"why does the fridge have an internet connection?"
"So it can download security updates"
"Why does it need security updates?"
"To protect against new vulnerabilities"
"Surely if we didn't connect it to the internet, we wouldn't need that..."
"Oh"
0 Boosts
0 Likes
@quixoticgeek @KimSJ I imagine it's because the fridge has a camera.
@quixoticgeek Give me so-called 'dumb' appliances. I don't need to know what it is doing and it is just expensive fluff.
@quixoticgeek I would expect an internet connected fridge to do things like
* scan the barcode on each product you put into it
* tell you to throw it away when it's one microsecond past the "use by" date
* offer to order a replacement for you
* show you advertisements for other things you might like to buy
and so on.
I would expect it to be terribly confused by your putting something into it that didn't have a barcode, y'know, like fresh produce, stuff from your garden, stuff you'd cooked. If there's no barcode how can it sell you anything??
@quixoticgeek @quixoticgeek " Why do the fridges in all of your Supermarket stores in France have an internet connection?"
" So a single admin can operate tem remotely"
" Surely having an employee in each store actually running the fridges would prevent having a single point of failure"
" Impossibul ! J'ai fait une école de Management moi, Monsieur"
@quixoticgeek but possibly so retailers can monitor and verify the temperatures across their coolchain storage, to ensure the food they sell is safe within the printed use by date. Also, perhaps to add one or two days to that shelf life? It's not entirely mad, but it does raise questions of the costs and benefits.
@AndyDearden hey, no skipping ahead. That's a second thread I'm writing. :p
it really pisses me off that my washing machine has a Wi-Fi signal. WTF. There is no need for that.
@FranceskaMann @quixoticgeek So drop it's packets in the firewall.
@FranceskaMann @helpdeskaleer use the firewall on the network to prevent the device talking to the internet.
@quixoticgeek @FranceskaMann@freeradical.zone @helpdeskaleer that'll only work in rural areas or if the fridge has the type of Internet connection that listens to the customer (rather than the type that looks for public wifi to connect to when the customer doesn't connect it to theirs)
I have no idea which type most "smart fridges" have, but I do know I don't trust any tech corporations, so I'd rip the internet module out just in case (or get a fridge with no Internet access in the first place)
@FranceskaMann @quixoticgeek
Am I supposed to morse code in my WiFi password on the program button?
404 media just dropped a story that ice and police can use AI based on a photo from Airbnb appliances to track people. It sounds so bizarre. so yeah, I want my appliances stupid, disconnected and useful. Enough surveillance tech.
@FranceskaMann @quixoticgeek
Yeah, more "doing the job" and "being repairable" and less "narcing on me for microwaving a burrito at 0345"
but but but the fridge needs to collect data on you
@quixoticgeek but but but what if I'm at home and need to change the temperature in my fridge? That's a thing that people need to do regularly right? Right?