this post was submitted on 17 Nov 2025
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A total absense of tech would be bad for a washing machine. With a really simple conductivity sensor (basically just two electrodes on the sides of a plastic pipe) and an opacity sensor (an IR LED and an LDR on opposite sides of a clear pipe), you can measure how much stuff is dissolved in water and how much insoluable stuff is suspended. That then means that you can keep circulating the soapy water until it stops getting dirtier, then keep rinsing it out until it stops getting cleaner, which then means you can have the cycle times adjust themselves to how soiled the load is, instead of just making them as long as the worst case scenario might require and wasting energy, water, and time on an average load.
My husband loves building elecronics. And there's a lot of cool low-tech tech. I feel like basic circuit board stuff should be allowed, as it can be easy to repair if you know how. Just have the schematics available.
The problem for me is when it needs an Internet connection for remote access on top of a lot of flimsy parts that wear out too quickly.
My parents had a washer/dryer combo(LG I think?) that required internet to work at all. They just connected it when they first got it and didn’t realize connectivity was required until there was an internet outage. They promptly replaced it with separate Maytags that’s so far seem to be pretty hardy.
i think this is a typical "just install linux" situation. While to you it might seem simple, you're vastly overestimating most people's affinity to tech.
It really reminds me of this meme:
Also, love this one! I should get a framed version.
No, I get it. But everything is hard to fix until you know how to do it.
To me, This is about owning things you or someone else can repair with readily available parts. The problem now is remote bricking of purchases by the manufacturer through the internet. And things so cheaply made, the parts either don't exist or the too much of it broke. Or having to pay subscriptions for the privilege to use the things you bought.
It's just that if you have a electronics nerd friend or curiosity, there's a lot of basic electronics that can be repaired with incredibly cheap parts.
For example, if your microwave completely dies, it's probably a common $0.10 fuse. It's not on the circuit board but it's technically part of the electronics. You have to be careful to not touch the capacitors. But watch a video and you've brought something dead back to life.
If you don't trust yourself, call that friend that loves that kind of stuff, share a pizza and avoid buying a new microwave that spies on you.
Right to repair isn't about everyone knowing how to do it, but providing the accessibility and potential for repairs, compared to purposely obfuscated tech which is at the mercy of corporate overlords. Yes, a lot of people won't know how to repair it, but if they want to repair it without paying a professional, they still have the ability to research and learn how to do it themselves.