#smart technologies

[reckless-revolutionary]

#stitch with @Kentrello #greenscreen

[gwaindrifter]

Just realized apartments installing smartlocks is a physical form of ransomware. Withholding your rent until a maintenance repairs a major issue(which is your legal right), well we'll just remotely change your pin, or remove app connectivity from your phone(which also is another gross kettle of fish), until you comply. We're not evicting you, but you can't access your apartment until this issue is fixed, and it's going to have to go through a lot of bureaucratic bullshit in yhe mean time, so it'll be a while. Oh, what's this, you finally payed your rent, well what do you know, the forms just went through, here's your new pin.

[awesomecooperlove]

👿👿👿

[keeponshouting]

The Try Guys did an old age series recently and at one point it came up how smart home technology is making it so much easier for people to continue living independently for longer and it got me thinking. My one big gripe with the whole thing was that no one ever really seems to connect the dots between how things that benefit the elderly tend to also be things that benefit the disabled. There’s a serious layer of ableism to harassing anyone under the age of 80 for using and being excited by what can be accomplished via smart home devices these days and it gets under my skin because people assume things about others far more often than they actually think.

The same things happen every time that new technology comes along and makes things easier or more convenient but isn’t something that able-bodied people technically need. People talk about how it’s “lazy” to rely on machines for “simple” tasks or they try to make you feel bad for “wasting” electricity or increasing your carbon footprint or, in the case of smart tech, they try to scare you with the idea of corporations spying on you. What they ignore is how those “simple” things aren’t necessarily so simple when you’re disabled. What they don’t understand is that life with any sort of disability is really just a constant balance of “wasting” various types of energy in order to get as close as you possibly can to what other people consider “normal.” And I mean, honestly, sure, Bezos might have his cronies spying on me through my Echo but whatever. Now I can check the current temperature, forecast, and pollen count from my bed so that I can start planning accordingly while I’m still shaking out my morning stiffness, getting my body into some semblance of working order, and coming up with a rough estimate of how much energy I’m actually going to have for the day. Believe it or not, starting my day off by saying “Hey, Alexa. What’s the weather and pollen count?” has shaved a solid 10-20 minutes off of my morning routine and has saved me a lot of pain and frustration. No more guessing the weather from a glance out of a basement window. Alexa tells me if I need to exchange my shorts for pants, grab a hoodie, watch my footing, or tie a scarf around my face so I can look like some post-apocalyptic scavenger while I walk my dog because, oops, I was in so much pain after work yesterday that I forgot to pick up some face masks to combat this blooming season. Hey, Alexa. Remind me to buy some face masks, ok? Thanks.

Anyway, I digress. My point is that when technology makes things easier, the feature that one person takes advantage of just because they can is the same feature that someone else takes advantage of in order to actually live a better, fuller, happier, more independent life. Whether being able to ask Alexa to set a reminder is helping your grandmother remember her eye drops after cataract surgery or helping your neighbor remember to move their laundry from washer to dryer or helping the 30-year-old down the street remember to take their meds, the whole point is just that it’s helping. People’s lives are improving.

Basically, the technology is there. If you don’t want it or need it, that’s fine. Just keep your opinions to yourself and let other people use it as they see fit.

By the same token, the technology is there. If you want it or need it, that’s fine. Your critics need to keep their opinions to themselves and let you use it as you see fit.

[hjellacott]

Been using a lot of "Smart" things lately because of presents, and I'm so fed up. Tried to have a phone conversation with my mother while using hands-free Bluetooth headphones, so I could do the dishes in the meantime, and my headset connected to my phone, then my computer (other floor), then my Smartwatch (other floor). At some point her voice was coming from somewhere upstairs. That even though I'd told my phone to connect only the headphones, not the smartwatch.

Can we dial it back with smartassness for a minute?

[timestechnow]

The packaging industry is undergoing a transformative shift as it adapts to evolving consumer preferences, technological advancements, and s

[timestechnow]

SMART Technologies Launches in India with Transformative Interactive Displays for Education

SMART Technologies, a global leader in interactive technology, announced the launch of its Transformative Interactive Displays in Delhi.