I can see a use for the laces where someone may have a hand problem or maybe someone who can’t bend for long. I think the toothbrush a good idea as I believe they can let you know how long to brush. I learned how long to do it but have heard of one which gives a kind of pulse to let you know when to move it to other teeth etc.
All the best > On 25 Jan 2019, at 04:34, Sieghard Weitzel <[email protected]> wrote: > > Yes, I also read about the $350 Nike runners with the automatic lacing > system. It's about at the same level as far as ridiculous is concerned as the > smart hair brush, toothbrush or toilet. > The runners have obviously a battery, a small motor to which the laces are > connected, and which tightens them and then there is of course a chip which > makes sure they don't tighten to the point where they make little Chinese > feet out of some guy's size 14 flippers. > You can control this via an app where you can also set up presets for various > tightness levels. This of course is brilliant because now I have to first > unlock my phone, open the app and find the right button by which time I could > have already laced up my runners and be a quarter mile down the road. > Of course you can also push one of the two buttons on the runner, one > tightens and one relaxes the laces. I guess if you made them quite tight and > run out of battery you are out of luck, well, I guess you can just put > shopping bags over your feet so you don't get the bed dirty as you sleep and > while your shoes are charging. > > > down the roadwhich is absolutely brilliant because now I > From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Kevin > Minor > Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2019 11:39 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: RE: Your Expensive Smart Appliance May Not Last A Decade > > Hi. > > Most people may not think of the smart device I’ll describe as an appliance, > but it’s something you use in the home. It’s the Alexa products from Amazon, > and specifically the Echo. I like how it and the iPhone can interface with > each other, and using Alexa, the Echo can be used on many other devices. As > an example, before I got my Echo, when I did grocery shopping, I wouldn’t > have a good idea of what I needed. I’d just get to the store, think of what > sounded good at the time, and, if I remembered it, I’d get something like > hand soap that I really could use. Now, however, when I think of something > I’d like to get, I’d tell my Echo to add it to my shopping list, and it’s > right there on my iPhone to view through the Amazon Alexa app. By the way, > for those of you who have the devices that use her name and are being > activated by my message being read, from now on I’ll refer to her as Lady A. > In any case, to day I went to Wal-Mart and got my groceries. I had about > eight or nine items on my list, so I went with this information available on > my iPhone. I got someone to help me shop. I told her what was on my list, > and once I got it I spoke to my iPhone after activating the Ask Lady A > button, and said “Remove orange juice from my shopping list,” and that item > was moved from the items I needed to get to my completed list. There were > two things I couldn’t get, so I completely deleted one from all lists, and > the other I moved to my completed list, and I will have it there to see if I > can get it some other time at another location. > > I know there are all kinds of smart appliances, and other, shall we say, > interesting items you can use with devices like an iPhone, including, believe > it or not, shoes that will automatically tighten themselves, kind of like > they’re being tied using a Blue Tooth connection, and, oh yeah, the shoes > light up and you have to recharge them. I’m sure that many of us know of all > kinds of things you can control with apps, and many of us have no idea why in > the world anybody needs these. However, there are those things that come > out, seeming to be for a very specific market, and before long the general > public sees a use for them. I’ll give such an example here that’s totally > not related to smart devices, and, in fact, this technology had been worked > on for many years. I’m referring to OCR by computers. The first time I > heard about this was in the mid 70’s, and it’s main use was to convert print > into something a computer could read for the blind. It was very expensive, > and its voice was terrible, but it worked fairly well. Well, when the PC > came out, someone in the general public saw this as a good way to convert > printed documents into a form that could be stored and edited on a computer, > so the technology became more mainstream, and it came way down in price, to > the point where now most businesses use it, and we as blind computer users > have access to it for a very reasonable cost. Smart appliances, or other > devices for that matter, work the same way. Something that comes out might > seem to be a fun toy to have, but someone else sees potential to use it for a > very useful function, and things blossom from there. I bet Lady A was > something like that. Engineers got it working all right, and had some fun > with it. Then others saw it and saw a nice market for it, and look what we > have now. > > There are some thoughts from me. I could ramble on much longer on this > topic, but I think you understand what I’m saying. > > Have a blessed day and don’t work too hard. > Kevin Minor and my Seeing Eye dog, the amazing Jilly, Lexington, KY > > From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Mary > Otten > Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2019 3:00 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: Your Expensive Smart Appliance May Not Last A Decade > > I couldn’t agree with you more. I think the whole Smart appliance thing is > incredibly over sold. I mean really. A smart refrigerator? Who really needs > that? The description of what you could do with that Samsung refrigerator > just made me scratch my head and wonderment as to why anybody would spend all > that money for stuff that is so not necessary. > > The only thing that interests me about smart appliances is possible > Accessibility. Because so many appliances come with inaccessible interfaces > that can’t be modified easily with dots or braille, like you used to be able > to do with older appliances, the ability to have an app on your phone, say, > that would let you control a device is kind of attractive. Maybe even > necessary. When our washer died several years ago, I went looking for one > that I could use. I was lucky to find something still had a kind of a pointer > on the dial, so I could put labels in strategic places. I still can’t do > everything that you were supposed to be able to do with this washer or the > dryer. But it’s good enough. But I saw a lot of machines that werenot usable > at all by a blind person because they could not be modified to make > controlling and accessible. I don’t imagine that trend is changing. And > that’s a problem. I hope I don’t ever end up having to buy something with a > whole bunch of stupid features I don’t need the cost more that I want to > spend just because I need accessibility to the basic functionality. > > Sent from my iPhone > > On Jan 23, 2019, at 11:21 AM, Cristóbal Muñoz <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > > Interesting article I thought I’d post. > I know the topics of things like the Instant Pot and other smart > appliances/devices around the house have come up before and the concern about > whether they’d still be accessible after X period of time. I’m perfectly > happy with my instant pot Bluetooth and as a pressure cooker, I expect it to > last a good long while. Accessibility or the maintenance of the app though… > that’s a separate issue. IN general, outside of the IP, Ring video doorbell > and a Bluetooth kitchen scale, our home really isn’t smart. We do have a 4K > TV with some built in apps, but for convenience, the wife just has a hacked > Fire TV and Apple TV plugged into it. We don’t’ even use the apps included in > our Dish Hopper III. > Our fridge, washer and drier are around 14 years old now and while the > washer’s needed some YouTube intervention a couple of times, they’re still > going strong. > I wasn’t really keen on upgrading to smart appliances in general and the > realities that this article points out doesn’t really do anything to make me > reassess my opinion. > The WSJ put out a similar article having to do with smart TVs a few months > back and it was more or less the same thing. Good luck trying to keep that > super expensive smart TV smart. > I don’t mind spending 30 or 50 or maybe 100 or 200 dollars on a smart device, > but if you’re talking close to $1000 and more, smart’s nice and all, but at > that point, give me longevity and reliability. > > https://www.howtogeek.com/401635/your-expensive-smart-appliance-may-not-last-a-decade/ > > <https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.howtogeek.com%2F401635%2Fyour-expensive-smart-appliance-may-not-last-a-decade%2F&data=02%7C01%7C%7C54bc96b092ad4e61a45408d6816d57f1%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636838703951343925&sdata=HpLChOasKSnGQ8nQc9mcEUmnOMdA4GgynY1AicXVX%2F8%3D&reserved=0> > > Cristóbal > > -- > The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. > > If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if > you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or > moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. > > Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. 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