this post was submitted on 30 Jun 2025
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xkcd #3109: Dehumidifier

Title text:

It's important for devices to have internet connectivity so the manufacturer can patch remote exploits.

Transcript:

[A store salesman, Hairy, is showing Cueball a dehumidifier, with a "SALE" label on it. Several other unidentified devices, possibly other dehumidifier models, are shown in the store as well.]

Salesman: This dehumidifier model features built-in WiFi for remote updates.
Cueball: Great! That will be really useful if they discover a new kind of water.

Source: https://xkcd.com/3109/

explainxkcd for #3109

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It sounds to me like your problem is human error, not the lack of a smarter machine. You can't engineer your way around people being morons. The greatest engineering minds have figured that out years ago.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

So you think the reason a hygrometer can't detect humidity ten minutes before it exists in order to start cooling the dehumidifier's compressor to the temperature it needs to be to start working is human error?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago)

No I'm saying you told your family to stop turning off the dehumidifier and they haven't stopped doing that. No amount of home automation or smart devices is going to change your family turning the dehumidifier off. You don't have a dumb system problem, you have a dumb people problem. And unfortunately a dumb people problem doesn't get solved by a smarter system.

Dehumidifiers are already automatic. Black mold isn't going to take over your bathroom in 10 minutes.