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Can't sign in to Google calendar on my Samsung refrigerator

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Re: Can't sign in to Google calendar on my Samsung refrigerator

#181

Post by eloisant »

codemac wrote: post #130

The problem here is not the refrigerator, or the software on it. I repeat. The problem here is not the refrigerator! We're building a shitty internet, not an internet of shitty things. If integrating with an online calendar means having to have a software team at the ready at all times for the whim's of some service's API updates.. we have failed society in a deep way. The API that Google should be releasing for Goog…

Yes.

By the way, do you know that you can send an email to a server running software that hasn't been updated since the 1960's?

Re: Can't sign in to Google calendar on my Samsung refrigerator

#182

Post by TeMPOraL »

oldmanjay wrote: post #114
noonespecial wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first gen IoT stuff is going to be a walled garden, compuserve/aol mess. Some lessons seem to need to be learned the hard way every damn time.

I'm a bit under the weather and so my mind isn't really serving up any good examples of what I'm guessing would be the opposite, a standard prepared ahead of testing the market for suitability via the "hard way." Do you know of any? Most of what comes to mind are stillborn messes like XHTML.

Standards that power Internet per se (not WWW) would be a good example.

Re: Can't sign in to Google calendar on my Samsung refrigerator

#185

Post by OJFord »

eloisant wrote: post #181
codemac wrote: post #130

The problem here is not the refrigerator, or the software on it. I repeat. The problem here is not the refrigerator! We're building a shitty internet, not an internet of shitty things. If integrating with an online calendar means having to have a software team at the ready at all times for the whim's of some service's API updates.. we have failed society in a deep way. The API that Google should be releasing for Goog…

Yes. By the way, do you know that you can send an email to a server running software that hasn't been updated since the 1960's?

Many (most?) emails probably make their way through decades-old infrastructure somewhere along the line.

Re: Can't sign in to Google calendar on my Samsung refrigerator

#186

Post by lauritz »

zanny wrote: post #169
codemac wrote: post #130

The problem here is not the refrigerator, or the software on it. I repeat. The problem here is not the refrigerator! We're building a shitty internet, not an internet of shitty things. If integrating with an online calendar means having to have a software team at the ready at all times for the whim's of some service's API updates.. we have failed society in a deep way. The API that Google should be releasing for Goog…

But its also unacceptable to make an Internet connected device with a static proprietary OS on it. We have a dozen known vulnerabilities in common software packages every year, and these devices are using IP for communicating often confidential information. It can be disastrous for your toaster to be hijacked, especially if it can be remoted no and burn your house down. This whole IoT disaster should have been predic…

I agree completely. But how likely is that to happen? Let's face it, companies that make 'smart' devices will likely want to monetize on customers whose software is outdated (in functionality, not security) and who want to upgrade because of that. I don't think they'd have a motive to do anything other than proprietary, non-maintainable software.

The only solution I could think of from a security standpoint would be to limit functionality on the device itself to such a level that there is not much need for updating, i.e., ideally the fridge becomes a dumb device that essentially offers a vnc-style connection to a central FridgeCo data center, so that the fridge itself would never deal with your passwords etc. other than sending them somewhere in an encrypted connection. This basic layer of functionality (and even that would be a lot to keep secure) would be more reasonable to maintain and keep secure than having separate apps for Google Cal etc. Of course, this would cause many more problems, be a single point of failure etc., but I think that's the way it's most likely going to go.

Re: Can't sign in to Google calendar on my Samsung refrigerator

#187

Post by Shank »

eclipxe wrote: post #97
JustSomeNobody wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> ... would probably be a "bad idea" in 5-10 years. This is what I don't think people quite understand. Same with (Android|Apple)Auto that's coming out. By the time you've paid it off, who is going to buy it?! You'll HAVE to trade it in at the dealership. That limits you in so many ways.

Android Auto and CarPlay don't completely replace the head-unit functionality. Most units have standard functions built in, with the additional option of Android Auto/CarPlay features. In fact, the Android Auto/Carplay functionality is largely driven by the software on the phone, the headunit really just acts a dumb terminal when entering that mode. If anything, this is a WAY more future proof design than the current…

Both systems require somewhat dedicated connections to the phone. Android Auto uses remote display and doesn't really want you to interact with the device while running, for instance. For a fridge, a Chromecast style box that gets direct OTAs from Google would probably work best.

Re: Can't sign in to Google calendar on my Samsung refrigerator

#188

Post by TeMPOraL »

exelius wrote: post #80
Splines wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a "smart" washer and dryer. I booted the companion app up, briefly considered what I was actually trying to do, and abandoned the whole thing. At least the things work just fine in an unconnected state. Not to be all "get off my lawn", but some things don't need to be smart.

Actually a "smart" washer and dryer would be nice -- I wouldn't mind getting notifications that my laundry is done (because it's on a different floor and I don't always hear the little song it plays). But really that's all I would want - basic alerting.

The problem starts with "companion app". If your IoT device has its own apps, it's most likely something you want to avoid like fire. IoT won't take off until people stop being greedy about it and try to lock everyone in, forcing them to use their (usually completely shitty) apps.

Re: Can't sign in to Google calendar on my Samsung refrigerator

#189

Post by codemac »

dewitt wrote: post #178
codemac wrote: post #130

The problem here is not the refrigerator, or the software on it. I repeat. The problem here is not the refrigerator! We're building a shitty internet, not an internet of shitty things. If integrating with an online calendar means having to have a software team at the ready at all times for the whim's of some service's API updates.. we have failed society in a deep way. The API that Google should be releasing for Goog…

FWIW, Google Calendar does support CalDAV: https://developers.google.com/google-apps/calendar/caldav/v2... It also supports a richer API, for features that don't fit into CalDAV: https://developers.google.com/google-apps/calendar/overview While I tend to agree with what I think is your point, it's all well and good to say that there's a standard and one should use it (which I support, and have worked on many througho…

Please see my comment below about their support of CalDAV (only for specific clients, they keep changing the endpoint location).

CalDAV is a standardization of a previously proprietary but working design (apple's icalendar work) that most all other vendors support except for Google.

Re: Can't sign in to Google calendar on my Samsung refrigerator

#190

Post by OJFord »

jdmichal wrote: post #162
TeMPOraL wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like they don't buy e-books, or smart TVs? Like they didn't buy that cloud-connected laser cutter that'll brick itself when its makers go out of business[0]? It's been proven time and again that people buy against their best interest; that's why this business model is becoming popular. [0] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10272483

To be fair, smart TVs still work as TVs, even if the entire "smart" portion is broken. I'm entertaining buying a new TV soon, since mine is on the out after almost 10 years. I'd prefer to buy a non-smart TV, but honestly all the top models include it now, so it's pretty much unavoidable.

@Temporal - but there's no rent to use a 'smart' TV. You don't have to subscribe to Netflix or Amazon Prime just because those services are integrated with your TV.

You can just buy it, ignore what you don't want, and use it 'traditionally' (though still digitally..).

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