Credit: Indiegogo
Can something be both smart and dumb? It sounds like a philosophical question, but I’m talking about smart devices that really didn’t need that connectivity. I’m not being a Luddite here — most smart things do add very useful functionality to the device. It’s a sliding scale, though. The smartphone changed society as we know it, a smartwatch has a lot of handy uses, and a smart thermostat can make your day 1% more convenient. But it eventually becomes diminishing returns as we attempt to make everything smart, to the point at which it’s almost entirely profiting off novelty.
Which smart devices really are a waste of circuitry? I’ve got several contenders.