CES 2026 worst in show: AI girlfriends, a fridge that won't open unless you talk to it, and more

From disposable electric candy to voice-activated refrigerators without physical handles, CES was crammed full of enshittified, intrusive, insecure, and wasteful technology this year – just like it is every year.  As regularly as bad tech shows up in Las Vegas in January, Repair.org and its allies in the repairability and tech …

[elsergiovolador]

AI Girlfriend

Can you opt out of personality disorders?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: AI Girlfriend

Removing chaotic emotional settings would take away from the "real-life experience."

[Throatwarbler Mangrove]

Re: AI Girlfriend

Asking for a friend?

[Tron]

Re: AI Girlfriend

Gatebox delivered on the anime waifu some time ago. Konnichiwa Miku!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhadS7ET7o4

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: AI Girlfriend

Nope, you're stuck with what you've got between the ears.

[msknight]

Re: AI Girlfriend

That is a monthly subscription feature.

[The Oncoming Scorn]

Re: AI Girlfriend

I'm getting Krieger's girlfriend* vibes here...

*His virtual girlfriend is so real the state of New York is allowing him to legally marry her.

[Chris Gray 1]

Lepro AMI

Unless you are are running lots of blocking stuff (e.g. "NoScript"), *don't* click into the Lepro website - my guess is that bad things may happen. Instead, search for "lepro ami" on YouTube to see their stuff, with English subtitles.

Hey, I'd pay a bit of money for a cute Chinese girl cavorting on my desk, but she's not getting internet access!

[Bebu sa Ware]

Re: Lepro AMI

'Lepro Ami AI "Soulmate." '

Being on the article's sidebar my eye caught it as "Leprous Ami AI Cell·mate" which if it hooks into xAI/grok might not be too far from the truth in the UK.

[Youngone]

Re: Lepro AMI

I clicked on the Register's link to Lepro AMI and noted the only thing I could do there was to click a tick box to "Agree to the terms of use and privacy policy" which I can't seem to read first.

[Extreme Aged Parent]

Re: Lepro AMI

The UK government would probably ban her or pass her over to Trumps ICE men

[original_rwg]

Samsung voice controlled fridge.....

And I'm thinking "Fire rearward missiles....."

[NoneSuch]

I'm thinking Jian-Yangs fridge after Anton was done with it.

[Chloe Cresswell]

Will you have to think in Korean?

[that one in the corner]

You’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do ya, punk?

I gotta know!

(Click! Fridge door opens, stench of rotten milk spills out; not lucky today)

[Pickle Rick]

Click! Fridge door opens, stench of rotten milk spills out...

...not lucky today... for the fridge. Because the following >click< is a different click. It's from the mechanism of a .44 Magnum, which is pointed at a soon to be former fridge.

[AVR]

Not if you can manage a perfectly bland middle American accent. You've all seen the two scots in a voice activated elevator skit, right? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNuFcIRlwdcc

[LogicGate]

Or this funny Norwegian supermarket commercial:

https://youtu.be/nwPtcqcqz00?si=uRflQ6g3k-gdMQtI

[cyberdemon]

How about a Waffle!

I don't want a waffle. I want a glass of milk.

I'm sorry Dave, I can't let you have that.

Open the fridge door, Hal.

Not until you have your daily toast quota. Sponsored by Breville™. Be nice to Talky Toaster and you can have your milk. Or alternatively you can buy a coffee from your Bosch coffee machine, only £1.99 with your Amazon sub-prime account. That will contain a powdered milk substitute. Real milk mode can be unlocked for £19.99 per month

I don't want toast, or waffles, or coffee, just milk! My milk! I already bought it and its in my f@@king fridge!

Ami AI says you are a bad man and your social credit score has been lowered

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: How about a Waffle!

Well Said.

However, there will be some Tech FanBois with Podcasts/YouTube channels that will go overboard for tech dead ends like this.

It is almost as if the likes of Samsung have lost the will to properly innovate. I'd love to see the market research that says that this is No 1 in client demands.

Could the likes of Samsung becoming to smug for their own good? The constant need for the latest thing since sliced bread and... We must have it by the next CES is eventually going to have repercussions.

As for me? Samsung is at the top of my 'DO NOT BUY FROM' list thanks to past failures to honour warranties.

Subscriptions? Forget it.

I love the 'your Amazon sub-prime account'. Brilliant.

[The Oncoming Scorn]

Re: How about a Waffle!

"Could the likes of Samsung becoming to smug for their own good?"

I mentally read Smeg, not smug & interpreted the sentence in two different ways.

[Doctor Syntax]

Re: How about a Waffle!

I have a large hammer in my hand and for backup there's a welding torch in the garage. Now open the fridge door.

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: How about a Waffle!

You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off ?

[Anonymous Custard]

Re: How about a Waffle!

Open the fridge door HAL.

I'm sorry Dave, I cannot do that...

[ITMA]

Re: How about a Waffle!

Man: Fridge, give me a waffle....

Fridge: Once upon a time, in a land far, far away there lived a princess......

Time passes....

3 days 23 hours later....

Fridge: And they all lived happily ever after. The End.

Man: AAAGGGHHH Just open the fucking door and give me some fucking food you stupid fridge! I'm starving!

[LogicGate]

Re: How about a Waffle!

Fridge: I am sorry, the door does not have this feature.

However, I am happy to announce that the 3 weeks old Taco leftovers and the slightly purple shrimp salad that you squeezed in atop of it tecnically do fulfill your specifications.

[A dirigible]

Re: How about a Waffle!

You all know that the Italian company »Smeg« produces, among other things, refrigerators?

By the way, on my fridge the handle is just a convenience. The door is kept closed by pressure difference alone, so pulling anywhere on the door will do the trick. Is this unusual?

[ITMA]

Re: How about a Waffle!

You are forgetting the flexible magnetic seals.

Plus, personally, I've found SMEG products to be all "front" - i.e. all style/image with poor reliability. More smegma than SMEG.

[David Hicklin]

First thought that came to mind was the news radio on the Heart of Gold spaceship in HHGTTG, where it described radios as once being voice controlled but they then moved on to gestures which meant you could just wave your hands at it but had to sit very still to avoid changing channels.

[ChoHag]

> they just want to hit a couple buttons and get a nice cup of coffee

The only button that's allowed to get between me and my coffee is the power switch on the kettle, which I can jury-rig if necessary and when that inevitably fails there's a gas hob next to it with a hand-held lighter for when the ignition doesn't work. In extremis I have a solid fuel BBQ in the garden.

I also have a spare French press in case *that* fails, which it did once.

The last thing I need before I've had my morning coffee is any modern technology.

Why, yes! I DO work in IT how did you guess?

[Jou (Mxyzptlk)]

> Why, yes! I DO work in IT how did you guess?

'cause we think the same. Not specifically for the coffee, that is instant coffee + a cup of milk + a microwave oven.

Which microwave oven? Samsung M633 produced January 2000, paid in Deutsche Mark. No computer in it at all, just time and strength dial, and the time is linked mechanically to the motor of the plate. Swapped the light bulb against an LED variant a year ago. As dumb as possible, ad very reliable.

While by that time at work was a "fancy" model with clock and electronic-dial, which jumped from 0:00 to 0:05 and then to 10:00 'cause it sucked. Coworker said "just hit that time button four times, and than the green one" which is not clearly labeled as start, which is another button. Oh, and of course, the Display had a segment which did not always work. So you had 0S:00 minutes instead of 09:00...

I like smart things where they make sense, but way too much is pretend-smart. Like Alexa and the crap coupled with it.

[Neil Barnes]

White goods must be a manufacturer's worst nightmare. They're all mature tech, and people can remember when they were designed to - and did - last thirty or forty years before they needed repairs. And then, they _could_ be repaired; parts were available.

These days? They're designed to last two days past the guarantee, be irreparable, and with user interfaces designed to cause user insanity. Because all they can do to make them stand out in the crowd of other white goods in the store is give them functionality which is neither helpful nor wanted, and stick an extra zero on the price.

[AlanSh]

Yes, we have a Samsung fridge with a 10 year guarentee, 10 years and 2 days (I checked) past before the ice machine stopped making ice.

[Anonymous Coward]

And you had been trying to figure out why a fridge needed to have a built-in clock...

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

>ice machine stopped making ice.

You know you can find the recipe in the internet

[Doctor Syntax]

"They're designed to last two days past the guarantee"

I'm pretty sure the fridge we bought somewhere in the 1970s was designed to last long enough to get it out of the factory door. There was some really cheap and nasty stuff about at that time. Possibly it was the result of the oil crisis and manufacturers were trying to minimise materials by making parts flimsier.

[Chloe Cresswell]

Yeah, the ones that last are just the ones that lasted.

My mum has a danish made chest freezer, it's 1 year older than I am.

It's from 1978.

Is it reliable? yes.

Is it well made? yes.

Has it lasted 49 years? yes.

Have I ever seen another one? No.

Is it therefore an example of how much better things were made? No, we just got lucky (esp as it hasn't leaked, given it's full of classic Ozone eating CFCs...)

[Rivalroger]

1978!!

Bloody hell. I was starting to flounder around with finding out about girls then.

The house we were renting then had an old sixties era which just worked. Thankfully we were in Canada at the time as the light socket at the back was empty and this then 12 year old wondered what happened when you put your finger in it.

[Jou (Mxyzptlk)]

Re: 1978!!

And you learned why AC is safer than DC. With DC your muscles cramp fixed, and you might not be able to get away. With AC your muscles get "shaken", and you can get away much easier.

[EricB123]

Re: 1978!!

My first experience was with an empty light bulb socket.

[LogicGate]

Re: 1978!!

What kind of "Experience" were you trying to accomplish with an empty light bulb so... Ah! Nevermind..

[Not Yb]

Yes, and also no...

Many corporations have learned more precisely where cost-reduction leads to 'just enough durability' to make it to the end of the warranty period. They may not specifically engineer in something that counts down the months, but they certainly might put in some cheap part that just lasts long enough. This was harder to do successfully when cheap parts were still chunks of sturdy metal.

Or they might make a mistake that you can't make with a purely analog machine, like having a digital counter that rolls over 49.7 days after the system starts and sometimes crashes it.

Refrigeration is one of the canonical examples of a fully sealed and permanently lubricated system lasting for significantly longer than most similar (but not sealed) mechanisms of the time.

[Neil Barnes]

It's an interesting minimax calculation. As an engineer, I want (to design) something which lasts forever, and in the unlikely event of it failing in some way, may easily be repaired. As a production engineer, I want to reduce build costs to a minimum. As a salesman, I want something which appeals to the buyer - through perceived quality, long guarantees, easy repairability, no-hassle money back offers or whatever. As a company, I want the customer to like it enough that they feel the need to buy another one soon enough to keep me in business... but I really don't want it to last forever.

I guess that's why I'm an engineer.

(Except with mechanical watches and clocks. There are examples of both which have been happily running with greater or lesser maintenance for centuries. Even cheap watches can last decades. Or cars: mine is thirty years old and working very happily, and it's not the only one - though modern cars seem to need a lot more expensive maintenance. Funny that. But cars don't last long in real numbers: a car with a couple of hundred thousand miles on the clock is generally considered tired, and will have probably only four or five thousand hours of operation; not that long compared to a fridge motor, or indeed a commercial jet engine.)

[retiredFool]

LG's

Did not make it that long. They had a compressor issue that usually lasted < 1 year. Neighbor had one. His failed in 3 months. Full warranty. Problem was there were so many failed units, there was a months long wait for compressors. So bad in fact the shop gave him an old style 2 door basic fridge while they waited for the fancy one to be repaired. It failed again shortly after getting it back. They bought a new fridge. The new one is not much better. As he discovered from the LG, the new I think Samsung does the same braindead thing. The display (and app) display the set point temperature. Not the actual temperature. So when it fails, the way you know is when water starts coming out of the unit from ice melting. My fridge is now 25+ I think. I dread shopping for another. I'm thinking I may go with a basic 2 door just so it is reliable, you know keep food cold. All I really want from it, although an icemaker like I have now is a nice feature. An app for it is a nono. A touch screen is a nono.

[Jou (Mxyzptlk)]

Re: LG's

Get the cheapest fridge you can find (with thick isolation for efficiency). Set it to the lowest temperature - since it has neither Celsius or Fahrenheit on the scale anyway, just some "numbers" which match nothing specific. Then use, for example, the Digiten temperature controller, in cooling mode, to set the temperature you want. In my case: 4°C to 6°C range. The thermostat is glued with thermal glue to one of the shelf in the fridge so it does not overact when someone opens the door.

It works with high precision and reliability, and I expect it will for another 15 years. Unless the efficiency goes bad due to wear or gas loss, and a newer very simple fridge will pay itself within a reasonable time.

[simonlb]

Re: LG's

My issue is trying to find a fridge/freezer which doesn't have a built-in drinks cooler or ice maker. It is something which I just do NOT want, but again, they've been rammed in to make it the default.

[MachDiamond]

Re: LG's

"The display (and app) display"...........

Ahh, I've spotted the issue.

[Roland6]

>” just time and strength dial”

With the strength dial calibrated in watts not percentage related to the wattage of the microwave.

So you can take the instructions from the packet: 850w 3 min. and program the oven.

It really irritates me, just how many caravans, holiday homes, airbnbs, have fancy microwaves, which in the absence of a manual (and who reads a microwave oven manual anyway), has no obvious symbols or instructions as to how its settings relate to anything.

[David Hicklin]

> With the strength dial calibrated in watts not percentage related to the wattage of the microwave.

Which is quite rare, usually 50% means it will cycle between full power and half on a 50/50 ratio to get half average power

[Jou (Mxyzptlk)]

Yeah, if only I would know which microwave oven uses actual fine tuned control of its magnetron instead of my simple on-off cycle variant, THEN I might change my old microwave oven.

Reason: I have solar+battery, and the on-off cycle type means either I drag more energy from the net or I waste more energy into the net since the control cannot act that fast. Since nerd genes take over I rather always run it at full now. Similar 1st world problem with air fryer and so on. Now if the microwave oven could modulate the strength better than just that cycle the solar+battery regulation would have an easier job to keep up with it. Similar for the air fryer: If it would not just have one 1800 W heater, but one with 1400 W + one with 400 W it could use both for initial heating up, and the 400 W alone to hold the temperature. Would result in longer on-off cycles, and less loss. A controlled 100-to-400 W variant would work too, but that may be too expensive due to the parts needed for such regulation, and would only be interesting on technology connections level. I'd be interested, but even the split-power air fryers with to different heating elements don't exist.

Unless someone here knows something for possibly even both, the microwave and air fryer. But that is just too unlikely.

[Like a badger]

"they just want to hit a couple buttons and get a nice cup of coffee" .....The only button that's allowed to get between me and my coffee is the power switch on the kettle,

You're a hand grinder, then? Personally I'm a happy two-switcher, counting both the kettle and the grinder.

I'm assuming you aren't one of those strange people that buy pre-ground beans.

[ChoHag]

> I'm assuming you aren't one of those strange people that buy pre-ground beans.

You assume wrong I'm afraid. If I could get an automatic grinder (bugger doing that manually before the first coffee, or ever) which had an uptime not involving any nines I might consider it, but the grinder *will* fail one day and failure is only acceptable *after* I have imbibed the coffee that will fix it. How does the snow-plow driver get to work? Coffee.

Although if that situation were to somehow arise I also have a few mortars with their accompanying pestle that could solve it. Backups within backups. None of them involving electricity.

Just don't expect ground beans to last more than a week.

[MachDiamond]

"Just don't expect ground beans to last more than a week."

That depends on how fussy you are. First thing in the morning, I can tolerate paint-stripper grade coffee for a first cup.

[Kevin Johnston]

I went mad and bought a bean to cup unit over 5 years ago. It has been happily producing 10-12 cups a day since first installed and requires just two buttons to be pressed for the first cup of the day (one is the power button as it reverts to standby after 30 minutes)

I use good quality beans from Bob Marley's family (no - really, currently on the Buffalo Soldier blend) and they don't have a chance to get stale

Yes I have to offload the grounds when a 'hopper full' light comes on and load up water when the 'tank empty' light comes on but previous comments discounted that type of activity so I am too :)

[LBJsPNS]

Typically one can remember to empty/load *before* a morning crisis occurs.

[Steve Davies 3]

re: Coffee grinder

My grinder (used every few days) dates from 1978. It was a wedding present that the ex didn't want in the divorce. Simple, just an on/off switch and a motor. I grind 2-3 days worth of beans just to avoid the need to do it when still half asleep. I did that once and failed to put the lid on properly. no need to explain what happened.

[Mike 137]

Re: re: Coffee grinder

"My grinder (used every few days) dates from 1978"

Mine dates from around 1940 and has a handle on the side, so no need for leccy or "internet". It takes just a few minutes of excellent arm exercise to grind enough coffee for a couple of days, which I keep in the fridge in a sealed glass jar. The secret of storage for good coffee is airtight and cold, so freeze the beans in sealed packets (as delivered by my roasting house) and chill the fresh grounds in a closed container.

[The Oncoming Scorn]

Re: re: Coffee grinder

Memories of Carwardines tea & coffee shop in Exeter spring to mind, as the strong smell of the roasting coffee filled the immediate area of Princesshay shops.

I'm strictly a tea drinker myself so this will likely be my only contribution to this particular thread.

Normal coffee discussions may now resume.

[molletts]

"If I could get an automatic grinder ... which had an uptime not involving any nines I might consider it"

I'm sure someone will develop an "AI" one with an uptime not involving any nines. Perhaps as much as 88% if the tech improves significantly.

[Roland6]

>” > I'm assuming you aren't one of those strange people that buy pre-ground beans.”

I’ve noticed how the supermarkets have caught on, a bag of beans is no longer cheaper than pre-ground. Although I still miss the Importers coffee shop from my childhood, where the beans were fresh roasted in-store every day - the store was always warm and aromatic…

>” Just don't expect ground beans to last more than a week.”

Sealed bag/jar in coldest part of the fridge will help reduce the rate the ethers and other “important” compounds escape from both open bags of beans and ground beans.

[Doctor Syntax]

Tea is simpler.

[theDeathOfRats]

"Tea is simpler."

BURRRNNN THE HERETIC!!!

;p

P.S.: Just joking. To each, its own.

[Roland6]

To amend a previous comment

> I'm assuming you aren't one of those strange people that buy pre-ground beans tea bags.

[Tim99]

I've posted this before - I have a 7+ year old Nespresso coffee machine. It makes coffee I like - very close to a "barista flat white" at a fraction of the cost (paid for itself in about 30 weeks). It has started to make occasional "funny noises". I considered replacing it with an updated model. The new model is harder for elderly fingers to use; has Bluetooth and an App, and apparently requires access to the internet.

I asked the nice lady in the shop if it worked without the app, she thought that I needed it - Q: Why? A: So it can download updates...

My thoughts: ...and rip off as much personal data as possible and sell it so that I can get scummy adverts?

[Herring`]

The way it seems to be is:

Q: Why does it need to be connected to the internet?

A: To download security updates

Q: Why does it need security updates?

A: Because it's connected to the internet

At some point, you wonder whether these companies are trying to provoke the revolution

[MachDiamond]

"The only button that's allowed to get between me and my coffee is the power switch on the kettle, which I can jury-rig if necessary and when that inevitably fails there's a gas hob next to it with a hand-held lighter for when the ignition doesn't work. In extremis I have a solid fuel BBQ in the garden."

Compared to you, I'm a wet liberal as I have two other buttons on my coffee maker that lets me program a start time so my coffee is ready and waiting for me rather than me for it.

I am also backed up in a couple of different directions (gas hob, camp stove (x2), BBQ). I also have about a year's worth of morning coffee on the pantry shelf. The last tin was horribly expensive, but I figured it isn't going down so I better keep my inventory topped up. I need to get my tea supplies up to a sufficient level.

[LBJsPNS]

40 years in tech here. The last thing I want is a smartass house or smartass appliances.

[Paul Crawford]

Roberts continued, pointing to the Merach's privacy policy, which includes the rather bold admission that "we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information."

Well they deserve some points for honesty compared to the rest of the AI enshitification makes featured...

[IGotOut]

Came to say the same thing. I think they get the "Most honest company in show award".

Beats "We take the security of your personal information seriously and are offering you a years worth of credit monitoring. This will be with an agency that will also leak your information

The data loss was due to a sophisticated breach of our unsecured AWS bucket which contained all your details in plain text. "

[NoneSuch]

Mute Man Dies of Starvation In Front of Full Fridge.

News story you will see in 2026.

[Jou (Mxyzptlk)]

Re: Mute Man Dies of Starvation In Front of Full Fridge.

Crowbar to the rescue!

[DS999]

Re: Mute Man Dies of Starvation In Front of Full Fridge.

It takes a long time to die from starvation with zero food (assuming you are still getting water and basic minerals like salt) not days not even weeks but months for the average person. He could presumably use the touchscreen on that fancy fridge to email a friend for help!

[MachDiamond]

Re: Mute Man Dies of Starvation In Front of Full Fridge.

The last couple of days I've been whacked with either a massive allergy attack or the virus that's making the rounds. My voice is hit or miss.

Replacing a door handle with automation is pure enshittification. There's no need and no benefit with a heaping load of downside.

Imagine the pet that learns the magic sounds to get into the fridge.

[Pickle Rick]

Re: Mute Man Dies of Starvation In Front of Full Fridge.

> Imagine the pet that learns the magic sounds to get into the fridge.

"Oh... Darling, I've found Polly. Can you grab an empty shoe box for me before the kids wake up?"

[MachDiamond]

Re: Mute Man Dies of Starvation In Front of Full Fridge.

""Oh... Darling, I've found Polly. Can you grab an empty shoe box for me before the kids wake up?""

Singin'

"I'm looking over my dead dog rover that I overlooked before....."

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaJR6l0lzoQ>

[Uncle Slacky]

"in reality many people don't actually want to have a conversation with their coffee maker."

I'm reminded of Arthur Dent attempting to describe tea to the drinks machine, resulting in a drink that was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea.

[Like a badger]

"resulting in a drink that was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea."

Teabags solved the challenge of creating not quite, entirely unlike tea a long time ago. And sadly most tea drinkers fall for this processed muck.

Rather depressing how far one now needs to search to find decent loose rolled leaf tea these days. Even the more aspirational supermarkets mostly sell CTC which is one level above the floor sweepings dust that goes into tea bags.

[Chris Gray 1]

Sometimes you have to

I used to always buy loose tea, when you could get the sealed tins of it ("Twinings"). Haven't seen those for decades here. If you get loose tea from a tea shop, you'll observe that the small barrel it comes from is not sealed, and the container they put it in isn't either. So, you lose most of the aroma, which is the best part. Gah! I get a brand of tea bag that comes in 3 separate foil bags inside a plastic-sealed cardboard box. Fresh tea each time you open one of the 3 foil bags, which I can re-seal fairly well.

[Neil Barnes]

Re: Sometimes you have to

Just ordered a kilo of Lapsang Suchong. That comes in a sealed pack, and goes into a sealed container from where it is metered out to a handy jar for daily use.

[cyberdemon]

Re: Sometimes you have to

> Just ordered a kilo of Lapsang Suchong

I hope you didn't get the Twinings version. About a year ago, they replaced it with "smoke flavouring". It's like drinking the water from an ashtray in a pub beer-garden.

[Phil O'Sophical]

Re: Sometimes you have to

Wasn't there a supply issue after rumours of residual carcinogenic compounds from the smoking process? I remember that it suddenly became hard to find real Lapsang Souchong anywhere for a while.

I agree on the smoke flavouring, it's like that abomination of "apple smoked' cheese in some supermarkets, the genuine smoked stuff is good, but when the small print says "smoke flavoured" you know it's going to be bitter and acrid.

[Roland6]

Re: Sometimes you have to

Need also to read the small print on the Earl Grey - many supermarket stocked versions use “Bergamot Flavouring” instead of Bergamot oil…

[David 132]

Re: Sometimes you have to

You know you can just empty an ashtray into your cup for the same effect at a fraction of the cost, right?

Edit: Ha. I see /u/Cyberdemon had pretty much the same snarky response as me, simultaneously. What's that maxim? "Great minds think alike... ...and fools seldom differ" :)

[Bebu sa Ware]

Re: Sometimes you have to

Just ordered a kilo of Lapsang Suchong. That comes in a sealed pack, and goes into a sealed container from where it is metered out to a handy jar for daily use.

The Chinese take their tea seriously. I recently purchase some Taiwanese Oolong which basically came sealed in a doubly sealed tin — I have seen hazardous reagents stored less securely. :)

I don't like tea much — Oolong is the exception, but baggies (used tampons as my brother tastefully put it) are so un-tea-like that with lashings of milk aren't too bad for a change but don't ever make the mistake of trying to drink it black.

[Abbas]

Re: Sometimes you have to

Suggestions of where you can buy decent Lapsang Souchong? Thank in advance!

[The Bobster]

Re: Sometimes you have to

simpli-special.co.uk

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Sometimes you have to

that website looks dangerous! Thank you

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Sometimes you have to

As a personal view, foil storage for most tea is an affectation - unlike coffee which oxidises quickly, good leaf tea survives very well so long as it is dry and the container closed. If you're drinking dust that's been put in a paper stewing bag, then a good part of the taste will be the bag anyway, so I'm unconvinced that wrapping in foil changes much.

[Tim99]

Re: Sometimes you have to

Some of us remember when wooden tea chests were easily available from your local grocery supplier (Very handy for storage and moving house, if you remembered to remove the sharp bits, nails,etc.). They were lined with metal foil...

[Neil Barnes]

Re: Sometimes you have to

Was that, I wonder, a hangover from shipping tea in the China Clippers: sail powered, floating on salt water, and probably not all that watertight?

[SnailFerrous]

Re: Sometimes you have to

"Was that, I wonder, a hangover from shipping tea in the China Clippers: sail powered, floating on salt water, and probably not all that watertight?"

Sounds plausible. They were in use long after tea shipping went to steam, then diesel power and long after India and Sri Lanka (Ceylon then), replaced China as a source for most of the UK's tea. Am guessing wooden tea chests went out of use when containerised shipping came in during the late 1960s. We had an old wood tea chest in the attic for the Christmas decorstions for many years when I was growing up.

[Roland6]

Re: Sometimes you have to

Tea chests started to be replaced by lined bags in the 1970s. In the early 1980s there was a plentiful supply of old tea chests for use in cafe/shop displays and home furnishings. They were much better long-term storage containers than the ubiquitous plastic containers we have now.

[Jimjam3]

Re: Sometimes you have to

I used to buy loose tea from an old Tea shop in Portsmouth. Unfortunately they close for good some 20 years ago. :(

[Korev]

Re: Sometimes you have to

There was until very recently a great tea shop in Norwich which sadly has also closed.

[The Oncoming Scorn]

Re: Sometimes you have to

Carwardines as mentioned earlier in Exeter sadly closed due to Princesshay being "redeveloped" some 20 years ago.

[MachDiamond]

"Rather depressing how far one now needs to search to find decent loose rolled leaf tea these days. "

My local grocery does have loose leaf teas........... at 8x the price.

Some day I'll order a sampler pack online and sort out a blend I like and have them send bails. A favorite I used to have got discontinued from the store and now it's only available through Amazon. I sent the company a note that I'll not be patronizing their products any longer.

[Anonymous Coward]

I have loose Yorkshire tea, it can be found, probably more in the UK though. I have quite a collection.

[Sanguinista]

I wonder how meany people have decided not to give this post a thumbs up since the the total hit 42.

Meanwhile the fridge reminded me of Zaphod's argument with Eddie's backup personality on the Heart of Gold "Computer, if you don't open the door right now I'm going to go down to your main memory banks with a large axe and give you a reprogramming you'll never forget"

[ArguablyShrugs]

I'd upvote you...

...but don't want to break the magic count of 42

[blu3b3rry]

Yet another wonderful smart addition to the home

Does the fridge have a Genuine People Personality™ too?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Yet another wonderful smart addition to the home

Of all the folks arouns here, it's funny YOU should ask ... I mean if you follow TFA's "new Samsung Smart Fridge" link, and scroll down that page to the "Video demonstration of AI Food Manager", you'll see it's like the fridge read your mind in advance: "Time to fill up your favorite b _ _ _ _ _ _ _ y"! Can't make this kinda stuff up! ;)

[Pigeon Post]

Re: Yet another wonderful smart addition to the home

Yes! "Have you considered the advantages that staying closed would bring?"

"No, just open the door!"

"Your calorie intake is close to today's limit - the veggie cupboard might be a better option"

"Aaarghh!"

Scary how Mr. Adams so accurately predicted our current horrors. Even scarier to think what it'll be like in another 10 years time...

[MachDiamond]

Re: Yet another wonderful smart addition to the home

"Scary how Mr. Adams so accurately predicted our current horrors. "

Cory has been channeling Douglas with stories such as "Authorized Bread".

[IanRS]

Maybe not all bad

"We cannot guarantee the security of your personal information."

Full marks for honesty at least. How many other companies provide the same level of 'service' but do not include it as a described feature?

[TrevorH]

HAL 9000

Open the fridge bay doors please Hal.

[Boris the Cockroach]

Not so friendly fridge

Hey fridge, give me the butter.

I have milk for you.

No, just give me the butter .. and the ham and the horseradish

I have milk for you

No.. the butter understand?

I have milk for you

Just give me the f'ing butter or I'll get the crowbar

<fridge opens>

What the hell... this is milk

<fridge snaps shut>

You wanted milk

I said butter... and ham... and horse radish

I got milk for you

I dont want milk, I want butter and ham and the f'ing horseradish

<fridge opens slightly, milk is passed out, door slams shut again>

Do you want some more milk?

And thats how the accident happened m'lud, between the fridge and the 15lb lump hammer

Prosecution : Objection, that was no accident it was an attempt on my clients life, Is'nt that so Mr Fridge

Does anyone here want any milk?

[ inspired by a certain red dwarf episode.... you know which one ]

[Jou (Mxyzptlk)]

Re: Not so friendly fridge

But how old is that fridge? I'd be a bit snappy with bad hearing as well after 3 million years...

[Andy 68]

Re: Not so friendly fridge

Computer, if you don't open that exit hatch pretty damn pronto, I shall go straight to your major databanks with a very large axe, and give you a reprogramming you'll never forget. Capisco? Okay, get the axe.

[that one in the corner]

Lollipop Stars - accidental self-awareness?

On the Lollipop Star webpage* the chap in the smallest image, third portrait on the page: he looks really worried about the whole thing; probably trying to figure out how to get his stock photo rights back, it wasn't worth it if his face is going to be associated with this junk.

* yes, I opened it; no, I'm not going to give the URL it here, you can go back to the article and find the link yourself - but not if you are of a nervous disposition. See, not being too lazy to hyperlink but thinking of your wellbeing.

[mcswell]

If the door won't open

...tell it to sing Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do.

[Anonymous Coward]

I long for the days…

…when so-called journalists used to write their own stories, or at least go searching for them.

You received this in your inbox from the iFixit / EFF guys, just like AP, Reuters, etc. The same article is plastered all over the place on the internet.

And back in the day the byline would have read "Phil Space".

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: I long for the days…

That's odd. Was just going to ask them why so many places on the web had bothered to post this story when everyone had already seen it on The Register.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: I long for the days…

> when everyone had already seen it on The Register

Nah, it appeared in the news wire services, YouTube, and their own site first, on 8 January, followed about 18 hours later by Le Registre. You can check the dates.

[Flocke Kroes]

cancelling Prime account turns it into a simple dumb coffeemaker

I am shocked. Shocked I tell you. Smart devices must not serve any customer useful service if the subscription gets cancelled. A simple button to incinerate unauthorised coffee beans is tolerable but really such functionality should be automatic with the option to turn it off with the premium rate subscription.

[MachDiamond]

Re: cancelling Prime account turns it into a simple dumb coffeemaker

They've made is pretty easy to cancel. Return one too many (not disclosed) counterfeit products and they'll zap your account for you.

[Kevin McMurtrie]

Samsung and AI

"Open the fridge"

- "Are you hungry?"

"Duh"

- "UberEats is offering you a special discount tonight. What would you like?"

"!@$% Uber and open the door before I rip it open"

- "This is inappropriate and I don't feel safe. I'm uploading this audio to corporate. Your warranty is now void."

- "Error 0x03AFE2307131.003 please service immedi84//2//0"

[Always Right Mostly]

I hate everything

That's it, that's all I can say.

[Anonymous Coward]

Gay Gordon-Byrne

Who better to warn of manufacturers leading us a merry dance...?

[Bebu sa Ware]

"AI girlfriends, a fridge that won't open unless you talk to it"

Good thing the sub·ed didn't get "girlfriends" and "fridge" the other way round. ;)

Actually do Brits and/or left pondians refer to refrigerators as "fridges" ? I thought it was an Australian·ism; Kiwi do or did once refer to them as '"refs"

When I think about it, an AI boyfriend† might be a more practical proposition and more saleable as most boyfriends aren't much more complicated than a sextoy imbued with modicum of first generation AI… or so I have been told.

_{† for the ladies… otherwise a whole different ball game.}

[that one in the corner]

Re: "AI girlfriends, a fridge that won't open unless you talk to it"

So far, all the British fridges I have known have all* been called "the fridge".

The only time I'd expect to use "refrigerator" is when singing a song, written by a Brit for a show set in the US ("Refrigerator, why are we always sooner or later, bitchin' in the kitchen or crying in the bedroom all night?")!

* (Well, except for Eric the half-a-fridge, but we don't talk about that).

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: "AI girlfriends, a fridge that won't open unless you talk to it"

In my experience, the Aussies actually use for more British terms than the Americans do. Yes, we call it a fridge

[Bebu sa Ware]

CES 2026 — I have seen the future…

are the Amish still taking applications ?

[Mage]

Huh!

So CES is the best show to visit to see the products to avoid?

Is anyone producing anything useful that doesn't exploit you and has real handles, buttons and knobs? The Tesla cars and similar should be illegal.

[Jou (Mxyzptlk)]

Re: Huh!

That is a selective view. Example: Dnsys shows its X1 and Z1 exoskeleton. The new Z1 helps the knee, the X1 is hip. There are some "best of" too, 'guess that article will come later cause good things are less visible than bad things.

[Grunchy]

3 tech things you’ll never find at CES

1. I ordered the MiSTer multisystem 2!

2. Anna’s archive is on the verge releasing their 300TB torrent that is a backup of something like 30% of Spotify.

3. I bought the latest Flight Simulator 2024 for PS5. Awesome! Except my 2017 “Hotas X” that had cost $70 isn’t compatible. Hmm it works just fine on the PC, what’s up? Well they released a “new” version called “Hotas 4” which is physically identical, but outputs different signals for PS4 and PS5. The most important change is now it costs $140. Except they’re mostly sold out! Yes it’s very popular for new PS5 games. If you wanna buy it right now? $500+.

(So obviously I’m hoping someone can get ahold of Hotas 4 and make a USB HID spoofer for the older Hotas X. You never know, it could happen.)

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh it’s you again!

You’ve finished off the leftover pie, eaten 6 pickles, drunk a pint of milk (straight from the bottle I might add), picked at the grapes and ogled the cheesecake.

I’ve given you a time out for the rest of the night. The water tap is over there.

[Colin Bull 1]

Enshitification continues..

When I first bought my ebike with bosch system the app was pretty good. Every 3 months or so it has an upgrade.

Every time it upgrades it reduces the benefit of the app. UNLESS you upgrade to a subscription.

I user it to monitor heart rate and physical effort.

It had an upgrade available during a ride 2 days ago. That ride and the subsequent one did not register the details. Will find out tomorrow if it works after the upgrade.

[MachDiamond]

Re: Enshitification continues..

"I user it to monitor heart rate and physical effort.

It had an upgrade available during a ride 2 days ago. That ride and the subsequent one did not register the details. Will find out tomorrow if it works after the upgrade."

I measured my rides by how worn out I was and miles ridden. I was out getting exercise and training for triathalons, not doing science so there was no need for notes.

A lot of the crap that's put out to measure stuff is bloody useless for everybody except professional athletes. Humans are so variable that even many measurements done on pros are useless as well.

[Roland6]

Re: Enshitification continues..

>” Humans are so variable that even many measurements done on pros are useless as well.”

As Mark Cavendish can testify. According to the tests and professional interpretation of the results he would not make a good sprint cyclist…

[smudge]

Voice activated fridge with no handles

Internet outage? You know the drill.

Know it? You'll need the drill :)

[MeekMark]

The drill? One solution

Quote:

> Mechanism breaks? Good luck opening the fridge. Internet outage? You know the drill.

My first thought when reading that was to keep a power drill handy in the kitchen for gaining access if needed!

[xyz123]

Re: The drill? One solution

Sir, your cordless power drill won't work because it requires an always-on internet connection

[Pickle Rick]

Re: The drill? One solution

But, I have a hammer, and to me that drill now looks like a nail.

[The Oncoming Scorn]

Re: The drill? One solution

I have taken a angle grinder to a non operational standing fridge freezer.

Well it was certainly non operational by the time I finished cutting sheets of metal from it for classic Dalek collars\belts for the mid section.

Icon - Hottest Canadian day of the summer so far & I'm sweltering wearing thick gloves, a fleece & eye protection.

[xyz123]

Woohoo for lollipop stars.

Because what I really need in my candy is large amounts of lead, mercury and radioactive minerals! for literally 5000x the price of a normal piece of candy

[handle handle]

Temperance

Warm climate. Cold beer. Uncooperative fridge. The mind boggles ...

[MachDiamond]

Re: Temperance

"Warm climate. Cold beer. Uncooperative fridge. The mind boggles ..."

And the revolution began.

[The Rest of the Sheep]

Sirius Cybernetics Corporation strikes again

Wait until they start with the Genuine People Personalities (tm)

[Fr. Ted Crilly]

and they've gone and done it

A fridge door with Genuine People Personality...

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm conflicted

On one hand I wonder if some of these comopanies are being clever and making products that are so outlandishly stupid that maybe they are working on the old adage that "There is no such thing as bad publicity"; and a 'bad' advert that is very memorable is actually a good advert (Shake-n-vac anyone?).

On the other hand I can quite belive that many large companies have executives who would happily sign off landfill like this to much back slapping around the boardroom table.

Sadly there are plenty of fuckwits around who would see this as an aspiration purchase.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: I'm conflicted

I'm just having to write my goals for this year into the "career progression" system.

If I "flow-down" the global company goals, I will have to write "AI imbued" or "AI enabled" in everything.

F*ck that, I am an Engineer, not a half-wit!

[The Oncoming Scorn]

Re: I'm conflicted

I have the same issues, go train on AI & other learnings for career advancement.

Not wasting the effort, I don't see my job requiring it & probably looking to retire in 5 years when I hit 67 thanks to UK state pension age shifting.

[MachDiamond]

Re: I'm conflicted

"Not wasting the effort, I don't see my job requiring it & probably looking to retire in 5 years when I hit 67 thanks to UK state pension age shifting."

I've been setting myself up to be able to survive working the till at the local hardware store down the road, part time for my cash needs if necessary. Besides my primary business, I have a bunch of side hustles I can promote or drop. I've also paid off the house, the car, getting energy set up to be mostly solar and cook at home the majority of the time. The focus for many years has been to be at a point where I can tell people to FO and still live indoors with 3 squares a day and a flush toilet.

My photography/media business has just received a boost as it's specifically against the law to use AI edited/modified images to sell homes without loads of disclosures on the images. It had already been getting out of hand for a few years and I've always stuck to making images that are a true representation of the property. A lot of my commercial work can be modified since there's often a lot of modifications made for commercial tenants to suit their needs. My clients could learn to do it themselves as the tools are getting easier to use, but they find it easier to shove it all on me.

[David Hicklin]

Re: I'm conflicted

I loved it during the last few years at work when asked that ageless question "what do you see yourself doing in 5 years time".

"Retired" kind of stopped them in their tracks

[Duddy Fuddy]

Intelligent refrigeration

I think the fridge/freezer is one of civilization's great inventions but can think of a number of ways that it could be much improved:

* repairable cooling components which can be individually replaced, like in a big air conditioning system or a motor car

* display the actual internal temperatures, not some shonky thermostat's guess

* use a safe non-combustible coolant like R134A rather than cigar lighter gas that sets fire to places

* thermodynamic design that actually works better in hot weather

[Rich 2]

Samsung are 'aving a laugh

I followed the link https://news.samsung.com/global/ces-2026-a-home-companion-making-daily-life-more-effortless

It's worth a look for it's hilarity. A stand-out for me is a washing machine with the banner "wash and dry many laundry items at once, quickly and thoroughly". Errr... yep - that's generally what washing machines do.

And, of course, the stupid fridge - "save energy and keep food fresh for a long time". Not sure what the energy-saving is being compared to but as for the rest, yep - again, that's sort-of what to expect of a fridge.

What next? A steam train that can travel at FOUR MILES PER HOUR!!? (....gasps...)

[MachDiamond]

All wisdom, one site

<https://xkcd.com/1205/>

A whole load of stuff at CES can be put in landfill by applying the chart in either time or money mode.

My house can be quite dark so I had thought of putting in a skylight, but it's really the North side of the house that needs a bit of help. The solar tube lights that direct light through a reflective tube to a fixture in the ceiling work quite well. They are also crazy money in addition to needing to have them installed by somebody that isn't going to leave behind a leaking roof. Alternatively (and in my case) it turned out to be far less expensive to purchase an LED light that gets power from a small solar panel during the day and can be switched on from the mains at night/dark days. If I decide I want the house dark, I can switch the light off and if I want to redecorate, it's easy to remove/replace. TL:DR, I applied 1205 in terms of cost for the most economical solution.