Wow, fuck that. Thankfully fixing the electrics of an old fridge is really easy (as there are so few components and they are very simple); and I’ve never had issues with refrigerant leaking.

Next, I’m struggling to figure how connecting a laptop to a tv is more convenient than a built in app. I have done every type of TV setup but no extra devices has always been a lot simpler than more devices.

It is infinitely more convenient for me.

Having to navigate through an obtuse UI just to open an app, then search with an on-screen keyboard by moving the cursor with a D-pad on the remote is just awful. Besides, a lot of smart TVs don’t allow you to sideload which forces you into either ads or subscriptions for a lot of things.

I have my desktop sitting next to the TV, already plugged in, so when I want to watch something I just turn the TV on, search for whatever I need on definitely legal website, download it in a definitely legal way, open mpv with subs and start watching.

I’ve never had a fridge with a control board, it’s usually just a compressor connected via a two-connection control thingy which prevents it from starting too often, and a relay that’s controlled by a thermostat. If they managed to replace that with a control board… Why?

Hm, that’s indeed more than I was expecting.

We’ve figured out how to do fridges a long time ago, there’s really not much to it: a well insulated box, radiators inside and outside, a pump, a metering device, and a thermostat. Sure, all components have been optimized a bit, but the power usage only went down by like half in the past 50 years, it’s not as bad as you’re describing.

A smart TV is better at being a TV than it otherwise would be

I think that depends on what you want from your TV. If you just want it to have a video input to stream stuff from somewhere else, smart TVs are typically worse because they take more time to boot up.

Nah, fridges are simple enough that I guarantee it’s trivial to rip all the smart bits out and still have a functioning fridge. Or just buy and old one, my grandparents still have their fridge from like 1970s and it still works.