Technologies no one asked for

[IronWing]

Inspired by that other thread, what are some technologies we've been blessed with that you don't recall being on your wish list?

Talking gas pumps

 

[lxskllr]

"Smart" refrigerators.

 

[Gryz]

Surveillance cameras.
Face recognition software.
Contactless payment.

 

[Kaido]

Talking gas pumps

Oh my gosh. And they just upgraded the station I frequent with the motion-sensor ones...starts playing about 30 seconds after you pull up. Talk about having a captive audience

 

[vi edit]

Bluetooth as the only option for headphones.

 

[Kaido]

Contactless payment.

One of the places I contract at just added Apple Pay to their vending machines. All I have to do is bonk my cell phone against the machine and it gives me Snickers bars. Way too dangerous

 

[DietDrThunder]

Snack machines that no longer accept cash. But, you can load cash to an account (which it is more than you will spend), and then spend the money from the account. Really stupid as they are making a tiny bit of money on the float.

Although I do like my Ryobi garage door opener that sends me a text if I've left the garage door open over 15 minutes. I can also just stop driving on the way to work and check the status to see if it is open (sometimes I forget to shut it). Then I can just press a button on the screen and shut it without driving back home.

 

[Kaido]

"Smart" refrigerators.

Until they add built-in scales for weighing food, traffic detection, image recognition, etc. to give me some useful output like what my usage rate on milk is or whether my eggs are going to go bad this week, I think smart fridges are pretty silly. Sure, having a 17" touchscreen in your fridge is cool, but kind of ridiculous in terms of actual usability vs. cost. Three grand for a fridge that would cost you $800 if you slapped a Kindle Fire on it...hahaha.

 

[vi edit]

Sensor based *EVERYTHING* in bathrooms. It never fails that a toilet flushes 83 times giving you Poseidon's kiss every 4 seconds and when you go to wash your hands the water and soap dispenser just stare at you in total disbelief and ignore any movement or motion you make. Then once you've finally managed to find the perfect angle of entry to turn on the sink water you go to wave your hands at the towel dispenser that feeds out sad strip of paper that is like 3" long and takes you 3 different attempts to get enough to actually dry your hands.

 

[Kaido]

Bluetooth as the only option for headphones.

I don't often use a minijack cable, but when I do, I am ALWAYS annoyed that Apple chose to remove it from the newer iPhones. The base of the iPhone 6S is like literally the same as the 7, but the 7 has no headphone jack. Because Apple is brave.

 

[vi edit]

I don't often use a minijack cable, but when I do, I am ALWAYS annoyed that Apple chose to remove it from the newer iPhones. The base of the iPhone 6S is like literally the same as the 7, but the 7 has no headphone jack. Because Apple is brave.

New PIxels are that way too. Boo.

 

[Kaido]

Sensor based *EVERYTHING* in bathrooms. It never fails that a toilet flushes 83 times giving you Poseidon's kiss every 4 seconds and when you go to wash your hands the water and soap dispenser just stare at you total disbelief and ignore any movement or motion you make. Then once you've finally managed to find the perfect angle of entry to turn on the sink water you go to wave your hands at the towel dispenser that feeds out sad strip of paper that is like 3" long and takes you 3 different attempts to get enough to actually dry your hands.

I still remember my first contactless bathroom experience a few years ago at an airport terminal. Doors opened automatically. Urinal flushed automatically. Automatic soap dispenser. Automatic faucet. Automatic hand-drying machine, where you didn't even have to push the button to activate it. Walked out through the automatic doors again. Mr. Monk would love it

 

[MrSquished]

I still remember my first contactless bathroom experience a few years ago at an airport terminal. Doors opened automatically. Urinal flushed automatically. Automatic soap dispenser. Automatic faucet. Automatic hand-drying machine, where you didn't even have to push the button to activate it. Walked out through the automatic doors again. Mr. Monk would love it

As long as the sensor stuff works properly that is fine with me. The less stuff I have to make contact with in a bathroom the better

 

[nakedfrog]

The automatic soap dispensers seem a little silly to me, because you're literally going to wash your hands right after you get soap on them.

 

[DietDrThunder]

Sensor based *EVERYTHING* in bathrooms. It never fails that a toilet flushes 83 times giving you Poseidon's kiss every 4 seconds and when you go to wash your hands the water and soap dispenser just stare at you in total disbelief and ignore any movement or motion you make. Then once you've finally managed to find the perfect angle of entry to turn on the sink water you go to wave your hands at the towel dispenser that feeds out sad strip of paper that is like 3" long and takes you 3 different attempts to get enough to actually dry your hands.

I hate this as well. I find if you hang toilet paper over the sensor, it eliminates the unwanted flushing. I find the self turning on sinks and soap dispensers Okay as I don't have to touch them.

 

[pete6032]

Smart watches.

Washing machines and dryers with 5,000 settings and knobs.

Touchscreens in cars. Really great when its -20 and you have to take your gloves off. Also I can turn a knob while driving, but using an LCD screen while driving is impossible.

 

[Kaido]

The automatic soap dispensers seem a little silly to me, because you're literally going to wash your hands right after you get soap on them.

The ones that are worth it are the foaming ones. I have a Gojo commercial unit in each bathroom & the kitchen at home:

https://www.amazon.com/GOJO-273012-Dispenser-1200ml-Black/dp/B004I8WM4M/

It converts the liquid soap into foam for you. Bonus, they sell a combo soap-moisturizing formula so your hands don't dry out:

https://www.amazon.com/536102-Luxury-Fresh-Dispenser-1200mL/dp/B00U90PQ00/

I forget the exact details, but I think each pouch gives you around 2,000 dispenses, so it works out to about a penny per squirt & lasts like six months before going to empty for an average household.

 

[snoopy7548]

Website ads, infotainment systems, smart everything.

 

[ultimatebob]

Smart watches.

Washing machines and dryers with 5,000 settings and knobs.

Touchscreens in cars. Really great when its -20 and you have to take your gloves off. Also I can turn a knob while driving, but using an LCD screen while driving is impossible.

A good car UI design should allow you to make the changes from the steering wheel controls or from a voice command. If you need to take your eyes on the road to make a change via the touch screen, that's a bad UI design choice.

Anyway, my vote is for the CueCat. Because scanning barcodes to get to a web site is MUCH easier than typing them into the address bar. Yeah.

 

[ultimatebob]

"Smart" refrigerators.

Yeah... refrigerators last 20 years, but the Internet connected tablets built into them will probably stop getting security patches around year 3. That's not worry-some at all, right?

 

[Kaido]

A good car UI design should allow you to make the changes from the steering wheel controls or from a voice command. If you need to take your eyes on the road to make a change via the touch screen, that's a bad UI design choice.

Anyway, my vote is for the CueCat. Because scanning barcodes to get to a web site is MUCH easier than typing them into the address bar. Yeah.

I think they went a little over-the-top with the new Tesla Model 3...ALL it has is steering wheel controls & a touchscreen. And after watching video reviews, I don't think they did a stellar job on the GUI. Granted, they're trying to sell you on self-driving, but still, if you have to look at a touchscreen while you're driving to adjust the air-condition, that stinks!

Side note, I remember the CueCat days! I think I still have it in my box of misfit toys, haha. I wonder if my old Collectorz license would still work...

https://www.collectorz.com/movie

 

[BFG10K]

Windows 10.

 

[Kaido]

Yeah... refrigerators last 20 years, but the Internet connected tablets built into them will probably stop getting security patches around year 3. That's not worry-some at all, right?

That's my complaint about Smart TV's as well...only Roku & maybe Amazon are doing a good job with consistent updates on their built-in players. Talk to anyone who has an LG or a Vizio about the longevity & ongoing update support for their TV's after a few years & they typically aren't happy campers. And the main reason I give Roku a pass, aside from actually having a good app store & doing regular updates, is that their remote is stupid convenient & family friendly...one remote to turn on the TV, navigate the (easy) app menu, and even control the volume (the headphone jack adjusts via the Roku remote; I use some ProMedia 2.1's on my living room TV, so we get a great picture & great sound via a SINGLE FREAKING REMOTE OH MAN IT'S SO GLORIOUS lol),

 

[Kaido]

Smart watches.

Seriously. I usually try to stay on top of technology trends, but outside of a Fitbit or whatever thing I have now that I always forget to wear, I've never been able to jump on the smartwatch boat.

The only people I know who use them IRL mostly just use them as a Fitbit anyway, not really for anything else much.

 

[SearchMaster]

Yeah... refrigerators last 20 years, but the Internet connected tablets built into them will probably stop getting security patches around year 3. That's not worry-some at all, right?

Because a hacker is going to spoil your milk?