The Internet of Way Too Many Things

#1

Post by prostoalex » Mon, Sep 07, 2015, 2:33 PM UTC

The Internet of Way Too Many Things
nytimes.com

Re: The Internet of Way Too Many Things

#2

Post by antr » Mon, Sep 07, 2015, 3:29 PM UTC

I just bought a home, and just started a considerable renovation. I'm putting in new water pipes, new electrical wiring, etc. I thought of putting "smart" devices (i.e. switches, alarms, thermostats, etc.) given the "advantages" these promise.

After considerable research, it's not worth the hussle or money. Let's put aside the fact that these are considerable more expensive, and won't breakeven in years (some devices smart devices simply don't breakeven).

The main reason I decided not to have any of these installed was due to how cumbersome they are to operate. Each appliance/brand has their own app/portal, which does not connect to other brands, making it impossible to have an overview of your "smart home". Even more scary, some of these devices are operated by startups, god knows, if they will be alive next year. Good luck getting that app to work with iOS 10! It's a true headache, it's even a headache for contractors, who have no clue how these work. It's going to take some time (and education) to have an OS that makes a smart home smart...

and don't get me started on the smart baby monitors, etc... if my siblings an I were brought up just fine in the 80's without being in a "smart onesie", I'm sure we can do just as fine today.

Re: The Internet of Way Too Many Things

#3

Post by awjr » Mon, Sep 07, 2015, 3:31 PM UTC

For anyone not familiar with the Hype Cycle http://www.gartner.com/technology/research/methodologies/hyp... we're still in the "Peak of Inflated Expectations". I would have hoped we'd have hit the "Trough of Disillusionment" by now but it seems to be powering along quite nicely.

One of the big problems with IoT is the cost of the connectivity bit of the hardware. You want these things to be low powered but that costs money. You want these things out in the field, but providing constant power is a nightmare.

I've been looking at Automatic Number Plate Recognition networks using Raspberry PI2s, transmitting only the number plate to do transit route analysis. By the time you've added a battery, a GSM module,and a solar charging panel, it's suddenly become a £150 piece of hardware.

IoT is so so interesting, but I think the hype around it is driving money into the domain and people are just ramming the devices anywhere they can.

Re: The Internet of Way Too Many Things

#4

Post by larrys » Mon, Sep 07, 2015, 3:31 PM UTC

There is plenty of merchandise that people buy that they don't need and can do without. Many of the products in the article are just technology variations and extensions of the type of products that sold for years in Sharper Image, Brookstone or Skymall. (Or on infomercials) [1] Just something attractively priced, that if marketed correctly, will find a small or maybe even a large market because it's in front of people and an impulse buy (as opposed to buried on a shelf at a Walmart. Focus people and single out the product in other words.

[1] There was a commercial last year that I watched for a striped screw removal tool. The price was attractive and I thought "hmm you never know when you might need this". I then searched Amazon and found and purchased the most highly rated product of that category (wasn't going to order from an infomercial). I knew this product existed prior to that of course (my Dad used them when I was a kid) but until I saw the infomercial I had no motivation to seek this particular tool out. After seeing the infomercial I wanted one so I bought it. It actually did come in handy when having to pull a stripped screw from a washing machine.

Re: The Internet of Way Too Many Things

#5

Post by awjr » Mon, Sep 07, 2015, 3:33 PM UTC

antr wrote: post #2

I just bought a home, and just started a considerable renovation. I'm putting in new water pipes, new electrical wiring, etc. I thought of putting "smart" devices (i.e. switches, alarms, thermostats, etc.) given the "advantages" these promise. After considerable research, it's not worth the hussle or money. Let's put aside the fact that these are considerable more expensive, and won't breakeven in years (some devices…

I remember when we bought our new house and the neighbour had an electric cat flap installed into the wall cavity (battery was still accessible). Then it broke. They had to cut it out and replaced it with a standard flap mounted externally.

Re: The Internet of Way Too Many Things

#6

Post by edgyswingset » Mon, Sep 07, 2015, 3:35 PM UTC

Some of these products strike me as being created because one of the owners of the startup thought it was cool, not because they went out and actually tried to identify peoples' household problems and figure out ways to solve them.

Re: The Internet of Way Too Many Things

#7

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Sep 07, 2015, 3:35 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: The Internet of Way Too Many Things

#8

Post by s_baby » Mon, Sep 07, 2015, 3:36 PM UTC

antr wrote: post #2

I just bought a home, and just started a considerable renovation. I'm putting in new water pipes, new electrical wiring, etc. I thought of putting "smart" devices (i.e. switches, alarms, thermostats, etc.) given the "advantages" these promise. After considerable research, it's not worth the hussle or money. Let's put aside the fact that these are considerable more expensive, and won't breakeven in years (some devices…

I would still run cat6 as if I was going to use smart devices. You're already inside the walls.

Re: The Internet of Way Too Many Things

#9

Post by nacnud » Mon, Sep 07, 2015, 3:40 PM UTC

awjr wrote: post #3

For anyone not familiar with the Hype Cycle http://www.gartner.com/technology/research/methodologies/hyp... we're still in the "Peak of Inflated Expectations". I would have hoped we'd have hit the "Trough of Disillusionment" by now but it seems to be powering along quite nicely. One of the big problems with IoT is the cost of the connectivity bit of the hardware. You want these things to be low powered but that costs…

Interesting - what software are you using to do the recognition (if I may ask)?

Re: The Internet of Way Too Many Things

#10

Post by hessenwolf » Mon, Sep 07, 2015, 3:44 PM UTC

antr wrote: post #2

I just bought a home, and just started a considerable renovation. I'm putting in new water pipes, new electrical wiring, etc. I thought of putting "smart" devices (i.e. switches, alarms, thermostats, etc.) given the "advantages" these promise. After considerable research, it's not worth the hussle or money. Let's put aside the fact that these are considerable more expensive, and won't breakeven in years (some devices…

http://www.childtrends.org/?indicators=infant-child-and-teen...

Looks to me like infant mortality (under age one) has halved between 1977 and 2013. I understand the argument of "it worked fine for me", but, well, on a portfolio basis, you and I were dying a bit faster back then.

Outpatient care is a big field these days. Something that, with extremely little effort, can reduce the odds of death or disability, is quite tempting. A smart nappy/diaper with a disposable nutrition-analysing smart-chip is not that far off.