Consumers Are Being Asked to Become Part-Time System Administrators
Buying a product used to mean using it. Buying a product now often means configuring a small private software environment around it first.
A normal household now contains a surprising amount of light systems administration. Thermostats need passwords. Doorbells need firmware. Speakers need account recovery. Half the objects in the house now behave like tiny platforms with opinions.
Manufacturers describe this as empowerment because empowerment sounds better than maintenance burden. In practice, customers are acting as help desk, privacy reviewer, and emergency technician for devices that once had the decency to be dumb.
Tech keeps redefining normal use as managed use. The customer keeps inheriting the paperwork and being told the extra responsibility is premium.
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