Today's flush is sponsored by RAID SHADOW LEGENDS
Shitty Million Dollar Ideas
This is a place to pitch goofy million dollar ideas that you had in the shower, as you were falling asleep, or during a fever dream. Think of it is as shitty Shark Tank.
The usual rules apply:
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No bigotry
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Be nice to each other
Drink Mt Dew® authentication can to proceed
Please take verification shit
Mt Dew was not detected in your last shit's scan please drink verification can before your next bowel movement.
You just have to weigh your own shit once… there’s even a poop-knife included in case it’s to massive for your scale.
My Nest thermostat keeps wanting to enable two-step authentication. No thank you.
MFA for Smart Home devices is a really good idea given the security problems they present. You’re not locking each thermostat adjustment, you’re locking the ability to log in on a device to adjust the thermostat.
A Nest doesn't have to be connected to a network, at all. They're wired to your climate system the same way as a dumb thermostat. If you don't need remote control of your temperature--and I'm gonna be real here, does anyone need remote control of the climate system?--disconnect it from the network.
It's a dial that turns your temperature up and down. I haven't adjusted mine since, like, August.
does anyone need remote control of the climate system?
I dunno about need, but being snuggled up in bed and changing the temperature from your phone is pretty great.
I wasn’t aware you could use a Nest without an account. If that’s possible, absolutely no need for MFA. If you use a throwaway account and don’t connect the device to a network, then there’s no reason to pay the premium for the device.
Whether or not the device is connected to a network has little bearing on securing the account. Usually you’re getting a smart thermostat to control it remotely or for a savings program with your power company which requires at least the account be connected. You don’t want that to be exposed ergo you want MFA.
Mine was inherited from the previous owners. At my insistence they factory reset any devices they left around the house. When I moved in, I turned on the nest and discovered that it worked fine with no configuration whatsoever. It's just controlling the current on two wires, with a fancy display. I've never had a reason to change it from that.
But muh learnin'
I do agree, but, when you have 2 people at home sucking on your paycheck and messing with the thermostat you pay for when you're not at home it's nice to have.
Edit: I don't have a smart thermostat and never plan to buy one. I kinda like owning the things I buy
I quickly read that as "my Nestle thermostat"
shivers
Oh no this is gonna happen now.
The superfluous tech stuff always makes me feel odd at the core. Guess I'm an old man at heart.
Already seen wifi enabled air freshners that cycle smells based on time and room placement.
The superfluous tech stuff I read that as "The superflush tech stuff" and had to do a double take
I don't get the obsession with 'smart' devices given all they seem to do is overcomplicate simple designs that have worked just fine for decades - in addition to opening them up to abuse or corporate surveillance. The smartest device I own is my Pixel 8, and I barely even use it unless I need to make a call or message someone. I won't even buy a post-2014 car purely because they just contain too much tech I'll never use and don't want (not to mention the privacy concerns with cellular data transmission and telemetry.)
I love my smart house, but I also self host Home Assistant and nothing that I rely on uses a cloud provider.
It's really nice having motion activated and time based colored lights, and I don't have to worry about the privacy or connectivity concerns from the majority of Internet of Shit products.
For starters, a smart toilet is the dumbest thing I've heard of in a while. But home automation is pretty neat if you're into to that sort of thing. Theres a lot of open source programs out there to keep yourself independent of corporate spying. If you know what you're doing, you can set things up securely and in a way that protects your privacy. For things like lighting, HVAC and speakers there isn't much in the way of overcomplicating the hardware either. I'm with you on cars though. Fuck that noise
Remote access (such as via a phone or computer) and automation. It is nice to be able to do anything you want in your home. For example:
- Attaching a humidity sensor to a smart switch for the exhaust fan in your bathroom to turn on and off automatically based on humidity level.
- Have lights change hue based on time of day to assist with your circadian rhythm.
- Shut off all lights and TVs in the house at 3am.
- Using a water detector in the laundry room or kitchen to inform you of a water leak by sending a notification to your phone and beeping loudly.
I personally would not want toilet flushing as a smart feature.
Every company which makes objects is filled with middle management idiots who spend 100% of their time either harassing their staff, or producing reports about how the people who actually make the stuff are still doing their jobs properly yes. They spend quite a lot of time just sitting in their offices. They're dying for something to come along that means they can have a meaningful contribution to the process. Any time you hear about some boneheaded decision that makes the product worse in every way, you can be pretty well assured that it's one of these guys deciding that they're finally going to make their mark and be remembered with this new genius idea they've come up with.
I could see businesses doing this, only giving you access if you pay for it or through getting a code on a receipt of purchase or something. In other parts of the world this already sort of common, you pay a fee to use a “public” restroom. It’s actually kind of odd that America hasn’t already started charging for restrooms.
Am I the only one old enough to remember pay toilets and the reasons they're not around anymore?
And they would have gotten away with it too if it weren’t for those kids….
In 1969, California State Assemblywoman March Fong Eu took to the steps of the California State Capitol building and smashed a porcelain toilet with a sledgehammer to protest the inequality promoted by the locked stalls.
Hell yeah, love this energy
Though the code would be to open the door, not too flush. If you already have access to the toilet and have gone, you just wouldn't flush...
It's difficult to find specific laws or regulations, but the gist of what I'm finding is that most places of public accommodation in the US must provide a restroom free of charge though they may limit access to paying customers.
There appear to be numerous exceptions that allow not providing a restroom at all, but I couldn't find anything that says they can charge for it.
The one thing that does come to mind is certain venues that have bathroom attendants. In those places, you're de facto paying every time you go because that attendant will shove a towel in your face with one hand and extend the other hand palm up faster than the speed of light.
The worse case senario is a hacker getting that code. And then flushing the toilet! Think of the water bill :O
Bro thats wild
Really? No only did someone invent this, someone fronted the cash to put it into production.
Is this going to be the Dad Guardian zone now instead of the thermostat setting?
As far as I can tell, this is completely fake. There is no Lotus “SmartToilet”, but they do have smart bidets. But no 2FA.