And I would ask the maximum allowed with fraud, by law.
18 U.S. Code § 1030.
Could you pls. point me to which paras are the most relevant to the said logic-based disabling?
Wahing machines for dishes are much more complex and have many more points of failure.
...but morally?
Because it's illegal to pay so little, and nobody would do it for that price anyway, except for maybe your own children, who do it for that price plus the negative incidence of an asswhooping. If it were affordable for common people to have servants or slaves, they totally would. Machinery priced slaves out of existence. The next frontier is for value-added centralized industrial manufacturing to be priced out by distributed manufacturing and recycling, not a return to the days of domestic servitude.
He mentions mentally disabled people specifically, who have lower minimum wage levels in some jurisdictions.
/s ?
You just connect a couple of hoses and power, surely? And I'll bet the install fee eats a huge percentage of that price.
I was lucky and someone was interested in the old one to try to fix it, or to swap parts and make their current one look nicer, so I didn't have to haul the other one away to the dump, but that's something the installer will typically do.
So tired of replacing my appliances every 4 years
Warning - you NEED to go with the top loader if your actually want basically no maintenance. The front loaders WILL require seals at times.
But the Queen can run 40 years.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/speed-queen-tc5-classic-top-loa...
Wireless connectivity: No.
Pacha perfection meme.
I (UK) bought this (https://ao.com/product/wnc25410gb-bosch-series-8-idos-washer...) Bosch one a few months ago and it is perfectly usable without enabling any of the smart capabilities though. I haven't connected mine to wi-fi at all.
Not useful for Ireland, but I really like my local habitat for humanity thrift store for perfectly serviceable used or recovered building materials and appliances. Maybe search for a model prior to the iot insanity wars?
Compared to smartwatches they aren't expensive, look classy and show time and/or date. The quality of Swiss, German and Japanese is reliable. No batteries, no electronics and they wind up by wearing.
Recommendation: Look for the models from the 50ies/60ies which are smaller and still in production, the less known manufacturers have reasonable prices. I love the original Mido Commander.
It just displays time and can't spam me with notifications! Bliss!
There is functionality hidden in the app, so that the manufacturer can save a dime and a half on some buttons. Unfortunately, this line has already been crossed.
The functionality that is hidden: Rinse, Machine Care (self-cleaning), HalfLoad, Eco and Delay start.
And if the TV decided to implement weird, non-standard control signals, it can be a pain to access certain functionality with universal remotes (e.g. settings).
Different path to get there, but same end result: not being able to access functionality without going through an annoying manufacturer-specific route.
I trust Consumer Reports and would never buy an appliance without consulting them, but it doesn't surprise me that they're a little conservative and wouldn't realize they need to call this stuff out initially.
The interesting bit would be to have the reaction from Bosch. They "updated" their design and the review score went down.
In the meantime "wifi" is a feature that can be filtered on in their sorting tool.
Granted, not everyone wants or cares to minimize waste when it comes to objects of convenience, but plenty of folks want the option... and yes, I do realize I sound like "your father who bought fancy cars with manual windows because it's one less thing that can break." :) My own father was that kind of person.
but generally a wifi/bluetooth chip isn't going to be the point of failure that brings down an entire appliance... most work without them
I've replaced a lot of logic boards and it's usually something every board needs upstream like a voltage regulator or a capacitor that brings it down
The good ones do, but some will stop working if any functionality dies. Hardest part is knowing which are which.
We're probably all familiar with the XY problem, but I think we must also beware the XY problem-problem, where a posed problem is inappropriately identified as an XY problem and a good question is not given a good answer. (See also: much of Stack Overflow) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XY_problem
For example, the AC unit I bought, resets any settings changes from the front panel if you power cycle it, unless you configure them in the web interface.
My new microwave with a "child safety" lock has a button combination you can use to disable the lock, but it forgets that setting on losing power, so you have to perpetually keep the sequence needed around if you ever have brownouts or blackouts.
And, of course, if you just ignore it, it might be waiting for someone to come by with the right bluetooth or 802.11 network or s/t and use any "optional features" however they like...
What is the problem exactly?
(Or, buy a used one from a reputable brand.)
(The division there is currently 64 with app, 43 without. The models without appear to score higher in the reviews.)
https://www.coolblue.nl/wasmachines/filter/bediening-via-app...
Mind you, I have 'regular' buttons that don't respond well either.
Samsung sells commercial monitors that are just TVs without all the smart crap. You can even opt out of a wifi card
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1828914-REG/samsung_q...
I'm not aware of any lists, and the market is thin, but they're out there.
I also have friends with Samsung washing machines. Let’s just say get an AEG.
I've replaced two heating elements in my ~9 year old Samsung dryer, I think the heating elements were less than 50 USD. I did the labor myself so I don't know how much that would have been - you do have to take the dryer apart, but it doesn't take very long if you have experience, 15-20 minutes or less.
I would not recommend Samsung - I've had to take that dryer apart more than 10 times to replace/fix things, I can't imagine how much it would have cost me if I couldn't do it myself. The only plus there is now I can literally break it down and put it back together very quickly when I need to fix it.
Luckily the Samsung washer has been fine.
I replace a squeaky drum wheel ~$20 and a drum pulley belt kit ~$40 and this dryer is flawless. It can bake my towels if I want or run low heat for delicates.
My parents Samsung is constantly on the fritz and their home warranty company keeps replacing parts or the whole unit over the years.
I have a washing machine without wifi fortunately. It has this steam function where you can set it to steam your clothing regularly at the end of the wash cycle, in case you forget to take them out in time.
Half the time if i turn that on it takes the button press to stop but does not unlock the door :)
I have to run an extra dry cycle manually to get at my laundry. Which kind of defeats the point of the 'fire and forget' option.
It's easy finding dumb washing machines. I'd bet that most of the current washing machines on the market are dumb.
It's not exclusively aimed at non-smart stuff, but there tends to be a pretty strong overlap between the two - so it might be worth taking a look at.
Also frustrating when it might be, “Look at this 30 year old Craftsmen wrench.” Unfortunately, that 30 year old version is no longer made, as production has been MBAed and quality is now an afterthought because they can still sell the logo for a premium price.
Turns out, BIFL products are only recognized as such in hindsight, which is often after enshittification hits.
I've found a good source of recommendations can be friends and family who bought something similar 3-4 years ago. If something is going to go catastrophically wrong, it probably will have happened by then, and it's still possible that the same product is available.
Then again, maybe I could hack it to host a Mastodon instance or run Doom.
Doom might be dangerous, though.
You probably have to subscribe to be able to do so, but I'd never buy a major appliance without reading the Consumer Reports rating.
Or do you mean at estate sales when they pass?
No motel microwave is “smart”. No commercial kitchen is going to have the line cooks installing “apps”.
BUT BE AWARE that commercial items have different requirements and tradeoffs! You need to research them before buying. Some may matter to you, some may be a safety issue, some may be technically or actually illegal to run at home.
For example, commercial ovens may look similar to your home oven, but have zero insulation anywhere and NOT be designed to be installed next to anything except solid metal.
But commercial and used commercial can be great. You can still get zero smarts devices, like microwaves with literally no computers in them, just a timer dial.
You can also import many from the USA, but you’d have to check power requirements very carefully. Commercial equipment is often available in 240v in the USA but it may not be self-switching.
But be aware that commercial dishwashers work - but even if you don’t get a massive Hobart machine that they’re designed for speed, not energy efficiency or silent operation.
This seems odd, it seems intuitive that it would reduce running costs to have some insulation? To lower energy costs by not having the oven work harder to maintain a given temperature.
Is the ability to shed heat a priority? That is, being able to cook item A at 250 C and then cook item B at 150 C in rapid succession.
I understand that the lack of insulation might be the cause of this, at least partially. But since it's already typically very hot in the kitchen, I can see why makers won't add external insulation: the unit passively losing heat might not be a real issue in production.
(Re: ability to shed heat: I know confectioners need high level of precision in temps, the rest of the industry likely doesn't have this as a hard requirement.)
Even a home oven will eventually get quite hot on the sides if you cook all day.
Meanwhile for DIY-ers, parts are usually available and there are YouTube videos on most major models (telling you which models are best, how to fix/maintain them, how to run them, etc.).
We have a Whirlpool Ultimate Care II that is about 50 years old and has been thru 4 generations of people. I've worked on it twice: once to replace a switch and the second time to replace some ratchet gears. Repairmen have also worked on it in my absence. Like most of the older washers, it's designed to be easy to dismantle and repair. It washes more gently than any other washer I've seen: consequently our clothes last longer. Wish the software I use was as easy to fix.
That thing is a tank and so easy to service!
I’m just scared it will fail catastrophically some day and the gas burner will ignite the garage. Do you know how safe an old gas burning whirlpool dryer is compared to modern gas dryers? The whirlpool can get super hot and basically bake my clothes if I want.
- have a professional check out your dryer periodically,
- clean the lint trap every cycle and
- periodically clear lint out of the exhaust duct (all the way to the duct's exit).
OTOH I personally would not use a gas dryer in a home. While gas is faster drying and lower cost, an electric dryer is simpler and less worrisome. Sometimes "Less is more." And if you prefer an older electrical model, they are available! Perhaps a re-furbisher would take your gas dryer in trade?
The last two maintenance items above should be done for electric dryers too, since electric dryers can ignite trapped lint as well as can gas.
See https://www.envistaforensics.com/knowledge-center/insights/a...
I particularly like their suggestion to put a smoke alarm above the dryer, which I will do today!
Here’s a similar one available in ireland (€429.99): https://www.did.ie/products/electrolux-8kg-1400rpm-freestand...
I confirmed this on the products official page here: https://www.electrolux.co.uk/laundry/laundry/washing-machine...
click on “product details”, then “Full Specification”, it says “Connectivity: No”.
The Electrolux ireland store (online) sells many different parts as well, so repairs shouldn’t be too stressful in the future.
Although it won’t dry clothes completely, it’s a great non-smart option. In the US, you can get one for as low as $135. For Ex: https://amzn.to/3GDvpXg
I just got a washer/dryer within the last year and they weren’t smart. They even sell their really old design without a locking lid still (which is quite a nice thing if you don’t have kids or pets to worry about).
I got the front loader, because I had to (house design stuff I can’t work around). While it has a digital input, it’s more old school. Their top loaders still have mechanical knobs.
comrade1234•7mo ago