Hacker News Reader

Comment by JohnFen | Hacker News Reader

> For some reason, my alarm clock requires that I install an app on my phone. And the app required me to create an account

The larger mystery is why he didn't immediately return the clock as soon as he discovered this requirement.

View on HN

He mentioned in a comment that the person who bought it didn't know that an app was needed. So it was maybe a gift from someone else.

There's going to be a really awkward conversation at his next dinner party.

"Remember that nifty alarm clock you gave me last year? I finally got around to trying to set it up and....wow, what a piece of shit. I'm an engineer and I couldn't even get it working. After wasting an hour trying to set it up, I just threw it in the closet. Whatever engineer designed that thing probably doesn't even use it. It was a fun idea, but probably more useful for throwing at burglars. Thanks again haha"

Any of my friends/family would be laughing along with me, and giving me shit for not being able to setup "something as simple as an alarm clock".

Even so, he could probably have returned it. Even if he couldn't, though, that doesn't explain why he used it.

It wasn't even a passive thing he could have overlooked -- he had to actively download an app!

If someone gave me something like this for a gift, I'd immediately sell it on Amazon, or possibly throw it in a Goodwill pile. If I'm feeling especially charitable, I'd go out to my local Good Recycler, who will probably want me to pay for the PCBs/backup batteries, etc. to be handled correctly, but it would be worth it.

Under no circumstances would I—after realizing that it required an app to function—continue with setup.

_That's_ what's baffling to me about this post. Why didn't he do the same? What the hell did he expect? All I want to know is "_what_ benefit did you think would come from using this that led you to continue with setup despite all of the obvious negatives?"

Either that expected benefit is _huge_—in which case, why not mention it?—or he didn't anticipate any downsides—in which, I don't know, maybe pay more attention in the world.

In any case, this post was essentially devoid of any meaningful information.

An even larger mystery is why he’s too chicken to tell us the brand.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com