undefined | Better HN

0 pointsomeid29y ago0 comments

Consumers have the luxury of voting with their money.

0 comments

6 comments · 2 top-level

matthewmacleod9y ago· 3 in thread

Only while there are comparable manufacturers offering devices with a feature set they do want.

omeid2OP9y ago

I strongly doubt if the average western consumer has any problem of choice.

On that topic, Barry Schwartz has a very interesting TED talk, aptly titled: The Paradox Of Choice. [1]

PS. See the toothbrush phone example? Yeah, that is now a thing. [2]

[1] https://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_c...

[2] https://twitter.com/internetofshit/status/817531891494457345

matthewmacleod9y ago

I think that's difficult to conclude. A good example might be the implementation of 'smart' features on televisions. I'd love to buy a no-nonsense television that I could simply plug in to an HDMI cable and have display whatever I throw at it. I have a cable box, AV receiver etc. that provide the necessary source content. But it still takes up to a minute for my TV to boot; it displays adverts; it needs software updates; it contains a microphone. That's a bunch of sully features I'd rather not have, but I can't exactly vote with my money here!

(It's technically possible to do that, but I'd have to pay a massive, huge premium for a mediocre product. I don't think that situation counts.)

tonyedgecombe9y ago

Try and buy a small television that doesn't suck, I tried and couldn't find anything.

ensiferum9y ago· 1 in thread

Already it's getting difficult to find dummy versions of consumer appliances such as televisions. They all have Craproid or CrapOS now and all the bugs and problems, security breaches and vulnerabilities that come with it.

A fridge has a 10-20 year expected life span as it is. Anyone think that any manufacturer is seriously commited to maintaining software for that duration of time? In fact I'm going to speculate that having the software become unmaintained would be used as a marketing incentive to have people renew their fridges every couple of years.

omeid2OP9y ago

No, currently they seem to be really bad at this, judging from cases like "Can't sign in to Google calendar on my Samsung refrigerator"[1].

But, isn't this exactly how big names get replaced by more modern and technologically savvy alternatives? or at least, the big names gets forced to adopt?

[1]. https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/calendar/Uhfp...

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

6 comments · 2 top-level

matthewmacleod9y ago· 3 in thread

Only while there are comparable manufacturers offering devices with a feature set they do want.

omeid2OP9y ago

I strongly doubt if the average western consumer has any problem of choice.

On that topic, Barry Schwartz has a very interesting TED talk, aptly titled: The Paradox Of Choice. [1]

PS. See the toothbrush phone example? Yeah, that is now a thing. [2]

[1] https://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_c...

[2] https://twitter.com/internetofshit/status/817531891494457345

matthewmacleod9y ago

(It's technically possible to do that, but I'd have to pay a massive, huge premium for a mediocre product. I don't think that situation counts.)

tonyedgecombe9y ago

Try and buy a small television that doesn't suck, I tried and couldn't find anything.

ensiferum9y ago· 1 in thread

omeid2OP9y ago

No, currently they seem to be really bad at this, judging from cases like "Can't sign in to Google calendar on my Samsung refrigerator"[1].

But, isn't this exactly how big names get replaced by more modern and technologically savvy alternatives? or at least, the big names gets forced to adopt?

[1]. https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/calendar/Uhfp...

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse