The Internet of Way Too Many Things

Post by ibopm » Mon, Sep 07, 2015, 9:43 PM UTC

Kenji wrote: post #136

netcan wrote: post #65

I'm reminded of the online coke machine: https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~coke/history_long.txt I'm also (many times a day) reminded of some Douglas Adams bits. 1. Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works. 2. Anything that's invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a car…

>Before long, computers will be as trivial and plentiful as chairs... Nonsense. A modern CPU has so many parts, no single human can understand its circuitry. And the complexity is ever increasing. The chair comparison is extremely poor; we live in an environment that is ever increasing in complexity and even today, most people don't understand the array of modern technology they're surrounded with and I don't see tha…

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Sep 07, 2015, 10:02 PM UTC

narrowrail wrote: post #115

wpietri wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not krisdol, but I presume the "empty plastic boxes" is a reference to the fact that the amount of hardware necessary to stream video is now miniscule. My Roku is the size it is not because it needs to be that big to hold components, but so that it looks substantial to consumers and doesn't get lost in a ball of cables. And interop for me would mean that instead of N proprietary platforms that must be targeted se…

I agree with your take, but I don't see that happening; I prefer to take care of media acquisition on my own because I don't trust these companies to do any differently than the media companies they seek to, ultimately, replace. Roku has the private channel feature that I think makes it more interesting than the other players, and I wish more effort was exerted to explore the possibilities with private channels. Have…

Post by andyidsinga » Mon, Sep 07, 2015, 10:11 PM UTC

freehunter wrote: post #35

guybrushT wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the companies that is solving this very problem is Xiaomi. Their method is quite crude - that is, they make everything themselves. But the end result is that everything they make - from an air purifier to a TV - is connected and operated via a similar / familiar OS called MIUI. They give away their phones for very cheap, because the phone is the Trojan horse - it is the remote control for all the other devices…

Yup, Xiamoi makes everything interoperable by making it themselves. And Apple makes HomeKit. And Google makes their own. And Microsoft makes their own. And HP makes their own. And... See the problem?

Post by ghaff » Mon, Sep 07, 2015, 10:18 PM UTC

jodoherty wrote: post #178

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…

It'd be great if the refrigerator could track the expiration dates of the items inside using RFID, then notify you if anything was getting old. For made at home items and non-tagged items, they could also make RFID stickies, where you scan them when you put the item in the fridge, give it a name or take a snapshot with the built-in camera, set your own expiration date, and it tracks how long it's been in there. If yo…

Post by icebraining » Mon, Sep 07, 2015, 10:41 PM UTC

stephengillie wrote: post #179

jhallenworld wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well here is an interesting argument for voice control: it's more hygienic. All touch points are potential sources for disease. On the other hand, maybe we are increasing allergies by making the environment too sterile. What hygienic technology will replace touch screens?

A damp, soapy sponge cleans smartphones pretty well. And a damp cloth to rinse before drying. Still waiting for waterproofing to become a standard smartphone feature. Then we can start debating handwashing vs dishwashing, and also use the phone to record the washing cycle on video from inside the dishwasher.