@shahnm Nope, that’s the bottom of a film pack there. All SX-70 (and cheaper versions) film packs have a battery in them. That’s the only battery the camera has.
@blaineg@shahnm@werehatrack To answer the question of who uses film these days, it’s a whole trend, especially with the youngsters. Much like vinyl records & scrunchies.
@ircon96 I knew there was a retro fad for film (again), and I’ve even cashed in on it; my film crisper’s contents actually were gladly received, despite a couple of the rolls having a stale date in 1998. The film crisper has been repurposed as the spice crisper as a result. I still have my 1962-vintage Nikon F, not that I anticipate using it anytime soon, if ever - but it would continue to work after the EMP from a nuke over downtown had wiped out every electronic device this side of San Antonio. (I might not fare so well, though.) The real hardcore types might want my Speed Graphic. (Mint condition.)
Every “smart” kitchen appliance. Some I feel are particularly pointless, like an IoT coffee maker. Sure, one could remotely start it, but water and grounds still needs to be added manually; at that point, it’s not that hard to hit “brew”.
Car ignition switch systems and the wiring for the exterior lights (turn signals, etc.) Whoever came up with the “body control modules” that afflict too much of recent and current production needs to pay for his own damn repairs out of his own pocket.
@werehatrack But without those, how could the turn signals do a little startup sequence every time one unlocks their car? Just flashing once is so archaic!
@Kyeh I miss manual windows too. And the gear selector located on the steering column. I miss keys. I hate key fobs. I want to be able to carry a spare car key, but I can’t with the dang fob.
@Kyeh@narfcake@Tadlem43@werehatrack@heartny@detailer
All of this! And rolling down the back window listening to cassettes. I hate key fobs — conspiracy to replace $1.99 spare keys with $100+ fobs. Chunky, clunky, and costly. Nope! Get off my lawn and take all your beeps and buzzing seats and flashing lights with you! I’m trying to drive here!
@Kyeh@narfcake@werehatrack Re: car windows - I’d settle for just being able to roll the windows up/down without having to start the engine. I mean, WTF!?! If you’ve got the magic fob in your pocket, you should be able to operate any accessory, but no.
@detailer@heartny@katbyter@Kyeh@narfcake@Tadlem43@werehatrack And who’s the genius that decided the trunk no longer needed its own key lock, just a powered door release button? In my late father’s 2009 Hyundai Sonata, when the battery dies, you’d better not have anything you need in the trunk, cuz you’ll need to crawl through the back seat with a flashlight (hopefully not in the trunk) to get to it. And, if it’s too large to fit through the split seat opening, you’re out of luck. I’m just guessing about this, since I’ve never wrestled with it myself… They’d prob find my corpse stuck in there when somebody realized they haven’t heard from me in awhile. Or when the buzzards started circling.
I’d actually prefer a hard-key ignition with or without a trivially easy-to-remove lock cylinder. I’d add my own anti-theft measures that a thief would have difficulty recognizing or bypassing, and achieve security through obscurity while preserving the economy of repairability that no fob-and-button system can match.
As phones get smarter the users subsequently lose intelligence at a related rate.
Seriously. How many phone numbers did you used to have committed to memory? How many things did you used to know whereas now you simply just pull out your phone and “google” it?
Phones are the primary agent in the demise of advanced civilization.
@tweezak I still know the phone numbers that matter.
I still know lots of stuff.
The difference is I now have a magic box that can (on a good day) find the stuff I need to know, that I don’t.
Or show me the many, many cool, interesting, informative, educational, and/or funny things that I serendipitously stumble into on a near daily basis.
I’m making no distinction between a phone and computer here, the only difference to me is screen size and speed. I don’t have much use for a cell phone. I have a LOT of use for a networked computer in my pocket.
@blaineg I’m guessing you are old enough to have gone through childhood without a smartphone. The damage to society by phones is that young people never knew life without them, are totally dependent on them and are perfectly willing to sacrifice their rights and privacy for the convenience.
I’m concerned that kids today can’t function without them. And they are kept as addicted as possible so their info, movements, browsing and shopping habits can be sold to the highest bidder.
@ironcheftoni My 45-year-old Maytag does everything I need that a smart washer can do, and never complains about anything. I had to repair it recently, and every single part except one was available. The one that wasn’t available didn’t really matter, because I could easily make a substitute. It has zero solid state electronic components, no printed circuits or integrated circuits of any kind, and a clockwork timer switch to control everything. I plan on keeping it in service. I like it. It just washes clothes. Nothing else.
@ironcheftoni@werehatrack My 25+ year old Kenmore/Whirlpool washer, dryer and fridge are similar. I deliberately bought the dumbest appliances I could find. When things occasionally go wrong, they are cheap and easy to fix.
My sister has a semi-smart stove. No internet foolishness, but a digital display, and pushbutton controls. I can’t remember what killed it, but the electronics died, and the repairman was estimating $4-500 to replace the board and repair it.
I offered to take a look at it, and there were some very obviously smoked power transistors (or whatever, it’s been a while). With a little work I found the parts and replaced them for about $40. Fortunately the controller chip was fine.
@werehatrack I just replaced mine that finally became too expensive to repair. I hate the new one. While it doesn’t have the wifi controls, it has a door lock that doesn’t allow you to throw in extra items after the cycle has started.
A.I. in products, period. They can NEVER predict what I want to do or need next. From the predictive text to the emails advertising what I just bought (from the same company), A.I. fails badly. And entrepreneurs are putting A.I. into cars?
This AI creates authoritative sounding garbage. What a breakthrough.
But can it do content-free MBA-buzzword-speak nonsense? That would be a real boon; we could start recycling the main cause of the idiocy in US businesses as gator chow, and with the AIs issuing memos in their place, no one would be the wiser.
@heartny agreed on the light bulbs, at least the few “smart” ones we have tried for some outoor fixtures.
Sure, you can turn them on and off and change colors from your phone… but if anyone so much as looks at them funny, or flips the physical switch off and on quickly, or the wi-fi router resets, or any number of other circumstances… now your lights either don’t turn on at all, or turn on but sit there blinking, waiting for some remote command while you furiously google how to reprogram them because you lost the instructions ages ago.
Right now most “smart” devices annoy me because they’re stupid either in scope or ability (often both).
I will be much more annoyed (and maybe paranoid) when they become smarter than I am.
The kitchen in the house I bought has a smart faucet. I’ve lived with smart door locks, thermostats, lights, speakers, and doorbells, and I can confidently say that the smart faucet is by far the dumbest one. I wouldn’t say that the rest of those things are better than just a basic normal version, but they at least offer some advantages to counteract the disadvantage. The smart faucet is just a huge pain in the ass.
But even more than that, I’m tired of smart things being imposed on me. My last apartment building forced us to live with smart locks, and my house came with a smart thermostat, faucet, and doorbell. The only smarthome stuff I’ve actually opted into is lights.
I got my heart set on having a red trash can for my kitchen, and the only one I could find at the time had a touch-free motion sensor lid. But the damn thing opened every time I walked past it! So I took out the batteries and now I just open it manually, which is fine.
@Kyeh You’re lucky that it was usable with the AS disabled. I’ve seen things like that which became overpriced decorations when the controlling widgetry failed or lost power.
@Kyeh Yeah. It’s like having an oversized baby bird in your kitchen. When it sees you, it opens its mouth to be fed. I gave up on those long ago. Now I have SimpleHuman trash cans in the kitchen and baths. They have no lids. These may not be the best idea with cats in the house, though.
Kids.
The fridge doesn’t need to be smarter. Just the fools who refuse to refrigerate their batteries need to be smarter.
@shahnm [phlbtbtbtbbbtbtbbttt]
@werehatrack Ah. One of those fools has arrived, right on schedule…
@shahnm What about film?
@blaineg @shahnm Film, definitely. But who the heck uses film anymore?
@blaineg You can’t put batteries in film. Please try to keep up…
@shahnm @werehatrack I thought the reply might be “What’s film?”
@shahnm Incorrect. Please try to keep up with the 1970’s.
@blaineg But the batteries are in the camera, not in the film. I am the 1970s…
@shahnm Nope, that’s the bottom of a film pack there. All SX-70 (and cheaper versions) film packs have a battery in them. That’s the only battery the camera has.
The film has batteries.
@blaineg @blaineg Well then it stands to reason that you should refrigerate your 1970s film. Why are you making this so complicated?!?
@blaineg @shahnm @werehatrack To answer the question of who uses film these days, it’s a whole trend, especially with the youngsters. Much like vinyl records & scrunchies.
https://www.dw.com/en/analog-photography-makes-a-comeback/a-59373991
@ircon96 I knew there was a retro fad for film (again), and I’ve even cashed in on it; my film crisper’s contents actually were gladly received, despite a couple of the rolls having a stale date in 1998. The film crisper has been repurposed as the spice crisper as a result. I still have my 1962-vintage Nikon F, not that I anticipate using it anytime soon, if ever - but it would continue to work after the EMP from a nuke over downtown had wiped out every electronic device this side of San Antonio. (I might not fare so well, though.) The real hardcore types might want my Speed Graphic. (Mint condition.)
@ircon96 @werehatrack
So you are a robot. I had my suspicions…
@werehatrack “Film crisper”
Toothpicks.
Every “smart” kitchen appliance. Some I feel are particularly pointless, like an IoT coffee maker. Sure, one could remotely start it, but water and grounds still needs to be added manually; at that point, it’s not that hard to hit “brew”.
@narfcake
Car ignition switch systems and the wiring for the exterior lights (turn signals, etc.) Whoever came up with the “body control modules” that afflict too much of recent and current production needs to pay for his own damn repairs out of his own pocket.
@werehatrack But without those, how could the turn signals do a little startup sequence every time one unlocks their car? Just flashing once is so archaic!
@narfcake @werehatrack I’m still mad that I can’t roll my car windows up & down manually if I want.
@Kyeh I miss manual windows too. And the gear selector located on the steering column. I miss keys. I hate key fobs. I want to be able to carry a spare car key, but I can’t with the dang fob.
@Kyeh @narfcake @werehatrack I miss vent windows!
@werehatrack And the high beam switch on the floor.
@Kyeh @narfcake @Tadlem43 @werehatrack @heartny @detailer
All of this! And rolling down the back window listening to cassettes. I hate key fobs — conspiracy to replace $1.99 spare keys with $100+ fobs. Chunky, clunky, and costly. Nope! Get off my lawn and take all your beeps and buzzing seats and flashing lights with you! I’m trying to drive here!
@heartny @Kyeh
Four (or 6) on the floor always beats three on the tree.
@Kyeh @narfcake @werehatrack Re: car windows - I’d settle for just being able to roll the windows up/down without having to start the engine. I mean, WTF!?!
If you’ve got the magic fob in your pocket, you should be able to operate any accessory, but no.
@blaineg @heartny @Kyeh Neither of which are options when there’s no bleedin’ clutch.
@Kyeh @Tadlem43 @werehatrack I believe the 1996 Ford F-series and Bronco are the last to have vent quarter windows.
I believe the current base F-150 in work truck spec still has manual windows.
@heartny @Kyeh @werehatrack If there’s no clutch, it’s not a real car, just a transportation box.
@detailer @heartny @katbyter @Kyeh @narfcake @Tadlem43 @werehatrack And who’s the genius that decided the trunk no longer needed its own key lock, just a powered door release button? In my late father’s 2009 Hyundai Sonata, when the battery dies, you’d better not have anything you need in the trunk, cuz you’ll need to crawl through the back seat with a flashlight (hopefully not in the trunk) to get to it. And, if it’s too large to fit through the split seat opening, you’re out of luck. I’m just guessing about this, since I’ve never wrestled with it myself… They’d prob find my corpse stuck in there when somebody realized they haven’t heard from me in awhile. Or when the buzzards started circling.
@detailer @heartny @ircon96 @katbyter @Kyeh @Tadlem43 @werehatrack It’s a Hyundai; their lock cylinders are just another way to gain entry.
Keep in mind it’s only their models with keys that can be stolen with a USB cable:
https://www.thedrive.com/news/how-thieves-are-stealing-hyundais-and-kias-with-just-a-usb-cabl
I’d actually prefer a hard-key ignition with or without a trivially easy-to-remove lock cylinder. I’d add my own anti-theft measures that a thief would have difficulty recognizing or bypassing, and achieve security through obscurity while preserving the economy of repairability that no fob-and-button system can match.
@detailer @heartny @katbyter @Kyeh @narfcake @Tadlem43 @werehatrack I think the 2009 model year predates that USB vulnerability, but it definitely predates anyone but the most desperate car thief wanting it!
@heartny @Kyeh Some new cars still have keys.
https://motorandwheels.com/cars-without-key-fobs/
Oh, and “all of the above” as well.
As phones get smarter the users subsequently lose intelligence at a related rate.
Seriously. How many phone numbers did you used to have committed to memory? How many things did you used to know whereas now you simply just pull out your phone and “google” it?
Phones are the primary agent in the demise of advanced civilization.
Not to mention this:
https://timcast.com/news/massachusetts-health-dept-worked-with-google-to-covertly-install-contact-tracing-spyware-on-1m-phones-lawsuit-says/
@tweezak I still know the phone numbers that matter.
I still know lots of stuff.
The difference is I now have a magic box that can (on a good day) find the stuff I need to know, that I don’t.
Or show me the many, many cool, interesting, informative, educational, and/or funny things that I serendipitously stumble into on a near daily basis.
I’m making no distinction between a phone and computer here, the only difference to me is screen size and speed. I don’t have much use for a cell phone. I have a LOT of use for a networked computer in my pocket.
@blaineg I’m guessing you are old enough to have gone through childhood without a smartphone. The damage to society by phones is that young people never knew life without them, are totally dependent on them and are perfectly willing to sacrifice their rights and privacy for the convenience.
I’m concerned that kids today can’t function without them. And they are kept as addicted as possible so their info, movements, browsing and shopping habits can be sold to the highest bidder.
Washing machines. Unless it’s going to load and change over the clothes for me.
@ironcheftoni My 45-year-old Maytag does everything I need that a smart washer can do, and never complains about anything. I had to repair it recently, and every single part except one was available. The one that wasn’t available didn’t really matter, because I could easily make a substitute. It has zero solid state electronic components, no printed circuits or integrated circuits of any kind, and a clockwork timer switch to control everything. I plan on keeping it in service. I like it. It just washes clothes. Nothing else.
@ironcheftoni @werehatrack My 25+ year old Kenmore/Whirlpool washer, dryer and fridge are similar. I deliberately bought the dumbest appliances I could find. When things occasionally go wrong, they are cheap and easy to fix.
My sister has a semi-smart stove. No internet foolishness, but a digital display, and pushbutton controls. I can’t remember what killed it, but the electronics died, and the repairman was estimating $4-500 to replace the board and repair it.
I offered to take a look at it, and there were some very obviously smoked power transistors (or whatever, it’s been a while). With a little work I found the parts and replaced them for about $40. Fortunately the controller chip was fine.
@werehatrack I just replaced mine that finally became too expensive to repair. I hate the new one. While it doesn’t have the wifi controls, it has a door lock that doesn’t allow you to throw in extra items after the cycle has started.
Mediocrebot.
If there’s one thing worse than an asshole. It’s a smart asshole…
A.I. in products, period. They can NEVER predict what I want to do or need next. From the predictive text to the emails advertising what I just bought (from the same company), A.I. fails badly. And entrepreneurs are putting A.I. into cars?
@hchavers THIS!
@hchavers Depends on the initialism. So far all I’m seeing is Artificial Idiocy.
@hchavers Another astounding failure, complete with a pouting “chief scientist”.
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/11/after-controversy-meta-pulls-demo-of-ai-model-that-writes-scientific-papers/
This AI creates authoritative sounding garbage. What a breakthrough.
@blaineg
But can it do content-free MBA-buzzword-speak nonsense? That would be a real boon; we could start recycling the main cause of the idiocy in US businesses as gator chow, and with the AIs issuing memos in their place, no one would be the wiser.
TV’s
I miss being able to flip back and forth between two channels and get instant gratification.
Now you have to wait while the TV thnks about it and reassembles the bits. Even PIP switches are slow. The play is over before you can see it.
@2many2no Most things didn’t need to be smart, but TVs are a standout at being actively worse because of it.
@2many2no @brennyn I fear the day my TV dies and I have to buy a giant tablet.
Disciplinarians’ belts.
“That smarts!”
“Yes, but this will be smarter!”
Light bulbs
@heartny disagree
@heartny agreed on the light bulbs, at least the few “smart” ones we have tried for some outoor fixtures.
Sure, you can turn them on and off and change colors from your phone… but if anyone so much as looks at them funny, or flips the physical switch off and on quickly, or the wi-fi router resets, or any number of other circumstances… now your lights either don’t turn on at all, or turn on but sit there blinking, waiting for some remote command while you furiously google how to reprogram them because you lost the instructions ages ago.
@heartny @Turken Buy a better brand, Philips Hue have been extremely reliable for me.
Right now most “smart” devices annoy me because they’re stupid either in scope or ability (often both).
I will be much more annoyed (and maybe paranoid) when they become smarter than I am.
Flesh lights
Locks. Why would I take an effective, physical barrier to home entry and create an efficient tech work-a-around?
@epicadventure It’s worse when the manufacturer puts their R&D into the smart portion and not the more important part – the lock.
As a counterpoint, an electronic lock that’s 1/10th the cost offers more pick resistance.
@epicadventure This is one of my favorites. Yes, they hollowed out the deadbolt to make room for the battery!
Don’t worry, I’m sure they chose the battery for its structural strength and cut resistance.
The kitchen in the house I bought has a smart faucet. I’ve lived with smart door locks, thermostats, lights, speakers, and doorbells, and I can confidently say that the smart faucet is by far the dumbest one. I wouldn’t say that the rest of those things are better than just a basic normal version, but they at least offer some advantages to counteract the disadvantage. The smart faucet is just a huge pain in the ass.
But even more than that, I’m tired of smart things being imposed on me. My last apartment building forced us to live with smart locks, and my house came with a smart thermostat, faucet, and doorbell. The only smarthome stuff I’ve actually opted into is lights.
@delecti If it’s battery operated, see if removing it allows it to be used as a regular faucet.
@delecti I don’t know if my faucet is smart, but it has a motion sensor to turn it on and off, and that’s awesome.
EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!
I got my heart set on having a red trash can for my kitchen, and the only one I could find at the time had a touch-free motion sensor lid. But the damn thing opened every time I walked past it! So I took out the batteries and now I just open it manually, which is fine.
@Kyeh You’re lucky that it was usable with the AS disabled. I’ve seen things like that which became overpriced decorations when the controlling widgetry failed or lost power.
@Kyeh Yeah. It’s like having an oversized baby bird in your kitchen. When it sees you, it opens its mouth to be fed. I gave up on those long ago. Now I have SimpleHuman trash cans in the kitchen and baths. They have no lids. These may not be the best idea with cats in the house, though.
@rockblossom
Great description!