>>>>Your fridge could start running, and then you'd have to go and catch it ;)
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>>Last night my Note 8 tried to activate a "Smartthings" application to control Samsung fridges, washing machines, vacuum cleaners and cameras. Despite having smart appliances, the requested privileges were extreme so I tried to uninstall it... which was refused. This intrusive stuff is getting a bit much.
>
>My 2018 Camry is a gadget bucket on wheels.
>I've turned most of them off, but a couple are valuable additions.
>Radar cruise control is awesome.
>You set the speed and if the car in front you slows down, you slow down and maintain a constant distance. When that car isn't there any more you go back to the set speed. It's hard to imagine that that feature won't avoid some rear end accidents.

I'm not sold on the radar cruise control yet - or for that matter anything that makes my vehicle auto-pilot. I don't even like regular cruise control -- frankly it seems more dangerous that simply driving the car at a proper speed yourself. If anything should happen it's going to take a person longer to react if they're using the cruise control as now your feet are possibly away from the peddles or the driver becomes less attentive since the car is doing part of the driving. Even ABS has problems -- I can stop a car faster in a shorter distance if it does NOT have ABS than if it does. On wet or otherwise slick driving conditions it can help -- but again if you actually know how to drive properly - then ABS is more of a hindrance than a solution. Not a big fan of traction control either as now you're limiting what the car can and can not do. When I bought my Lotus Elise I made sure I got one that is the only year avail in the USA without the traction control -- sure they have a button that you can turn it off with -- but it add's weight to the car and I would of never once turned it on. I dug into the wiring of the car and wired up a button that allows me to turn off the ABS system - and of course these cars don't even come with cruise control. All these gadgets lead to inattentive driving and causes drivers to not sharpen their skills. I guess sadly, in this day and age , the average driver's skill is so poor that they need these little gadgets or they speed on the highway, slam on the brakes to a skid while they're trying to turn - panic and don't think to pump the brake in the rain..etc etc etc.

>Another is auto headlight dimming. Out in the rural areas here, you need as much light as possible. My high beams are always set on now, but they only kick in when the absence of ambient light merits it.

Again such a feature is kinda cool and all - but if a person is incapable of dimming their headlights then perhaps the person is to dim-witted to be driving a car in the 1st place. Plus it seems like they'll give just about any bozo a driver's license these days. Heck I know a girl who crashed her car into another car during her driving test - and they STILL gave her a license! In that case the girl was a real-life-centerfold playboy bunny and the person giving the test was a guy ...sooooo..... but still I see plenty of folks on the road that have no business behind the wheel of an automobile. For the moment -- I say we need quite a few more years of development before self-driving cars are good enough. In the meantime I wish everyone would attend something like the Skip Barber Racing driving school and actually learn how to handle a car properly -- but since that is not going to happen I guess I will continue to feel like I'm in a real-life game of frogger as I attempt to dodge all the idiots in SUV's that apparently do not see me...lol