What Are Some Things You Regret Buying or Bought but Never Used?
I see posts talking about good BIFL items but I don't hear much about the other side of products that are bad or products you bought but don't even use.
I read somewhere that GoPros and other action cameras are one of the least used purchases, so I figured "that should mean there's plenty on eBay". So grabbed up second hand bargain, played around with it for a couple of weeks, bought some extra batteries and other accessories, and since then it's sat in the cupboard except for a single occasion.
Turns out you don't need an action cam if you're not getting any action.
Oh damn I totally forgot about that one. My dad bought a go pro and I could've used it to film my scuba diving event but we couldn't figure out where to mount it.
Dick mount.
The good thing is GoPros are still good years later. Most of the action my GoPro 4 has seen was in the last 2-3 years after sitting for a really long time.
I had one that must've fallen out of my pocket when I got out of the car, because a few days later I found it half embedded in the dirt driveway after getting ran over. It was scuffed and scratched, but still worked! I don't think the battery holds a charge anymore, but it is like 10 years old now
I won one at an office Christmas party, took a time lapse of my chia pet, put it in a drawer for a year and felt guilty, then sold it to a ski instructor. It’s kind of like taking a video of fireworks or a concert. Unless you’re doing some wild extreme sports, who’s editing and rewatching that kind of video?
Do people actually use those to—erm—document the proceedings?
I've seen it done!
Bose Quiet Comfort II true wireless headphones.
I’d been toying with the idea forever. My earbuds are old, a little bulky, have some connectivity issues when one disconnects and it takes a lot of fussing to get them reconnected. So I decided to spend the money.
I get them from B&H. I get home, put them in, one of them has some sound issues—but other than that, the sound and fit were perfect. Like, they were my glass slipper. They fit perfectly, the seal was perfect, they wouldn’t ever hurt my ears after extended use…I was shocked.
But.
Having issues with one, I started messing with them, seeing if could get support or troubleshoot. Of course the first thing in the box is a QR for their app. Now, I never fuck with physical products apps. If I need an app, chances are I won’t use your shit. But I really wanted these to work, so I go to the app, and dig through the privacy policy.
Two addenda later, they’re trying to get me to sign the most obscene privacy policy ever. Listen to/record everything I play, collect a profile on me, listen to any ambient noise around the microphone, and weirdly, “map my head shape and movements?”
I deleted that app as quickly as I could. So I go to their support page on their site. Get into a chat with their customer service bot. It says, “replying to this message is agreement to our privacy policy.” So I open the link, read it…it kinda seems reasonable. Just talking about using my chat responses for training, standard. But then THREE layers of addenda deep I find here trying to get me to sign THE EXACT SAME FUCKIN POLICY.
I ran those fuckers back to the store. But not before trying to get someone on the phone about the legal matters. Yeah, nah. They wouldn’t connect me to someone in their legal dept. In fact, the very request seemed to puzzle them to no end.
Holy shit, was never aware of this. Will stay far away from this brand!
Fuck yeah! Enjoy your lunch!
Is it possible to accept to those terms but disconnect the app from internet access completely so that prevents any calling back to the server? I believe you should be able to run it without internet.
Still a shame that there exists such an invasive privacy policy. I use IEMs when I'm on the go and wired akg k371 when I'm at home.
Well, that’s actually what I was trying to find out. I tried getting their legal dept on the phone because I wanted to be 100% sure I could use those earbuds without ever agreeing to the policy. When they wouldn’t or couldn’t give me an answer, I said fuck them.
They were great headphones. But I didn’t even want to chance that kind of invasion. And I doubt there’d be any way I could be sure of a company clearly willing to violate my privacy so hard would not be collecting that data without my consent. Using their fuckin site was a minefield in itself because they were trying really fuckin hard to get me to sign that policy—not even sign it, just tacitly agree to it by responding to one message in order to get help. Too dicey for my liking.
We live in fucked up times. I don't have the patience to read through privacy policies, so I basically have to avoid buying anything that has any kind of sensor on it.
Well, crap, I love my Bose QC II, but...I didn't read the PP and now I don't want to use them...
I have some QC25 headphones I bought in 2015 and they're still working well, other than having to replace the cushions a few times. No "smart" features, just a regular cable to plug them in. Noise canceling works well and I use it whenever I'm flying somewhere. They take AA batteries which is way more convenient than a built-in battery. I use Eneloops, and once the batteries don't hold a charge well any more, I can just get new ones.
Whoa.
You did not miss much don't worry. I have them as well, their NC capability sucks, and they run a master slave setup meaning the right unit must be present to operate, you can't only use the left unit. I regret buying mine
A gaming chair, one of those that look like racer chairs. It basically destroyed my back, worst purchase of my life
Best advice Ive heard on chairs "Fuck gamer and racer style chairs. Look for something that screams "Im going to fire 3000 people over Zoom in this shit"
Yes lol, whenever someone is asking for a computer chair recommendation, no one will recommend a gaming chair.
Yes! Puffy gloss leather boss chairs ftw! I don't have one right now only because there's no space for another proper workplace in our apartmentsm
Probably because in a real racing seat there's a harness to keep you from slouching. I used to have terrible lower back issues with a Recaro bucket seat I converted for a desk chair. Never had a problem with it driving for hours when it was in my car (may it rest in pieces). Then it dawned on me that the seatbelt was maintaining my posture. Added a lap belt and the back problems abated.
I could never get into those. They look nice, but Ive read some damning reviews about how uncomfortable they are.
I kinda prefer the plush office chairs that look more like a couch with wheels.
I remember going to the Tokyo Game Show some years ago. They had some to try out. I was so excited. I expected to sit in it and feel "you are home." Instead I felt "get the fuck off me."
Chairs are one of those things that you need to drop serious money on if you sit more than a few hours a day. Focus on chairs for office work and expect to pay over $1k.
Same but a gaming mouse. I came from a cheap office mouse that was amazing but ended its (long) lifespan. Replaced it and wow this mouse sucks. Yes it has RGB but every single time I scroll with it, it causes my finger to hurt like crazy, which is a REAL problem in this era.
Yep, same. Worst chairs you can buy by a wide margin. Cheapest IKEA chairs is worlds better than the priciest gamer chair.
I had the same experience and ended up donating it to a friend. What I found that was actually comfortable is a $1,400 office chair that I got a good deal on.
I have a "gaming chair" and I hate it. Still use it though until I can get enough money to get another one.
I did exactly the same. Even the kids wouldn't sit on it haha
It's funny that I hear this a lot but I've been using my dx racer since 2017. I am quite skinny though so that might help. I'm wearing through the fake leather now though, looking to get something new by the end of this year. But the damage is mostly my fault for sitting half crossed legged, sometimes while wearing shoes.
I bought a Steam Deck so I can play games while on the go. I just kind of forgot I'm never actually on the go, so 90% of the time it's just gathering dust on my nightstand, because I'd rather play on my proper gaming PC when I'm at home.
This is the same reason I've never bought one. I love the concept, they are so cool. I use Linux on my desktop at home and at work. The thought of a powerful handheld Linux gaming PC for gaming on the go is so enticing, and I want to support Valve and the development of proton and gaming on Linux. But in reality I'm rarely "on the go". I read articles on my phone when I'm on the train on my way to work. I watch videos on my android tablet when I'm flying on a plane for work. I have a Nintendo 3DS and an ODroid Go Ultra ARM emulation handheld gathering dust on my nightstand. I'd hate the thought of adding a steamdeck to the pile.
I think you're making the right call. I bought a used Steam Deck and I love it and don't regret it at all, but I think I'm more of the target demographic than you are. I built a PC 15 years ago when Windows 7 was launching and then upgraded it a few years later, and then replaced that with a gaming laptop that's now very outdated. I'm sorta kinda tech savvy; a fucking doofus compared to somebody like you but a goddamn genius compared to most people I meet.
The Steam Deck proved to me that if/when I build a desktop, (and I want that to be soon but I keep getting surprise expenses lol,) then I'm ready to jump over to Linux as my OS. I was thinking Chimera for something that could effectively be a powerful modern Steam Machine with UI similar to Steam Deck, but Nobara looks more versatile for being a full PC instead of being a console that has PC capability. I have more faith in Nobara to be able to run a big project in a DAW like Reaper, plus I want the ability to stream on Twitch or do some basic video editing too, and it seems to be pretty accessible to a long-time medium-level Windows user like me.
Right now, most of my Steam Deck use is on the couch. My wife never really tried Skyrim, so she's playing a file on the PS5 and I lay my head in her lap on the couch and play a different Skyrim file on the Deck. But I also play it on a train or take it with me when I go somewhere overnight. It can't keep up with a modern PC or PS5, but it blows me away that it's a handheld PC that's about as powerful as a PS4. People bitch about the battery, but tweaking a few simple sliders can double or even triple battery life with relatively little compromise. It's amazing but it's a waste of your time and money lol.
I had the opposite happen. I thought a steam deck may help me be more on the go as well, however it just helped me be even lazier in bed...
I just got one and deciding to get one is very situational. I'll sit outside with my dog for hours and I can't bring my desktop outside. For me it's been great. I wouldn't recommend one to someone unless they know when they'll use it.
I thought I'd use it commuting too, but I don't. It's just a little too awkward to bring on my commute.
I purchased it purely as an all-in-one indie game player for the television, that had a nice form factor. Was easy to connect with controllers, and relatively high-end.
I don't really like playing on it's joysticks and buttons, but that doesn't matter when I only really use it docked.
It's nice with a relatively high-end console when on the go. I usually bring a controller along for this, though.
It was expensive, but performs exactly as advertised.
I use my steam deck because I want to play on the couch or in bed or something and I can just instantly start playing when I pick it up. I'll leave it suspended in a game, so I hit the power button and 2 seconds later I'm back to playing.
I got a switch to play games in bed but it pisses off my girlfriend.
I almost never use mine on the go, but I love it for playing on the couch or in a hammock.
Same thing here, but I bought it when winter was coming. I'm nomadic during the warm season so the true test for me will be when that happens.
A switch. There are a handful of good games but I prefer to play on my computer
It exists entirely for Mario Kart or to keep nieces and nephews busy.
Man, I use my switch all the time. But I love little metroidvania and smaller indie and single player games. Any time I see something interesting on steam, I'll buy it on the switch if available.
I've also been using it to replay older stuff. The first red dead, the Arkham trilogy, currently going through Nier: Automata again.
I feel like even in your case it would make more sense to buy it on steam and use a steam deck.
But i get it and i want to be as enthusiastic about it as you seem to be. But my switch is also just catching dust. So is my ps5 tbf.
If i could redo my buys, i would 100% go for a steamdeck over the switch and a xbox s over the ps5. Not because it is better or has more games.. just because the money saved would flow into the gamepass and i could use that on my PC too and still have a console to play with my wife once every 2 years. Also games for xbox are generally cheaper for w/e reason.
I fly a lot and the Switch saves my sanity. But I never use it for anything else.
I don't fly a lot, but that's also its main use. I'm on a trip right now, I bought Pokemon just for this trip :)
I’ve got a Switch and I do love it as a machine but those first party titles are so expensive. I’m the kind of person who will never buy games at launch and always wait for them to be reduced. I got it for Christmas and when I went to look at Zelda BotW it’s still £60, and so is Mario Odyssey.
Buy second hand.
In my country first party titles go for $60 and all the way to $90
Second hand prices for these are often between $30 and $40.
And you can always sell those used games, and not really lose much (if any) money in the process.
Ps. Prices will fall even more when Switch 2 comes out next year. Hopefully it will be a repeat of the post-Wii days, where most Wii games were dirt cheap.
I kinda regret buying my 3d printer. Not because it sucks, it's more because it reminds me I don't have any free time to do something this time consuming.
Another one is the cast iron wok. I love my cast iron pans, but the wok is just to damn heavy and it you can't really use it like one would use a normal lightweight wok.
I have a 3d printer. It used to be a big hobby of mine, but now its just a tool like anything else. I print out practical stuff that i need when i need it, and when the printer is having issues i swear and curse at it like any regular paper printer.
Most recently ive been using it to print out new belts out of flexible filament for my rock tumbler.
I love my 3d printer...when it works. I have a major bed leveling problem from when I was cleaning the bed and forgot to put the plate on so the extruder came down and ripped off the magnetic sheet underneath. Been having problems ever since. I also can't get the damn thing to print petg.
I already fail at investing the time to level the bad and such stuff. I really would love to use it. But next to work, trying to bootstrap and family time there is not really time left.
I always wanted to print stuff for build small robot parts for Arduino and raspberry pi. Maybe one day when the kids are older...
I think most traditional woks are carbon steel, seasoned similarly to a cast iron but much lighter. You could give that a try?
Yeah I asked my family for a wok a few years ago and got this beautiful one that was cast iron and way too heavy. I ended up getting a carbon steel one which was about a third the weight
You could look into a carbon steel wok: You can season them like cast iron but they're much lighter.
I brought a drain snake for 3x the price of liquid drain unblocker and it got stuck in the drain and won't come out.
You need to get a drain snake snake
Or a drain mongoose
a drainaconda
I had a drain coming from my HVAC get clogged. Figuring I could fix it myself and save a few hundred dollars by not call the HVAC repair, I stuck a pipe snake down there. As soon as it got to the u-bend, it got stuck. A couple of tugs later the head broke off.
This pipe goes from the HVAC in the attic into the upstairs bathroom, then down and out of the house. I knew if the head went down it could result in needing to punch a hole in a wall or ceiling if it got stuck again. So, I cut the pipe on either side of the bend. Sure enough the head of the snake was lodged at the bottom of the U.
No matter what I did I could not dislodge it from the bottom of the u-bend. This is around 7-8 PM on a Saturday. So I race out to the big-box hardware store, because they normally close around 9 PM. And they did not have a single piece of PVC with a u-bend that is the size I needed. And nothing even close. I go to the other big-box store across the street they don't have it either. But I did find the wise old man that works there, I explain to him what happened and what I need. He tells me I need to go to this specialty plumbing store a ways down the highway.
I looked up this plumbing store. They are closed for the day. They are also not open on Sundays. Okay I live in one of the biggest metropolitan areas in the US. There has to be a plumbing store open before Monday. Well there might be, but I couldn't find it.
Now this is Texas in August. There is no way my wife and kids should suffer for two days because of my dumb ass mistake. So I called the HVAC guy. They send some out at like 2 AM and the guy replaces the U-bend and installs a cleanable filter before it, so I can prevent that from happening again. In all a 30 second job that should have cost me nothing, cost me 7 hours of anxiety and $500.
Thank you for sharing this, it didn't disappoint. The die hard efforts we take to save a buck or exercise ingenuity mostly work out but when it comes to the wife and kids I usually throw in the towel.
I'll give you a short story in return in that same vain: woke up to a raccoon on our deck, he was obviously in a pretty bad way. Pacing, frothing, sparse hair, lice. We figured it was rabid and I just wanted to try dropping a brick on it from above or smashing it, but I knew it would've been messy. Went out and bought an $80 trap, set it, but the dang thing just wouldn't go in. Well she wanted her deck space back so ultimately we called someone to remove it, $200. Turns out it had distemper. Now I would've waited until it died and then bagged it up - would've been cheaper but I guess at least we ended its suffering.
My Steam Deck and other game consoles, I have the money to buy them as an adult but I found that I have a fleeting interest at best in actually playing video games these days. At least my kids get some use out of them.
I find a lot of things as an adult arent that I dont have the interest anymore, its that I dont have whole days to pour myself into them anymore.
Thats why a lot of dads I know got super into their yard, grilling and camping.
If I have to do this shit for the family anyway, I might as well make this stuff my hobby
Online gaming used to be fun for me in college. Now with kids I have much less time, so getting good at online games is much harder, making loading up Apex legends for 45 minutes and getting curb stomped a waste of my time.
Its sorta funny and cathartic reading your comment. I'm not a dad, but I did just get a house with a yard. Lately yardwork, which is something I HATED as a kid, has become quite a hobby for me too.
I find it hard to play very immersive AAA games nowadays, but I do use my steam deck for short indie games or nostalgia plays of old protable games via emulator. I find if I just keep it charged and near my bed or couch, I'll reach for it whenever I'd otherwise scroll social media.
Some games still tick the box for me and make me enjoy gaming again. It's usually not the massive triple A titles anymore, though.
I've also noticed that I'm losing interest in gaming recently. Whenever I get notified by steam that something on my wishlist is on sale I just look at it and move on. I started playing chess again for the first time since I was I kid and it's been keeping me satisfied.
Games on Steam sales.
I bought so many games on sale after I got my first grown-up job, that just ended up sitting in my library while I played the same 3 games. I bought a Steam Deck 6 months ago and it's been great for clearing out my backlog. I love being able to play games sitting in the recliner instead of at a desk.
Using the Steam refund system more actively has helped me a lot in this regard. At this point I refund about 80% of my purchases - simply because a lot of the games do not engage me after the first 40 minutes.
Dyson Airwrap. There’s a reason you never see professional salons using them.. it’s because they’re just not as good as a traditional hair dryer and other curling methods. I tried everything to get that thing to work and give me a nice style but it just didn’t. I’d use the airwrap attachments to curl my hair and by the time I’d finished, the curls I’d started on would already have dropped out. I couldn’t manage to get a nice smooth blow-dry like I can with a normal hairdryer either.
It’s like a jack-of-all-trades hairstyler. If you’re thinking of getting one I’d seriously recommend investing in a pro hairdryer instead and save your money. I can do my hair faster and my style lasts a lot longer with a hair dryer and curling with straighteners or rollers. I believe they do work for some people, but you have to have a specific type of hair (quite thick, with a natural wave or curl already) and it didn’t work for me. I’ve also had friends say the same thing.
This woman had the same experience as me with it:
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/reviews/trying-450-dyson-airwrap-hold-22564616.amp
I got a friend who wants a shark flex style. Any opinions on that?
None, sorry, I’ve never tried one. It does look marginally better though from what I’ve seen. I think the Dysons downfall is ironically one of its selling points - it doesn’t get hot enough. It’s hot enough to dry your hair without damage, but not enough to make it hold a curl. And apparently the shark one does use more heat. So I’d say give it a go! If your friend is looking for something to curl with I’d highly recommend getting a Parlux hairdryer to get a good smooth blow dry and then a Remington straightener like the Shine Therapy advanced. My last set of Remington straighteners lasted about 15 years. I got new ones last year and they’re the same excellent quality. I’ve tried all sorts of more expensive ones and those are just as good if not better. I can get a full head of lovely bouncy curls that lasts until I next wash my hair with very minimal heat damage. None if I use a good heat protectant (shout out to the tres emme one) You can seriously achieve any style with those 2 tools. Straight and smooth, beachy waves, curls, bouncy blow out. No need for faddy trendy products.
The spousal unit has one and loves it. Does not have naturally curvy or thick hair. It was purchased at a Dyson store where they do all the monogram nonsense and such but they also spent almost 45 minutes with her demoing it and showing her exactly how to do it which she absolutely needed judging from all the corrections the staff kept making to her technique.
So if you have one, go down to the Dyson store where they have the salon built in and get them to demo it on you.
I think even if it gave amazing long lasting results every time, I would probably still think it’s not worth the price. To me anyway, it feels like a clumsy device that doesn’t feel natural to hold or use. Plus it takes forever to do a whole head. I feel like Dyson gaslight customers saying “oh you’re not using it right” or “your hair isn’t right” when in actual fact if you’re paying close to £500 for a supposedly “complete” product then you expect it to at least take some responsibility for how your hair looks at the end of styling it. I’m not expecting it to be like a magic wand and just transform my hair by just existing near my head but surely I shouldn’t need training to properly use it?
But hey, everyone is different and so is everyone’s hair. And if you like it, great! If you buy it and you find you don’t like it then you can always return it.
I use my hair dryer daily so does my wife. Dropped a little more than I was comfortable with on a Parlux and I’ve never looked back. There is a reason they have rules this game since the 70s. Also: they are serviceable (I don’t know for sure but I doubt the Dyson stuff is) so you can get a good long lifespan out of one.
Yep! Had my 3200 compact for about 12 years now. It’s as good as the day it was bought and used nearly every day. Well worth the money.
Most recently, Little Debbie oatmeal cream pies. I used to love the things and they were a nostalgic part of growing up, so I randomly decided to buy a box a few weeks back.
Took two bits of one and threw the whole box away. They were nasty. Chemically tasting, dry, full of little hard bits from poorly milled oats, etc. pure garbage. And this is not a matter of my tastes changing. I remember exactly how those are supposed to be, and the modern version is crap.
I swear hot pockets used to taste better when I was a kid too, but I'm not convinced that it isn't just my changing tastes. Does anyone know? Did they actually change their recipe?
I agree, along with pizza rolls. They all have a chemical taste to them nowadays.
Just like Cadbury cream eggs. Back in the day, every now and then you'd get one where the chocolate didn't form a seal properly and it ruined the interior because the goo dried out. Today, that's just how they make them.
For anyone younger than like 25, who never got a chance to try the good version, it used to be a goo that would run, like you could use your teeth to open up the top of the egg and then drink some of the goo from there (it was very thick, so it would stick to the sides instead of all coming out).
Wow! My sister got me a pack at Christmas 2 years ago since she remembered me loving them as a kid, and they were just as I remembered. I wonder what changed in 2 years, or if you just got a bad batch.
That sounds awful!
Oh my God, right?! They are sooo dry now! I can look past big oats but so dry and some kind of metallic taste even in the cream.
I don't know what happened.
A cellphone in like 1995. Had if for a few days before realizing I didn't have anyone to call. Returned it not long after.
Same time plus minus one for me. Not only did nobody have a reason to call me (at school). Literally nobody else had a mobile phone.
Bought myself a wireless charger but I never use it because I just plug in my phone anyways cause it's faster.
My last 2 phones stopped charging through the ports. Keep that wireless charger, it may come in handy. Saved me from buying a new phone for at least a year.
I use one every night. It keeps my phone in a predictable spot, and it always charges fully overnight anyways. It's also less wear and tear on the port.
I also got one and don't use it - used to use one with my previous phone and I'm pretty sure it ruined the battery over time (it causes the phone to heat up which affects the battery). Got another one, this time with a build in fan, but the high pitch noise the fan makes annoys so I don't use this one either.
For the wireless charger I got one of those Anker ones that hold it at angle like stand, so I put my phone on it while I'm at my desk. I can look at it and check any notifications that come in without having to pick it up. Saves me from having another cord on my desk.
I got myself a magnetic wireless charger for the nightstand. It's great.
I didn’t use mine for years until I got a wireless charger stand to use with my phone in landscape mode. I love it for my office desk. Combined with work focus, I only see a clock or large relevant notifications. I can answer work calls without messing with a cord. And when I leave at the end of the day, it’s charged. The old flat charger is still sitting in a drawer though.
How is plugging in faster than simply putting phone on a charger?
I meant faster to fill up. It doesn't even take that long to plug it in either.
Slower is usually better for the battery, use it if you charge at night. It also decreases the wear on the usb port.
My Steam library
Have I got some good news for you then.
One cannot buy digital content with DRM, only rent it.
It's impossible to regret acquisitions you've never made.
Point in case. You can sell on your physical games. Not so much the digital ones.
All that said, I too use Steam, just not mainly anymore.
Edit: Holy smokes did this blow up! I'm happy to drive engagement here on the fediverse, albeit I do believe I struck a nerve. Either that, or some people have poor reading capabilities - I see the comments refuting something I haven't said.
This used to be true, but not anymore (if you live in the EU)! https://www.eurogamer.net/eu-rules-publishers-cannot-stop-you-reselling-your-downloaded-games
That said I know what you're saying and this change doesn't make it so you own the games, they're just allowing you to resell the right to download and play on Steam, blabla. But it's better than it used to be.
Drone. A few years ago it's one of the craze that hit the world, lot of people playing with one, lot of youtuber using and talking about it, so i told myself, why not? I bought a cheap one, it can fly pretty okay, has limited range, tried it for a few time in front of my house to get the feel of it, and took it to an open field just to play with it. Turns out, flying it around is such an intense experience, too intense for me due to the fear of crashing it or hurting someone, or both. So the thing is now a dust gatherer.
Perhaps you just need one that's less "intense"? I've got a dji and the thing will just hover in place if I stop paying attention. Most of them these days have obstacle detection too.
That said, once the novelty wears off it is going to collect dust unless you have a particular use for it.
I think i have the latter issue, i have no idea what to do with drone nor i have the luxury of time to explore lol. Other than the few time i want a bird eyed view of the surrounding, there's nothing much i can do with it.
Cast Iron Pan - I don't cook enough to justify it. Girlfriend at the time thought it was a good idea, and she used it a bunch, but now it's just in the cabinet probably rusting up.
Humidifier - It gets really dry in here and it was recommended as a solution to my dry eyes. But it's a pain to clean and refill, so it mostly just sits there.
Robo vacuum - It wasn't great at navigating the apartment, so I didn't use its auto schedule thing. Then the cat hair overwhelmed it. It is languishing in the closet. I got some use out of it, at least, driving it around like an RC Car, but I ended up buying a more robust manual vacuum cleaner
Damn I'd ask if you are me but I absolutely love my cast iron skillet cause it's the most nonstick pan in my house and I cook plenty. I have 2.
Humidifier, I found it easier to have one of those old school plastic water pitchers next to my humidifier that I can use to fill it up or keep a refill immediately nearby if I know I'm gonna use it all day and a little splash of bleach every now and again actually does a lot for cleaning it out on its own. But it sits empty a lot still.
Shark robo vacuum and Anker's Eufy lines can die by fire. Both suck for completely different reasons and I have wasted so much money and I so wish I hadn't accidentally lit on fire the like 3rd gen iRobot my grandmother gifted me because it was so "dumb" it was the only one that worked.
About the bleach, wouldn't it just evaporates into the air and be toxic/bad for your health?
I'm also sick of cleaning my humidifier.
I'm planning to buy an evaporative humidifier, dump a kilo of sea salt in it so nothing can grow. As the water vaporize, all the salt will be remain for the next refill (as salt doesn't evaporate with the water). I wonder if it would work as I can't find anything on Google.
I bought a Wii U. Nintendo only made like ten games for it.
I bought a ps5, managed to avoid the scalpers, only game I played was horizon forbidden west, wish I waited for the pc release. Having the haptic triggers was kinda cool with the bow though, but not 500 bucks good.
I sold my PS5 after 6 months because I don’t care for any of the games and the interface is dumb. And Sony fucking sucks ass with their exclusivity bullshit
laptop controller
Haptic controller?
exactly
Back in the early 10's I paid $200 for a year subscription license to Adobe Flash Pro, as I had convinced myself I was gonna learn to use it to produce sprite animations like the ones I grew up enjoying on Newgrounds. Never booted it once.
Flash as an embedded media platform was a blight on browser security. But strictly as an animation tool, it was pretty nifty. You can even use tools like Swivel to render Flash animations to video.
In the year of our lord 2024 there are probably way better tools than Flash ever was to do this sort of thing. But back in circa 2011 it was the best tool of its kind I knew of.
I picked up my friends switch used for 200 buckaroos. I got really into DS emulation and I went really hard on pokemon especially. I was looking forward to BDSP.
The new pokemon games were really anemic. I got some fun out of Mario Galaxy. But it just sits there now. I miss the first party piracy experience. I think also if i had had the ability to easily bring my old school mons (which i still have saved on my pc).
A lot of my wasted money also went toward games for different consoles. Played once or twice and then just sat there.
That's also why I started buying physical copies whenever possible. Sell when not interested anymore.
Skateboard from IKEA. It looks cool, but I still don't skate.
Did you have to assemble it yourself?
Does the Pope shit in a hat?... or something
Surprisingly not!
Good decks haven't changed in price for 40+ years. Decent wheels, trucks, and bearings about the same. Unless you want an artist to paint your board, you can get pretty top class gear for about $125. Source: crazy good kid that cares about his board.
Blank decks all day baby
PSVR - fun for a week but otherwise useless.
I think the story of VR in general. Fun for a few weeks, then great dust collectors
Great for sport though, !beatsaber@lemmy.ml
FYI - it might get PC support
The PSVR2, not the first.
Love mine, but a few hundred hours into GT7 and I’m kinda bored. But I think that has a lot to do with the terrible UI more than the gameplay.
Console VR is useless, Sony's first party stuff is not better than any indie.
Basically as a grown man... Warhammer.
I love Games Workshop games and the universes, but assembling, painting, putting together an army and finding time for a game is just beyond me. So I have more than a few boxes of good intentions in the cupboard.
I love Games Workshop
It just struck me that I've never heard a fan say that before. It's always "I love the games, but hate GW's cash gouging/trigger-happy legal team/handling of new editions". Have they gotten better in recent years?
No the company is still as money grubbing and manipulative as ever. But I read the novels, I play the videogames and I love their creative works.
They make a great product and then be evil.
I had a starter set as a kid and only glued them together, never actually played with anyone. Glad it stopped there.
My headphone pads on a pair of Sony MD7506 were fraying apart, so I bought a pair of $3 replacement pads online. While I was buying those, I noticed a nice looking $30 pair made of sheepskin leather. I bought those, too and figured I'd just use the $3 pair until they inevitably wore out, and then switch to the nice ones. Well, it's been some time now and the $3 pair are apparently far more robust than their forebears. The sheepskin remain in their packaging untouched. One day..
A few dozen boards games, some crazy expensive. The most recent one was the Witcher which was a Kickstarter campaign. I bought a label maker, small zip lock bags, spent a few hours punching out paper tokens and and sorting everything. Haven't played a single game.
It is actually a pretty fun game if you do get a chance to play it!
I want to try a solo game because I don't have friends that are interested. But it's daunting. I also own both Gloomheaven and Frostheaven.
I made a habit of checking out Goodwill for boardgames. Best one yet was King of Tokyo for maybe $10. Like new condition.
I'm a big thrift shopper, but I can never bring myself to buy things with a lot of parts (like board games) because every time I did there was something missing :(
Or the board game geek marketplace. I usually look up all the games the seller has listed to get a bit lower price on several and save on shipping.
I got into collecting games too. Sold about 70% of my collection in 2020 when quarantine came around and I had to face the fact that I was piling stuff on stuff and most were still sealed and unused.
Tabletop gaming is just too big of a time commitment for some of the more modern games, unfortunately, especially when I can just grab a pen, some dice, and a module from the web and play DND.
Ah yes, I also have the hobby of buying and sorting boardgames.
My mom won the lottery, small amount but enough to buy some big gifts for xmas for us. She got me a Peleton, and while I love the gym / staying active I hate that damn thing.
That might just be that you don't like stationary bikes? I have a cheap stationary bike that I use multiple times a week, a peleton just seems like an expensive version.
I have one that I use 4 days a week. What don’t you like?
Bought a motorized mop attachment for my Samsung Jet vacuum.
I didn't do my research and didn't realize that it doesn't vacuum up the water. So the thing literally just spins some pads and nothing else. Was such a waste of money.
Does anything actually vacuum water? How would that even work?
Yes, we own such water vacuum. Those have a water filter instead of air. It's pretty effective t9 clean the air as well since everything is kept in the water. But using it is a pain in the ass. You need to fill it with fresh water, empty it after use and clean it. Otherwise it smells like a pond with dead fish after a heatwave...
Tineco makes vacuum mops. I have the ifloor 2. It actually does a great job, but you have to clean it and take the roller off after every use. I also always run a dust mop over the floor first. Cleaning it is a bit of a pain, but I guess you can't have everything.
I'm also convinced that most of the reviews of people who said theirs "broke after x amount of time" just never cleaned them. Mines simple and seems built pretty robust. Doesn't seem like something that would just break. Not until the battery craps out.
Yeah, there's a few mop vacs on the market. Shark, Bissell, etc, all make one.
i bought some tortillas a month ago, but never got the craving for burritos. I should probably throw them out now...
My Amazon Kindle books. I figured out way later that I didn't actually own them! How absurd.
You can pirate books. Use Calibre and build your library. I have over 2000 books. Doesn't take much storage either.
My smartwatch purchase partially. It's a Galaxy Watch4 Classic, it does stuff like track my workouts, heartrate, etc., run WearOS-optimized apps that I basically never use like Spotify, and I have to charge it every 2 days. I noticed that the only real feature I need is to get my phone's notifications on my wrist. Not really worth the € 200-300 purchase imo, but it works okay-ish.
I bought a refurbished galaxy watch 4 and I love it. I use it mostly for reminders and timers and it works really well for me. I put it in the charger while I shower and that basically the only time I'm not wearing it. I understand it's a pretty unusual use case, I don't really care about the fitness aspect of it, I just want a voice assistant on my wrist.
I use mine all the time for contactless payments and for two-factor authentication codes (using Authenticator Pro, which is free and open-source). Saves having to get my phone out.
Wow, I paid less than half that for my Garmin Instinct Solar and charge it maybe once or twice a month. Supposedly with the newer model, you don't even have to charge it as long as you take it out in the sun for a bit every day.
I got a xiaomi fitness band and it got the feature you wanted and also cheaper and durable. One of the best purchase i've ever had.
2nding this. If what you mainly need are simple metrics, notifications, and really long battery life, they're hard to beat for ~40 USD.
I had the fossil cause it did all that and still had NFC pay for like $72 but... They are done and I don't think I mind. They were never that useful other than the notifications.
Same use case for mine but I got it with my phone purchase (Pixel 7 Pro with the watch).
I wouldnt buy another one and once it's dead and want a watch, I'll get my actual watvh that's collecting dust.
I'm still rocking a xiomi watch that shows me notifications. I charge it once a week and it's like 8 years old.
I had a Samsung Smart watch before, but the battery life was the same you're experiencing.
A bread machine. Had good reviews. I used it like 3 or 4 times. The mixing things are too small to mix the dough properly, and having to fish them out of the bread after it was done was a huge hassle. The bread was not great... Shell was too hard, and the top side didn't cook properly. Then I realized, I could basically do the same with a planetary mixer that can mix the dough and the normal oven, and the end result was far better.
Honestly it's easier to do small batch of bread by hand than machine, you'll have to clean a lot more thing afterward with machine mixing. These day there's autolyse to help cut out the kneading.
Surprised I had to scroll to see bread machine.
I bought a rather expensive machine… used it 3 times, bread is not very good.
Then I went down the homemade sourdough rabbit hole, now I am making artisan loafs with my homemade starter… super enjoyable process and the bread is amazing!
There are good bread machines. I stopped eating bread so I gave one away that made awesome bread, especially French bread.
It was also nice for make pizza dough. Stopped eating that too.
I use bread machines for mixing the dough and resting and stuff and then bake in the oven on a pan. Am I crazy for that?
Same here, I did make some amount of bread as a sort of novelty, but after a month most of my use came down to having it make my pizza dough for me. Did that for years.
I just use a planetary mixer that can mix the dough. It uses a lot less space, and it can be used for multiple purposes. For resting, rising, i will just transfer it over to the pan and put it somewhere warm, like next to the radiator or in the oven on a very low setting.
That's a shame. When I wasn't sure whether we'd actually make use of a bread machine, I picked up an entry level one for like $100 (Canadian).
Since then, we've made probably 100+ loaves, saving money and reducing both food waste and plastic. It's been one of our best kitchen purchases.
I'd suggest trying a different recipe. It can make a huge difference to the end result.
Those potato spaghettifiers. Fuckers break when you try to push potatoes though. Waste of money.
What? Are you talking about a potato ricer?
I like my name better.
Well, for the rest of my life I'm calling these potato spaghettifiers, thank you for that.
Sony WF-1000XM5s. I feel like I'm going crazy because all the reviews online said they were the best of the best. That they were near perfect.
And yet, the usability sucks. They connect to my phone while they're in the case and closed, the noise cancelling cuts on and off, and sometimes they just refuse to connect until I put them back in the case.
The Sony headphones app also really sucks.
The sound quality is admittedly fantastic, but usability is just so frustrating.
Similar experience for my xm4s. Great sound, they're comfy, but the app is dogshit and the buttons/ touch controls physically hurt me to use.
Strange, I used em for a while and never had any of those issues
I like all the options the Sony Headphones app provides, but the WF-1000XM5s have some serious connectivity issues. Constantly connects while in my pocket or I have cut outs while listening to music. The XM4s were much better.
My apple watch. So much on that watch either doesn't work as it should or I was straight lied to by an apple employee of how it worked. Will never buy one again.
Well, what do you expect it to do?
I also, am interested in your expectations of its functionality, as I have been pondering one for some time.
this is for you and @dfyx@lemmy.helios42.de since you both asked the same question.
this is a long comment so bear with me.
When I bought the watch I specifically asked how the step counter works. Not just a cover/generic question. I asked does it count if you are just moving your arms or how does it now if you are actually walking/taking steps? I explained that at my job I stand all day and my arms are moving a lot but I'm not actually walking and I wanted to know if the counter was even close to accurate.
What they told me (at an Apple Store) was that it uses a GPS to figure out if you are moving. (that is a Lie, no it doesn't). As my hands and arms are going back and forth across the desk. It is counting steps. If i move my hands from right to left (for example) from one pile of papers to another on my left, it might count that as a step. It might count it as a step as my hands go from right to left AND then from left to right(might be counted as a step). It might count the round trip as 1 step, or 2 steps or maybe 5 steps.
It should not be counting it at all.
I can have thousands of extra steps counted. If the step counter is wrong, then the calorie counter is wrong. That also means the apple movement app is worthless. Think of all the health things it can monitor but are tied to the movement/calorie counter/step counter.. they are all worthless because the base section isn't working as I need it to.
I assumed what would happen if you got on a treadmill was you would have to hit something on the watch because it would need to know that you are walking in place, or maybe it counted the bounce/movement of your body as you were actually walking.
Apple music is another thing that doesn't work as it really should. Now this could be a design choice by the maker or maybe it just doesn't work as intended.. I'm not sure.
I will have my iphone connected via bluetooth to a speaker. My watch is connected to my phone. If I grab my phone and start a playlist everything looks and sounds like it should. The phone will show the song playing and the watch will show the song playing. I can skip to the next song by tapping my watch and hitting skip... so far so good.
Here's where things go side ways. If I use my watch to go back to the playlists and try to choose a different playlist, the watch will say I'm sorry but your watch isn't connected to anything(the speaker). to which I say.. bull shit. yes it is. The watch is connected to the phone and the phone is connected to the speaker. Everything is connected. I was told the watch would act as a remote control for the phone. So why is it saying the watch isn't connected to a speaker? It should access the playlists on the phone and let me choose a new playlist and start playing a new playlist. (this is just logical that it would work that way.) I shouldn't have to walk over to my phone and choose a new playlist.
If I don't use the phone to start a playlist and just tap the watch and try to start a playlist that won't work because it will tell me the watch isn't connected to any devices. Umm yes it is. It's connected to the phone.
When I purchased the phone I specifically said i think I have a sleeping problem and I need a device that will help to monitor (or at least give me an idea if there is an issue).
Middle of the night it will check one of my vitals (that's good) but it will vibrate and wake me up. WTF?! Who would design a device that would wake a person up in the middle of the night after checking one of the vitals? The watch should be able to figure out via blood pressure and oxygen levels that "huh this guy is probably asleep" so it shouldn't vibrate. It should look at what I have set as my normal sleep schedule combine that with my vitals and figure out I am asleep and not vibrate after checking a vital. This is either a broken system or just plain bad design.
Sometimes it will go for days and not check anything. Again what is the point?
Mine is five years old and I haven’t missed wearing it for a day. There are so many little features that I like (controlling my HomeKit home, finding my phone, playing my music with AirPods on a run, heart rate alerts, taking calls) and I’ll replace it when it’s gone, but I have a hard time recommending to anyone at that price point. I can’t get over that I need to buy a third party app to see my step count and it doesn’t even sync regularly.
I’m the exact opposite. Didn’t wear a watch for years after getting my first cellphone. Didn’t see the need for a watch when the smart watches started coming out. Can’t remember why I ultimately got an Apple Watch, but I’ve really liked it.
I've bought every single generation of an Apple Watch, and I returned it every time.
I wanted to love it so much, but I couldn't.
It's just a glorified notification system.
Anytime I got a notification on it, or wanted to use it for something, it was faster and far more convenient to just pull out my phone and do whatever I needed to.
The only thing I found it good for was controlling music from a distance, but that's not an important use case for me and definitely not worth the price tag, plus the recurring data plan. It's a money and attention hog, just like any other smartphone.
I was straight lied to by an apple employee
If you live in an area with good consumer rights, this is usually a valid reason to return a product. Statements made by an employee are treated the same as statements made in an ad, and it's not legal for either to misrepresent a product.
The USA does not have good consumer rights.
Very true on everything you said, sadly by the time I realized the issues the return window had expired,
Yea, I had a series 3, hated it coming from a galaxy watch. Daily charging, dies on 24h shifts tons of useless features that I never use, looks weird for a watch, no always on display (granted not a problem for newer ones I gather). And the goddamn screen got scratched so fast, even more so when I started bouldering.
I was a actually kinda glad I busted the screen and could justify getting a Garmin Instinct 2 Solar. I was a bit apprehensive about how it would play with an Iphone, but it is pretty damn good.
Best watch I have owned, even the galaxy watch pales in comparison. I can actually track sleep because the battery lasts 2 weeks with nightly pulseox (should be 3 without), potentially a lot longer but the sun is a foreign concept this time of year. It gives me what I need and nothing more (although it is a bit off the mark on a few things. The fitness tracking is great, it is actually a lot better for bouldering. No annoying touch stuff, actual physical buttons, that while take a bit of adjusting to, are perfectly adequate for reaching all the functions quickly. Seems sturdy as hell too.
The only feature I miss a little is answering calls on it. Was useful 3 times a year or so when I used it while I was busy but could have a conversation on loudspeaker. Besides this I cant get it to track additional sleep episodes properly (say on my 24h shifts when I get multiple short bursts of sleep or just general naps). The sleep tracking is semi auto - you set a sleep time, the watch only tracks sleep in sleep mode. Theres no automatic workout tracking (I guess there is a weird half tracking thing), although I hated auto tracking on the galaxy watch, I was fine with apple but never used it. Now granted all of the above is a mild annoyance at best, for me.
My Seat Leon. I had been warned about VW Group’s new platform but holy hell, even the most dire warnings didn’t tell the truth.
The car crashes every day. Nothing works. Even basic functions, like keyless entry on the door handles. If it rains, nope doesn’t work. How about the speakers switching into centre speaker only? How about a reversing beeper stuck until the car is not just turned off, but left turned off for 10 minutes? How about Apple CarPlay which doesn’t work? The list is endless. It’s so so poor. After one update, the car sensors got confused about being in a left hand driving country, so cruise control wouldn’t overtake cars in the slow lane.
And I can’t afford to switch to another one.
Slip on / low top rain boots.
I thought I would use them for walks in muddy forests, but it's not usually muddy enough when I go to justify wearing them for a full hike, and they're not comfortable to walk in for long distances.
I also thought I would wear them around the fishing ponds, but I enjoy taking my shoes off and wading in anyway. I can just go further than the boots would allow.
Bialetti Venus coffee maker, it's too fragile and needs a full 3 spoons of coffee to make half as much as my mug that I filled to the top with a paper filter while using just 2 spoons.
It changed color on the outside after a week, and you need to disassemble to store it so it takes a ton of space even though it's so small, also needs medium coffee and I can't find a good medium one in my area, my favorite is a fine ground.
My $500 laptop I panic bought after an employee started talking to me
It's incapable of anything and stutters when I start Firefox. I have a freebie laptop I got from Telus 10+ years ago that runs better than this off-the shelf laptop.
I couldn't in good-conscience sell this to make my money back either... sigh... at least it keeps me focused on work..?
May I understand what panic buying is? And how it leads to a $500 purchase?
Mayhaps. My brain becomes mush when multiple people talk to me, so all the laptop information in my brain disappeared. I awkwardly followed the conversation and ended up buying what was suggested since the only thing on my mind I could think was "I need a laptop"
I was looking for a little notebook. I needed something for work that was very portable, but this is clunky and heavy. Good for thwackin' I guess.
I normally buy online just to avoid this, but I wanted to check out the local store for convenience. It was an ambush I'm telling ya!
Are there upgrades that would make it usable - more RAM, switch to an SSD?
PS5 remote. It's kind of useless as it doesn't even have the Source selection button, so I need to keep using a regular remote too anyway. Doesn't have other buttons for TV either, except volume. The apps buttons are hardcoded and cannot be customized. Any accidently pressed button starts up the console. I kind of still use it for video apps but I regret the purchase.
A jet ski and a GoPro . And 10 years later we still have never used that kitchenaid stand mixer. It looks nice on the counter though.
Kitchenaid for kneading + measuring ingredients by weight = consistent bread
I use my KitchenAid stand mixer for shredding cooked meat (throw out those awful bear claws lol). I also bought some cheap off brand attachments to shred cheese and carrots. I now use it almost weekly.
How much work is it to clean up the cheese shredder after you are done? Can it process softer cheeses like cheddar or jack or will that clog it up?
It's great for homemade pizza dough, you should try it sometime
I bought a Valve Index two years ago, had fun with it for a couple weeks, then never used it again :-\
I've been on the vr train since 2016, i eveb did dev work for a few vr companies. imo I think there are 2 problems with vr this time around. 1st is movement, joystick style movement makes half the userbase sick to their stomach, teleport feels terrible to the other half, supporting both invariably breaks game balance. There are hardware solutions but they are still in their infancy and are huge and expensive for the most part. The result is an already small userbase fracturing even more.
Second problem is less serious, there are games with fun mechanics, there are games with good, long stories and progression. There are very very few games that have both. This makes all the games feel like demos.
I love the potential of vr games, but there just isn't enough content out there to make it worth.
Nevermind the walled garden problem. We've got potentially great content locked behind different storefronts requiring different hardware for each.
In the quest for dominance, everyone is losing.
Like, I understand Valve's "no exclusive content" stance, but they really should consider pumping publishing money into vr software studios, but with an open platform clause. A healthy ecosystem of software will enable VR to thrive. Either that or engage in negotiations with the other players to create a VR collective agreement. It'll never happen, but one can dream.
I wanna get one for beat saber. That game looks fun. Also, vr chat with an actual vr headset would be cool
There are a lot of fun games, but it's more like a mini game experience a lot of the time.
My husband got an Oculus before they were bought out only to find out he gets motion sick with most games. I don't get motion sick ever so he was excited to see me try out his library of cool starship and fighter games and all I ever play on it is beat saber, lol. The custom map scene is where it's at!
Mine is basically a Beat Saber machine; it's great.
me too! i stuck with mine quite a bit longer, but it ended up in the box all the same. there are very few good vr games that don't have that tech demo-y format lots of early titles had. and valve's promises of linux support were quite exaggerated, which made playing the couple games i kept coming back to even less convenient or just a worse experience. i stopped playing half life alyx halfway through, and came back and i couldn't get it to run on my linux pc anymore - like, thats the single game/hardware combo valve promised would 100% work on linux.
its kinda sad because i really believed in consumer vr back then, but seeing how the industry has stagnated has shown that either it isn't possible or we aren't ready for cheap, good, open vr. nobody is making good vr games because there are no users and there are no users because its too expensive to get a good vr rig and there are no games.
Insurance
Ah, sweet summer child.
Most of the stuff I regret buying can be sold as second-hand. My biggest miss is to buy a good laptop for high too early, now I want an OLED display on laptop but I am stuck with my expensive model with LCD😅
A desk cycle. My keyboard is on a low pull-out shelf (more ergonomic) which got in the way of any meaningful cycling while I was trying to work.
The good news is that I eventually did get off my ass and started running for exercise, first on the treadmill at home and now I do it outside. Still have the desk cycle in the basement.
Same thing here.
Basically anything that I don't really think about.
Every impulse buy has made me measurably disappointed
It's always lower quality, less useful and I am always wish I had the money instead latter.
Maybe need to get induction instead of radiant? Induction is much more efficient.
I bought a cheap induction element after my landlord replaced my cooktop with one that I hate because the elements are tiny. It is so much better than a standard cooktop that I pretty much use it exclusively.
Get an induction plate.
These are great till you live somewhere with shitty electric. On the days when my ecig takes 6 hours to charge I can't cook as the hot plate won't even turn on. Fucking slumlords.
Collected wine. Still have lots of it, don't really drink anymore, and have no storage space. Don't ask.
A Leap-Motion
ooooohhhh isn't that the cool hand sensor that sits on your desk and was supposed to change the way we interact with our computers ?
Yup. Thing is, touch less interaction is very awkward, anything with any kind of feedback is much better (including touchscreen). It never stood a chance
The Slap Chop was a huge disappointment after the slam dunk that the Sham Wow ended up being. It was the same pain as buying the rushed and terrible Megaman Battle Network 4 after playing and loving the classic masterpiece that came before it.
But did you love his nuts? https://youtu.be/iIgEWRb61IQ?si=9SOOO0YNj0JVl3qL
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://piped.video/iIgEWRb61IQ?si=9SOOO0YNj0JVl3qL
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.
No that thing sucked both his left nuts.
Sonos speaker. I have Google Home speakers around the house and we use them to play music. Sonos almost never get used
What don't you like about them? I've just gotten a set for my TV and really look forward to expanding to the rest of the house.
They're expensive, but they sound amazing and they're so easy to use.
Not the original commenter but for me it was that they didn't integrate well into my multi-device management platform and instead required you to use Sonos's platform and products to play on multiple devices. The sound was decent but I only had one and it didn't work with my other speakers so it rarely got used.
I have a small standalone speaker, not good for TV. I doesn't want to link with my Google profile, so no voice control from Assistant. So the only way to use it is from their app, or maybe casting