Ask Lemmy

Just bought a child lock for my freezer because of this

For me, it's specifically the HP printer my wife has. It has one of those subscription models where you pay per page (or per some unit, I forget) and you can't use it without an account and an internet connection.

I bought a Brother that offers but does not mandate a subscription and tried to get her to use it, but she is convinced the awful disgusting subscription model is easier.

Every time I see it it makes me a little sad and a little mad, but I had her put it on my network that has guest isolation, so it can't touch or spy on any of my other devices and only impacts her.

(My feelings about it aren't quite that strong in reality, but this is a thread about appliance beef. If her printer weren't isolated, I might actually feel pretty strongly about it.)

US patents only last for 20 years. Technically, nothing is stopping you from making a part-for-part copy of a good laser printer from 2005 and selling it the same way some companies do replacement toner.

It's just that making a cheap and reliable appliance is HARD if there are dozens of distinct parts that all have to move together. Heck, id expect a near-clone of a Cuisinart stand mixer before I'd expect a printer.

(And, even then, i doubt it'd be much cheaper than just buying one used.)

Edit: patents, not parents.

TV's are actually cheaper not because the tech necessarily being more available (even though it should) but instead it's because companies are harvesting your data on smart tv's and selling it making more profit than they would make with just selling you a TV. On a separate but somewhat related note, has anyone else noticed smart phones becoming more expensive as they become more protective of the users privacy?

I couldn't find a dumb TV, so I got a smart one didn't give it wifi access. Every time I turn it on, it shows me a clock that's wrong and I think "Not so smart now, are you?". It's a perfectly functional dumb TV.

I got a Brother printer. I hate it less than my HP and Cannon ones I used to use but it’s still a printer. A sin which cannot be redeemed

After some half a century of existing they are somehow still annoying to use.

You lost me at “login” on a treadmill lmao.

Treadmills are already pretty niche considering walking/running is free.

Why would you login to...a treadmill? Why would it need internet? So you can watch Netflix on the world slowest Public computer?

The trend of having touch screens on things is horrible enough. We definitely jumped the shark with technology long ago

and worst of all, there’s no goddamn place to put your phone so you can watch Netflix.

kagis

Hmm.

Yeah, I was thinking that it'd have some kind of bike-style handlebars or something, but nothing quite like that.

thinks

So, there are these...I don't know what they're called. "Gooseneck leg camera tripods"? They're intended to let you mount a camera anywhere, but if you feel strongly enough about this, I'm sure that one can get one of those and I'm sure that someone makes a quarter-inch-bolt

which camera tripods use

adapter to a smartphone holder. Can probably stuff a phone on pretty much anything with that.

goes looking

Okay, I don't know if anyone else makes this. I thought it was a whole class of devices, but maybe it's just one manufacturer. Basically, three gooseneck legs with grippy things down them, "Joby Gorillapods". Just wrap the gooseneck legs around whatever you want to mount the thing to.

https://www.amazon.com/gorillapod-original-tripod-point-cameras/dp/b0087fftt2

And once you have your quarter-inch tripod mount from that, there are a ton of different products that will let you mount a phone on a tripod bolt.

https://www.amazon.com/phone-tripod-mount/s?k=phone+tripod+mount

Can probably even get some sort of telescoping counterweighted-arm thing that'd let you jam it right in front of your eyeballs

I have a mic boom like that on a tripod

though I dunno if you want to deal with lugging something like that into a gym. And if the treadmill is vibrating at all, an arm would amplify the vibrations.

I have a similar short fuse for microwaves but for the +30 seconds button. If the microwave doesn't have this it should get tossed in the nearest dumpster. The +30 seconds button is the pinnacle of human achievement.

My partner took our microwave (an obnoxious thing I bought at a charity shop for $15) apart and wrapped the dinger-thing in a thick rubber band to muffle it, then put it all back together. It sounds so much more polite now, and he didn't have to cut any wires or otherwise fuss with the basic function.

My microwave has an un-interuptable 6 shrill beeps, that then repeat if the door is not opened in 10 seconds. There is no mute option, and it can be heard everywhere in the house. I have seriously considered just ripping the speaker out of it. It is, without a doubt, the appliance I hate most in my house.

My microwave thinks it's a regular oven and keeps beeping if you don't open the door. It doesn't seem to understand it has stopped on its own and can shut the fuck up now.