Amazon accuses customer of racism & shuts down their smart home

Zarathustra[H] said:
Anyone who runs any automation in their home that depends on an outside service is a damn fool, and deserves whatever happens to them.
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This is why everything in my house runs tasmota on a private vlan with no internet access
 
This is why I don't you any of those devices at home. My doorbell is a standard unit. My cameras are POE to an NVR. My sound system is wired. The only thing I have is a Nest thermostat and I keep a dumb unit on hand just incase of a 'failure '.
 
wra18th said:
This is why I don't you any of those devices at home. My doorbell is a standard unit. My cameras are POE to an NVR. My sound system is wired. The only thing I have is a Nest thermostat and I keep a dumb unit on hand just incase of a 'failure '.
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pffft, closest automated thing in my house is the microwave. my coffee pot isn't even set. XD
 
I said it in the other thread, the article the guy wrote references his "10 years of loyalty" to amazon. If that isn't someone who needs a wake up call, I don't know who is. You should have a healthy and natural distrust for the massive companies that harvest data on everything you do.
 
LigTasm said:
I said it in the other thread, the article the guy wrote references his "10 years of loyalty" to amazon. If that isn't someone who needs a wake up call, I don't know who is. You should have a healthy and natural distrust for the massive companies that harvest data on everything you do.
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This is my inlaws to a "T". They love this stuff. The news is the gospel. That Amazon thing recording them is the core of their house. Facebook is truth.
 
Little couple of points:
The guy smarth house ran locally, echo was controller for it (and a mic), its iOS phone also worked apparently:
Update: I was not truly in the dark for a week. My smart home runs mostly locally and Alexa really is just a polymorphic interface. I was just able to use Siri. Though out of habit I’d sometimes say “alexa” only for her to remind me how stupid I was.

https://medium.com/tag/amazon?sourc...4e3818b---------------amazon-----------------

It was not via Amazon listening-spying, it was an human saying to Amazon that the guy was a racist.
 
LigTasm said:
I said it in the other thread, the article the guy wrote references his "10 years of loyalty" to amazon. If that isn't someone who needs a wake up call, I don't know who is. You should have a healthy and natural distrust for the massive companies that harvest data on everything you do.
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And companies don't owe you anything. I've had loads of Apple gear for a couple of decades now, but I wouldn't expect special favors on iCloud or a thank you note from Tim Cook. If I had to switch to other platforms, I wouldn't mind.
 
Sort of on topic(?), we've been looking at a software upgrade and the #1 my boss is looking at is run of AWS on monthly subscription. I have bad vibes, but how bad is that?
 
The real scary part is how much power the drivers have, they can literally make up something or be confused/wrong (like this dude) and boom account banned, with no actual proof
 
No way any of this is going in my home. As a tech nerd I’m fairly analog in a lot of things.

I figure my cell phone and Internet usage is doing enough data mining so no “smart” devices in my place. I’m still pissed that there isn’t a way to disable my tv from running apps other than deny it an internet connection so they won’t go anywhere. Just standard locks , keys and the 2nd amendment for home protection here folks. If I get robbed while I’m out I have insurance. If I’m home — yippee ki yay mother…ers. 😆
 
There is open source alternative home automation software that doesn't require such phoning home/third-party access. The problem is off-the-shelf home automation solutions take the DIY hassle out of it and most aren't geeks so we end up with society filled with problematic mainstream devices.
 
LigTasm said:
I said it in the other thread, the article the guy wrote references his "10 years of loyalty" to amazon. If that isn't someone who needs a wake up call, I don't know who is. You should have a healthy and natural distrust for the massive companies that harvest data on everything you do.
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Yeah, after all this--remember, an unconfirmed claim by a driver, followed by video proof the claim was incorrect, and Amazon still sat for days before, silently, restoring his account--and he's still only "seriously considering" backing away from Amazon's cloud stuff.
 
Aurelius said:
And companies don't owe you anything. I've had loads of Apple gear for a couple of decades now, but I wouldn't expect special favors on iCloud or a thank you note from Tim Cook.
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I think it's fair to say that when you get your account terminated due to unsubstantiated claims, and provide proof the claim was incorrect, you deserve more than to have your account silently reinstated--you deserve an apology, which he didn't get: "In the end, my account was unlocked on Wednesday, with no follow-up email to inform me of the resolution."
 
Newbie_52 said:
The real scary part is how much power the drivers have, they can literally make up something or be confused/wrong (like this dude) and boom account banned, with no actual proof
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I "like" how even *with* proof the claim was wrong, Amazon still did nothing for several days.
 
Newbie_52 said:
The real scary part is how much power the drivers have, they can literally make up something or be confused/wrong (like this dude) and boom account banned, with no actual proof
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Scary part is how much power the internet has, how many are seeing this story, hell Rossman even starts with "if this is true", yet everyone is instantly assuming it all to be factually true and immediately taking sides in the matter without any sort of scrutiny, hell any other stories about it all seem to be tied to this one exact post Rossman is reading. Now I'm saying it isn't true, but how many people are instantly hating Amazon because of this story? Hell you're even showing apprehension towards drivers. It seems we too have turned into a news like mentality, where it's better to be first (with comments and reactions) than to be right.
 
The Medium article that the author made was updated to reflect they sent Rossmann video and email evidence. If some journalist were able to get some confirmation from Amazon the incident did occur then that would be obviously ideal. Absent of that I'm not sure what other means there would be of verifying this.

I wouldn't think those looking at Amazon in a bad light reaction to this have reached such a conclusion merely from this tbh. Always good to begin with a skeptical eye though, I'd agree with that.
 
1_rick said:
I think it's fair to say that when you get your account terminated due to unsubstantiated claims, and provide proof the claim was incorrect, you deserve more than to have your account silently reinstated--you deserve an apology, which he didn't get: "In the end, my account was unlocked on Wednesday, with no follow-up email to inform me of the resolution."
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Agreed — I just don't think loyalty gets you any points. It's just basic customer service to apologize.
 
Concerning "smart" devices... Remember the TV from Idiocracy? It's now available, and it's "free": https://www.freetelly.com/
News of its availability was posted over at The FPS Review: https://www.thefpsreview.com/2023/0...upported-55-4k-hdr-smart-tv-with-two-screens/

I think that it's sad.
LukeTbk said:
It was not via Amazon listening-spying, it was an human saying to Amazon that the guy was a racist.
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You don't expect us to pass up an opportunity to rant about the modern smart home?
 
ElementDave said:
Concerning "smart" devices... Remember the TV from Idiocracy? It's now available, and it's "free": https://www.freetelly.com/
News of its availability was posted over at The FPS Review: https://www.thefpsreview.com/2023/0...upported-55-4k-hdr-smart-tv-with-two-screens/

I think that it's sad.

You don't expect us to pass up an opportunity to rant about the modern smart home?
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Haha yeah, I saw the TV on slickdeals awhile back. The equivalent normal TV runs around $180-220 on deals, seems like a bad trade to have a camera and mic on you at all times plus ads and needing to be connected online.
 
ElementDave said:
Concerning "smart" devices... Remember the TV from Idiocracy? It's now available, and it's "free": https://www.freetelly.com/
News of its availability was posted over at The FPS Review: https://www.thefpsreview.com/2023/0...upported-55-4k-hdr-smart-tv-with-two-screens/
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I'm curious how this works in reality. Do the ads actually play audio and pause what you're watching to get max effect? Is there a heartbeat of sorts going back home that must be answered to maintain service?. Their website says non intrusive but we all know the grey area that means.

If the second screen is purely billboard, so many ways to hide it to not notice. Same with the mic and camera if so concerned. I'll never be a customer but I can see the hack-it-up community going for this depending on call to home must have features and so on. If really a $1000 system and a good sound bar. The TOS would be an interesting read.
 
That_Sound_Guy said:
I'm curious how this works in reality. Do the ads actually play audio and pause what you're watching to get max effect? Is there a heartbeat of sorts going back home that must be answered to maintain service?. Their website says non intrusive but we all know the grey area that means.

If the second screen is purely billboard, so many ways to hide it to not notice. Same with the mic and camera if so concerned. I'll never be a customer but I can see the hack-it-up community going for this depending on call to home must have features and so on. If really a $1000 system and a good sound bar. The TOS would be an interesting read.
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The $1000 that they claim it's worth is probably how much they charge one's credit card in the event the TV is damaged or doesn't phone home with timely reports to the mothership. An up-to-date credit card is required as part of the terms. There may be a few more details or links to such in the FPS Review comment section: https://forums.thefpsreview.com/thr...dr-smart-tv-with-two-screens.12594/post-71733

Neutering the TV doesn't seem to be realistic option.
 
did this incident take place in the USA?...seems pretty extreme on Amazon's part to disable the customer's equipment based on the word of a delivery driver
 
sfsuphysics said:
yet everyone is instantly assuming it all to be factually true
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Amazon has now responded, confirming the incident. (Edit: this isn't intended as a callout btw, just thought you and anyone similarly reserving judgment would be interested)

Simone Griffin, an Amazon spokesperson, told Newsweek: "We work hard to provide customers with a great experience while also ensuring drivers who deliver Amazon packages feel safe.

"In this case, we learned through our investigation that the customer did not act inappropriately, and we're working directly with the customer to resolve their concerns while also looking at ways to prevent a similar situation from happening again."
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Newbie_52 said:
The real scary part is how much power the drivers have, they can literally make up something or be confused/wrong (like this dude) and boom account banned, with no actual proof
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Uhh, that's all of Western society now. And it's only one direction.
 
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