AppleInsider podcast interviews iMovie creator Glenn Reid about Steve Jobs, Internet-connected laundry

Thank you for this piece of gold. 

Really interesting and entertaining insights showing that "even" Apple is made of human people. No fail-safe system, no divine master plan.
Somehow to me emphasises how people like Steve tied it all together through vision, and identifying needs. 

I I liked the part about "when is a product done" and about how the digital hub strategy came into existence. 

Again, thanks for this interview. 

Great interview, but odd that the focus for an Internet washing machine is still over learning settings and measuring energy usage. Logging in to an appliance seems to be making our lives harder, not easier. 

Like an Internet fridge - most users struggle to see the benefit if you have to scan barcodes etc. An Internet fridge that can read the RFID tags of everything in it would be great but I can't see RFID tags becoming that commonplace in the near future. 

In the UK the excitement over connected appliances has moved on a bit and the focus is now on smart electricity control and saving energy.  If the electricity generators experience a surge in the usage (e.g. a TV ad break) they want to be able to temporarily turn off appliances that consume energy, such as washing machines and fridges. Those appliances wouldn't be adversely affected if turned off for just a few minutes but it helps the generating companies cope with peak demand without building additional infrastructure. 

In return the consumer would get cashback or a discount off their bill as a reward. 

We're not there yet and it needs some good standards and cooperation as well as consumer education but it interests most people more than a fridge that can scan barcodes or a washing machine that remember personal settings... 

Dual function washer/driers are quite commonplace over here too. 

uktechie said:

Great interview, but odd that the focus for an Internet washing machine is still over learning settings and measuring energy usage. Logging in to an appliance seems to be making our lives harder, not easier. 

Like an Internet fridge - most users struggle to see the benefit if you have to scan barcodes etc. An Internet fridge that can read the RFID tags of everything in it would be great but I can't see RFID tags becoming that commonplace in the near future. 

In the UK the excitement over connected appliances has moved on a bit and the focus is now on smart electricity control and saving energy.  If the electricity generators experience a surge in the usage (e.g. a TV ad break) they want to be able to temporarily turn off appliances that consume energy, such as washing machines and fridges. Those appliances wouldn't be adversely affected if turned off for just a few minutes but it helps the generating companies cope with peak demand without building additional infrastructure. 

In return the consumer would get cashback or a discount off their bill as a reward. 

We're not there yet and it needs some good standards and cooperation as well as consumer education but it interests most people more than a fridge that can scan barcodes or a washing machine that remember personal settings... 

Dual function washer/driers are quite commonplace over here too. 

I think this is all much ado about nothing and no one except technology geeks are going to want this stuff.  

Back in the 1970s,  I was a recording engineer and producer and I had to produce a spot for an appliance manufacturer that was producing a "talking refrigerator".  It was actually nothing more than an audio tape recorder mounted into the door where you were supposed to record messages like, "the meatloaf is in the oven.  Cook it at 300 degrees for 20 minutes" and "don't eat the cake before dinner".  That was a bust as well.   I had to laugh recently when I saw the equivalent of an iPad mounted in the door of a refrigerator. 

There's too much paranoia about connected appliances for them to be successful.   There's already strenuous objections to smart electric meters, which many people swear is costing them more money AND is supposedly making them ill due to radiation or too strong a WiFi signal or something.   And then there's all the hacking possibilities.  The fact is that the business use case doesn't make all that much sense.   Just because I bought a large jar of pickles before doesn't mean I want another again now that the first jar is finished.    

Energy usage is another matter, but it doesn't take all that long for frozen food to start defrosting and people will be royally pissed if the electric company shuts down their washer when they needed those clothes finished at a certain time.   The biggest factor in peak demand (at least in the U.S.) is air conditioning, not refrigerators or washing machines.    And what do you want to bet that low-income neighborhoods get their appliances shut down during peak demand before upper-income neighborhoods do.    Imagine the fights over that.

Although I have no hard data to back up this claim, I don't even think most people, especially men, really want self-driving cars.   I don't believe in their macho pride that they're willing to give up that much control and self-driving cars probably won't exceed speed limits, which will annoy the hell out of many people.    I also believe that there are going to be some self-driving car accidents which will be followed by class action lawsuits and it will be all over after that, especially after a self-driving car "chooses" to hit a child instead of a shopping cart.   Or, someone's car will be hacked and will take them somewhere they don't want to go.   ("But honey, I wasn't intending to go to the strip club - someone hacked my car and it took me there.")

Just because we have networks and WiFi doesn't mean that absolutely everything need be connected to it.   Haven't we learned anything by the massive amount of identity theft and other hacking activities?

zoetmb said:

Just because we have networks and WiFi doesn't mean that absolutely everything need be connected to it.   

Yes, I completely agree. As they said in the interview, even the benefits of lighting apps is dubious. A light switch by the door really is the best option. Smart control is not solving a big problem and won't be taken up unless it's very very simple and cheap. 

Even to make the smart power feature work, it would have to be almost completely automatic and foolproof. After installing the appliance you'd simply pair it with your WiFi and forget about it. The idea is that the appliance would be in control of itself, so a fridge might elect to turn off its refrigerator unit for a few minutes if practical, but not if the temperature rose too much. A user setting could select "always on" or "smart Eco" mode. Anything more complicated and it wouldn't be used. 

In the UK energy spikes do occur during ad breaks when people turn on lights and kettles but unlike the US we still have a few popular national TV channels, so yes, the US is probably different. 

Cars are a special case, I think. Sure, people like driving and taking that option away completely wouldn't be welcome but for commuting in heavy traffic or to a meeting, I can see the benefits. Motorway driving can be tedious too so it might be useful there. It's not obvious it will be welcomed though. 

"When NeXT bought Apple for negative 400 million dollars..."

It's funny because it's true.