Amazon introduces wi-fi buttons to buy products

boing
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Imma gonna start by saying my head is stuck in the <a href=“http://bbs.boingboing.net/t/do-you-want-to-play-questions/54417/924"target=”_blank">question thread, and I’m having difficulties making declarative sentences. IOW - you, sir, are a fiend for starting that. :wink:

Next I’m gonna say that I don’t think Amazon started selling diapers until fairly recently. I don’t recall it being an option when my boy was in 'em.

Then I’m gonna say that it’s completely awesome that Amazon sells diapers, because dragging a pile of kids around to stores totally sucks for everyone involved or exposed.

[edited to add link to said question thread]

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How would you configure the button to connected to a protected network?

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It has to connect to a wifi somehow. So it has to be configurable. (Assumption based on no “free passwordless wifi everywhere” blanket coverage it could rely on.)

The how part will be in the manual. Maybe you tell them your wifi password and they preconfig it for you. Or there’s a USB port (I’d do it that way). Or a NFC interface and a smartphone app.

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Right, because small businesses never knit scarves or sell clothing.

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Ah, it’s at the original link:

Use the Amazon app on your smartphone to easily connect to your home
Wi-Fi network and select the product you want to reorder with Dash
Button.

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I stand corrected.

I said I couldn’t imagine their usefulness, and people have illustrated their usefulness to them. They have no usefulness for me and I find them ugly. Clearly others disagree and I have learned something new.

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OTOH, this appears at the bottom of the page:

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Right, because small businesses never knit scarves or sell clothing.

That’s not what I said. You made up a straw man argument. I didn’t even imply that. (Also, small business owners generally knit their own scarves now? Um, okay? I mean I have some scarves that friends made and gave to me, but last I checked, most local stores still have mass-produced scarves…)

Look, I don’t have a vehicle. I can’t always just drive 20 miles to the nearest mom and pop store. I am also very limited in funds and Costco has very, very affordable clothing options that are also high quality. Also, they are fantastic business in many ways. They treat their employees very well, and they hire local people and so, they are a local business in that regard.

Also, there is a mom 'n pop SOCK store downtown that I shop at frequently and where I got most of my socks and tights (because Coscto’s stuff is generally very basic, and I like fun socks and tights). So what was that about my not shopping in smaller, local shops? Oh, that’s right: You made that up yourself.

Also, most small, local shops don’t have leggings. Coscto, however, has the best price and quality for my buck when it comes to that sort of thing. Seriously, I moved to Vermont from Arizona. I had no winter clothing, and because of Costco, I was able to afford plenty of layering options to make sure that I was comfortable. And remember: I don’t have a vehicle, so I spend a lot of time outside. Even in -25 degree weather. Costco literally kept my ass from freezing. Seriously, I did a lot of local shopping as well, and Costco was the only place which had thin but warm layering items that worked well under jeans and business casual clothing. Because “long johns” are ugly and thick and terrible and I hate them.

I ended up buying my Carhartt coat my Skechers snow boots on Amazon because both were on BIG time sale at the time and I am not made of money, and those were expensive items even with the discounts. Sorry, mom 'n pop stores, but this girl needs to eat.

I did a lot of Goodwill shopping, as well. Is that not good enough for you, SeymourStein? Can I follow you around and judge your shopping habits?

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Maybe they automatically order their own batteries.

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Can I have yours? :stuck_out_tongue:

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Seriously, though, what do you have against Costco? Out of all the major big-box stores out there, they are by far the best one! It’s why I’m so pleased that I live so close to one (the only one in Vermont lol) and that I have a membership (that I share with the roommate). I am glad to give them my business. Do you even know what your problem is, or is it just a knee-jerk reaction? “I am too cool to go to Costco!”

Right. I bet you shop at a big-box grocery store, don’t you?

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Absolutely - if Amazon send me one (or more) as a Prime member I will gladly pass them along

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Fine, but this thread isn’t really about kids. How do you feel about the Amazon Dash?

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I hate shopping in Costco with a passion (even more so than shopping in general) , but they are useful - and aren’t they supposed to be a fairly ethical company (esp. when compared to say, Wal-Mart or Amazon).

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Yup. From what they say, the buttons operate over HTTP requests as I expected (anything else would be rather convoluted as this is the simplest way with most of underlying infrastructure already in place and code libraries available and small protocol overhead). The phone app looks like it does not directly talk with the buttons (so their configuration method continues being a mystery), only tells the amazon database what product to associate with a given button’s serial number/ID.

There are two most likely options. Wifi, which requires configuration by the user, and the cellphone-based wireless network used already by e.g. Kindles. The latter won’t need config, but the chips may be more expensive (which may be offset by getting them at quantity).

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Oh, Costco can be a pain in the ass to shop in because it’s so large and not very well organized (which is why it’s so affordable). It is especially “fun” because there is only ONE in the entire state of Vermont, which the roommate and I happen to live very close to . So it can get really, really busy and packed. I know not everyone can handle that sort of thing, and that’s okay. We generally try to shop on days and times that aren’t ridiculously busy, although that usually means we miss all the yummy food samples. :smile:

Compared to most other big-box stores, they are, indeed, very ethical and a good company to work for. I even put in an application and I normally refuse to work retail.

Also, hellllooo, Costco hotdogs are bomb!

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I hate you. :wink:

Edit: I do enjoy that you likely have this bookmarked or saved in a tab. If you have a wife or husband or child and they saw this on your computer, I bet they’d be highly amused lol

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I know which one I’m sticking on the nightstand! (This will save me so much time when I have to reorder.)

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And a drone delivers them and changes them for you.

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