cross-posted from: https://programming.dev/post/37646129

Source: Reddit postPrivate front-end.

Samsung Statement to Android Authority:

Samsung is committed to innovation and enhancing every day value for our home appliance customers. As part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen that value, we are conducting a pilot program to offer promotions and curated advertisements on certain Samsung Family Hub refrigerator models in the U.S. market.

As a part of this pilot program, Family Hub refrigerators in the U.S. will receive an over-the-network (OTN) software update with Terms of Service (T&C) and Privacy Notice (PN). Advertising will appear on certain Family Hub refrigerator Cover Screens. The Cover Screen appears when a Family Hub screen is idle. Ad design format may change depending on Family Hub personalization options for the Cover Screen, and advertising will not appear when Cover Screen displays Art Mode or picture albums.

Advertisements can be dismissed on the Cover Screens where ads are shown, meaning that specific ads will not appear again during the campaign period.

  • Smith6612@lemmy.world
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    30 minutes ago

    Let me guess! If you try to use PiHole or some other network Adblocking mechanism, the Fridge will either brick itself OR will fail to start the compressor. Right? It’s not like that didn’t happen before, when Google Calendar went down. We all know this is going to happen, and Samsung is going to push this wide scale. The extra revenue from ad space is too irresistible to avoid doing the sensible thing.

    The smartest any of my Fridges ever became was having a small computer on the front panel to record voice messages, which also doubled as the Water/Ice dispenser function selector, and to have a timer on the dispenser light so it could turn on and off automatically. That was an Amana fridge I had back in 2002, which lasted until 2019. My current fridge has a basic computer inside of it to monitor and control the interior climate, to save energy by recirculating cold air from the freezer into the Fridge, and to beep loudly if there’s a problem.

    • tommy_chillfiger@lemmy.world
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      3 hours ago

      Lmao, agree. My friend was trying to talk me into smart wifi locks when I bought my home. I was like “dude, if I ever have a single issue with a LOCK on a DOOR because my wifi is out or a battery dies I might fully lose my mind. I’m good.” I don’t even get the desire for some of this stuff. What genuine problem is being solved? What new problems are you introducing? Idk if people are really thinking this through.

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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        54 minutes ago

        What genuine problem is being solved?

        In theory, your phone becomes a perfect multi-tool for every task. Unlock your door, start your car, swipe a credit card, shop for groceries, talk to your mom, book a vacation, apply for a job, show tickets for a concert, yadda yadda yadda.

        In practice, it’s a bunch of patch-jobs cobbled together on a grid that’s over-extended and under-maintained. So, rather than a single universal digital gatekey, you get a digital janitor’s keyring with 100 different apps competing for battery life and bandwidth on a platform that goes obsolete every 18 months.

      • philosloppy@lemmy.world
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        1 hour ago

        the only thing I could think of with a smart fridge is being able to check the contents from your phone while you are at the store to see if you need milk or whatever…but that’s not really a problem that justifies ads and the absolute invasion of privacy and the fact that the thing is likely about as secure as a wooden fence on a bank vault

        • tommy_chillfiger@lemmy.world
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          60 minutes ago

          Yeah I’ve heard of the checking contents thing. Maybe it comes down to your habits and constraints - I just don’t really ever have that problem and the solution seems worse to me than just kinda… making a grocery list and walking to the store a couple times a week as I do now.

        • some_kind_of_guy@lemmy.world
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          1 hour ago

          I’ve fantasized a few times about having a fridge that knows its contents and adds items to a shopping list as they get low. maybe it could check prices at local stores or help combat waste by suggesting recipes based on what we already have at home.

          Would I trust any company currently making smart-fridges to deliver on all that, and then willingly invite that product with its attendant surveillance apparatus into my home? Absolutely not.

          If we ever have a fridge like that, I will have built it myself.

      • rumba@lemmy.zip
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        2 hours ago

        Imo, remotely programmable locks are Amazing.

        If my kid shows up locked out, he can ring the doorbell, it’ll message me whever I am, we can have a conversation, I can unlock door remotely.

        When we’re in vacation and we have a problem, I can disable/enable new users without giving anyone a key.

        If the battery dies, There a backdoor with the same keying and there’s a key hidden somewhere. If the WiFi is out, I just can’t remote unlock or enable/disable codes. It still works as a code/key lock.

        • tommy_chillfiger@lemmy.world
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          1 hour ago

          Yeah these are definitely valid - I live alone in a condo, so the benefits just don’t appeal to me as much. My friend has a rental so he is already more inclined to find more utility in those features as well.

  • Zink@programming.dev
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    3 hours ago

    In my very limited knowledge of the household appliance market, Samsung has been a no-go for a long time. Like, the most expensive but also the most disposable.

    And that’s before we even get to the enshittification and ad invasion.

    It’s incredible to think about trying to explain the problem to my younger self 30 years ago…

    “Yeah, computer hardware continued to scale pretty well so now even this refrigerator here has a computer inside it, a high resolution flat panel monitor, and even multiple ways to connect to the internet for remote control and feature updates.”

    “wow, that’s amazing!”

    "Yeah but nobody uses it. At least, nobody who understands tech and reads the news. You don’t even connect it to the internet in the first place. "

    “What!? That seems totally backwards. What’s the problem for educated users? Are there hackers everywhere just waiting to connect to this iffy computer embedded in your home?”

    “Oh no, it is much worse. The company that made the fridge could connect to it like they designed it to do!!! And to make it even more frightening, they usually have the infrastructure to be able to connect to EVERYBODY’S fridge at the same time!”

    (begins playing spooky halloween music)

  • cley_faye@lemmy.world
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    5 hours ago

    I see a bright future for “low tech” tech companies soon.

    "Here’s our new fridge.

    - What does it does?

    - It cools your food.

    - And?

    - That’s it."

  • stoly@lemmy.world
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    6 hours ago

    I think that people who would buy a fridge like that deserve to watch ads.

  • Burninator05@lemmy.world
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    4 hours ago

    As a reminder, just because the appliance you bought offers an internet connection, it most likely doesn’t need it for core functionality. Your smart fridge can’t get an update if it can’t talk to Samsung.

    • kent_eh@lemmy.ca
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      4 hours ago

      just because the appliance you bought offers an internet connection, it most likely doesn’t need it for core functionality.

      …until it does.

      It’s not unprecedented for manufacturers to lock hardware capabilities behind software controlled paywalls.

      When I was shopping for stoves, there were a couple of models with “features” that were not available unless you connected to the internet and used their app on your phone.

      We chose a model that didn’t have any networking at all.

      • Patches@ttrpg.network
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        3 hours ago

        I suppose the argument is that those ‘features’ are not core.

        Nobody needs to use their phone to control their washing machine.

    • prettybunnys@sh.itjust.works
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      6 hours ago

      When the idea of them first came in to play the thought were items put in would have rfid tags or another identifier and your fridge could help you keep inventory and track when things might be going bad, suggest recipes and whatnot.

      We shoulda known it’d be ads tho

    • interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml
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      6 hours ago

      It should display what is inside the fridge, without the energy loss of a window.
      It should have a bar code scanner and a complete food inventory system.
      It should be the “kitchen’s tablet” able to show recipes, watch cooking instruction videos, have a high quality curated knowledge compedium in a convenient and easy to access way.
      It should be able to stream outside cameras and answer door bells.
      It should be able to take video calls from Mom on XMPP.
      It should have high precision control and diagnostic systems.
      It should run ENTIRELY on open source software, not damn blob drivers, the display panel should connect internally with an HDMI cable.
      Run Proxmox and all my menagerie of LXC containers, don’t cheap out LG!! I want 64 GB RAM and 2tb ssd and a slot to add an HDD.
      It should auto-doomscroll for me while I peel potatoes.
      It should be able to run a smart voice assistance running Mistral 8x70B medium, locally and OFFLINE but networked and answer my agentic commands with a posh british accent.

      ok, good enough, send it

      • jnod4@lemmy.ca
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        5 hours ago

        I would buy and work and invest for whatever company you create.

        • interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml
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          5 hours ago

          Imagine if didn’t make things that sucked.
          Where I live we had little cheapass gas station cake company called Vachon
          Say what you will, they were a staple and “our beloved trash cakes”
          Some company came in, bought it, and made them suck hard.
          Replaced animal fat and sugar with seed oil and HFCS.
          Nearly all the better cakes are getting cancelled and the company is probably on the verge of bankruptcy.
          I haven’t bought those shitty cakes in years.

          Imagine if we had a trend of doing not-that.

      • cley_faye@lemmy.world
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        5 hours ago

        You got a bit trigger happy for the last few points, but seriously, why isn’t the first 3 standards now. It can’t be that expensive to put that in a fridge, and with an open platform manufacturer could even get away by providing the barest software offering and let us do the job for them.

    • pezhore@infosec.pub
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      4 hours ago

      I just bought a fridge after my 15 year old one shit out. Let me tell you, trying to find a decently sized, dumb fridge with an ice and water dispenser is like finding the holy grail.

      Samsung has evidently partnered with some timelords to get over 30 cu ft of fridge space in a 70"tall frame - including their door sized tablet.

      Bosch has the next biggest but locks stuff behind an smart app. Hell, even LG has smart features to help you with your ice maker that will probably either be DOA or will break in a year.

      I finally found a Whirlpool that isn’t smart and has a decent sized fridge, but it was a struggle.

    • glitch1985@lemmy.world
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      7 hours ago

      How else are you going to look at Facebook while you drink milk out of the carton if you forgot your phone in the living room?