One of the foggiest places in the US.

My friend renovated his kitchen. His ovens are web-connected. One is a kind of microwave and one is a regular oven. They both display the time. They are meant to be installed one above the other. The time is not in the same font on the two clocks. It's SO DUMB looking.

@Cerberus If I'm home, the washing machine beeps when it's done. If I'm not home, I can't do anything about it. It's needless complexity and a security nightmare.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 It is art.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 I agree.

The one thing that could be useful is turning it on when electricity is cheap.

But that should happen automatically, not by pressing a button in an application.

And you need more stuff for that than just the machine.

@Cerberus I have a clothes washing machine with WiFi access, but I've never used it. I don't know why I should.

Yeah I can't really defend it.

I accidentally broke my ancient "dumb" washer while repairing it.

Ouch.

My friend has a tea kettle by Xiaomi, also with network access.

What did you do?

So I posted on diy.stackexchange to see if someone can help

there are wires in a plug that attache to a header on the motor.

the plug came apart and the 3 identical-looking blue wires all came out

I don't know how to wire it back together and it seems unwise to just randomly guess.

@CowperKettle Perhaps so that the Chinese government can monitor whether you're properly adhering to the correct tea ceremony?

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Oh, dear.

What were you trying to repair?

The carbon brushes in the motor wear out and need replacing. It's a very simple job if you know that it needs doing, and you don't break stuff.

Ouch.

Asking on SE sounds like a good idea.

Otherwise, call a repairwoman.

yeah the first time the brushes wore out, I called a repair person. He started planning to throw parts at the machine until I gave up and bought a new machine

Otherwise, buy a second-hand machine from a reliable company, of a good brand.

@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 Was he from the manufacturer?

What brand?

I have a Siemens.

It's been going strong for 11.5 years now.

It's bosch, a rare brand in Canada

Hmm I think Bosch can be good or mediocre, depending on the kind if applicance.

Some are made in Germany, others in China, I think.

How are things, by the way?

Any big news you want to tell us about?

This machine was in my house when I bought it in 2008, so it's been a pretty faithful machine so far.

Good machine.

So you have no idea how old it is?

Was the repairman sent by Bosch? Or by some other party?

no, it wasn't a bosch repairperson.

he had no idea what he was doing

if he had, and was trying to repair it in good faith, he would have mentioned carbon brushes as a possible reason why the machine wasn't working

Instead he just kept trying to upsell me to a new washer.

anyway, I'm outta here, nice seeing people again. ttyl

Maybe try a Bosh repairman next time, if possible?

Or someone from a reputable company?

Good to see you again.