The Internet of Way Too Many Things • Hacker News Board

Re: The Internet of Way Too Many Things

#141

Post by chippy » Mon, Sep 07, 2015, 7:52 PM UTC

Animats wrote: post #75

I went to an Internet of Things meeting in SF about two years ago, and it was about like this. A Samsung executive was touting an Internet-enabled refrigerator, which was basically just a refrigerator with a tablet built into the door, with no special sensors, costing more than a refrigerator plus a tablet. I asked him why they'd built the product, and got an honest answer. He said the market was three types of peopl…

> early adopters

I think for the NH crowd, this is us. Previously it was innovators fiddling with Arduinos and servos. Now the products are being made from those prototypes. It will be about 5 years until we see more adopters, when the products are refined and start to become useful. Good product design for people essentially.

Re: The Internet of Way Too Many Things

#142

Post by joshstrange » Mon, Sep 07, 2015, 7:54 PM UTC

cortesoft wrote: post #132

joshstrange wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with nearly everything you have said except for: > 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. I even agree that the baby monitor mentioned is a little over the top (I don't care for the lights/music/coffee aspect) but it's important not to write things off just b…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias

I'm not sure how this plays in at all... Could you please expand on that?

Re: The Internet of Way Too Many Things

#143

Post by germinalphrase » Mon, Sep 07, 2015, 7:54 PM UTC

germinalphrase wrote: post #122

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…

Can anyone speak to the difficulty of homebrew automating some very simple processes? For instance, I have no interest in buying into an ecosystem or any sort of smart appliance - but I would love to have low-watt floor lights turn on as I half-asleep stumble to the kitchen for a glass of water at 3am. I want my idiosyncratic needs to drive 'smart' home additions - not the shared needs of target population Y. Is ther…

Great. Thanks for the suggestions.

Re: The Internet of Way Too Many Things

#144

Post by mikestew » Mon, Sep 07, 2015, 8:02 PM UTC

tacon wrote: post #77

OliverJones wrote: post #15

Internet-enabled house jewelry? Feh. It will be fun for a week, then boring. Here's what I want: stuff that will make me a better neighbor and citizen of the world. Specifically: Realtime smart energy and water consumption meters. Wouldn't it be great to get some sort of alert if there was a pipe burst or even a water trickle? Wouldn't it be fabulous to track electricity consumption? That could generate the creation…

About ten years ago I sat through a funding pitch for a monitor that detects sudden changes in residential water flow rates. Cost was about $250/home, and part of the pitch was that insurance companies would help cover the cost to save catastrophic damage. Apparently washing machine hoses burst on a regular basis, and such an event in an unoccupied home is very expensive. I haven't heard anything about that problem/s…

When our washer hose burst, and the adjuster said it's the most common insurance claim, I asked why the insurance company doesn't just send out new washer hoses every five years. Seems like it be more cost-effective than a $250 device that I'm sure doesn't work as well as the maker claims.

And yeah, I previously never gave washer hoses much thought, either. Go change yours this weekend. They're cheap, and a hell of a lot less trouble than the alternative.

Re: The Internet of Way Too Many Things

#145

Post by elsewhen » Mon, Sep 07, 2015, 8:03 PM UTC

Animats wrote: post #75

I went to an Internet of Things meeting in SF about two years ago, and it was about like this. A Samsung executive was touting an Internet-enabled refrigerator, which was basically just a refrigerator with a tablet built into the door, with no special sensors, costing more than a refrigerator plus a tablet. I asked him why they'd built the product, and got an honest answer. He said the market was three types of peopl…

what do you mean by "granite kitchen counter crowd"? is it the case that granite counters are not particularly functional and primarily there for show (i'm genuinely asking).

Re: The Internet of Way Too Many Things

#146

Post by marincounty » Mon, Sep 07, 2015, 8:13 PM UTC

JupiterMoon wrote: post #48

Zigurd wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a whole different dynamic to these devices in China. Air quality, water quality, etc. are part of middle class lifestyle in China, and many people do not trust the authorities to keep these parameters within spec. Multiple air filters in an apartment are common, and monitoring the performance of these devices is an obvious interest to their owners. This is a much more compelling home automation story than th…

I've never understood the desire to add smart technology to the smoke alarm. Once properly installed a smoke alarm should be interacted with when (1) there is a fire, (2) the battery is running flat. False alarms pretty much mean you've installed it wrong.

I agree. They are so cheap. The ones I install are less than ten dollars. Won't name the brand. They are usually on the bottom of the shelf. Hidden away from worrisome consumers that equate price with function. Many contractors buy them by the case.

I usually install two, and run a electrical line to one.

Yes, an app is fine if you burn food, and have the disposable income? I would rather see home owners spend the money on running a line to their smoke, and CO detectors though.

Re: The Internet of Way Too Many Things

#147

Post by bedhead » Mon, Sep 07, 2015, 8:14 PM UTC

When I saw the Kolibree, the "smart" toothbrush, I realized we had passed the inflection point on the declining marginal utility curve for this stuff. Too much of IoT are solutions in search of problems. It's not too long before we see app-controlled "smart" implantable uterine devices.

Re: The Internet of Way Too Many Things

#148

Post by diego_moita » Mon, Sep 07, 2015, 8:14 PM UTC

dmix wrote: post #138

guybrushT wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do. And you are right. I think we will get to a place where one company does it right, before we agree on an interoperable standard.

Why not a good open-source standard? iOS did it "right" for mobile, but Android provided tough competition. And Apple benefited from the competition... it pushed iOS designers to keep their game up - and likewise.

Like AllJoyn?

[0] https://allseenalliance.org/

Re: The Internet of Way Too Many Things

#149

Post by nicolsc » Mon, Sep 07, 2015, 8:15 PM UTC

Lot of useless gadgets here .. but the Internet of Things is(will be..) much more than consumer-facing objects.

The iceberg analogy never gets old ;)

Industry, Agriculture, Logistics, Cities, etc .. all have a lot to get even more smarter.

Most IoT stuff won't be about pet tracking or fancy BLE devices talking to your smartphone.

Re: The Internet of Way Too Many Things

#150

Post by scoopr » Mon, Sep 07, 2015, 8:19 PM UTC

tacon wrote: post #77

OliverJones wrote: post #15

Internet-enabled house jewelry? Feh. It will be fun for a week, then boring. Here's what I want: stuff that will make me a better neighbor and citizen of the world. Specifically: Realtime smart energy and water consumption meters. Wouldn't it be great to get some sort of alert if there was a pipe burst or even a water trickle? Wouldn't it be fabulous to track electricity consumption? That could generate the creation…

About ten years ago I sat through a funding pitch for a monitor that detects sudden changes in residential water flow rates. Cost was about $250/home, and part of the pitch was that insurance companies would help cover the cost to save catastrophic damage. Apparently washing machine hoses burst on a regular basis, and such an event in an unoccupied home is very expensive. I haven't heard anything about that problem/s…

You can get moisture detector for some smart home systems/alarms, that is installed under laundry/dishwasher. Also that is why all houses at least here have to have faucet/valve for laundry/dishwashers, and that is supposed to be kept closed when the machine is not in use. My faucet in kitchen for dishwasher actually has a simple electronic valve, that automagically closes the valve after several hours.