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xkcd #3109: Dehumidifier (imgs.xkcd.com)

submitted 18 hours ago* (last edited 25 minutes ago) by xkcdbot@lemmy.world to c/xkcd@lemmy.world

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xkcd #3109: Dehumidifier

Title text:

It's important for devices to have internet connectivity so the manufacturer can patch remote exploits.

Transcript:

[A store salesman, Hairy, is showing Cueball a dehumidifier, with a "SALE" label on it. Several other unidentified devices, possibly other dehumidifier models, are shown in the store as well.]

Salesman: This dehumidifier model features built-in WiFi for remote updates.
Cueball: Great! That will be really useful if they discover a new kind of water.

Source: https://xkcd.com/3109/

explainxkcd for #3109

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[–] PieMePlenty@lemmy.world 2 points 1 hour ago

If I can turn it on remotely, that's a good feature. I have solar, I want it to work when the sun is out and I'm producing excess energy.
Yes, I know I can use other peripherals to do this (sometimes) but its always nicer if its just built in so I don't need to waste carbon on other things.

The only thing I want when manufacturers add wifi to these things is to appeal to open source principles like allowing us to connect to it and communicate with it openly and not tie it down to some cloud service they run.

[–] pedz@lemmy.ca 15 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

Do they have a model with AI?

[–] Iron_Lynx@lemmy.world 8 points 6 hours ago

Shh shh shh, don't give them ideas.

[–] normalexit@lemmy.world 1 points 3 hours ago

Or Alexa?

[–] jballs@sh.itjust.works 35 points 11 hours ago (3 children)

I got new appliances a couple weeks ago and they're all "smart". Turns out a smart microwave just sends you a phone notification when it's done. By default.

As someone with multiple people living in the house, I can confidently say this is the dumbest "smart" feature ever. Promptly disabled.

[–] JordanZ@lemmy.world 7 points 5 hours ago (2 children)

My appliances are ‘smart’ but I didn’t bother actually connecting them to my WiFi. I guess preheating the oven remotely could be cool(?) but nah.

The stuff I do use…

The microwave above the stove can talk via Bluetooth(no app or phone involvement at all). Turn on a burner and you can set it to turn on the light and/or vent fan. Another nicety is being able to set the clock on the stove with the full keypad and it just syncs to the microwave.

[–] ApatheticCactus@lemmy.world 3 points 2 hours ago

The only smart thing I'd want an oven to do would be to turn itself off. That's it, really. Did I leave the oven on after I left the house? Easy fix. Otherwise everything else is pretty much useless.

[–] jballs@sh.itjust.works 2 points 4 hours ago

My stove won't preheat, I guess because it's a safety issue. Apparently you can set a remote start capability ahead of time that gets reset if you open the over door. But I've never tried it, since that seems like a lot.

[–] veni_vedi_veni@lemmy.world 16 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Any appliance with IoT is a value-subtract.

They do it so in the future they can monetize you in perpetuity in some way

[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 7 points 9 hours ago (3 children)

I can see value in HVAC IoT. Away from home and there's a cold spell? Turn up the heating so your pipes don't freeze, but also run it higher when electricity is cheaper (if you have variable pricing).

I don't think I'd want my microwave, washing machine, or toilet to have IoT features though.

[–] ShouldIHaveFun@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 hour ago

Any decent heating system will have a thermostat which will activate the heating when it's getting cold. Also no need for internet to be able to setup the time when electricity is cheaper. It's not like it's something you need to do regularly. Setting this all up directly on the heating system works well enough.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago

My toilet sings when I lift the lid or sit down. I kind of wish I could upload a new song after all these years

[–] aaaa@lemmy.world 3 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

I want my washing machine to notify my phone when a cycle completes... But maybe not quite that much

[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 6 points 7 hours ago

Mine chimes a quaint little song. It's enough because it can be heard pretty much anywhere in the house unless I'm in the basement. If I'm not home, the notification wouldn't be particularly useful - I might as well just check when I get home.

I mean the idea isn't the absolute worst. I just don't think it's a huge QoL improvement either.

[–] rmuk@feddit.uk 11 points 11 hours ago (2 children)

Most people tend to stay in the same room (or a neighbouring room) when they're microwaving something. They could probably save on the cost of having a full-blown computer with wifi inside the microwave by just having the noisy thing from an alarm clock. But, ah, the fuck do I know?

[–] kadup@lemmy.world 12 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Some 90's microwaves actually used some chips to measure humidity and using a little reference table adjust how long certain foods need to cook for, for instance, popcorn can be popped perfectly without burning and almost without leftover kernels if you can measure how much water is being released. The same goes for cooking frozen meats, vegetables, and so on.

But what we get in modern ones instead are horrendous touchscreens, simple timers that never quite match the food they promise to work on, and Wi-Fi.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago

You gotta spend for the moisture sensors and other fancy shit that actually works. We moved into a place with one of those microwaves and we are dreading when it breaks (I think it's like 3k for a new one)

[–] lowered_lifted@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 10 hours ago

a full blown computer, depending on how one defines the term, is so cheap that they are available in disposable pregnancy tests. This shouldn't be a thing because of the E waste and inefficiency but it's how things are.

[–] NotJohnSmith@feddit.uk 11 points 9 hours ago (5 children)

I feel like I'd benefit from a smart dehumidifier.

I'm on a Time Of Use tariff where my electricity is very cheap at night. I'd like to be able to schedule for it to come on for those 5hrs in the winter to take the moisture out of my shed-office. It achieves nothing to put it on a smart meter as you have to physically press go on the dehumidifier

[–] AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works 4 points 4 hours ago

Just use a smart timer with a dehumidifier that either doesn't have a switch, or has an analog one that can stay in the on position when power is off

[–] Shayeta@feddit.org 11 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Unless you have an even dumber dehumidifier that starts working the moment you plug it in.

[–] NotJohnSmith@feddit.uk 1 points 4 hours ago

Yeah, I wish I did but alas not

[–] JamesBoeing737MAX@sopuli.xyz 4 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Just use a power timer or whatever those devices are called.

[–] chatokun@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

They just said the smart timers/meters don't work. Maybe a non internet one with some regular timers. I have grow lights that have 12, 6, or 3 hour timers that repeat the start time daily as long as a power outage doesn't reset them.

Lower tech solution that would probably work for them, but someone would still have to make it. Not sure if they exist but wouldn't be surprised if they do.

[–] cdf12345@lemmy.zip 4 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

You need a smart button pressing device. Something like :

https://amzn.to/40vd8SN

I have not used this personally, but I have a home assistant setup that does operate based on real time energy prices and it’s awesome.

[–] NotJohnSmith@feddit.uk 1 points 4 hours ago

Hah, that's a cool solution [no pun intended]

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[–] ClydapusGotwald@lemmy.world 41 points 13 hours ago (6 children)

I’ve looked into many WiFi dehumidifier’s and the one thing I wanted from it was to notify my phone if it’s full. None of them do that. All they do is let you change speed and stuff. Nothing that is important to me. I just want to know if I need to go to the basement and empty it or not.

[–] LilaOrchideen@feddit.org 19 points 11 hours ago

I put mine on a zigbee plug into my home assistant (docker on nas), and created an automation to notify me when the power consumption drops below 1 W or so (lower than when it's only running the fan when the hunidity is near setpoint). All local, works so far.

[–] TeddE@lemmy.world 22 points 13 hours ago

Right? Like half of what I want from these things is when is the battery low? When is the outbox full? When is the feeder empty? And metrics to verify the device is generally operating safely.

Controlling the device? We've known how to do that for 50+ years. Help me maintain the device.

[–] alekwithak@lemmy.world 13 points 13 hours ago (4 children)

I feel you, trying to find a smart gadget that is actually smart in 2025 and not just a data collector is nearly impossible. Learning to DIY a lot of these projects. Throw one of these or similar in there with a little control board set to email you if 0 changes to 1 or w/e

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[–] drunkpostdisaster@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

I work at a dispensary. In theory this could actually be helpful for my job.

[–] NauticalNoodle@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

In theory the IoT could be secure. -In theory.

[–] yucandu@lemmy.world 49 points 15 hours ago (10 children)

Meanwhile here I am installing ESP32C3's into everything in my house to automate everything.

I can turn on my floor heat, hallway light, or even open a vent from an app on my phone. And bonus, no shady manufacturers to spy on me. Just China.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Can you flush toilets tho

[–] yucandu@lemmy.world 2 points 2 hours ago

I can do that but I don't wanna - Bart Simpson

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