I would love the child of a Surfacebook with a Framework laptop; or A bare keyboard attached to a screen, that I could plug my phone (possibly running Phosh) and use it as a hardware for a laptop experience
A high-quality dumb TV.
Get your ads (and security vulnerabilities) out of my damn house.
They exist, they’re just not cheap since they’re meant for enterprise use and should last much longer.
At least for most smart TVs, they’re completely operational if you never connect them to the Internet, though.
You still end up with awkward, overcomplicated UIs that make using the TV in basic ways unnecessarily obnoxious.
Want to change the volume? There’s an app for that!
Plug in your own Kodi box. Problem solved.
People who would like to get their hands a bit dirtier can take off the back cover and remove/desolder the WiFi and Bluetooth chips (if present). Just don’t touch the IR chip
This is how I use my TV but it’s still not perfect. When my TV turns on, it always try to shove a list of “smart apps” in my face which takes a minute to load even with no internet, and the input switcher is slow and clunky. I guess I would accept it anyway though since the smart features push down the price. I don’t think I’d be able to afford the LG C1 otherwise
I do use Kodi for local content, but this unfortunately doesn’t help with streaming services, and even dedicated steaming boxes have ads on their home screens now.
DNS blocking (Pihole, adaware, nextdns…) Can take care of those ads on dedicated streaming boxes.
Just plug a computer into your TV, and never give the TV Ethernet or WiFi access.
Manufacturers have gotten smart to that, if you don’t agree to the terms you may not get the full features. Not just the smart features.
Interesting. The only feature I can think of mine missing is firmware updates.
Visio penalizes you for not giving it Internet access by taking extra long to turn on while it vainly tries to phone home. There’s no way to turn off the “feature”.
Why is it not illegal for manufacturers to cripple hardware if you don’t let them invade your privacy?
Are there any alternate firmware sources for TVs that remove the smart features?
*dumb house.
The only way
I kinda disagree here - I have no problem using smart lights, etc., as long as they’re controlled by a non-cloud system like HomeAssistant. This just doesn’t seem to be an option for more complex devices.
Agreed, “smart” isn’t what matters, it’s more connected and in control, with Internet optional, no proprietary app or weird protocol mandatory.
Tutanota?
I’m not sure how an email service helps here…?
Sorry, I don’t know why my comment surfaced here. I replied to someone else.
FWIW using an Android video projector with VLC connecting to uPnP server, only my video files availble. Otherwise can use its HDMI input but as-is it’s all wireless.
Get a pyhole. No more ads (or devices phoning home) in your home network.
*Pi-hole
Already got one. A lot of devices seem to route ads over channels that can’t be blocked without compromising other device functions.
A high end phone with a headphone jack and Linux that works with banking apps.
The snooze button on my alarm clock needs to actually pause time, so I can sleep until I’m not tired anymore.
A small and lightweight smartphone with high end specs, especially tele camera, and a privacy respecting OS such as GrapheneOS
Probably all of those devices that can help fight climate change the news keeps talking about at least once a month.
You know how Ctrl+F helps you find specific words in browsers? I want that in real life.
Maybe some special glasses with this ability built-in?
does this count?
Yes. Yes it does.
Drunk af, didn’t even read, recognized the art style and up voted
It’s called Canada
Hatschu! USA Hatschu!
I would love to have an open, hackable, linux-based eBook reader.
Just an open source e-ink device with the build quality of a Kindle. Nothing fancy.
e-onk device
A donkey?
An electronic pig?
reMarkable, been using gen 1 then 2 for years now, runs on Linux and active dev community
less slick and much smaller community but the PineNote also works with Linux, kind of.
Remarkable looks cool, but I was talking about a dedicated e-reader. They probably won’t bother because their differentiator is the writing.
There needs to be one that is kindle adjacent, ru s linux, and comes with a ton of selections from project gutenberg, selling a little bit above cost. Thats the only way I could see this working.
Remarkable would be awesome if I could read my Kindle books on it. It seems to me that most e-ink tablets are good at either taking notes or ebooks, but none are really good at both…
This is more of a kindle lock in thing than a limitation of the Remarkable IMO. I use my remarkable 2 daily for reading. Everything I read is pirated and DRM free though.
If you feel strongly about giving money to
the authoramazon, then you could limit yourself to only downloading books which you’ve purchased for your kindle.I only read books that I have a physical copy of, or books that are on project Gutenberg. But really, we should seek to make all books free. An unencrypted epub is like 1 MB for like 300 pages usually.
I do wish that there was an open source e-reader that ran Linux. You can already read these things on your phone or on your computer. But I like the dedicated devices for reading.
Someone made an open source one that runs on a microprocessor, and it is a super cool project. But you really need a kernel to run arbitrary code, and gain access to open source e-reader software that gets you compatibility with publishing formats, layouts and fonts.
Getting Linux kernels onto more open source devices is probably a good goal - its still rather hard for a hobbyist to design a devicw that supports Linux.
Instachill, microwave oven for cooling.
Niche, but I want it. It would look like a blank book, with pages that feel like paper. I’d be able to download whatever text I wanted, and read it like an old fashioned book. You’d be able to change the text as many times as you wanted to.
I love this. Customizable font, type size, and cover too.
FWIW I’m using the reMarkable 2. It runs Linux and pretty fast eInk for sketching and writing notes. It’s not paper but closest to it I tried so far.
A mute button for people.
Empathy cannon.
That’s a great name for a post punk metal band.
Is empathy the target or the projectile?
This is like Cupid’s arrow, but better.
A sleeping pod for home.
Imagine as you go to sleep it is perfect temperature for you no need for open windows or extra blankets. You just turn the dial and it adjusts it or maybe it even have a curve so that you love for it start cold but wake up warm.
It is pitch black, no need to try block out any light.
It completely soundproof even if you live middle of the city. But it also have speakers just in case you like something in background as you sleep.
I think the future of next-gen housing will be something like this. I’ve been hearing stories on HackerNews about young developers earning good salaries in SF, unable to find a place to rent, so instead opt to live in their cars and go shower at the gym. They do this happily, and it doesn’t bother them.
As someone who used to frequently sleep under his desk as work in my early 20s, I can see portable sleep pods being a really good substitute for the inner city housing problem.
I would love this - except that my wife and I would want completely different ambient temperatures and I don’t want to sleep in a different pod from her.
A house hold device that can diagnose most sicknesses with a drop of blood or saliva
Hey, I’ve heard this one before!
Lol, I’d like a real one!
