What are your thoughts and feelings on smart devices in home (echo, home, etc)?

[vivster]

sethnintendo said:

vivster said:

So you're saying having certain things wireless is more convenient for your lifestyle because you prefer food over cables? Well isn't that the darndest thing. So you do have a sense of convenience. Good. Now apply that to other people than yourself and you have all your answers as to why smart devices exist and why people use them and why it's still a growing market.

I have a counter arguement against your more convenience theory.  My example would be cars/vehicles.  Somewhere around late 90s/early 2000s cars have become more and more complex.  Most people used to be able to work on their own cars and by fixing/repairing their cars themselves.  Well in the past decade or two car manufacturers have made it more complex to be able to perform basic actions including even trying to access important things such as your radiator fluid intake (I've seen it hidden underneath plastic that one would have to unscrew/bolt just to get access to it to fill it with fluid).  So while things might seem like they are being more convenient on the outside (such as car now has GPS, etc) it really has become almost impossible for the average person to perform basic car maintainence themselves.  Why?  Because the dealer wants people to come to them for basically any little thing that could go wrong (for people that actually take their cars to overpriced dealerships for work).

Anything that is more digital has an increased chance of messing up.  A regular door handle/lock will almost always outlast a lock that is digital.  More computer boards and wires you put into something the more increased chance something goes wrong.  Heck my electronic locks went to shit after just a few years on my car.  I never bothered replacing it or even trying to fix it.  The person can wait outside my car while I reach over and unlock the door for them.

So my question to you is.  Do you understand this point of view?

This point of view does not hold up in reality. Of course technology makes things more complex, because they ARE more complex. Simple things can break and complex things can break. The drawback of not being able to repair something yourself is tiny compared to the added convenience. With increased technology our overall wealth has increased as well, meaning repairs are affordable and most people don't even want to repair things themselves.

Suspecting that advanced technology is just a ploy by greedy companies to make more money is a very simplistic view and can't even be applied to most things.  More advanced technology brings more advanced problems, yes, but it also eradicates old problems. That's why advanced technology sticks and people get used to it. Because it improves the quality of life overall.

Such points of view are easily solved when taking a greater step back and look at the advancements we made and which advancements we wouldn't want to live without anymore. Every generation tried to defy change but they all failed and adapted instead, because innovation always finds a way when it's solid. And the earlier you adapt, the easier it gets for you.