I think this is the biggest problem I see in people trying to understand deeper fields of study, a concept is just too large or out of our perceived reality to even make sense without years of knowledge. I think people fall into the "woo woo" just because it's easier to not really know versus becoming a doctorate in a field of study who has slowly built that knowledge on the fundamental principles needed.

But either way, when you start, you just have to accept that something has a cause and effect. We can't see most fields, just have to accept they are there and interacting the proposed ways because of our tiny little sensors. Sometimes, we just have to say "ok" even if it boggles the mind.

I've officially concluded I'm at a loss for how to determine if a product is worth it's cost anymore.

• Brand loyalty with local retailers is non-existent anymore, big box stores etc all seem to be switching manufacturers and I can't buy the same products that were offered before

• Online reviews are no longer reliable. On site, it's paid reviews by "special" users who are given perks to review. Off site it's paid affiliation links, all of which scream "conflict of interest" to an actual honest review.

• Ratings are no longer functional. I can view 20+ products and all 1 star reviews or even 5 star reviews just look like copy/paste from competitors or their own employees. Every product has the same reviews now.

• Quality Control is gone. It's all being mass produced with no oversight, it's a hit or miss type of ordering now. What's perfect for one person, another person will get defective products repeatedly (even auto parts, store brand tools do the same thing)

• Return windows are a joke, or you pay extra so you can return something defective after 30 days. This doesn't always mean the product is less defective, but if it does then they've just hidden their full product cost in extra "charges".

• Less often, companies quality tank when switching manufacturers or lowering production costs. I have no clue how to officially keep up with this unless it's random friends/co-workers or a forum post I stumble onto.

So, besides paying 10x-20x more for a high priced company to hold my hand and apologize for every mistake they make (and they sometimes still ship defective products), what are some effective methods you've used to purchase a decent product that will perform for the entirety of it's intended lifetime?

Currently remodeling a domicile, with the sweet and expensive ability to add anything I want within reason. I plan on modernizing the place to bring it into the 21st century because this house deserves it (just a great structure with lots of history and nearing it's centennial birthday).

Luckily, everything is built perfectly for access so nothing is off the table. I came onto this property with my own server "rack" and a mini diy setup for network debauchery, but plan on expanding that and installing a mini-server "room" (a fancy closet I might install in a "dead space" that I can pipe duct work in and out of).

I will be running all new electrical, A/C, Telecom lines, the whole works. I'm currently in the process of ripping out all the old coaxial, phone, piping, anything not ran properly or of a modern importance (probably reinstall phone and doorbell circuits but they're currently strewn everywhere from previous installers). I'm also creating up to date blueprints for the structure and including mechanical systems/engineering schematics for anything I'm doing or plan to do. All of this will be saved to a USB for the next owner and printed out for a laminated notebook to stay with the house (maybe a copy for myself for the nostalgia one day).

The only 2 things I KNOW I want to do is installing

• a monitor with a pi that will run a weather and local data program that I've been working on into the kitchen area

• a multi-camera cctv system (local and offsite backup) with a monitor in a neutral-shared living area.

I will probably leave those parts of the system installed here unless it's requested to be removed. I actually would love to leave everything here as a full system package for someone to "inherit" with the house but I'm not sure if that's a benefit or a hindrance someone wants to receive.

There's 3 different plans in the works (3/5/10 year plans, we are here for family but that will eventually not be required and we desperately want out of this area), depending on the time frame I might need to put in

• monitoring stations for renewable energy systems (solar/wind),

• a personalized-home weather monitoring system (barometric,temp,humidity) with a display and functionality to control the mechanical systems (A/C adjustment, daylight sensors for shades/lighting, etc),

and a bunch of other off the wall ideas I've been wanting to tinker with. Unfortunately most videos out there of "home setups" include someone with 10x my price bracket and their system is designed for themselves and their specific equipment in mind. I'm wanting to install something more generic that anyone would have use for (like weather and security). There are really only 2 "office areas" that I think would require a hardline besides any monitors I have to install for systems (I don't mind running wiring, but I don't think every room needs an ethernet port to be functional, or am I wrong thinking this way?). I will probably need to install repeaters in two locations though to cover the entire property in wifi because old houses gobble signals up but inside everything "just" reaches.

Everything I've done with my network so far I've gotten around needing a switch (it would've saved me a lot of hassle in the past but I usually find a way to get everything connected or just disconnect unused equipment that's ran it's course), but at this point I can't expand any further without a headache. So now I'm looking at new tech and equipment I don't have hands-on experience with and don't know it's proper use/limitations which I don't like when making action plans. I figured just trying to get a general sense of what people want or see would be a better angle to come at since I don't do this professionally and don't have the insider knowledge of the taboos of home networking infrastructure.

TLDR: What kind of wiring, connection setups are important to you and won't be obsolete after a few years? What do you consider a "modern" house to have or are decent "quality of life" improvements like lighting control, sensors, etc? What's your best case scenario of equipment when walking into a house and seeing a pre-installed setup?

edit: I'm not sure why but for some reason I'm not seeing everyone's comments (assuming de-federated instances from .ml but seeing it since I posted on .world), if I don't respond I apologize and will probably look for a new instance if this is the case.