and durable, readily repairable, safe, easily manœuvrable with a tight turning radius, real doorhandles, no "infotainment", no internet connection, no video game dashboard…a Volvo 240, more or less, but electric.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from isocat@tiggi.es
@pezmico a thought I keep trying to pin down is "sufficiently advanced tech is indistinguishable from an appliance"
Like, we don't think of washing machines or ovens as "tech". They are good enough to no longer require much innovating or "disruption" and we're not likely to want to replace them whenever a new model comes out. They're advanced enough.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from RachamimOnWheels@wandering.shop
@pezmico I've wanted to start a company that would do exactly that for a long time, but still haven't figured out exactly how to start.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from kechpaja@social.kechpaja.com
@pezmico recently I have been getting recommendation requests from folks for dumb tech.
Tvs and phones have been on the tops of those lists.
Products that serve no one but you.
Also requests for old gear that was built before the "downfall of the internet".
Following on from that had a discussion with folks referencing dates to "BG", yes, thats right Before Google. Also with references dates "AG".
The debate was should be from google's creation or their abandoning of "don't be evil".
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from kim@vk5fj.net
@pezmico
I'm not against smart, if it's open. Appliances with ethernet , MQTT and a local webserver.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from Starkimarm@23.social
@pezmico the best rice cookers are still the simple ones without timers that simply rely on the basic physics of water.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from metalpoetnl@metalhead.club
@pezmico The ideal manufacturing outcome is that all things come from a repo like thingiverse. Not that they need to be 3D printed, but where every single component is something with an immutable design history where you can always determine how to make a part matching the particular thing you have and there's always someone local with the capability to make it for a reasonable price on demand. No more mass production of anything. And none of it tied to control of any authority.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from dalias@hachyderm.io
@pezmico read "Unauthorized Bread" by @pluralistic
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from FlohEinstein@chaos.social
I am part of this market and do reviews of what I buy on that fronts to help others who are into it too.
For example, a post about going from an Apple Watch to a “dumb” and durable Casio Watch
https://ergaster.org/gear/casio-m5610u/
@pezmico @nitot
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from thibaultamartin
I also did one about how I “dumbified” my ereader and how it made it much more pleasant to use
https://ergaster.org/gear/kobo-clara-2e/
@pezmico @nitot
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from thibaultamartin
@thibaultamartin @pezmico @nitot interesting read! Have you tried KoReader? I’m a happy user on my Kobo Libra H2O 🙂
It’s compatible with @wallabag for reading articles later which I find excellent.
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from Crocmagnon@fosstodon.org
@pezmico something like the Brother Printer but for other tech?
=> More informations about this toot | More toots from Pterry@fnordon.de This content has been proxied by September (3851b).Proxy Information
text/gemini