As a child of the 90s, growing up bang in the middle of the cellphone and modern computing revolution, reading Asimov, watching Star Trek, and reruns of The Jetsons, I had certain expectations for the future.
Smart homes that did my bidding, palm-sized computers that were truly my own, and functional ecosystems that accurately responded to my voice or presence all felt right within the realm of possibility.
And for a time, we were heading towards that future.
But the 2010s have passed, and in the 2020s, we are left with the remains of an unfulfilled dream and electronics that respond to the whims, fancies, and ever-changing business decisions of corporations rather than the customers who've shelled out their hard-earned money.
What went wrong?
As an early adopter of smart home devices and someone who has invested a significant amount of money in building a fancy smart home, I feel cheated by the thousands of dollars I've spent on smart devices. And it's not a one-off.
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