Pseudo Nym
My million dollar idea I want someone to steal and do, so I can be a customer.
"Dumb Stuff" we sell electronic appliances that aren't Internet connected. That's all.
That's it. That's the pitch. I would buy the <bleep> out of this company if their electronic gadgets were even half way decent, and repairable.
Electronic, no wifi, regular screws to open it up. That's it. Do those three things, and you can be sold by this store.
I will pay this business to curate and find these devices for me.
OddOpinions5
@pseudonym
These things, if you made them, would cost a fortune
honestly
why ?
volume: you are talking non standard parts made in relatively low volume and that costs a lot of money
also, these things won't work that well cause no one remembers how to build them right, so the first 5 years the engineers will be relearning how to make them and the things will break all the time
Kit Rhett Aultman
@failedLyndonLaRouchite @pseudonym I already own a number of such devices and they typically cost the same or less than their "smart" counterparts.
Michael Vilain
@pseudonym Not just electronic stuff, but also kitchen appliances and countertop gadgets like toaster ovens, microwaves, ESPRESSO MACHINES, and COFFEE MAKERS.
Kit Rhett Aultman
@mvilain @pseudonym I've been in the market for a good espresso maker, and holy hell the number of them with touch screens and wifi for no good reason... I don't want delicate electronics in a machine that moves hot water and steam around!
Nicole Parsons
Our parents had household appliances that lasted decades and were repairable and maintainable.
Just hauled a 3 year old Samsung smart fridge to the dump.
They stopped making the parts to fix it after 10 months.
The dump didn't want it because it contains little that is recyclable.
Imagine this.
A fridge that can't cope with moisture, variations in temperature, vibration from doors opening & closing, the plastic cracks with the slightest thumping, and costs a fortune to buy
Jamie Knight
@pseudonym I have a phrase for almost all modern tech - "it's not about you." They're not selling TVs so we can watch shows, they're selling TVs that report everything we watch. They're not selling "home assistants" to BE home assistants, they're selling them to sell us more stuff. They're not selling printers to print pages, they're selling them to sell overpriced ink.
It's not about you.
EA7KRC Martin
@Npars01 @pseudonym
Do you remember when electric kettles had replaceable elements!
Mark Mason
@Ea7krc @Npars01 @pseudonym #Dualit make kettles with replaceable elements. They are very expensive. I think that is what is missing from this equation. Reparable dumb tech is expensive, it was always expensive. That stuff that lives on from decades ago cost your parents 10 times what a similar products cost today.
Haelwenn /элвэн/ :triskell:
Jack Yan (甄爵恩)
@jill_the_pill @pseudonym This car sounds awesome with a really reliable engine! May I ask what it is?
Mineʼs “dumb”, too, though I went all modern with a CD player!
Rich Felker
@jackyan @jill_the_pill @pseudonym Any one from that era has a standard form factor modular "car stereo" slot you can fit whatever you like into. 😎
Jill the Pill
@jackyan @pseudonym
We still have a dumb car and are hanging onto it until the fad passes, if ever it does. It has 225,000 miles and a cassette player. And a hole in the floor, but we had a guy weld a plate over the hole!
Jack Yan (甄爵恩)
@pseudonym Iʼd buy from these folks. Would love a computer printer that prints. No scanning, no wifi, no Bluetooth. Just hooked up via a cable and does a great job printing.
Pseudo Nym
Exactly. I want my printer to put ink on thin slices of dread trees in a pattern I specify, I want my toaster to warm bread the right amount, and my TV to display video signals sent to it.
Jack Yan (甄爵恩)
@pseudonym I’m with you, brother, on all three. I still have a “dumb” TV and a “dumb” toaster and my printer is 17 years old with no scanner and no fax. Long may they all live—at least till this shop opens.
szescstopni
@jill_the_pill @jackyan @pseudonym That's a good car. None of my cars are that young :) But one does have a hole in the floor – on purpose, to drain water. Rural life is tough but fun.
Jill the Pill
@jackyan @pseudonym
Toyota Highlander hybrid 2006 — it has a CD player too!
Juleselt
@markmason @Ea7krc @Npars01 @pseudonym Yes, it was probably close to that. A new toaster in 1938 was about $2, the difference is; that toaster still works. I inheirted my grandparents Sunbeam T9. I have had 2 other toasters that have had the wires break in just a few years of use.
Today's manufacturing is based on planned obsolescence.
clacke
"Butler's appliances: No likeness of a human mind, no remote management, just the appliances"
mnemonicoverload
Trouble
@pseudonym tape players are back? No Bluetooth, even! Wired headphones only: https://liliputing.com/its-2024-and-fiio-is-making-a-portable-cassette-player-with-all-analog-features/
BensGreenGamingAc
@pseudonym You want the Dualit Classic kettles/toasters and mixer. Built to last, you can buy spare parts - hell, I bought a knackered toaster and replaced the bits and it works fine 10 years on.
Spongefile
@pseudonym Anyone interested in this topic might also be interested in https://therestartproject.org/
clacke
Kater_S
@pseudonym @attie Here in Germany there‘s a company doing this kind of thing. Their claim is "the good things are still around" and they are selling all kinds of products, all very solid and presumably repairable, all "dumb", and mostly quite expensive (which is put into perspective regarding lifetime). Seems to be a valid way of doing business since they exist since 1987.
Bill Sharpe Gadfly
@pseudonym Please include no circuit boards in some appliances.
Thanks
Bill
Michael Bishop ☕
@pseudonym i have a 60 yr old toaster that still works and will out live me.
kaaswe
@pseudonym
I miss buttons, a car with buttons to push and levers to slide to control heat and volume.
A proper on/off button with a spring.
Keyboards that makes noice
Head phones with cable
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