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0 pointsmarcosdumay6y ago0 comments

> but a $0.50 analog light switch will last a century

Most will. Some will break within 3 months. Our old home tech (there is nothing analog in a light switch) isn't as flawless as most people claim. Power outlets do short circuit, wires to break, circuit breakers to burn closed.

They are still way more reliable than most electronic trash people push as smart home devices, but at this point, it's a marketing decision not an inherent property of electronics.

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SllX6y ago

Everything we make and buy will someday return to dust.

It is an economic decision to make choices about the level of complexity you are willing to tolerate from device to device. The lights go out, I can burn some candles, but I would still rather have my lights working despite their relative complexity over the candles, but I want them to always work with a manual toggle. The toggle shouldn’t have 30 pages of legalese and a promise to not violate my privacy too much for too much personal gain, with the words “too” and “much” defined rather loosely in all the legal jargon.

noja6y ago

> but at this point, it's a marketing decision not an inherent property of electronics.

It's an inherent property of many things that increased complexity tends to mean increased failure rate (or earlier failure).

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