Amazon Moves "Buy Now" Into the Physical World, With the Dash Button

Zothecula writes The Amazon Dash Button is a small device that you can stick to walls or a variety of household appliances. Each button is associated with a certain brand or product, and when you set it up (via smartphone) you associate the button with a specific size or quantity (like, say, two 12-packs of Starbucks K-cups or one 2-pack of 50 oz. Tide detergent) and shipping speed. When you start to get low on said product, mash the button and Amazon takes care of the rest.

Comments

Dash to the bathroom

[Anonymous Coward]

For tp!!!!

Re:Dash to the bathroom

[Anonymous Coward]

do you have tp? tp for my bunghole?

Re:Dash to the bathroom

[jimmydevice]

I have a corn cob for your cornholio

Re:Dash to the bathroom

[Anonymous Coward]

It looks like you're almost out of BRAWNDO!!! Push the button here for more BRAWNDO!!!

Re:Dash to the bathroom

[Coren22]

Oh no! My electrolyte levels will drop, must order more Brawndo!

Old News

[Anonymous Coward]

Com'on Slashdot, just try harder next time.

Finally, a decent April Fool's Day article from /.

[Anonymous Coward]

This one of those ideas perfectly balanced on the razor's edge between believability and absurdity that make the reader question whether it just might possibly be true.

(Pity it's April 2nd, which just means that somebody at Amazon is merely bonkers.)

I hope this is a april fools.

[Anonymous Coward]

These have no reason to exist. They will just create more electronic wastes, not to mention the manufacturing cost.
A simple app for smartphones would've done the same thing, and more.

Re:I hope this is a april fools.

[hawguy]

These have no reason to exist. They will just create more electronic wastes, not to mention the manufacturing cost.
A simple app for smartphones would've done the same thing, and more.

But that's not the same. When you're reaching for the detergent and notice that it's almost empty, you may not have your smartphone with you, and even if you do, you probably don't want to stop and launch the app so you can order more detergent, you'll just try to remember to order it next time you're at your computer. Though if you had a button right there on the cabinet, then you'd probably hit it right while you have the empty detergent bottle in your hand.

Admittedly this seems like unnecessary overkill, but it is definitely difference than a smartphone app and I can see why some might find it useful.

They will just create more electronic wastes, not to mention the manufacturing cost

Many people would say the same about smartphones and their (mostly) 2 year obsolescence schedule.

Re:I hope this is a april fools.

[jimmydevice]

Corporate America has done worse. Remember the LCD animated magazine?

Re:I hope this is a april fools.

[Anonymous Coward]

Sorry, we live in a post-industrial non-productive economy. If you want to perpetuate the myth of the 40 hour workweek and employment for the majority of people, you have to keep coming up with ever more absurd nonsense to keep money moving around.

We could just sit happily on our monumental resources and technology and create a leisure society for all, instead we send people to school longer and longer for dwindling returns.

Our choice, we made it, we can't complain about the consequences.

Re: I hope this is a april fools.

[Anonymous Coward]

And how many people will hit it by accident? And how many kids will hit it six billion times because it looks fun? And how many teens will think it's hilarious to hit it a bunch of times while visiting a neighbour's house?

This is a bad idea. A very bad idea.

Re: I hope this is a april fools.

[Anonymous Coward]

And how many people will hit it by accident?

Hitting the button sends an alert to your phone, and you can cancel if it was placed mistakenly.

And how many kids will hit it six billion times because it looks fun? And how many teens will think it's hilarious to hit it a bunch of times while visiting a neighbour's house?

Multiple presses are ignored; once the button has been pressed it is functionally inactive until the order it placed is delivered (or canceled).

This is a bad idea. A very bad idea.

It's a perfectly fine idea, the problems you cited are easy to address (and indeed, have been addressed).

Re:I hope this is a april fools.

[Dutch Gun]

No, but I remember the Cue Cat. No less than $185 million was invested in this ridiculous venture. I could never figure out how anyone ever thought this was a good idea, even before the benefit of hindsight. Not only ridiculously impractical, but privacy-invading and prone to security issues? Woot!

Re:I hope this is a april fools.

[davester666]

or you might select an app other than Amazon to buy it
or you might notice it's a couple bucks more than the local store
or you might forget about the app and buy it on your next trip to the grocery store

Re:I hope this is a april fools.

[f3rret]

No, but I remember the Cue Cat. No less than $185 million was invested in this ridiculous venture. I could never figure out how anyone ever thought this was a good idea, even before the benefit of hindsight. Not only ridiculously impractical, but privacy-invading and prone to security issues? Woot!

Isn't the concept behind that CueCat thing basically the same as what is behind QR codes these days?

Re:I hope this is a april fools.

[jklovanc]

Except that QR codes are read by a device that can to other thing as well. The CueCat was a one function device.

Re:I hope this is a april fools.

[Half-pint HAL]

These have no reason to exist.

Yes they do. They push people into buying the expense brands that are willing to pay Amazon for the privilege of having their own buttons. They also mean you'll have visible ads for particular brands in your house when friends visit.

Re:I hope this is a april fools.

[Dutch Gun]

QR codes are actually a general purpose matrix barcode, not just used for storing URLs, of course. They were originally designed by Japanese industry for inventory management.

That aside, yeah, it was like mobile tagging with QR codes, except the Cue Cat reader (unlike a smartphone) was physical device attached to your PC, which in turn had to run proprietary software that was intended to launch a website when you scanned a code. It was just a horribly clunky system that few people would be interested in taking the time to actually use.

Re:I hope this is a april fools.

[phayes]

I never used it for it's intended purpose but I found the cuecat (along with a 50 line perl script) to be a great help in cataloging all my books years back.

Re:I hope this is a april fools.

[jklovanc]

It is still just a bar code reader. What you do with the code after you get it is up to you. Most QR codes are scanned by smart phones that can also do things completely unrelated to QR codes like make phone calls. QR codes are useful because you probably already have the device to read them. Carrying a separate device to read QR codes would not be as popular.

Re:I hope this is a april fools.

[jafiwam]

These have no reason to exist. They will just create more electronic wastes, not to mention the manufacturing cost. A simple app for smartphones would've done the same thing, and more.

But that's not the same. When you're reaching for the detergent and notice that it's almost empty, you may not have your smartphone with you, and even if you do, you probably don't want to stop and launch the app so you can order more detergent, you'll just try to remember to order it next time you're at your computer. Though if you had a button right there on the cabinet, then you'd probably hit it right while you have the empty detergent bottle in your hand.

Admittedly this seems like unnecessary overkill, but it is definitely difference than a smartphone app and I can see why some might find it useful.

They will just create more electronic wastes, not to mention the manufacturing cost

Many people would say the same about smartphones and their (mostly) 2 year obsolescence schedule.

If you are like me, you'd need a rack of these things in the shower. That seems to be the only place I think of certain tasks... always forgotten by the time I get out.

Re:I hope this is a april fools.

[Anonymous Coward]

"I never used it for it's intended purpose"

What, the apostrophe? I can see that!

Re:I hope this is a april fools.

[khr]

you may not have your smartphone with you

C'mon, it's the 21st century, no one lives like that anymore, do they?

Re: I hope this is a april fools.

[EvilSS]

It's almost like Amazon thought this out or something.

Re:I hope this is a april fools.

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, because my friends go digging through my laundry room and cupboards all the time when they come over.

Re:I hope this is a april fools.

[njnnja]

create a leisure society for all, by sending people to school longer and longer

FTFY. Most of the people I know who are going to school for "longer and longer" have more leisure time than ever before in the history of humanity. Not all, but most.

Re: I hope this is a april fools.

[Ol Olsoc]

And how many people will hit it by accident?

Hitting the button sends an alert to your phone, and you can cancel if it was placed mistakenly.

Just keeps getting handier and handier. I probably have 50 different things in my refrigerator, so let's say 25 of them I will want buttons for. Seems like a pretty good prank to hit all 25 of them, have me get 25 messages to verify, and make for a major PITA.

Improvements are supposed to be improvements, not a convoluted clusterfsck. Seriously it's harder to make a list, then order online or just go to the grocery store?

Besides, were will Grandma put her refrigerator magnets now?

It's a perfectly fine idea, the problems you cited are easy to address (and indeed, have been addressed).

Its a solution in search of a problem, and complicates a simple process.

Its like those TV commercials where a person is getting all frustrated performing some simple task, like cooking an egg, but fear not! here is some superduper miracle product to the rescue. Full of hinges and parts, a PITA to wash, and only has one use. Only $19.95 plus shipping and handling.

Re:I hope this is a april fools.

[Ol Olsoc]

you may not have your smartphone with you

C'mon, it's the 21st century, no one lives like that anymore, do they?

People under 30 have those things welded to their hands. Problem is, they are all living at home, and mommy and daddy pay for the groceries.

Its a millennial thing.

Re:I hope this is a april fools.

[tsqr]

you may not have your smartphone with you

C'mon, it's the 21st century, no one lives like that anymore, do they?

I can't tell whether you're kidding, but I'll bite. Lots of people aren't chained to a smartphone 24/7. I know quite a few people who only have their phones on their persons when they're out of the house. I usually put my phone in airplane mode and plug it into the charger when I get home from work; it doesn't wake up until I leave for work the next morning. It's not unusual for the phone to go untouched from Friday night until Monday morning unless I go someplace where it might be handy to have it with me.

Re:I hope this is a april fools.

[Anonymous Coward]

worse than all that, each cue cat has a serial number and the plan was to collect demographic user data on what things you scan

as just a free reader, with some cool apps it might have done better

Re: I hope this is a april fools.

[hawguy]

And how many people will hit it by accident?

Hitting the button sends an alert to your phone, and you can cancel if it was placed mistakenly.

Just keeps getting handier and handier. I probably have 50 different things in my refrigerator, so let's say 25 of them I will want buttons for.

Gee, it's almost as if sticking 25 of these on your refrigerator for products you use often is not the use-case Amazon had in mind. I wonder if that's why they are only handing out up to 3 free buttons per customer.

Seems like a pretty good prank to hit all 25 of them, have me get 25 messages to verify, and make for a major PITA.

Maybe you should be more choosey about who you let into your house and/or you should set boundaries for your children so they don't order products as a "prank"?

Improvements are supposed to be improvements, not a convoluted clusterfsck. Seriously it's harder to make a list, then order online or just go to the grocery store?

Well, yes? That's kind of the entire point of this product -- convenience. I don't keep my laundry detergent in the refrigerator, it's down in the basement next to the laundry machines, so by the time I come back upstairs after noticing the laundry is done, I may not remember to add it to the list or order it online.

It's a perfectly fine idea, the problems you cited are easy to address (and indeed, have been addressed).

Its a solution in search of a problem, and complicates a simple process.

I'm not sure how a single button press complicates the process - you notice that laundry detergent (or diapers or whatever) is low and you press a button and a few days later, the product arrives. You do get an alert on your phone so you can cancel if you want to, but you don't have to respond to it, if you don't cancel the order then it's placed.

Which part of that is complicated?

Its like those TV commercials where a person is getting all frustrated performing some simple task, like cooking an egg, but fear not! here is some superduper miracle product to the rescue. Full of hinges and parts, a PITA to wash, and only has one use. Only $19.95 plus shipping and handling.

But this product is free (for up to 3 buttons), and since anyone using it is likely already buying from Amazon, there's really no added cost to them.

Re:I hope this is a april fools.

[khr]

I can't tell whether you're kidding

I'm not sure, either anymore... I carry my cell phone when I leave the apartment, but certainly not inside, where it just stays on my desk. But my wife, on the other hand, carries hers from room to room to room...

Other people I know won't ever let theirs out of arm's reach for fear of missing something....

Re:I hope this is a april fools.

[Coren22]

Waterproof tablet. It also has the bonus of some entertainment.

Re:I hope this is a april fools.

[Coren22]

I don't know about that, I will have to wait until they select me, but I am guessing you don't need to buy Tide laundry detergent (or pods, or whatever) with the tide button. There was some indication that you select what each button does.

Re: I hope this is a april fools.

[Ol Olsoc]

I wonder if that's why they are only handing out up to 3 free buttons per customer.

You actually use that to refute me?

What specific three items would I want to choose out of my refrigerator, and why on earth wouldn't I just pick them up when I go shopping for the other things that Amazon won't pick up for me?

3 button/item limit merely moves this idea from moronic to imbecilic.

Maybe you should be more choosey about who you let into your house and/or you should set boundaries for your children so they don't order products as a "prank"?

Something tells me you either don't have chilrdren, or you keep them in a cage and don't allow them to have friends. Or you are the first parent ever to have children who have never ever done anything wrong.

Well, yes? That's kind of the entire point of this product -- convenience. I don't keep my laundry detergent in the refrigerator, it's down in the basement next to the laundry machines, so by the time I come back upstairs after noticing the laundry is done, I may not remember to add it to the list or order it online.

Are you the woman they use on all the first world problems meme, who cries because she wants to change the TV channel but the remote is across the room?

It's so hard being a person who hasn't been able to remember the laundry detergent because its the whole goddamned way in the basement, where you never ever go. Except maybe to wash the clothes. I think I should apologize, because if you are so handicapped that you cannot remember to buy laundry detergent by looking at the laundry detergent box or bottle, and it is such an imposition to go to the basement, maybe there is something wrong that I shouldn't pick on you about.

Perhaps if they made a sensor that you put in the laundry detergent bottle to sense the level, and contact Amazon, then you wouldn't have to even think about your laundry detergent ever again?

I'm not sure how a single button press complicates the process - you notice that laundry detergent (or diapers or whatever) is low and you press a button and a few days later, the product arrives. You do get an alert on your phone so you can cancel if you want to, but you don't have to respond to it, if you don't cancel the order then it's placed.

Which part of that is complicated?

As opposed to seeing the laundry detergent is low, and picking some up the next time you are in the store? If for osome reason you have to use your phone, you can record a note to yourself. All of this especially if you are restricted to only three items.

But this product is free (for up to 3 buttons), and since anyone using it is likely already buying from Amazon, there's really no added cost to them.

Look, if you really want to use this, and it makes you feel High tech, bdcause you are now getting your laundry detergent and two other items shipped directy to you from Amazon, the I suppose you can have at it. I doubt this would add one moment of simplicity to anyone's lives that I know of.

Now get to work constructing that drone port for your laundry detergent deliveries.

I already love it...

[mi]

The only problem is, most of this stuff is cheaper at Costco — when they are having a sale, one can load-up until next year's sale of the same commodity.

But this seems like it would be darn convenient. So much so, I'm prepared to revisit the price difference. Everyone here is busy and if a single button-press can really replace a trip to the store, it just might be worth it...

Re:I already love it...

[hawguy]

The only problem is, most of this stuff is cheaper at Costco — when they are having a sale, one can load-up until next year's sale of the same commodity.

But this seems like it would be darn convenient. So much so, I'm prepared to revisit the price difference. Everyone here is busy and if a single button-press can really replace a trip to the store, it just might be worth it...

Not everyone has room for costco's usual super-sized product packages, I really have no room to store a 6 pack of ketchup, #10 cans of corn, or a 24 pack of paper towels, and many items would expire before I can use them. While I might save money by buying in bulk, without unlimited storage space, I appreciate using Amazon for just-in-time delivery even if I spend a little more money. Plus, as you say, there's the convenience factor -- going to Costco ends up taking at least a few hours from start to finish.

Re:I already love it...

[Anonymous Coward]

From a comedian:
"We gotta go.... giants live here...."

Re:I already love it...

[Anonymous Coward]

or, you can just run into target and whatever non-walmart grocery chain you have once every week or do. an hour of time.. i mean, come on.. how the hell did we manage before the internets? we managed just fine.

technology and smart phones have made people so fucking lazy.

Re:I already love it...

[mi]

It takes more than an hour — especially, if I were to follow your bizarre request and avoid Wal-Mart. Which, at today's rates for experienced Software Engineers, is around $100 (considering taxation). Amazon's deliveries need to be a lot more expensive to justify my spending over an hour of the precious personal time on errands per week.

technology and smart phones have made people so fucking lazy.

I for one was lazy decades before I got my first cellular (and not so smart) phone.

Re:I already love it...

[Anonymous Coward]

Which, at today's rates for experienced Software Engineers, is around $100 (considering taxation).

So you work all the time? Sucks to be you.

Re:I already love it...

[Anonymous Coward]

Be honest. You really don't make 100 dollars an hour programming. Since you are on slashdot the more likely scenario is that you are an unemployed hardcore World of Warcraft raider living his mother's basement. Your tide button is yelling at your mother demanding that she do your laundry because you are running out of poop socks. Of course, like most slashdot users, you will blame the existence of government and taxation to explain why you are not the next John Galt and are living in mom's basement.

Re:I already love it...

[Anonymous Coward]

In the UK, national supermarket chains like Tesco's let you have an online account with a "weekly shopping list" of items you always buy. Then you just arrange delivery. The only catch is that they would replace items that were out of stock with something completely different.

Probably not good for families. What happens when your little one decides to pull all the buttons off the freezer and starts hammering away at them with a toy hammer.

Re:I already love it...

[MachineShedFred]

I'll pay a few bucks to not have to deal with the hoards of people at Costco, and not stand in a line 7 deep because they only ever have 3 registers open with 150 people in the store, each with an order of 10+ items. And, Amazon doesn't default to treating people like criminals with their mandatory loss prevention check at the door.

Re:I already love it...

[Anonymous Coward]

Costco doesn't sell any 6-packs of ketchup, #10 cans of corn, or 24-packs of paper towels. You'll have to settle for a 2 bottles of ketchup packed in with a bottle of mustard and a squeezable bottle of (watered-down) relish, an 8-pack of normal cans of corn, and a 12-pack of paper towels.

In the last 10 years or so, Costco has replaced most of their bulk items with smaller, more manageable packages. Most of their customers aren't restaurants, and they finally figured that out. Restaurants buy from Sysco. (Hell, sometimes, I wish I could buy from Sysco.) People with large families and/or large homes buy from Costco. It helps that they're located about 10 minutes from my house.

Meanwhile, Amazon just seems like a skeevy company in every regard anymore. From the misleading used/new stock system on their website to the way they treat their warehouse staff, they're really going downhill fast. I avoid Amazon.

Re:I already love it...

[GTRacer]

If I had a nickel for every time we ran out of something, then later went to Target (less than 10 minutes' drive and a regular "kill time" destination anyway), then came home only to hear my wife say, "I forgot to buy the thing I went to the store for!", I'd be eating like a king at Taco Bell.

Honestly, even /with/ a smartphone and sundries-managment apps, she can't be arsed to keep a list. These buttons would go a long way to making sure key items were easily replenished at the time awareness of need hits.

Also, also, didn't the article say the button could be relinked to another product if the default wasn't to one's liking?

Re:I already love it...

[tehcyder]

In the UK, national supermarket chains like Tesco's let you have an online account with a "weekly shopping list" of items you always buy. Then you just arrange delivery. The only catch is that they would replace items that were out of stock with something completely different.

You are free to decline any substitute items, you know. They actually tell you that when they deliver.

Re:I already love it...

[DocSavage64109]

I figure this Amazon Dash is why they are pushing drones so hard. Imagine a future where everything we need is delivered straight to our homes as we need them.

Re:I already love it...

[Jawnn]

Which, at today's rates for experienced Software Engineers, is around $100 (considering taxation).

So you work all the time? Sucks to be you.

No, but I value my free time similarly to how my employer values my work time. That's the point. I'd rather not spend it schlepping that box of Tide that I need.
And yes, it does suck to be me, but not for the reasons you think.

Re:I already love it...

[geekmux]

or, you can just run into target and whatever non-walmart grocery chain you have once every week or do. an hour of time.. i mean, come on.. how the hell did we manage before the internets? we managed just fine.

technology and smart phones have made people so fucking lazy.

Yes, you're right. We managed just fine, and we are able to handle it.

Now look to your left. And then to your right.

We don't matter anymore. It's catering to the narcissist generation of humans who demand nothing less than instant gratification. Don't worry though. Reducing the population in the future will be a matter of an extended power outage, as most won't survive offline.

Re:I already love it...

[Anonymous Coward]

Haha, you nailed it.

And $100/hour would mean an annual salary of $200k/year. Very few software engineers make that much, unless you count company benefits.

Re:I already love it...

[markxz]

The final stage is having an in house robot deliver the toilet paper to you in your time of crisis

April fools

[Anonymous Coward]

april fools is dead and gone, you're the fool for carrying on

Accidental orders?

[berchca]

Step 2: Add a child-resistant packaging for the button, so your 2-year-old doesn't order you fifty jugs of Tide.

Re:Accidental orders?

[ShanghaiBill]

Step 2: Add a child-resistant packaging for the button, so your 2-year-old doesn't order you fifty jugs of Tide.

RTFA. The button is idempotent, so multiple pushes result in only one shipment. It resets when your package arrives.

Re:Accidental orders?

[mjwx]

Step 2: Add a child-resistant packaging for the button, so your 2-year-old doesn't order you fifty jugs of Tide.

RTFA. The button is idempotent, so multiple pushes result in only one shipment. It resets when your package arrives.

So the child only gets to order a new jug of dishwashing liquid every day or so.

Re:Accidental orders?

[cfalcon]

...and the purchase is logged on your phone and you can cancel it. So, every few days assuming you never check on any of your tech at all.

Re:Accidental orders?

[rioki]

Is is so hard for you to put the button outside of the 2-year-old's reach; you know the same way you put the actual detergent out of it's reach? Then again, when my child was 2, the detergent was under the sink ("within reach"), but proper parenting prevented any disasters, but YMMV.

Re:Accidental orders?

[MachineShedFred]

Put the button inside a child-proofed cabinet... such as the same cabinet where you would store the detergent to prevent your broodling from chugging it?

Wait, that's the exact intended purpose!

Re:Accidental orders?

[Anonymous Coward]

If this is your model of how kids work then I'm going to be very gracious and assume you don't have any yet.

Re:Accidental orders?

[AK Marc]

"proper parenting" meaning luck, perceived as skill.

LOL

[tsa]

There's only one response to this initiative. LOL!

This + Wine + Drones

[Cigamit]

This + Amazon Wine + Amazon Drones = WIN

What could possibly go wrong....

[meglon]

Sorry, i've learned my lesson pushing random red buttons. I still argue that a button that will vaporize 1/3rd of a planet from the core out SHOULD have had better protection from people like me, or at least a label with a warning. FINE, a label with a warning in MY language!

Seriously, though, isn't this taking "lazy" to a whole new level? Or have we been at that level, and no one mentioned it to me?

What does this actually solve?

[93 Escort Wagon]

I can't see why I - or anyone else - would want this.

I already order (perhaps too much) stuff from Amazon, using my phone. It's not onerous; it's easy-peasey. There's even an Amazon app, if I really didn't want to be bothered with the phone's web browser. So what exactly do I gain from getting one or more of these?

Re:What does this actually solve?

[Moridineas]

I don't like Amazon as a company. I don't like the way they deal with vendors. I really don't like the way they deal with their own employees, down to the recent non-complete agreements for warehouse laborers! As a consumer, I love Amazon, though I do try to not support them.

Why do I want this button?

We keep paper towels and toilet paper in the garage. When we're getting down to one (or no!) rolls left, either I or my wife will say "Oh, we only have one more roll of paper tolls left--let's make sure to get more next time we go to the store." Of course, sometimes that doesn't happen. Sometimes we forget to add paper towels to the list. Sometimes our beloved family cat will decide to spray rancid piss down the hallway, and we exceed our EPTU (estimated paper towel usage). If we had a button in the garage next to our paper towels, and every time we were getting remotely low we just tapped a button and didn't think about it again...that's brilliant.

I would normally never buy this kind of product from Amazon as the local store prices are _always_ better (especially if you keep an eye out for coupons, sales, etc--but even without that). The button might change my mind.

This is seriously one of those ideas that's so simple and yet so brilliant at the same time.

Re:What does this actually solve?

[bill_mcgonigle]

I can't see why I - or anyone else - would want this. So what exactly do I gain from getting one or more of these?

It's not hard to imagine use cases. Take, for instance, an 88-year-old senior who is trying to age in place but for whom a trip to the store isn't a trivial undertaking, and who has no interest in a smartphone (and sure isn't going to see a 4" HD screen).

Boom - more detergent shows up the day after tomorrow. Iterate through typical consumables - the UI is damn simple and the button is big enough for somebody with Parkinson's to manage. That's worth the effort for the responsible child to set up.

Now take a new mom who's half-covered in crap and hasn't slept all night. Only 10 diapers left. Boom - nap time.

I'm assuming there's a reasonable "boom" sound effect here. How much are ringtones?

Re:What does this actually solve?

[TheGratefulNet]

wouldn't it just be cheaper to, uhmm, get rid of the cat?

(I bet there's an app for that, too)

Re:What does this actually solve?

[TheGratefulNet]

wait - I think I finally understand this IoT thing.

its really the Internet of Towels.

(to wipe up after pussy).

Re:What does this actually solve?

[naich]

It solves the problem of Amazon not being on the front page of news sites for a couple of days.

Re:What does this actually solve?

[will_die]

No app, but amazon does sell rocks and burlap sacks.

Re:What does this actually solve?

[93 Escort Wagon]

When we're getting down to one (or no!) rolls left, either I or my wife will say "Oh, we only have one more roll of paper tolls left--let's make sure to get more next time we go to the store." Of course, sometimes that doesn't happen. Sometimes we forget to add paper towels to the list.

Keep your list on your phone. Ours is a shared Dropbox file - if I notice we are low on paper towels, I just add it right then. No harder than pushing a button, really (especially if you've got five or ten buttons to keep straight).

Re:What does this actually solve?

[tompaulco]

It's not hard to imagine use cases. Take, for instance, an 88-year-old senior who is trying to age in place but for whom a trip to the store isn't a trivial undertaking, and who has no interest in a smartphone (and sure isn't going to see a 4" HD screen).

Unfortunately, he will not be able to use this product because it requires a smartphone.
I can't blame him for not wanting to buy things via smartphone. I sure as heck would never buy anything using my smartphone, or even configure it so that I (or anyone who steals it from me or finds it laying around) could.

Re:What does this actually solve?

[avandesande]

That could be a cool app- something where you could take a picture of the UPC label and it would scan a list of stores for price and availability. I would be surprised if it doesn't already exist.

Re:What does this actually solve?

[Anonymous Coward]

I hope your kid never has a bed wetting problem.

Re:What does this actually solve?

[Anonymous Coward]

That fear is almost completely unfounded. By your logic you should never "configure" your wallet so that you or anyone else could buy anything using it. So I guess cash is out, credit or debit cards are even worse, and you obviously can't carry around a checkbook either. Technology doesn't really change the situation as much as you seem to think it does. Encrypt your phone and put a decent password on it, don't root it or install shady apps or frequent shady sites, and it's probably safer than any of the other items above that you carry in your wallet (except that the replacement cost of the physical phone itself is higher, but it also has FAR more functionality).

As for requiring a smart phone, that's what his grandson sets up for him and leaves it on the charger. It could probably even be set up with link2cell (or similar) so it also provides his "home phone" service using more traditional phones that are familiar and easy to use for the elderly.

Overall the use-cases are pretty limited, and mostly confined to the non-tech-savvy, or to people who you want to give access to order only one or a few specific things on their own (like in a company for ordering printer paper or similar without all the hassle).

Re:What does this actually solve?

[Moridineas]

Amazon has an app that does that ;-) Of course it only tells you Amazon's price...

Re:What does this actually solve?

[markxz]

http://www.mysupermarket.com/ offers price comparison in the USA and UK (I don't know if the app allows UPC scans). It does not check availability which would be next to impossible in a national supermarket.

Re:What does this actually solve?

[bitingduck]

Red Laser. It's been around for years.

The Other Possibility

[SuperKendall]

This + Amazon Toilet Paper + Drones = even MORE WIN

Re:The Other Possibility

[Anonymous Coward]

This + Amazon Toilet Paper + Drones = even MORE WIN

Set delivery option to second floor, back of house, 3rd window from right.

Re:The Other Possibility

[bill_mcgonigle]

This + Amazon Toilet Paper + Drones = even MORE WIN

You misspelled 'beer'. Or, perhaps lighter things in certain states.

Re:The Other Possibility

[Anonymous Coward]

You misspelled 'beer'. Or, perhaps lighter things in certain states.

Is it even possible to get lighter than American beer?

Okay, now

[Tablizer]

I don't buy it. April 1 joke, right?

Only one item?

[John.Banister]

The could make one to magnet onto the fridge with a color e-ink display and a watch crown to cycle through the items in your purchase history & find the one whose last can you just opened. If they'd build a set of gps-like transmitters that reside in 6-way receptacle adapters (providing mapping capability for your vacuum) they could prioritize the items appearing in the dash display based on the location of the thing in your house.

Re:Only one item?

[Anonymous Coward]

we have ipv6 'some day'.. why not just put a tiny SoC on *everything*, give 'em all an ipv6 and hook 'em up to the internets? i mean, that's why we need 340282366920938463463374607431768211456 ip addresses, right?

Re:Only one item?

[Half-pint HAL]

If you could order anything with it, you'd have to pay for it. By limiting themselves to a small number of brands (currently everything seems to be Kraft or Proctor & Gamble) they can get presumably the suppliers to pay for it as part of their advertising budget. I can imagine the pitch now: "Let people go to the store and they might buy a cheaper brand. Pay for this button and you've got a customer for life."

Re:Only one item?

[Joe_Dragon]

and ISP will love being able to bill an outlet fee per each IP / device

Re:Only one item?

[ArcadeMan]

Pay for this button and you've got a customer for life.

Joke's on them, I'm going to get both a Gain and a Tide button!

Oh wait.

Re:Only one item?

[Anonymous Coward]

Or you could just use your smartphone or tablet.

Re:Only one item?

[s0nicfreak]

You have those in your hand while opening food?

Re:Finally, a decent April Fool's Day article from

[hcs_$reboot]

It's still April 1st somewhere in the Pacific.

Re:Finally, a decent April Fool's Day article from

[stephanruby]

No, we're still on April 1st in California. They're just messing around with the date.

I know not everyone is in California, but this is the first time I'm seeing a date and time on Slashdot that's not using the local time of my browser.

Re: Finally, a decent April Fool's Day article fro

[Anonymous Coward]

It's nearly midnight in California. April fools pranks are supposed to end (or at least stop being introduced) by noon. I'm pretty sure it's after noon everywhere by now.

Google Shopping Express to the rescue

[rsborg]

The only problem is, most of this stuff is cheaper at Costco — when they are having a sale, one can load-up until next year's sale of the same commodity.

But this seems like it would be darn convenient. So much so, I'm prepared to revisit the price difference. Everyone here is busy and if a single button-press can really replace a trip to the store, it just might be worth it...

Not everyone has room for costco's usual super-sized product packages, I really have no room to store a 6 pack of ketchup, #10 cans of corn, or a 24 pack of paper towels, and many items would expire before I can use them. While I might save money by buying in bulk, without unlimited storage space, I appreciate using Amazon for just-in-time delivery even if I spend a little more money. Plus, as you say, there's the convenience factor -- going to Costco ends up taking at least a few hours from start to finish.

I regularly order 50lb bags of rice, jugs of juice, fruit 10lbs, all using my phone and the delivery person happily hefts it up the walkway to my door, along with a bevy of other items. I don't even have to talk to the guy - he leaves it in my safebox behind my side yard.

Is Slashdot back?

[Anonymous Coward]

Have they got over the epileptic fit of articles yesterday, by someone who took April fools far too seriously? You know, the jokes on you if you have it up after 12.00pm midday, so err.. yeah.. fail on all counts.

Can I set it up

[vikingpower]

for one particular, favourite whore ? Or for a BMW Z-3 ?

Re:Can I set it up

[Anonymous Coward]

Why would you want a not very well designed BMW that went out of production more than 10 years ago???

Amazon-- err, Aperture Science

[error_logic]

Should you happen to misplace your weighted companion cube, you can request a replacement with any one of these conveniently located buttons.

Would like it if I could pick the product

[mccalli]

It seems to be limited to certain products. If I could pick the product myself, I'd like this. For instance I always forget to order water softener salt until it's too late for instance - would be nice to just stick this on the water so I can press as I'm loading the last of the salt in. As far as problems go it's true that world poverty is probably the greater issue facing humanity, but it's equally true that this is a nice bit of fluff that if works as advertised could well be handy.

Re:Would like it if I could pick the product

[drinkypoo]

If I could pick the product myself, I'd like this. For instance I always forget to order water softener salt until it's too late for instance - would be nice to just stick this on the water so I can press as I'm loading the last of the salt in.

A better solution would be a QR code sticker. You can change the water filter, then scan the code with your phone. The transaction goes through your phone anyway... assuming you left bluetooth on, which I imagine is the technology used for these devices. Better to just use the phone to begin with.

If Amazon would just slap a QR code on everything they sell, you could use your phone to buy another one. It might also be used for verification that a picking robot has located the correct item.

Re:Would like it if I could pick the product

[Anonymous Coward]

It can be assigned to order any product.

Re:Would like it if I could pick the product

[ArcadeMan]

If Amazon would just slap a QR code on everything they sell, you could use your phone to buy another one. It might also be used for verification that a picking robot has located the correct item.

Couldn't they use the older barcode that's already on everything? I understand that a QR code contains more data, but if grocery stores can manage with the old barcodes, why couldn't Amazon?

Re:Would like it if I could pick the product

[drinkypoo]

Couldn't they use the older barcode that's already on everything?

They could, but a QR code sticker would take you straight to the product ordering page whether you used their app or not. I'm pretty sure the Amazon app already does that, anyway?

Re:Would like it if I could pick the product

[safetyinnumbers]

The same-day Amazon Fresh service seems to have such thing (I found it when searching to see if this new product was a joke).

https://fresh.amazon.com/dash/

Pretty simple to do.

[jklovanc]

The "button" connects to a local wifi and all it does is send a serial number to Amazon. The user just associates that number with a standing order. When the button is pressed the standing order is processed and the item or items are shipped.

It is pretty cool in it's simplicity.

To those who call this lazy, I prefer to call it efficient with my time. Why do you drive a car? Are you just too lazy to walk? This is actually very good for people with ADD. We can't seem to remember to do things from one minute to the next. Oh right, I need creamer tomorrow. Hope I remember.

Re:Pretty simple to do.

[ArcadeMan]

This is actually very good for people with ADD. We can't seem to remember to do things from one minute to the next.

Dear jklovanc,

your comment makes a lot of sense, however - that AA battery is fully charged, I have to remove it from the charger.

Hey, the washing cycle is over, I need to put clothes in the dryer.

It's 10:45, I should really start thinking what I'm going to prepare for lunch...

Poor memory anyone?

[symes]

I know exactly what would happen in my case. I'd forget I'd pushed the button and end up deluged with toilet paper.

Re:Poor memory anyone?

[jklovanc]

As many have said, multiple button pushes will have no effect as a new order is placed only after the current order has been received.

Joke meets reality.

[monkeyxpress]

I know it's a joke, but this does pretty much sum up the 'internet of things'.

* Sigh *

Re:Joke meets reality.

[ColdWetDog]

The joke is on you!

It's real! (Or at least a beta).

Oooh..

[Anonymous Coward]

I want to be the neighbors kid who visits and hits all the buttons like crazy.

Lazy?

[jklovanc]

Why use the button? Are you too lazy to use a smartphone app?
Why use a smartphone app? Are you too lazy to use a website on a desktop?
Why use a website? Are you too lazy to pick up a phone and call?
Why pick up a phone and call? Are you too lazy to write an order and mail it?
Why write and order and mail it? Are you too lazy to go out to a store and get it yourself?
Why go to a store? Are you too lazy to make it yourself?

What one person calls lazy is what another person calls efficient. Everyone is not like you. Stop judging other people based on your own experiences. Their's have been different.

Re:Lazy?

[Anonymous Coward]

Why use the button?

Why not just have Amazon learn my laundry detergent (or whatever item) usage data and automatically ship one to me when they know I need it? Then I don't even need to think about a silly button.

Your local supermarket will be cheaper than amazon

[Anonymous Coward]

That single bottle of detergent has got to be picked, boxed, and shipped via UPS 2 day shipping. I wouldn't be surprised if amazon is loosing money on every bottle sold. But all they have do is issue more stock to cover their losses and the muppets will buy it.

Yes, Lazy.

[Anonymous Coward]

No. It's not more efficient. Picking, boxing, and shipping a single bottle of detergent hundreds of miles to your house because you are too lazy to walk two aisles over to the detergent aisle on your regular trip to the grocery store is a waste of the world's resources and generates extra CO2.

Re:Yes, Lazy.

[jklovanc]

is a waste of the world's resources and generates extra CO2.

Now you are judging someone based on your definition of efficient.

Re:Yes, Lazy.

[s0nicfreak]

There's a lot of Amazon warehouses now, and Amazon is smart enough to keep items in stock nearby people that have the buttons for the items. Very few people are going to have to have these shipped hundreds of miles.

And for me this would be more convenient for forgetfulness (I walk out of the laundry room, that whole walking-through-doors-makes-you-forget thing kicks in, and I forget to put laundry detergent on the grocery list) and back issues (I tend to buy in bulk, but I have back issues, and can't actually lift a lot of the things myself; buying things from Amazon means I don't have to drive 45 minutes in the opposite direction of the store to pick up my brother to help me, and then take him home). So for me this reduces CO2, because I'm not making an extra trip to the grocery store nor two extra to my brother's house.

Re:Finally, a decent April Fool's Day article from

[michelcolman]

Or it could just be a story from April 1 2012. This is Slashdot after all.

Re:Finally, a decent April Fool's Day article from

[Begemot]

Or it could be a real product: https://www.amazon.com/oc/dash-button

Why do you have to press a button?

[Anonymous Coward]

Why press a button? Why can't the container send an RFID signal that it's empty to this device and order automatically? The device could do statistical analysis and see what the derivative of the signal is, and anticipate when the container will be empty and have a new one on the way when it anticipates your container will be empty by next week. The button thing is kind of low-tech stuff.

Re:Why do you have to press a button?

[ArcadeMan]

You want each and every container of every product to have built-in detectors and wireless hardware? Do you not know about the problems of electronic waste?

Your idea would work and be better if Amazon had made their Dash hardware into a weighing scale instead of a tiny key fob. Each product has a known weight when full and a known weight when empty. Obviously put the ordering on a timer and put some logic into it: did the person just take some of the product? Has the container been put back on the scale for at least an hour? Is the product weight now low enough to order?

Maybe Amazon did try the weighing scale idea but decided against it because the cost was too high. Key fobs are smaller, lower cost and fit in more places with their backed adhesive.

But wait, there's more!

[Translation Error]

Frequently Bought Together:

Molly-Guard child resistant enclosure: $3.95

Re:But wait, there's more!

[safetyinnumbers]

You just know that people with no kids would buy that too, just so that they could re-enact launching a missile every time the kitchen towels were running low.

Re:Finally, a decent April Fool's Day article from

[Alien54]

I can just imagine the young child repeatedly mashing the button because it is such a tempting thing to do.

"Don't push the Red Button"

"Don't push the Red Button"

"Don't push the Red Button"

"Don't push the Red Button"

oops

Re: Your local supermarket will be cheaper than am

[Anonymous Coward]

No doubt. Buy local, fsck Amazon!

No one size fits all answer

[sjbe]

The only problem is, most of this stuff is cheaper at Costco — when they are having a sale, one can load-up until next year's sale of the same commodity.

Is it truly cheaper at Costco once you factor in all the costs? Are you accounting for your time, gasoline, wear on your car, opportunity cost, membership fees, etc. Are you accounting for the fact that many people don't live conveniently close to a Costco (I'm one of them)? Are you accounting for the fact that many people don't have the storage space or vehicle capacity to transport a pallet of toilet paper to their house? What about those people who don't own a car like many in NYC?

My point is that there is no one size fits all economic answer. Costco is a great solution for many people. I could see these button things working well for a different group of people, particularly urbanites where the "local" Costco might be 30 miles away. If I lived in Manhattan and didn't have a car like a lot of people there Costco is a pretty terrible solution.

Re:No one size fits all answer

[mi]

Are you accounting for your time, gasoline, wear on your car, opportunity cost, membership fees, etc.

Yes. For us most of those costs do not apply — we shop at Costco for certain food items, which are only sold there. For example, no actual supermarket around us in the last few months had the blueberries, that my kid would eat, but those from Costco's go in great — to the point of successfully competing with "gummy bears".

Are you accounting for the fact that many people don't live conveniently close to a Costco [...] don't have the storage space or vehicle capacity [...] don't own a car

No, none of these applies to me so I don't care. Amazon, evidently, does care, however — and I think, that's great. They want your money and are trying to make it easier for you to spend it on the stuff you need. Capitalism at its finest.

My point is that there is no one size fits all economic answer

You are preaching to the choir. I started this thread stating, "I'm already loving it"...

Lazy != Busy

[sjbe]

Amazon's deliveries need to be a lot more expensive to justify my spending over an hour of the precious personal time on errands per week.

I shop a ton at Amazon but are you seriously going to claim that your week is SO packed that you don't even have 1 hour to spend grocery shopping? Really? You'd have to be unbelievably busy or ill for me to believe that.

BTW, I'm a cost accountant professionally. Using your hourly billing rate as an opportunity cost only works if you would actually forgo that income if you spent that time doing something other than earning wages. Since most people shop outside of work hours there is no lost wages and so the opportunity cost is much smaller.

I for one was lazy decades before I got my first cellular (and not so smart) phone.

So you admit your are lazy rather than otherwise occupied. Got it.

Re:Lazy != Busy

[khr]

Using your hourly billing rate as an opportunity cost only works if you would actually forgo that income if you spent that time doing something other than earning wages. Since most people shop outside of work hours there is no lost wages and so the opportunity cost is much smaller

I think of it as putting a value on my time. Even outside working hours, when I won't lose that income for doing other things, it's still about what my free time is worth. How much value do I put on spending my limited free time doing unpleasant tasks, and what's it worth to spend a little more money to avoid the tasks.

On a salary, the money keeps rolling in on a regular basis. If I squander a bit of it, I'll get more with the next paycheck. If I squander my time, it's gone for ever.

Re:Lazy != Busy

[mi]

are you seriously going to claim that your week is SO packed that you don't even have 1 hour to spend grocery shopping? Really?

Because I must spend time grocery shopping, I'm forced to cut down on leisure. I'd rather be planting tomatoes or playing with my kid for an extra hour per week.

Using your hourly billing rate as an opportunity cost only works if you would actually forgo that income

Well, I look at it like this: my time is divided between things I have to do and those I want to do. Though some of these overlap, shopping (especially for routine commodities — rather than researching a gift, for example) is solidly in the former category.

I am not an accountant and do not know, how it "works" for the purposes of taxation, et other book-keeping cætera, but if I didn't have to shop for these, I'd be able to get more work done and earn more money. And I would've enjoyed it more.

So you admit your are lazy rather than otherwise occupied.

False dilemma. I'm both lazy and busy.

Only makes sense for some people

[sjbe]

I don't like Amazon as a company. I don't like the way they deal with vendors. I really don't like the way they deal with their own employees, down to the recent non-complete agreements for warehouse laborers! As a consumer, I love Amazon, though I do try to not support them.

You sound a little conflicted. If you don't like them then don't do business with them. Nobody will be offended I promise.

Why do I want this button?

Odds are you don't. I can see use cases where this sort of thing might make sense but for most people I don't really see it being practical. I already go to the grocery store about once a week so the convenience value of this button is pretty minimal for me. However I could see it making sense for a busy person who lives somewhere like NYC where getting to the local Costco isn't exactly a sensible use of their time. If you live someplace you don't have a car, or if you aren't mobile, having stuff delivered to you starts to make a lot of sense.

Re:Only makes sense for some people

[Moridineas]

You sound a little conflicted. If you don't like them then don't do business with them. Nobody will be offended I promise.

I'm very conflicted. As a consumer Amazon is pretty much everything I can ask for. The backend? Not so much.

Useful for some, pointless for others

[sjbe]

No. It's not more efficient. Picking, boxing, and shipping a single bottle of detergent hundreds of miles to your house because you are too lazy to walk two aisles over to the detergent aisle on your regular trip to the grocery store is a waste of the world's resources and generates extra CO2.

So instead the bottle gets picked, palletized and shipped to a resource intensive grocery store near me where I have to drive a several thousand pound vehicle and waste an hour of my time to go get it. There is nothing eco-friendly about me driving to the grocery store. Not that having it delivered is eco-friendly either but the marginal difference in resources between the two is fairly minimal. Not zero but not huge.

Stop assuming everyone goes to the grocery store on a regular basis. Your lifestyle is not the same as everyone else's. No, this button thing doesn't make much sense for most of us (myself included) but there are people who it could make a lot of sense for. Someone who is housebound. Someone who lives in a dense urban area without a car. Someone who prefers a brand not carried by their local stores. Etc. It will make sense for some folks without the word lazy being involved at all. If you were handicapped you might find this sort of service to be a godsend.

One step closer . . .

[smooth wombat]

to WallE as people become fatter and fatter from less physical activity. Why bother going outside when one can lie on their floaty chair and press a button?

Re:One step closer . . .

[friedmud]

Or, this will give them more time to be able to actually make it to the gym.

What is up with this crazy backlash against any sort of convenience these days?

I wish Slashdot were like the good old days when we could just say: "Cool use of technology! I like how they optimized the battery efficiency to allow it to be disconnected for a long time yet still connect to wifi! I don't know if this fits my lifestyle - but I could see quite a few people using it."

For myself: I signed up to get a few. I mean, why not? Might as well check it out!

Now - for Thin Mints!

[sylivin]

I hope they don't ever make one of these for Girl Scout cookies. I'll be hundreds of pounds overweight in no time.

Backup system

[ArcadeMan]

Instead of "running out" of something, use the backup system. It's useful for things like laundry detergent, coffee, water filter, toilet paper, etc.

Always have two of everything. One that you're currently using, the other is the backup. When you finish the one you're using and open the backup, it's time to buy another one. That leaves you plenty of time to do so, usually at least a week depending on the item. Put it on your groceries list.

No need for such widgets or online ordering.

Re:Backup system

[rickb928]

So I calculate the opportunity cost of investing in backup supplies, vs, you know, opportunities to use those funds and storage space in other ways.

Of course, the planning intervals, usage patterns, etc. lead me to stock more of paper products, less of cleaning supplies, and take advantage of sales and discounts when I perceive maximum benefit.

For Amazon, if I am impelled to subscribe to Prime and avoid shipping for all these purchases, then Amazon has to calculate the profit. Mind you, Prime probably renews automatically, so I am probably going to be hooked for two years even if I loath Prime - I'll stand a 40% chance of missing the first renewal and cancelling on time. Wired could learn from this, but they seem to be intent on killing paper subscriptions, so maybe they are deliberate in annoying their oldest and most loyal subscribers. Amazon is not. Yet.

And I'm still not convinced this isn't a joke, so I'm speculating here. I will pass until I see this differently. Costco is too close for Amazon to compete for my business.

People who have daily patterns

[Dieselsauce]

A large parcentage of the population follows the same pattern day in and day out. Amazon already has a service available for such a demographic, it's called their replenishment service.

I don't understand where this button makes sense when these 2 services overlap for this 'daily pattern' demographic. Maybe some people just like pushing buttons? I guess this would be great for the SJW and Gamergate crowds.

shipping costs much?

[slashmydots]

So if they don't have Prime, they'll incur a shipping charge that's so much higher than if they combined their orders, it won't be worth it. If they do have Prime, they'll cost Amazon needless money in shipping by ordering things daily and one piece at a time. Sounds like a great plan. Oh and what if their dog or kids press the button?

Time = Money

[sjbe]

I think of it as putting a value on my time.

There is a value on your time. But it is demonstrably not your hourly rate on your job unless you are actually taking time away from your job. The rate is something different.

On a salary, the money keeps rolling in on a regular basis. If I squander a bit of it, I'll get more with the next paycheck. If I squander my time, it's gone for ever.

You haven't thought through the full implications of that statement. Earning a paycheck is essentially trading time for money. If you squander the money you earned, the time you spent earning it is wasted at the same time. The only difference is that the waste is time shifted but it is still wasted time that you will never, ever recover.

Re:Time = Money

[hawguy]

I think of it as putting a value on my time.

There is a value on your time. But it is demonstrably not your hourly rate on your job unless you are actually taking time away from your job. The rate is something different.

On a salary, the money keeps rolling in on a regular basis. If I squander a bit of it, I'll get more with the next paycheck. If I squander my time, it's gone for ever.

You haven't thought through the full implications of that statement. Earning a paycheck is essentially trading time for money. If you squander the money you earned, the time you spent earning it is wasted at the same time. The only difference is that the waste is time shifted but it is still wasted time that you will never, ever recover.

Right, I value my personal (i.e. family time) higher that work time -- I value it at 1.5X my work rate, 2X on weekends. So if my company "needs" me to come in and finish some project, that's what they'd need to pay me to make it worth giving up personal time. And they do (though they pay in comp time rather than dollars - one day of weekend work = 2 days of vacation pay).

I put going to the store in the same category - it's something that I *have* to do with my personal time, but not something that I *want* to do, so if I end up paying a bit more money for convenience, it's worth it. I *could* find a spare hour or two for shopping, but why bother when I can order my groceries on my way home on the train and have someone else deliver them tomorrow? (though I use Safeway rather than Amazon for groceries)

Re:Finally, a decent April Fool's Day article from

[MachineShedFred]

Except that Amazon was sending emails and showing it on their web site on 31 March.

RTFA

[MachineShedFred]

TFA states that the button-based orders are disabled after the first one, until the first order arrives. You're not going to have a child go manic on this thing, and end up with a pallet of Tide.

Re:RTFA

[Anonymous Coward]

TFA states that the button-based orders are disabled after the first one, until the first order arrives.

According to Amazon, while this is the default functionality, it will be possible to configure it to accept each and every button push as an order request.

Personally, I can't see how this could possibly succeed. Am I in the minority of wanting to see the cost of something before ordering it?

Re:RTFA

[Zardus]

Maybe you are.

While base products, like TP or toothpaste, are more expensive on Amazon than in physical stores, the price difference isn't *that* much. To some people, an extra dollar or two is easily worth not having to worry about it at the store next time. If you tally up your yearly usage of toothpaste (say, if you're an insanely prolific tooth brusher, or have a family) to be a giant tube a month, that's $30 a year from Amazon as opposed to, say, $12 from a real store.

If you're well-organized and go to the store regularly, the $18 isn't worth it. Personally, I am not perfectly organized, and am insanely busy. That $18 difference is worth forgetting about it in the store a few times in a row and going without toothpaste for a week. Of course, it's not even an $18 difference: I probably go through two tubes a year, so it's a $3 difference. That's almost literally nothing.

Re:RTFA

[geekmux]

TFA states that the button-based orders are disabled after the first one, until the first order arrives. You're not going to have a child go manic on this thing, and end up with a pallet of Tide.

...says the user who was assured by the salesman that this IoT device is unhackable...

Re:RTFA

[steveg]

I live next door to a Costco. If I'm running low, I can run next door.

If I had one of these buttons, its battery would be dead by the time I need to order again. My Costco package of TP or paper towels usually lasts me about three years. Laundry detergent maybe a year or so. My 4-pack of giant toothpaste tubes is a couple of years worth.

It's not so much that I'm organized, but I usually become aware that I'm low on those things a month or two in advance, when the gaping hole in the closet where I keep that stuff jumps out at me.

Re:RTFA

[MachineShedFred]

hacking != 80 button presses from a 5 year old.

Moving the goalposts is awesome.

Re:Finally, a decent April Fool's Day article from

[rhsanborn]

Amazon does ridiculous stuff like this regularly. Free shipping for Prime members was a crazy idea when it was first introduced. Now several companies have copied their prime model. I don't think these buttons are the end-game. They may be a wedge/marketing gimic that gets people to start buying household products from Amazon. I buy laundry detergent locally because I usually don't think about it until I'm almost out. Having a button staring me in the face reminds me 1) that Amazon sells it, and 2) that I might want to think about it a few days in advance on needing it. Once I get that habit, it won't be a stretch to get rid of the buttons and simply have a phone app that lets me easily order non-perishables.

Alternately, Amazon is hoping the price for these buttons becomes negligible as "Internet of Things" chips ramp up. Either way, homeowners buying name brand products through Amazon without even thinking about the price, is good for Amazon.

FAQ

[Anonymous Coward]

1. Prime members. No shipping cost and two day delivery.
2. Can be configured to order any Amazon item.
3. Alerts to confirm order and delays to allow opportunity to cancel.
4. Multiple order prevention safegaurds. Won't re-order until after delivery of first order.
5. WiFi configuration via smartphone app. (I think this is neat.)
6. Options for developer integration.
7. Options for sellers.
8. ...

Re:Finally, a decent April Fool's Day article from

[Anonymous Coward]

The Dash button has a few functions I can think of that make me want a few of them. They would come in handy when down to a day or two worth of some supply (toilet paper), and pressing a button is a lot easier than fumbling with the phone to set a reminder.

This especially holds true for things like dish and laundry soap, TP, paper towels, and other things where one can predict the rate of how much is used.

Re: Finally, a decent April Fool's Day article fro

[tompaulco]

Or if not noon, at least by the time you are 12.

It's close to usefull

[Hevel-Varik]

The model is wrong. From the summary it looks like the button will associate with given set of branded products being configurable only in size and quantity. That is fail for me, because my brand is always best price for acceptable quality, which varies. But if and when these buttons become generic and completely configurable, perhaps making use of some sort of rule writing mechanism, to where I can point it intellegently to anything in the Amazon marketplace, then I've found my first use for the now only fantastic internet of things. When you make tools for people to use to make their life easier or better, that's a win. If you make a tool to tie people to your brand (Fire Phone), branded button, that's fail.

Re:It's close to usefull

[mlts]

Another person mentioned adding a button similar to a watch crown and a color e-Ink display, which would list one's favorite items.

Even without the selector, it would be nice to have this with an e-Ink display just so it can be reused for other items.

Prior Art Exists (tm)

[swschrad]

I present... the Easy Button from Staples. let the lawsuits begin.

seriously... think about this... you are doing laundry. you set the 3-year-old inside the washer basket because it keeps the little whirlwind out of the way, she/he cannot fall and get hurt, and besides, you know how messy kids get with chocolate. bored kid looks around, up and down, and hey! -- looky! -- there's a little orange button on the wall that looks like a toy. whack-whack-whack-whack for several minutes until you look up.

how are you going to return three semi loads of Tide Pods?

BAD idea.

Re:Prior Art Exists (tm)

[Anonymous Coward]

I present... the Easy Button from Staples. let the lawsuits begin.

seriously... think about this... you are doing laundry. you set the 3-year-old inside the washer basket because it keeps the little whirlwind out of the way, she/he cannot fall and get hurt, and besides, you know how messy kids get with chocolate. bored kid looks around, up and down, and hey! -- looky! -- there's a little orange button on the wall that looks like a toy. whack-whack-whack-whack for several minutes until you look up.

how are you going to return three semi loads of Tide Pods?

BAD idea.

There's a really helpful document linked in the summary that addresses this

Once connected, a single press automatically places your order. Amazon sends an order alert to your phone, so it's easy to cancel if you change your mind. Unless you elect otherwise, Dash Button responds only to your first press until your order is delivered.

Re:Prior Art Exists (tm)

[fisted]

I'm not saying this is a good idea, but your analogy is stupid, and not at all the reason for why exactly this might be a bad idea.

Re:Prior Art Exists (tm)

[fisted]

...and by analogy I mean proposed scenario :).

Re:Prior Art Exists (tm)

[andyring]

Apparently (as usual) no one bothers to read TFA:

"What about accidental orders? Unless you set it up to do otherwise, Amazon only registers your first press of the button until your order is delivered. The company will also send you a confirmation alert via smartphone, giving you a chance to cancel any mistaken orders. Households with young children (or perhaps rascally teenagers) will want to be careful with this, or risk making canceling orders a regular routine."

So I suppose your scenario is possible, but only if you specifically override the default settings.

Re: Prior Art Exists (tm)

[Anonymous Coward]

You mean you read the article?

Turn in your membership at the door please.

Re:Prior Art Exists (tm)

[tehlinux]

Yeah, on more than one occasion, I've tried to cancel an order from amazon after just a few seconds had passed. It's always too late to cancel since the item is miraculously already on the way...

This is actually a goodidea

[Katatsumuri]

Now if only the delivery worked better. At my house, they normally don't even ring, and leave all the packages at a small store nearby, where you have to pick them up at their not-so-long business hours. So much for the convenience factor.

"Buy Now" feature sucks in the virtual world.

[moeinvt]

The "Buy Now with One Click" sucks bad enough on a desktop or laptop. It's even worse on Android devices. I actually read part of the Amazon appstore terms of service and it states that by using their appstore, you agree to this "one click" BS and that all sales are final. Way too easy to buy an app you didn't intend to purchase.
Now they're going to have a physical button that can buy things if you knock it on the floor or the cat steps on it? I can just imagine a 2 year old playing with this thing and beating on it like a bongo drum.
BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY

Re:"Buy Now" feature sucks in the virtual world.

[s0nicfreak]

I've always gotten quick refunds for one-click items I didn't mean to order (not that it's happened a lot). I'm sure the tos is just to cover their ass if they need to refuse a refund to someone they think is abusing it.

173 cases of Sam Adams?

[wcrowe]

This will be great, until the day you discover your toddler has been repeatedly mashing the Dash button while you weren't looking. :-)

I'm going to attach one to Bandit's dome so I can

[Anonymous Coward]

=)

Re:Finally, a decent April Fool's Day article from

[Anonymous Coward]

Either way, homeowners buying name brand products through Amazon without even thinking about the price, is good for Amazon.

And this is why I cannot possibly imagine this succeeding. What if the cost ends up being twice what I was expecting it to be? Am I in the minority in wanting to see the exact price before I place an order?

It might have some use at the office...

[mlts]

The Dash button might be useful in the office or the enterprise, especially if it could be configured to send the order requests to purchasing:

1: You are running out of tape media, and it is time for a quarterly offsite in a few weeks. Mash the button, get the tapes in a few days, continue on.

2: The office supply cabinet is low on pens. Mash the button for the style of pens that is needed, go on one's day.

3: Paper is low. Hit the button by the copier.

I can see a number of uses for this device, more than just ordering bathroom supplies for home.

Has (almost) already happened to me...

[wikthemighty]

No way would this work in our house, kids are 6 and 22 months.

I've already found items waiting for me in my Amazon cart after my daughter has played with apps like the Easy Bake Oven - which is a cute app, but includes links to add related supplies to your shopping cart...

Re:Has (almost) already happened to me...

[hawguy]

No way would this work in our house, kids are 6 and 22 months.

I've already found items waiting for me in my Amazon cart after my daughter has played with apps like the Easy Bake Oven - which is a cute app, but includes links to add related supplies to your shopping cart...

Do you keep products like laundry detergent within easy reach of your children? If you can figure out how to keep detergent out of their reach, maybe you can figure out how to keep the button out of reach.

Re:Has (almost) already happened to me...

[Anonymous Coward]

Wait, Easy Bake Oven is now an app? Does it turn on your phone GPS to heat it up enough to cook the brownie?

Re:Finally, a decent April Fool's Day article from

[xombo]

Amazon lets you cancel orders while they're being processed. You'll surely get an e-mail confirming the order and price shortly after pressing the button.

Personally ...

[PPH]

... I'm fine with this.

Re:Finally, a decent April Fool's Day article from

[danomac]

I was more thinking what happens when your pets step on it...

Re:Finally, a decent April Fool's Day article from

[AK Marc]

Some of the Pacific was just hours from April 3 when this story was posted.

next project

[Anonymous Coward]

I hope this can modded into my 'EASY' button for Staples.... would be kinda cool to have it actually work ;)

Re:Finally, a decent April Fool's Day article from

[Anonymous Coward]

This one of those ideas perfectly balanced on the razor's edge between believability and absurdity that make the reader question whether it just might possibly be true.

As if the absurdity we label a Kardashian is any less asinine. Where the hell have you been for the last decade of social media look-at-me stupidity...

Re: Your local supermarket will be cheaper than am

[geekmux]

No doubt. Buy local, fsck Amazon!

Yes, because your local Wal-Mart is so supportive of local business. I'm sure the dozen or two they shut down when they moved into town hardly felt the financial impact.

Seriously, where the hell do you think people are going to go to find the next best deal on price..

This locks you into both Amazon and a brand

[Benmachine]

To me, the interesting part of this is that the buttons for the items are tied to a specific item from a specific brand (yes, you can choose the quantity, but that's it). So Amazon not only uses this to tie you into to buying from them, but to buying a specific brand of a specific item. For example, now when you think "I need to buy detergent," and you use the button, you buy Tide from Amazon. Not Gain, not All, not any other brand. Just that one brand. And if you elect to continue using the button to avoid the hassle and choice, you're locked in to your first brand selection (assuming there are competing brands with buttons). You don't even see the competing products on the shelf or the website anymore.

It's brilliant. I'm surprised they have such a limited number of partners in this venture so far as these pre-configured buttons rob you of two choices.

Re:Finally, a decent April Fool's Day article from

[LessThanObvious]

Staples creates Easy Button for marketing purposes, Amazon makes it actually do something in real life.

don't get it

[fluffernutter]

I don't get it.. so you have a button for laundry detergent. What if you run out of one of the other hundreds of things that house holds regularly run out of? I'm not sure if there is one single product in my house I find that important over the others. Am I supposed to have fifty of these buttons around my house?

Re:Finally, a decent April Fool's Day article from

[s0nicfreak]

You might be in the minority that decides to not buy toilet paper because the price went up.