People regret buying Amazon smart displays after being bombarded with ads

"I'm about to just toss the whole thing..."

See full article...

 

[rmm200]

I have one Amazon echo I ask about delivery status. No ads - ever.
I have multiple Google devices. Video display is great for pictures. No ads - ever.
Ads are a sure reason for me to scrap a device.
Second peeve: Any smart home devices supported on the internet will be bricked sooner or later. Go local control, like Home Assistant.

 

[mmiller7]

I feel so burnt out by tech, and more specifically, this notion that companies have the right to modify how things work after purchase without consent or notification.

Does anyone else feel constantly anxious about how their connected devices are going to change - for better or for worse - at any time without warning?

I don't have any concern about them changing for the better.

I'm quite certain they will be changing for the worse.

Only question is when and by which method...enshitification, abandonment, or something else...

 

[javaman717]

Solution:

 

[Stanistani]

And yet without ads Ars wouldn't exist. We have an ad-free subscription, but not enough people pay for it to keep the site alive if we just stopped selling ads.

I'm not really into being moralistic about ad blocking or piracy or whatever else. People gotta do what they do. But there is a certain level of "if you don't support things in other ways then what?"

I had a subscription. I canceled it when you allowed OpenAI to use Ars Technica's content to train its AI models.

 

[Aurich]

I had a subscription. I canceled it when you allowed OpenAI to use Ars Technica's content to train its AI models.

Not something I (or really any of us here at Ars) have any control over.

You gotta do what you gotta do I guess. But you're still here, so I don't really understand what your stance is. "I like your content, and I want to keep reading it, but I don't want to support you"?

 

[Stanistani]

Not something I (or really any of us here at Ars) have any control over.

You gotta do what you gotta do I guess. But you're still here, so I don't really understand what your stance is. "I like your content, and I want to keep reading it, but I don't want to support you"?

Nostalgia, mostly. I'm old. Hoping the AI boom collapse takes out OpenAI, and then I'll start a subscription again. Or maybe I'll croak first. 50/50 chance.

 

[Dark Jaguar]

Pretty much agree, but I do like smart light bulbs. The ability to dim and change color temperature/color from couch or bed is really nice. I recently switched to Ezviz bulbs from Philips Hue. They're about half the price and support Matter. And they don't require you to create an account to use them. Even the app is easier to use

I've mentioned this before, but I can see use cases for being able to do such things without getting up when one has mobility issues, as we will all eventually have.

What I don't like is doing it all via the internet, and would prefer a local system manage it all. Such systems used to exist in an analog way, and can be done today with a computer embedded in a wall that also dispenses drinks and has a push button room to room intercom. C'mon where's that James Bond stuff? I want to open a globe and push a button to get a video screen!

 

[The Big Picture]

Not to play devil's advocate, but some people really do want to save money, so they spring for "ad-filled". With streaming services, they use them so infrequently that they can put up with ads. Especially for $2 a month (which is how much Hulu cost when their Black Friday deals roll around). Remember, sites like here, and even the internet, tends to be the vocal minority. Even if everyone threatens to cancel their subscriptions (which I'm sure most of us here have done so by now. If not already cancelled multiple times if that joke is to be believed)... we're likely only moving the needle, a very small bit.

Thanks, I realize now that my 'you’d think people would know better by now' assertion was pretty elitist. Of course a profit-motive would be to reach the largest consumer base as possible, and of course there are many viewers whose tolerance of ads is a non-issue. Within reason... this whole article is about that upper threshold of ad tolerance.

 

[maxoakland]

Good luck!

View attachment 120026

(Original comic here)

Why not ditch these smart devices since they’re making our lives worse?

 

[maxoakland]

Not something I (or really any of us here at Ars) have any control over.

This is exactly the kind of thing people warned you about when you sold to Condé Nast. I’m sure you didn’t make that decision, but we can’t just hand wave ars’ corporate decisions and their consequences

 

[Aurich]

Why not ditch these smart devices since they’re making our lives worse?

Always an option.

So is rolling up your tech sleeves and running your own server for Home Assistant and/or devices you control instead of a third party.

This is a home for technology enthusiasts, nothing wrong with people acting like it and enjoying it.

This is exactly the kind of thing people warned you about when you sold to Condé Nast. I’m sure you didn’t make that decision, but we can’t just hand wave ars’ corporate decisions and their consequences

People can make their calls.

You clearly enjoy being here and commenting:

That's great, I'm not trying to play gotcha with you. I want people to enjoy being here, I spend a lot of energy every day trying to make the community the best place I can.

It's up to people to decide when it's worth supporting or not.

 

[Gilmoure]

REGERTS, I have a few.

 

[xeroks]

Amazon's response

"Advertising is a small part of the experience, and it helps customers discover new content and products they may be interested in. If customers don’t like a suggestion, they can swipe to skip to the next screen card or directly provide feedback by tapping the Information icon or pressing the screen."


is enough to confirm my long-held position re amazon: don't let them into your home.

 

[Dark Jaguar]

Amazon's response

"Advertising is a small part of the experience, and it helps customers discover new content and products they may be interested in. If customers don’t like a suggestion, they can swipe to skip to the next screen card or directly provide feedback by tapping the Information icon or pressing the screen."


is enough to confirm my long-held position re amazon: don't let them into your home.

I seem to recall Amazon once tried to convince their customers to literally give them a key to their home for "security" by just... letting random strangers walk inside and set the package down. The idea was so ridiculous it's a wonder anyone could have ever thought it a good one. Meanwhile, I can't even manage to catch an Amazon worker at the door when I'm standing RIGHT next to it at the moment they ring, IF they ring at all. That's on top of how often they directly ignore delivery instructions, very basic ones like "please deliver to the front desk" or "don't come on THIS day", as noted on the actual time and schedule option I can set in my profile. I've been informed that in one case, they literally tried to leave a package IN THE POOL, because that's where their GPS "said" the target address was. I don't blame the delivery drivers, most of the time, I blame Amazon for being so ridiculously strict that they don't even allow someone to use their own eyes to see where a building with the proper number on it is located and would rather leave a package IN THE WATER than disobey their awful bosses.

 

[zenparadox]

Hasn't everyone learned yet? The only tech company you can trust is Apple.
Don't even bother using anything made by Amazon or Google.
They both stink. It amazes me that they are still in business - oh - and Microsoft, purveyor of fine virus-ware. Them, too.

I think if you tried a little harder, you could simp a tiny bit more for your preferred tech company.

Apple doesn't have to show as many ads because their marketing is so good people will pay an absurd tax for the same hardware.

Meanwhile you could just not buy adware devices from the likes of Amazon.

EDIT - Speeling

 

[Mental Gear Reduction]

Meanwhile you could just not buy adware devices from the likes of Amazon.

The problem is that it's hard to find a non-spy/adware phone or tablet from anyone but Apple. Even Google's Pixel phones are terrible.

 

[zenparadox]

The problem is that it's hard to find a non-spy/adware phone or tablet from anyone but Apple. Even Google's Pixel phones are terrible.

Oh yeah I wasnt referring to phones/tablets, you have very few non spyware-as-OS options there. If any. Was referring only to the speaker things.