Do you agree with the Interent of Things?

[mammador]

IoT (Internet of Things) is essentially everyday things have network capability. So microwaves, toasters, TVs, shaving kits, cars will all have Internet NICs. I guess with IPv6 it makes sense, but then do you agree with it? I've been a techie since a boy, but then i even reckon there needs to be a balance. It could work, if my toaster or microwave needs new firmware, then fine, upload it. for the time being, i'll stick with my laptop and phone... http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/Internet-of-Things

 

[mikeymikec]

I think that most manufacturers want to move away from making appliances that last decades, and that IoT is a wonderful way to make stuff obsolete as quickly as possible.

IMO some very basic features wouldn't be a bad idea, for example if the appliances in one's home would report to a server of sorts (in that home) with diagnostic data, so say if a fridge/freezer is starting to do things that are common signs of impending failure, the owner could be notified before it becomes urgent.

Of course the way that the industry would want this to work is that the "server" is one of their Internet-connected computers and their appliances report usage data back to them, and the owner of the appliance gets a tiny sliver of useful data.

 

[Greenman]

Foolish gadgetry. Almost all of it solves a problem that doesn't exist, and adds complexity to simple systems.

The more complicated the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain.

 

[sandorski]

Foolish gadgetry. Almost all of it solves a problem that doesn't exist, and adds complexity to simple systems.

The more complicated the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain.

Ya, seems like a fad and bullet list feature that will improve nothing for no one.

 

[cKGunslinger]

Foolish gadgetry. Almost all of it solves a problem that doesn't exist, and adds complexity to simple systems.

The more complicated the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain.

True, but that's only one side of it. On the other hand, apparently the medical industry has made leaps and bounds in improving care with things like networked infusion-pumps for metering out IV drug dosages, etc. Basically removing error-prone humans from a large chunk of the process. But again, there have also been emerging reports of these things being relatively insecure and "hackable."

The "internet of things" is real and will probably be an overall improvement to our lives, but there are going to be some growing pains while we iron out the kinks, as per usual.

 

[Greenman]

True, but that's only one side of it. On the other hand, apparently the medical industry has made leaps and bounds in improving care with things like networked infusion-pumps for metering out IV drug dosages, etc. Basically removing error-prone humans from a large chunk of the process. But again, there have also been emerging reports of these things being relatively insecure and "hackable."

The "internet of things" is real and will probably be an overall improvement to our lives, but there are going to be some growing pains while we iron out the kinks, as per usual.

If it's hackable, it can't be an improvement. The first time a cancer patient gets a fatal dose of chemo because his injector got hacked, we'll see some serious changes.
For everyday things, toasters, microwave ovens, the heat in your home, it's just flashing lights and buzzers. It's added complexity and cost without added benefit. Some of it has a convenience factor, but it's minimal, and never justifies the cost.

 

[cbrunny]

What do you mean by "Agree" ? I don't understand how you can not agree with a new technology.

Is that like saying you don't agree with a smartphone?

Or are you just trying to suggest that it doesn't make sense, or is unnecessary?

 

[Greenman]

What do you mean by "Agree" ? I don't understand how you can not agree with a new technology.

Is that like saying you don't agree with a smartphone?

Or are you just trying to suggest that it doesn't make sense, or is unnecessary?

I took it as useful, something I might adopt.

Interesting you mention smart phones, I don't get the sort of utility out of them that most folks do. Mine is a good enough phone, a good enough camera, a great calculator, a crappy GPS, a barely usable internet access tool, and a very short use flashlight.

After typing all of that, I realize that it's actually a lot handier than I gave it credit for.

 

[cKGunslinger]

If it's hackable, it can't be an improvement. The first time a cancer patient gets a fatal dose of chemo because his injector got hacked, we'll see some serious changes.
For everyday things, toasters, microwave ovens, the heat in your home, it's just flashing lights and buzzers. It's added complexity and cost without added benefit. Some of it has a convenience factor, but it's minimal, and never justifies the cost.

"Hackable," in this case, seems to mean, "ships with a default password that Hospital IT admins seldom change." But even if they are truly hackable, I would thing this kind of use would kick-start the implementation of better security on such devices, which can only be a good thing for anything and everything else networked.

 

[cbrunny]

I took it as useful, something I might adopt.

Interesting you mention smart phones, I don't get the sort of utility out of them that most folks do. Mine is a good enough phone, a good enough camera, a great calculator, a crappy GPS, a barely usable internet access tool, and a very short use flashlight.

After typing all of that, I realize that it's actually a lot handier than I gave it credit for.

Ah. Ok. Well whether or not any iot device is something I adopt depends solely on that individual products merits and why it has some kind of IOT function. Put another way, I'm not going to run around buying all kinds of stuff I don't use just because it has a hypothetical IOT sticker on it. Put yet another way, I don't see the utility in this thread since I won't buy every IOT device.

 

[Ketchup]

When I read the description from Whatis, it very much reminds me of the prophecies in the book of Revelation. Whether or not this is referring to IoT is too much to speculate, but I do know that something like this is coming in one form or another.

Besides, to some degree things like this have already started. For example, a Responsive Neurostimulation System (for people with seizures that cannot be controlled by medication and/or surgery) can be adjusted remotely, making it unnecessary to travel to the doctor's office each time the device needs adjustment.

 

[Greenman]

When I read the description from Whatis, it very much reminds me of the prophecies in the book of Revelation. Whether or not this is referring to IoT is too much to speculate, but I do know that something like this is coming in one form or another.

Besides, to some degree things like this have already started. For example, a Responsive Neurostimulation System (for people with seizures that cannot be controlled by medication and/or surgery) can be adjusted remotely, making it unnecessary to travel to the doctor's office each time the device needs adjustment.

My guess is that Neurol stimulation system isn't going to have it's own url. Some angry Korean kid would have that poor fucker going off like a Martini shaker.
Back on topic. That's kind of the fringe of the discussion. My comments were directed more toward casual use, toasters, microwave ovens, sprinkler timers, things of that nature. That's where I see it as nothing more than a gadget with no real benefit. Obviously, there are situations where having control of a remote device could be of real value, but I don't think those are all that common, I can't come up with more than 2 or 3.

 

[SMOGZINN]

My guess is that Neurol stimulation system isn't going to have it's own url. Some angry Korean kid would have that poor fucker going off like a Martini shaker.
Back on topic. That's kind of the fringe of the discussion. My comments were directed more toward casual use, toasters, microwave ovens, sprinkler timers, things of that nature. That's where I see it as nothing more than a gadget with no real benefit. Obviously, there are situations where having control of a remote device could be of real value, but I don't think those are all that common, I can't come up with more than 2 or 3.

Then you are not really thinking it through. While it might not seem all that usefull individually, taken together with a smart home central control it might form a new whole that will change the way we live in the same way that electricity did.

Think of it like this: Your entire home is becoming a robot, and these are components in it. Each networked device is an ability your robot home has. Right now it is still simple and not able to coordinate very well, but as it grows it will become complex and integrated allowing it to work seamlessly with you.

 

[sm625]

Oh god no. Oh hell no, It is one of those horribly stupefied ideas that sounds nice on paper but in the real world is just a colossal waste. When you buy some kind of smart connected device, you're not saving money doing it, you're not saving any time, there is in fact zero practical reason for the purchase. People imagine they will save time, but you really dont. You spend more time fiddling with that smart light switch (or the stupid switch's stupid app) than you will ever save by simply flicking the switch with your hand. But for all that zero gain, you introduce the risk of being hacked? Why in gods name....

But we already know the reason why. There is only one reason: because the powers that be are pushing it. You must have these devices, so that you can be hacked, monitored, and/or controlled at some point in the future. These devices are all about controlling you the purchaser, not your devices. And in fact they offer a great educational tool for understanding the systems of power and control at work upon us, for those few who are actually capable of discerning such things.

 

[sandorski]

Then you are not really thinking it through. While it might not seem all that usefull individually, taken together with a smart home central control it might form a new whole that will change the way we live in the same way that electricity did.

Think of it like this: Your entire home is becoming a robot, and these are components in it. Each networked device is an ability your robot home has. Right now it is still simple and not able to coordinate very well, but as it grows it will become complex and integrated allowing it to work seamlessly with you.

Some aspects of it, sure, but your toaster?( as well as some other appliances)

 

[Greenman]

Then you are not really thinking it through. While it might not seem all that usefull individually, taken together with a smart home central control it might form a new whole that will change the way we live in the same way that electricity did.

Think of it like this: Your entire home is becoming a robot, and these are components in it. Each networked device is an ability your robot home has. Right now it is still simple and not able to coordinate very well, but as it grows it will become complex and integrated allowing it to work seamlessly with you.

I get what you're saying, but it just doesn't ring my bell in the least. With the added convenience (and this is entirely about convenience) of having everything hooked together, comes the added certainty of a failure. Simple systems are reliable systems, complex systems require maintenance, trouble shooting, and constant tinkering.
The IOT may be the wave of the future, but it's a wave I'll be watching from the beach.

 

[blankslate]

The main drawback is that the IoT will probably not be as secure as it needs to be meaning that the neat baby monitor you can use to watch your kid with while your out and under the care of a babysitter might very well be easily hacked into by creepy people.

http://www.computerworld.com/articl...ers-remotely-spied-on-babies-and-parents.html

Or the fact that medical devices can in rare cases be tampered with remotely as fictionalized in an exaggerated way in Homeland.

http://www.informationweek.com/part...quipment-puts-millions-at-risk/a/d-id/1319873

It's something that can benefit people in terms of quality of life but the issue of security and how there's seemingly always a security issue popping up with computers and smart phones makes me very concerned about security and the new category of the IoT.


....

 

[OverVolt]

I don't care if they have internet connectivity. I totally ignore them. I don't need more touch screens and LED lights in my life. I legit put electrical tape over LEDs in my apartment because there isn't a single room without at least 2-5watts worth of LED lights. I don't bother syncing my blue tooth clock. How much bullshit time do people waste on all these gadgets?

In my experience appliances that focus on internet connectivity break very quickly and function poorly at doing the thing you bought it to do in the first place.

 

[OverVolt]

Oh god no. Oh hell no, It is one of those horribly stupefied ideas that sounds nice on paper but in the real world is just a colossal waste. When you buy some kind of smart connected device, you're not saving money doing it, you're not saving any time, there is in fact zero practical reason for the purchase. People imagine they will save time, but you really dont. You spend more time fiddling with that smart light switch (or the stupid switch's stupid app) than you will ever save by simply flicking the switch with your hand. But for all that zero gain, you introduce the risk of being hacked? Why in gods name....

Imagine this but at my old workplace. Touch screen tube system. Ipod apps, everyone carrying around ipods and laptops for a mostly physical job. The lights were adjustable, nobody really cared except setting them to MAX all the time, so it was always super bright no matter how many times I'd adjust them to be more comfortable. Management scratching their heads wondering where everyone's time went dealing with non-stop gadget problems. I miss when the tube system had buttons. Dumbest shit I ever saw in my whole life.

 

[mammador]

What do you mean by "Agree" ? I don't understand how you can not agree with a new technology.

Is that like saying you don't agree with a smartphone?

Or are you just trying to suggest that it doesn't make sense, or is unnecessary?

hahaha...why do always follow me around to tell me how to post, or what i can post on? Or what I can comment on? Especially when people comment on things very similar? Do you have an Asperger's condition? Do you have poor social judgment? are you a moderator in disguise? Are you a kid who is pretending to be an adult? Have fun trying to manipulate strangers on some Website, since if this were in real life, you'd get a punch in the face, and i'd be in the moral right..:biggrin:

 

[Greenman]

hahaha...why do always follow me around to tell me how to post, or what i can post on? Or what I can comment on? Especially when people comment on things very similar? Do you have an Asperger's condition? Do you have poor social judgment? are you a moderator in disguise? Are you a kid who is pretending to be an adult? Have fun trying to manipulate strangers on some Website, since if this were in real life, you'd get a punch in the face, and i'd be in the moral right..:biggrin:

That was a request for clarification. A valid question to which you grossly overreacted.

 

[mammador]

haha...no, but he's a poster-supremacist. but then he just tries to get under my skin by trying to fuck with me, and tell me about "life"...but then i stand by my appraisal of him..

 

[jumpncrash]

I don't "agree" woth the internet of things, I feel enough things can track your usage already

 

[SlitheryDee]

It would seem to make the whole smart home dream easier to realize. Most people are already going to have a wifi network in their home. It would seem to make sense for everything to just use that instead of a separate hard-wired network for connectivity.

 

[Greenman]

haha...no, but he's a poster-supremacist. but then he just tries to get under my skin by trying to fuck with me, and tell me about "life"...but then i stand by my appraisal of him..

Sorry, I forgot you had issues.