Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Let's all stare at the refrigerator

Along the theme of technological overkill, here's the latest piece of weirdness to come out of technophile-land: internet-connected refrigerators.


I guess this is nothing new. The article notes, "You can actually buy a WiFi fridge already, if you really want to. Samsung sells an internet-connected fridge for $3,599. It says that it opens up 'a world of interactive communication and entertainment.'"

Your refrigerator opens up a world of interactive communication and entertainment... with what? Your condiments? Last night's leftover meatloaf? You can't walk a few feet into the living room and sit down at your computer or television if you want "communication and entertainment"?

The article also says internet/fridge lust started as far back as 1999 with this article.


C'mon, folks -- our society is "wired" enough as it is. Do we really need internet access and a screen on the refrigerator? I mean, what do they expect us to do? Pull the sofa into the kitchen and watch a movie on the refrigerator? How lame is that?

Meanwhile, you know what I covet? An old-fashioned ice box.


I seriously do. I saw one in a local antique store a few years ago and, even though it was pricey, I'm kicking myself that we didn't buy it. And get this, it didn't even have an internet connection.

30 comments:

  1. 'Refridgerator" is misspelled in the title.

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  2. yet another solution looking for a problem...


    Carl in the UP

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  3. I'm still upset with myself for falling into the ice and water on the door trap. Where did my common sense go? Right down the drain with all the money I spent on repairs.
    The old ice box I use for storage space is looking more practical everyday!

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  4. People who are wired together will die together..
    Montana Guy

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  5. Those antique ones are so cool (pun intended)! I love them. I found one in an antique shop not long ago, completely restored, but they wanted over $1,000 for it. I was drooling.

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  6. An icebox without an internet connection? How 19th century!! What will you do with all that free time? ;-)

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  7. My great grandmother had an icebox like that. She still used it. Nobody brings ice anymore so she did it herself. She used 2 liter pepsi bottles filled with water and stacked them sideways where the ice goes. She would put them in the chest freezer and trade them out everyday. I checked into getting one but it's hard to find one somebody hasn't ruined, and when you do find one they are expensive.

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  8. It's a solution in search of a problem.

    Now - I like the idea of knowing how the fridge is performing. IE - If the temp is usually between 34 - 37F and now it's 42 or if power usage jumped from 200wh/wk to 350wh/wk. Those are good things to know as something might be broken (food in the way of cooling fan) or just dirty (build-up on coils). That's the geek in me!

    But everyone has a phone to create a shopping list today. The app can share it with my wife so she knows when I add something to the list. If we just has a paper list then we can avoid the tech hassle.

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  9. Our fridge is a 1938 GE. Our stove is a 1929 magic chef. BOTH are used everyday and work great ! ; )

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  10. Swoon....over that icebox. I'm with you Patrice, give me that any day over a computerized fridge. How is your cook stove project coming along? Cindy

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  11. My washing machine is suppose to do the same thing. One
    problem. We do not have a cell phone to start the darn thing.
    So if I was in town and wanted my wash to start all I would have to do is own the cell phone and hit the cell phone and the wash would start. O well such is life
    Blessings
    Debby

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  12. I agree with you as usual! Our microwave displays "Enjoy Your Meal" when it's done and that freaks me out! I don't need or want my appliances communicating with me!

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  13. I want an ice box too! They are so cool.

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  14. i can see one advantage here....
    i have a bunch of recipies linked on my laptop. when i want to make blueberry cobbler, i have to haul my laptop into the kitchen..find a spot out of the way, yet accesable to put it, and hope the battery dosen't run out before i'm done.
    a wifi connected fridge would allow me to have a digital cook book of unlimited size and variety perminetly in the kitchen, readily and handily accessable, with no battery issues...
    now get the price down to where the blue collar crowd can afford them and you have a winner, in my opnion.

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  15. I was just thinking that maybe we should go back to ice boxes and then I come to your picture of one!

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  16. Fidd-a-ders with a vidiot box built in. Now that's funny.

    That ice box would have been perfect in your house. Another will come along.

    Just Me

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  17. About 10 years ago I lived in a house in Oregon that was built in 1929. One of the kitchen cupboards had holes drilled in the shelves and there were vents leading to outside to keep food chilled. I used those shelves to store most of my produce, beer, and anything not highly perishable. I had a fridge in that kitchen, but I'm sure there wasn't one there in 1929.

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    Replies
    1. I love this! I want one.

      Come to think of it, there's a corner cupboard in our kitchen, positioned in the northeast corner of the house. It's against an outside wall that's poorly insulated and I've noticed how it's always COLD in the winter. When I open that cupboard door, a blast of cold air flows out into my face....

      Thinking outside of the box...er, cupboard.

      Just Me

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    2. You must have a good method to drain the melted ice water. During the Depression, my mother mentioned that the melted block ice water settled in a tray that was difficult to remove and pour into the sink--a very poor design. It caused a lot of flood water. A gravity drip hose to outside would be the thing, but it might freeze during the winter. Then there is the window box during the cold months.

      An ice box needs more maintenance than a fridge. I cannot see bagged ice being as efficient as block ice. The ice must be managed. Make sure you make and ice box that cleans easily.

      It would be worth it for us for privacy issues, but every decision has its consequences.

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  18. Maybe it's not for you. Maybe it's for that meatloaf or the old, molding leftovers in the back of the fridge that have been in there so long they've turned into an alien species and want to communicate with their home planet through the Internet...

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    1. So funny!

      Uh, wait a minute...I have no idea what you're talking about....(sarc on.)

      Just Me

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  19. How else will Michelle Obama and the food police know what you're eating?

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  20. I regularly have to fire up my laptop or use my phone to search for food ingredients (allergen sensitive household), conversions, replacements, recipes, etc. I also stream music. While it's not a need, I could see myself appreciating the option if money wasn't an issue. However it's not a feature that most would use even if it came standard.

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  21. The only reason a refrigerator would benefit from internet connectivity is that it could get automatic firmware updates.

    But of course, the only reason anyone would ever care about how up-to-date their refrigerator's firmware is, would be if it's connected to the internet, and thus needs to worry about security.

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  22. Why don't you build a cabinet around your existing fridge? You would have the best of both worlds, and it would be much cheaper.

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  23. We will be converting a refrigerator to an ice box when the one we currently use becomes dysfunctional. An ice box is a bit more work. The key is to drain the melted ice water effortlessly. It can be done.

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  24. The internet fridge is the stupidest thing ive ever heard of.
    how long do appliances last anymore?
    1/3 of what they used to- mostly due to gvt regs over freon, energy usage etc. Which is why when i had a front load washer i would end washing clothes 2x because they weren't clean
    i was glad when it died after only about 3 yrs. (Cost more to fix then buy a new one) so i got a plain jane top load and i have my eye out for a ringer washer. They don't go cheap around here though. Much demand from the Amish.

    Same w/ frigs. Our frig at deer camp is 25 yrs old. Its not pretty but it keeps things cold. I can imagine the repair cost on this monstrosity when it breaks. Or someone hacks into it

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  25. But... but... Patrice, this is a GADGET! You can play with it! You know... you can... PLAY with it! Gadgets are almost never things you NEED. They're things you WANT! Well, things THEY want you to want, anyway. I like gadgets as much as the next guy, but with me (and the wife) a gadget needs to be something that will actually make my life easier, and it needs to be CHEAP! Most of today's gadgets don't meet either priority. --Fred in AZ

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  26. I just saw your post when I was looking to find info about an ice box that I have. Mine is from the early 1900s and was my great-grandparents'. I just cleaned it up and now we'll be using it to store important files in. No changes to it, using removable hanging files in baskets that can slide onto the shelves. I love it and have gotten great reviews of it on Facebook today!

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