Your smart appliances could be watching you

Smart appliances such as TVs and fridges have little protection from hackers and may be used by cyber-criminals to invade your privacy. High-tech appliances with PC-like features, including Internet connectivity, apps, microphones and cameras, are easier to hack than we may think. In 2014, cyber-criminals created a “botnet” which hijacked 100,000 devices, including routers, TVs … Read more

Bloomingdale’s Hopes 5 Generations of Shoppers Want Luxury Appliances

Department store Bloomingdale’s has been a New York institution for 157 years (starting out with hoop skirts, which were all the rage in the 19th century) evolving into something of a cultural icon, favored by an elite clientele including First Ladies Jacqueline Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson and Betty Ford. It’s also the site where Jackie O. … Read more

OneAssist’s HomeServ shows way to protect key home appliances in a single plan

OneAssist, an assistance and protection company, has announced its foray into home appliances with the launch of ‘HomeServ’, a comprehensive protection plan that allows customers to protect all their key home appliances in just a single plan. The digital ad campaign, #RakhoSambhalKe, features stand-up comedian Rahul Subramanian who takes on the avatar of various appliances … Read more

Smart appliances: Do white goods cos want to make it easy or make us lazy?

Your refrigerator will walk to you, the ceiling fan will adjust its temperature depending on the surrounding and the washing machine will wash and fold clothes. Powered by artificial intelligence, appliances are now turning smarter to the point that individuals wouldn’t even have to get up from their seat to operate the machine. Take the … Read more

These Are the Best Times to Buy Household Appliances

If you think the best time to buy appliances is on Black Friday, you’re on the right track. But there’s more to know! Ted Shaffrey/AP/Shutterstock Sure, Black Friday is marketed as a fantastic time to pick up appliances at bargain prices. (It’s also a great day to stay home and bake Christmas cookies.) But the … Read more

New appliances from Cisco aim to make branch SD-WAN easier

Cisco has claimed to be “bringing intent-based networking into every domain”, the latest being branch offices which need software-defined WAN capabilities and security. The quote came from product management senior veep Sachin Gupta, who told El Reg the cloud has destroyed traditional notions of the “network edge”, and while SD-WAN makes it easier to shift … Read more

How long household appliances should last

There comes a dreaded moment in every person’s life when a major household appliance begins to putter-out and the crawl toward the point of no return is imminent. Knowing the lifespan (even vaguely) of appliances you’re likely using daily—like a stove, microwave, or washer—will not only put your mind and wallet at ease, but also … Read more

To Avoid Sears’ Bankruptcy-Driven Discounts, Whirlpool Demands Its Appliances Back

As Sears starts to load up its shelves for the holiday season with all that new debtor-in-process-financed inventory, there’s one category that may be severely underrepresented on its selling floor: major appliances. According to published reports Whirlpool has sent a letter (wouldn’t you like to have been cc-ed on that one?) to Sears demanding that … Read more

Whirlpool wants its appliances back from Sears

Whirlpool has demanded that Sears send back products the appliance-maker shipped in the weeks before the retailer filed for bankruptcy protection. Whirlpool, which stopped selling its branded products at Sears last year but makes appliances under Sears’ Kenmore brand, asked the department store chain to return all merchandise it received in the 45 days before … Read more

Whirlpool doesn’t want Sears selling any of its appliances

Whirlpool wants its stuff back. All of it. On Thursday, the Michigan-based appliance giant fired off a letter to Sears, demanding that the retailer return all refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers and other appliances that Whirlpool shipped to it in the 45 days leading up to Sears’s Oct. 15 bankruptcy filing. Whirlpool argued that Sears was … Read more