you know the computer thing is it plugged in?
credit to u/shittyretrocomps on reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/iiiiiiitttttttttttt/comments/1jyacoo/have_you_ever_tried_to_make_toast_but_your/
Also, read this: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/01/unauthorized-bread-a-near-future-tale-of-refugees-and-sinister-iot-appliances/
For those who do not know, YOU WILL. This is a spoof on the incredibly precient AT&T ad campaign from 1993 about the tech of the future.
The campaign had TV ads directed by David Fincher and narrated by Tom Sellick. https://youtu.be/TZb0avfQme8
I think you could make a lot of money selling authentic replicas of 1950-1970's models of home appliances.
The kind of toasters and blenders you could drive nails with. "Heritage" items you could pass down to the grandkids when it was time for them to start college.
When I bought my house in ‘21, I thought my dad was just being an old kook when he told me not to get rid of the fully functional Speed Queen washer and dryer. I wish I’d listened… some of the fancy mid/high-end appliances we bought broke irreparably just days after their warranties expired.
I live in an apartment building. They recently replaced all the old washers and driers with brand new models. There hasn't been a full month where all the machines were working at the same time. I told the company that owns and services them that they should just get the repairman an apartment in the building.
The kicker is that my brother worked as a repairman for the washer/dryer company at the time. I’m still kicking myself.
Laundry machines are like the one thing I won't consider upgrading until they fail irreparably. It's not like house guests are ever going to see or interact with them like kitchen appliances
I can't believe you got rid of a Speed Queen.
Appliances with a good build quality make me happy.
I think that even if it cost three times a "normal" appliance's price, people would buy the more durable one. Less waste and more satisfaction.
Reminder: five years ago, an update bricked some $350 Nike self-lacing shoes: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/02/my-left-shoe-wont-even-reboot-faulty-app-bricks-nike-smart-sneakers/
Could be worse. Imagine not being able to turn on a light because of a software update. Man do I hate IoT.
Actually, my uncle had a story about smart lightbulbs,
Basically, his neighbour had a smart lightbulb, eventually, it broke, so he was going to throw it away, but he gave it to my uncle.
My uncle was able to take it apart, and get his wifi password off it because it was stored in plaintext on the device.
Unauthorized Bread by Cory Doctorow.
It's a novella, the first in the collection of four published in the book Radicalized. Looks like you can buy the ebook and the audiobook straight from his website.
Edit: now I see that you've already linked to it.
I've definitely tried to turn on my kitchen timer but it tells me it can't connect to the wi-fi.