Thread

1. 9cb14c1ec0 · 1790257028 · focus · HN ↗

   Meanwhile, my non-smart fridge continues to run just fine. Why do we need smart fridges? That was always a bad idea.

   1. Legend2440 · 1790258111 · focus · HN ↗

      The trouble is that 'smart fridges' turn out to be just a regular fridge with an android tablet on the front. Which is useless.

      I would love a fridge with a camera inside and a smart enough AI to tell me (1. what's in the fridge (2. how long it's been there and (3. what I've eaten from it. Some companies have tried making this kind of fridge, but AFAIK they don't work very well.

      1. anentropic · 1790258171 · focus · HN ↗

         Why not just open the door and have a look in the fridge?

         1. phoghed · 1790258979 · focus · HN ↗

            Why not do the more labor intensive, higher energy use, higher friction, less convenient version of anything? Why automate anything?

            1. jjulius · 1790259335 · focus · HN ↗

               Why the blind insistence upon automating everything?

               1. phoghed · 1790260367 · focus · HN ↗

                  It’s not blind insistence, and that framing reveals a real lack of imagination on your part in my opinion. A truly smart fridge that had an inventory of all my stuff, knew expiration dates, etc. hooked up to my chat agent would be wonderful.

                  1. applfanboysbgon · 1790260899 · focus · HN ↗

                     Do people have the memory of a goldfish or what? "I can't remember what's in my fridge" is not a problem I've ever had in my entire life. What is there even to automate? If you were talking about a smart fridge with an accompanying robot that automatically orders groceries, picked up the deliveries itself, and stocked your fridge that'd be something, at least... still an insanely, unbelievably wasteful use of both your personal and our planet's resources to save five minutes a week, but something. But that's not even what smart fridges promise. They promise to automate looking in the fridge, an activity that you must do every time you withdraw or deposit food from/into it anyways. Wonderful.

                     1. EvanAnderson · 1790268024 · focus · HN ↗

                        > Do people have the memory of a goldfish or what? "I can't remember what's in my fridge" is not a problem I've ever had in my entire life.

                        I have no problem remembering what's in the fridge. It doesn't do me any good because my wife and daughter also know what's in the fridge and they eat those things too.

                        Knowing I might need to pick something up while I'm out, particularly when nobody is home to check the remaining stock, would be handy.

                        Having said that, I don't want anything to do with the modern conception of a "smart fridge". If there was a self-hostable fridge camera I could install I might be into that. Otherwise, no thanks. I like my "dumb" fridge UI the way it is.

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