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Nest, the company, died at Google I/O 2019

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Re: Nest, the company, died at Google I/O 2019

#321

Post by la_barba »

JadeNB wrote: post #295
la_barba wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Most IoT devices are not designed to be used for extended periods without internet access and a continuous stream of updates. But you could design one with a manual fallback option. Doesn't seem foundational to me. Nothing about an IoT design prevents one from doing that. >The latter means that unlike traditional home hardware, once you install "smart" devices you're at the mercy of the business plans of the vendor.…

> But you could design one with a manual fallback option. Doesn't seem foundational to me. Nothing about an IoT design prevents one from doing that. Certainly I could (or at least someone with the engineering skills could), but the actual IoT companies don't . My impression of IoT devices (do not want) is based on what actually exists, not on what could theoretically exist.

>Certainly I could (or at least someone with the engineering skills could), but the actual IoT companies don't.

That is incorrect. There are several IoT products with manual fallback options on the market. I don't even know why you're disagreeing to be honest. You don't like IoT devices, I got that part.

Re: Nest, the company, died at Google I/O 2019

#322

Post by Rebelgecko »

Yhippa wrote: post #169
zelly wrote: post #46

We are all used to SaaS randomly getting obsoleted, but when you buy a physical device you kind of expect to own it forever. But no, cloud and IoT means even your physical stuff are SaaS products. Just stop buying the trash.

Wait, are Nest products no longer functional after this change?

Initially Google said that Nest devices would no longer have 3rd party integration, you could only use them as part of the Google Assistant ecosystem.

Probably the 2 most common people that got screwed by this are people that use IFTTT and people that control their thermostat with an Alexa. Google is walking back some of their earlier statements and saying they may allow certain "trusted" partners to keep using the old API, so Alexa users may end up being OK. Another less common use case (but one that affects me) is using their developer API to take a bit more control over things. I use it to log temp/humidity data for my place, and to control my thermostat using Home Assistant.

Re: Nest, the company, died at Google I/O 2019

#323

Post by wutbrodo »

donatj wrote: post #147
nine_k wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't help but quote: «“the "Internet of Things" won't work until the "Local Area Network of Things" works», seen here on HN [1]. There's significantly less money in it, though, and more hassle. It's not going to become popular enough until people get burned enough with vendors going out of business, or just stopping support, and making their convenient $199 gadgets obsolete. In a sense, a large company like Nest pul…

LIFX bulbs work without the need to connect to the internet. They have a LAN protocol that's pretty easy to use.

My former flatmate bought a nanoleaf Aurora, which we used primarily as a visualizer for our sound system. It had a pretty well-documented REST API though, and I did a couple nifty things with it

Re: Nest, the company, died at Google I/O 2019

#324

Post by teh_infallible »

dustinmoris wrote: post #97

Smart people don't buy smart home devices. My relatively poor grandparents and my slightly less poor parents had a hard working life, but none of them had to sleep in a dark cold room because the switch to turn the lights on or the heating stopped working. Ever. This problem has been solved by other people many many years ago. Last month I watched a documentary where a billionaire was showing of his multi million man…

This was my experience with Philips Hue lights. They were cool for awhile, but light switches stay in one place, while my phone does not. I eventually got their wall mounted buttons, and ultimately replaced them all with normal bulbs.

Re: Nest, the company, died at Google I/O 2019

#325

Post by Rebelgecko »

bpyne wrote: post #40

I can't think of a single compelling use-case for home automation systems. I'm trying to understand what other people see in it. I have to wonder if it's driven by the amount of interest a person has in "tinkering" with technology.

1. Stop cooling my house when I'm at work

2. Start cooling down my house when I'm on the way home from work

I could attempt to set this up with a "dumb" thermostat but my schedule is unpredictable enough that the remote access helps me do it efficiently.

Re: Nest, the company, died at Google I/O 2019

#326

Post by nagVenkat »

rubicon33 wrote: post #256
iscrewyou wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't have a smart home device and I won't buy it in a few years. And the simple reason is that there is no regulation for bad behavior. These companies keep getting away with massive privacy violations. We can dig into the big companies but at this time, that point has been beaten to death. When there is better regulation and the software engineers are being jailed for violations of privacy, I will trust the syste…

> When there is better regulation and the software engineers are being jailed for violations of privacy, Just like all those bankers who were jailed after the 2008 financial crisis that wrecked the lives of millions? Gimme a break.

Could you please let me know which laws they have broken?

Re: Nest, the company, died at Google I/O 2019

#327

Post by Rebelgecko »

mieseratte wrote: post #310
borvo wrote: post #306

The Nest thermostat is really great, a huge leap over crappy manual thermostats and the expensive "high tech" ones that others in the traditional industry have tried to create (bryant, looking at you). BUT when I purchased this, this is exactly what I was afraid of. I think this is a huge problem for the software industry in general: most companies don't last. As a customer you can't place your trust in them as they'…

> The Nest thermostat is really great, a huge leap over crappy manual thermostats In what regard? I've yet to run into a problem with my "crappy" thermostats.

Having it turn off when I go to work and turn on when I'm on my home is awesome. I haven't done the math but I imagine that it saves a lot of energy vs running it 24/7, and HVAC is my biggest utility expense. I wouldn't be surprised if it also reduces wear and tear on the AC.

Re: Nest, the company, died at Google I/O 2019

#328

Post by dfrage »

stephenr wrote: post #274
dfrage wrote: post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That find in the dark feature was available in the 1970s, substituting a neon bulb for a LED.

Our dimmer switches (which are all slowly blowing out - maybe too much current? I don't know, I didn't install them) include this, but I've never seen it on other switches. Weirdly some wall outlets have a little clear plastic section that looks like it should have a light behind it... but nothing. Asked a local 'builder' (I won't say electrician, because that doesn't exist here) and he had no idea what it's for eith…

Interesting; neon bulbs have the advantage of working on (US) line voltage without anything else needed, sticking an LED in there requires more stuff. Both could have been squashed in the US market due to Federal energy regulations. Or that clear section could be for the GFI version of the outlet, the few years old one in my bathroom has a tiny clear window for a green light when it's not tripped.

Re: Nest, the company, died at Google I/O 2019

#329

Post by dfrage »

weberc2 wrote: post #287
mixmastamyk wrote: post #275

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's cumulative.

Turning off the lights is negligible to your overall health. Automating it (or not) will not affect your obesity or other health outcomes. There are lots of reasonable arguments against IoT switches; this is not one of them. Let's move on.

Just pumping the muscles in your legs will decrease the potential for blood clots forming in them, according to a recent HN topic.

Re: Nest, the company, died at Google I/O 2019

#330

Post by HeyLaughingBoy »

mike00632 wrote: post #219
stickfigure wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How many people in your house know how to operate your (presumably non-smart) AV system, with its receiver and four different remotes? When someone new comes over, how long would it take them to figure out how to watch a movie?

Woah, that is a right. I'm thinking now of such common phrases when you visit someone's house: "Can you turn on the TV?", "How do you change the volume?", "Which remote do I use?". Recently my sister's response was, "Actually, you use the X-box controller." What a future we live in.

Psst! They make XBox controllers that look just like a "regular" remote.
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