Discussion about 'smart' appliances

AirTags work well for dogs, I hear. (not a dog owner)

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Works alright, Airtags and the general location services for Apple in a "Family" are a little silly. For example my kids have Airpods, they are attached to their account which is tied to the family group. I can literally see the location of their airpods any time I want, as can my wife. BUT if we travel somewhere together for a while I will start getting alerts that "someones" airpods are following me.... like really.

So yeah for Airtags, they can ONLY be joined to a single account and are not shared. To prevent stalking (I guess) if the airtag is separated from the owner and is moving around and near other iphones it will start making noises to alert people, in case it got tossed into someones bag I suppose.

Now put that on a dog, and then travel away for work. Thing will go off randomly alerting my wife that the dog is stalking her because I am not there.

As far as tracking, it should work but of course since we put it on her she has not gotten away at all.

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KitchenAidĀ® 30'' Smart Commercial-Style Dual Fuel Range with 4 Burners Stainless Steel KFDC500JSS | KitchenAid?

A note regarding "smart" anything:

I do not own, nor know any specifics, about the appliances mentioned here but with anything that has connectivity you can safely bet that YOU are the product.

I think by now most in this community know that some of our electronics have been "reporting home" whatever the manufacturer wants to know as a standard "feature". Automobiles since '09, TVs for many years now, have cellular chips in them that communicate even if you don't allow Internet access from the device's IP address. My CPAP machine does this too. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if all the appliances mentioned above don't also include such snooping. Short of a Faraday cage I don't know how to block the cellular comms.

Some have suggested disabling the cellular chips in some way or disconnecting it's antenna but many of the systems that include cellular communications (vehicles, at least) have them tied into essential functions, rendering the system non-functional without the comms.

YMMV

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Possibly, though I think unlikely in this case. The saying goes "If YOU didn't pay for the product, YOU are the product." Google is pretty upfront that the arrangement is "free search for the price of us knowing everything about you and selling it to the highest bidder." It's why I think in general Alexa is preferable to Google Home. Amazon has a business relationship with you that they know they can damage by abusing. Google's business model is abusing you. In this case the appliance companies pretty much know that if they are caught using your data unscrupulously, you're not likely to buy their appliances any more. My two cents.

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That may sound extra creepy as a medical device, but in reality thereā€™s a more valid reason for that than most of the other appliances being discussed here.

You probably arenā€™t paying out-of-pocket for the machine, all the supplies associated with it and any follow-up visits with a sleep doctor. Medicare or a health insurance company is likely footing most of the bill.

And they donā€™t want to keep paying for it if youā€™re not actually using it enough to get a benefit from it.

Edit: Hopefully this discussion doesnā€™t have to devolve into total FUD based on some usersā€™ personal biases.

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True, but in the case of whirlpool, that is a pretty crappy product, as the app usually won't stay connected more than a few days .

Now they are going to subscription plans, some going to far as to require a subscription plan just to use your key fob to open the door (Toyota), heated/ Cooled seats, pretty much all the bells and whistles we have been used to for years are starting to require a subscription to use them.

Mine too, I think the insurance companies are the drivers on this one. Gotta admit, I'll take it rather than having to take my machine apart and drag it in to the doctor's office every six month's or a year to be downloaded.

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A bit hostile. Asking google if google monetizes your data is uh interesting. From this article:

"In many different ways, Google sends data to advertisers, and advertisers send it money.

Yet Google claims that itā€™s not ā€œsellingā€ anything.

It does acknowledge that somewhere in this process, a ā€œsaleā€ is occurring. It just insists that Google itself isnā€™t the one selling data. "

Not trying to have a big fight here. Was only proposing that vendors that make money off you with a product, are less incentivized to make money of you as a product. You're certainly welcome to have your own opinion.

I have done research. I am a CISSP (retired). You can disagree, but it's my point is certainly not a crazy misinformed one.

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This "Smart" Pressure washer seems to be particularly ridiculous !

Smart Control Pressure Washer | Karcher Australia (kaercher.com)

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Approves! :smile:


(under pressure)

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For all those times you want to use your pressure washer unattended, I supposeā€¦

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Freudian slip? ITYM "commensurate."

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You're right. I used the wrong word. :slight_smile:

Commiserating over commensurating? :stuck_out_tongue:

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