Ben!
Eugen RochkoIt started with me opting not to keep smart lights when I moved. I found the routine of pressing physical switches more rewarding than the tap of a touch screen. I've since gotten into vinyl, and film photography. I still stream music, and I still take photos with my iPhone when it's more convenient, but I find the physicality of analog devices uniquely rewarding.
gameRevolt@Gargron I never really understood the appeal with smart lights in general. I do have a smart bulb which was great with a baby, I could program it to dim slowly to help them get to sleep, and control it remotely (e.g. from bed!). But otherwise, aren't you entering and leaving a room when you want to control the lights anyway? Maybe mood lighting is the appeal?
Anders Borch@gamerevolt @Gargron there’s is a very real anxiety driven use case:
Say someone might be afraid to walk into a dark room. Having the ability to remotely turn lights on before entering can be life changing.
Alex Camilleri@gamerevolt @Gargron automation is the appeal. Everything "smart" is pretty dumb by itself, but opens up possibilities in a network of devices. I also think that most people using smart lights use physical buttons.
To give an example, if I enter the kitchen at night and I use the (phisical) wall switch, only one of the 5 lights turns on at minimum brightness. Just an example of stuff you can do outside of "mood"
Kevin Hughes 🐝@gamerevolt @Gargron for me it's that's moment when you get into bed and realise you've left the lights on downstairs!
MichD@kev @gamerevolt @Gargron I very much enjoy adding automation; for bedtime I've got an NFC tag on my nightstand which turns off everything that should be for instance. I feel very strongly that everything should still be controllable the "classic" way though - all the "smart" switches are still where the old ones were and lights can be controlled by clicking those. Smart home tech should enhance, not replace classic tech, IMO.
@MichDdev @gamerevolt @Gargron yeah, the conflict between smart lights and "dumb" switches is annoying. I'd like to replace those with something which acts like a normal switch but doesn't kill the smart aspect when they're turned off.
@kev @gamerevolt @Gargron I've replaced a few of our "dumb" lightswitches with ZigBee-enabled ones. They don't have quite the same action as a simple rocker switch (it's a kinda clicky push-button with a bigish panel instead), but it's pretty close in terms of "still allows reaching for the thing on the wall to switch".
@kev @gamerevolt @Gargron “Alexa, good night” turns off the lights in my entire house. That’s pretty neat.
Scott Galloway@Gargron A combination analogue smart switch which 'switched' using a motor to reflect current state would be very cool.
Steven Barnhart@StevenBarnhart @Gargron I just like the idea of all my switches auto-resetting themselves like the motorised faders you get. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPXeULcDa5w
Neve 8424: Motorised Faders
Alexandra Lanes@scottgal I think this is what the Switchbot does
@ajlanes I want the opposite :) Make normal looking analogue switches which represent their current on/off state by 'switching' the switch internally.
@scottgal I sort of have this by having momentary switches which just toggle the state. So no state is represented on the switch (which is fine mostly as you can tell if the lights are on)
Wendy M. Grossman@Gargron From that, I think you would enjoy learning to play a musical instrument.
@wendyg Yes, I play guitar (and bass guitar).
@Gargron Makes sense. A number of engineers I've known have found playing banjo a satisfying challenge.
Världens bästa Kille™@thelovebing @Gargron Or maybe they're just not musicians. :)
I Do Not ExistEverything is so "digital" today. We lost the sense of the ritual, of the preparation of something. We want perfection, but perfection becomes cold. For example, vinyl sound is warm, alive.
12foxfire@Gargron I’m moving. It has been very difficult to find “unsmart” appliances. I don’t want a Wifi oven.
@sepfeiffer I feel like TVs are the biggest offenders in this category. I went the far more expensive projector route just to avoid getting a smart TV.
@Gargron hmmm… and I was planning to throw my 20yr old tv away and go “smart” when I move. Maybe not. It still works great and I stream with an Apple device. Thx.
Leisureguy@Gargron I have found that handwriting creates a different mindset than keyboarding, plus once I began using italic handwriting (https://leisureguy.ca/2007/08/17/italic-handwriting/) the experience itself became more satisfying.
For example, the 12 weeks of daily pages in Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way really works best with handwriting, not using a keyboard.
Quantum
Son of a Sailor@Gargron What's next, Mastodon daily print edition? 😋
Classic Jukebox Repair@Gargron Sounds like you should be a jukebox owner! 😆
vox popsicle vox dei@Gargron +1 I hit peak digital a while back and now my goal is to do as much as possible in the analog world without terribly inconveniencing myself.
Our car has a key fob which the car senses when you get close and it lets you open the doors, start the engine etc. Except that the battery runs down every two months (or so it feels) and I'm constantly carrying the cognitive load of "must replace battery". So I've mostly gone back to using the physical key, which works at all times.
Jay 🇳🇱 🇪🇺 (Free 🇵🇸)@Gargron Favourite record in your collection?
Wicker Man StudiosOne time a fellow TA needed to borrow a calculator (this was before smartphones). A gal offered him one from her purse, one of those the size of a credit card with tiny little buttons. I had a big thing on my desk that looked like an old adding machine (especially by comparison). "Ted doesn't want to JUST push tiny buttons and do some math," I said. "He wants a CALCULATOR-SHAPED EXPERIENCE." I showed mine to Ted...
...He took it. "...Yes," said Ted. "Yes, I do."
aeva@Gargron I got into instant film photography about a year and a half ago because I got tired of my phone's "random chance of saving the picture" quirk and its weird over-sharpening filter I can't seem to turn off. The tactile aspect of using a mechanical gizmo to take photos is really nice, too.
@Gargron it's also nice knowing that if I keep the originals from being exposed to UV then pretty much the only thing that's going to kill my photo collection is my house burning down.
Tony WellsYou need a #typewriter
Hiker@Gargron
Why does my plattform can't access your avatar?
https://files.mastodon.social/accounts/avatars/000/000/001/original/dc4286ceb8fab734.jpg
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Why does my plattform can't access your avatar?
https://files.mastodon.social/accounts/avatars/000/000/001/original/dc4286ceb8fab734.jpg
Access denied (404)
Alm@Gargron kind of authenticity, isn‘t it?
JJ Krawczyk@Gargron
How many people will never know the pure satisfaction of slamming an old phone onto its cradle to angrily hang up?
How many people will never know the pure satisfaction of slamming an old phone onto its cradle to angrily hang up?
Louie 🦭@Gargron
This is exactly how I’ve felt for a while now—there’s nothing wrong with using both old and new interchangeably depending on the situation. Both are great for different things, and both aren’t so great for other reasons.
This is exactly how I’ve felt for a while now—there’s nothing wrong with using both old and new interchangeably depending on the situation. Both are great for different things, and both aren’t so great for other reasons.
morri@Gargron the only thing smart in my place is the smart phone.
Fabian【ファビアン】🏳️🌈
Ertain@Gargron Enjoy your physical spaces, Eugen.
Rob.aka 🕸@Gargron single purpose feels more convenient from time to time, it's designed to just focus on one thing and try to really enrapture value because of limited resources.
And sure, a little safer.
Moussa Mazouzi@Gargron I totally get it. There's something about the physicality of analog devices that makes them more engaging & satisfying to use. There's a tactile feedback that you just don't get with digital devices. & there's also a sense of connection to the past that analog devices can offer.
I'm glad you're finding joy in vinyl and film photography. Those are two great hobbies that can be really rewarding. And who knows, maybe you'll even find yourself collecting other analog devices in the future.
Jon Henshaw@Gargron I was just pondering that the other day:
Debbie Goldsmith 🏳️⚧️♾️🇺🇦@Gargron I grew up with all that technology; there were no digital options at all. I even developed my own photos (B&W only) in high school. CDs arrived when I was in my mid-20s. I guess I'm on the other side—I don't miss analog tech at all. But everyone's different and enjoys different things.
Sam Bell@Gargron Am well into middle age. I've been made fun of for clinging to physical media, but nobody can take away my records or DVD/Blu Rays.
Sebastian Michaelsen@Gargron People that can control lights only on their phones don’t have kids, or visitors, or internet outages.
writermonki@Gargron Back in the day I loved photographing events with my fully manual OM-1. No auto-focus, just set it for a given focal length and look for shots within that distance. Fun
Arturo Serrano 🇨🇴🤖👽🧙🦄@Gargron I would never be able to deal with the stress of how fragile vinyl is.
Borys Pierov@Gargron That's a totally understandable perspective. Though being able to flip lights on/off is just one off the aspecta, right? Eg, automatically adjusting light brightness and color temperature per circadian cycle was a game-changer for me (haven't had an insomnia ever since then). Or being able to play light show to accompany a vinyl record for a stronger mood. I think one doesn't need to think about it as though you only can get "either", as you can actually have both.
no-no@Gargron there's a kind of magic in the analog. like it's really a testament to human ingenuity, aside from being very satisfying
chiasm@Gargron put the needle on the record... 😁
But I loves me the motion sensitive lights!!
Ryan Ford@Gargron I agree apart from smart lights. My whole house is smarted up and it’s wonderful.
MaryPot 🏳️🌈We have an app for our lights, but also switches - programable WiFi ones - that we can move if we want to, without having to rip open any walls. 🥰
JulieB@Gargron Like real books and the turning of the page and the choice of paper that says something about the book as much as the cover design, the font chosen and the layout of the page that allows room for notes in the margin or not, underlining or not.
Not to mention, the smell of an old bookstore would never be the same if it was full of Kindles, right? 😉
Valerie Roney@vlrny @Gargron My boys, both with graphic art degrees, both of them loved that part of their education: printing a book - the craft of it, what each decision communicates about the words within.
Rich words deserve rich paper and stalwart and distinctive fonts, and room to interact with the words printed on the page by penciling in your own.
At this point I'm not sure if I learned it from them or if it is in our blood and they got it from me.
We don't care - we care about the beauty.
@vlrny I could spend 4000 words describing the copy of The Hobbit that my son made for me. There would be swoonage. 😉