Exactly. I have bunch of appliances that are wifi enabled but they work just fine without it. The stories like these and of firmware updates bricking the appliances is enough to never really look at the benefits of connecting.

Sometimes I like the idea of preheating oven on my way home but then I get home and forget about it.

Sometimes, and I don't think this is one of those examples, 'family' makes such things necessary.

Can they? It seems that surveillance data will be able to subsidize coffee machines and make it so you get a better machine for the same price, or an equivalent, cheaper one.