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Amazon’s Dash Button and the future of invisible, frictionless computers (medium.com)
9 points by hillis 4097 days ago
2 comments

I like the idea of the dash button a lot. Even with one click ordering on my phone with the Amazon app that is logged in automatically I still didn't order toilet paper right away when I saw I only had two rolls left this morning. I think if I had had a dash button I would have. And though that sounds silly I think many people operate the same way.

I also want the dash button but have never used Amazon's Subscribe and Save. I think subscription services are advertised as reducing your mental overhead but for me they can increase it as I am worried I will automatically buy something I don't want or forget to cancel the subscription. Plus with things like toilet paper I don't know how often I need to order it, a dash button solves all this.

People tend to significantly underestimate how beneficial it is to have your mind cleared of all of the little, nagging things on your to-do list. I started using the GTD [1] methodology to help with that, and it has improved my ability to focus significantly.

I can see how the Dash Button would be similarly useful.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_Things_Done