I think the most threatening issue here is "choice". There are too many cases in life where we are forced into things just because the government mandates it, or because the majority of others do it. The underlying truth is that 90% of the population couldn't give less of a care how their appliances work or how to use them properly, because they see *chores* as exactly that: unpleasant work that takes away from their free time. But to us, if anyone here is like me, the time to do laundry and dishes, and really anything that requires using a complex machine, is exciting because you get watch the amazing engineering that was put into making a washing machine perform so many different movements and tasks completely on its own, or creating the hurricane (or water sprinkler, if that's the kind of machine you prefer) that happens behind the sealed door of a dishwasher. Making the control panel of a washing machine as simple as possible, with a start button and barely more, and requiring that the more complex settings be done on a separate device may be fine for most people, but to me the panel is what gives the machine character, and makes it more exciting than just a boring white cabinet. I would be perfectly fine with HE machines that use a teaspoon of cold water, and have internet connection, and allow control from a mobile device, IF I had the OPTION of choosing whether I want to use those things or not. If I want the machine to do a deep wash and rinse, filling to the top of the basket, and use true hot water, and completely disable any connection to anything besides water and power, and still have a control board with every option and knob/button available, I as a paying consumer should have the control to do so. If I want to pay for the extra energy/water bill because of it, that's my business. That just isn't the case these days though, because a person has to jump through hoops in the form of tweaking (or rather having to break) something in the mechanics, or removing restrictor valves, or tricking the machine in some way just to get the results we need, all because that 90% of common society bought those machines because they were state-of-the-art and shiny, not caring how well it works or performs, and the manufacturers decide that because everyone "jumped off that cliff", it might as well be the new standard trend, and that there is no point in spending money on other alternatives for the minority that complained about the new product.
Point of the rant: New and innovative is fine in my book, but only if I have the choice to continue to do things the "old" way, and in my own time try the new way and decide whether or not it really is for the better.
