Zigbee door/window sensors are like €3 on AliExpress. They are easy to install and work fine imho.

I’m thinking that maybe I should upgrade my old Win 10 Pro laptop to Windows 11 Pro, “just in case”, instead of going full Linux everywhere.

And then I read shite like this.

You’re not making it easy for me Microsoft.

If you pick a ZigBee device and don’t try to power a refrigerator or a washing machine with it, it probably doesn’t matter much. Just get some reliable brand, Sonoff, IKEA, something, for wall powered stuff. Battery sensors are fine OEM from AliExpress. I’d advice against anything WiFi that requires a cloud connection, as most of them do, but that is my personal preference.

Idk, but I’d expect all sensors to degrade over time for different reasons and especially if they are not cleaned and maintained regularly.

I’ve got an optical that is recommended to replace after ten years. I find it a reasonable investment.

Companies go out of business all the time and others decide to sunset systems in use so customers are required to upgrade despite it is still working. So yeah, be realistic about expectations for any external service you decide to invest in.

Edit; and some things like smoke detectors do in fact have a life span after which they are degrading. Ten years is normal for a smoke detector.

Create chaos. Bankrupt the country. Buy everything for pennies. See Russia.

Could be different revisions or something. At the time I discovered other people having the identical problem.

Adding to the list, I’ve got several IKEA lightbulbs (the dimmable white colour temperature ones) and a few sensors (door/window, climate) that work well. Can’t recommend the IKEA remote control thingy because it just stopped working and nothing could bring it back up. The support didn’t sound surprised and refunded it no questions asked though so that’s good.

And I’ve got plenty of generic tuya switches and sensors (door/window, climate, water leak etc), both old WiFi ones that are flashed with ESPHome and newer ones on ZigBee from Ali. So far they all work great.

(With the exception that I killed one and then a replacement switch by having them power a tiny LED light. Counterintuitively it seems like a thing that can wear a cheap design smart switch out if the load is too small and something something I got it explained to me by someone that understands electric circuits but now it is gone again.)

I have everything running in Home Assistant on a repurposed old NAS with a Sonoff USB ZigBee stick.

Rage baiting for the inauguration hoping democrats will act like MAGA four years ago so he can declare martial law and be dictator forever and ever?

American leftists need to adopt their communication strategy. It doesn’t work to have educated people lecture the anti intellectuals. They don’t want to hear it and they’ll have a knee jerk reaction against it. Study, learn and use their own preferred methods instead. Stickers, simple slogans, rants, fucking flags on oversized wankmobiles if you’ve got one. Whenever there is a direct consequence of the Trump administration, shout it immediately from the rooftops until people get it. Only talking about it years later at the next election will do nothing because it is already pushed away by the propaganda feed. Use their method of communication but keep it factual and don’t stoop down to their hatred and lies. It’s not about taunting, it’s about informing the uninformed and leading them out of the bubble.

Price hikes? Thanks MAGA. Deportations of integrated citizens? Thanks MAGA. No more social security? Thanks MAGA. Leopards chewing on your face? WELL FUCKING THANKS FOR VOTING FOR THE LEOPARDS EATING PEOPLE’S FACES PARTY!

Some time ago I had a fever dream confusing reality thing and when I woke up I had reason with myself that “no, I can’t run a program in my brain”. I couldn’t decide if it was a disappointment or a relief.