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Products I Wish Existed

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181–190 of 434 posts

Re: Products I Wish Existed

#181

Post by triceratops »

coldtea wrote: post #176
triceratops wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> get things shipped to work, use Amazon lockers, These seem like reasonable solutions. Why not just do them? > I literally have video of the dude grabbing shit off my porch, but can do nothing about it. So what will more surveillance technology do? Maybe the innovation needed is apartment-community style mailboxes or dropboxes where only the mailperson and the tenant can have access, but scaled to single-family-home…

>> > get things shipped to work, use Amazon lockers, > These seem like reasonable solutions. Why not just do them? Because that's bending broken backwards to accept a broken neighbourhood and society. Where this stops? "Drive-by's are a thing, accept it and just were a bulletproof vest, it's a sensible solution"?

Needing to safeguard your possessions lest they get stolen is a sign of a broken society? By that yardstick, every human society past and present is broken. Leaving aside small sleepy towns, everyone locks up their house, car, bicycles, and other possessions, even the people complaining about stolen packages. That's not considered an unreasonable burden, but the minute unattended packages get taken off porches everyone loses their minds.

Re: Products I Wish Existed

#182

Post by JohnFen »

polygotdomain wrote: post #106
NikolaNovak wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

* I'd love to see that as well * At the same time: - A LOT of companies are uncomfortable making some of this data SaaS / external. I'm not saying they're right, but it's there - A LOT of companies are unique, or strongly believe they're unique, and that they need bespoke / highly customized software. I'm not saying they're right... ;) - I'm a techie, so it's taken me a decade to realize that implementing a new backo…

>implementing a new backoffice suite by a consulting company is one third or less technical / IT project; and two thirds or more business process / transformation project. And the actual success / failure of these projects is almost entirely guided by the business transformation part. This 1000%. There's so much institutional friction with these projects for so many reasons; some of them political, some of them inter…

> They see tools not as a way to get more done or be efficient, but as something that's "moving their cheese" and they don't like it.

In all fairness, this perception of tools is often entirely rational. Changing workflows incurs a high cost, and any new tool must supply a benefit in excess of that cost. If it doesn't, then opposing the new tool can be the correct stance. And in my experience, at least half of the time, the new tools do not provide sufficient benefit.

Re: Products I Wish Existed

#183

Post by enobrev »

blackbrokkoli wrote: post #100

> 4. ADT 2.0: Digital neighborhood watch. That this is not only a market, but a "wish" which seems to get traction even here on HN confirms to me that the old joke "1984 is not a manual" is more relevant than ever, and scarily not only in regards to the usual suspects, corporate and nation states, but people themselves. Can anyone explain to me why anyone would advocate a profit-driven, systematic eradication of soul…

I wholeheartedly agree with this. I bought a house with a front porch, and for three seasons of the year my wife and I sit out there almost every day. It's mind-blowing to me how few of our neighbors sit in front of their houses. They're all nice. They say hello as they walk their dogs and strollers. But then they go back inside and hide from the world.

Not many packages get taken on my block, though they seem to on others. I'm not saying it's because of us, but I assume being outside and neighborly helps. It seems we've collectively lost that sense somehow.

Re: Products I Wish Existed

#184

Post by jakelazaroff »

secabeen wrote: post #80
jakelazaroff wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "SaaS-ification" of security cameras should also worry us. Ring — not its customers — controls the videos taken with their cameras, creating a video surveillance network that the police can access without needing a warrant. They've partnered with 400 police forces to give them access to that data [1]. Although they claim to let customers deny police requests for footage, their terms of service allow them to hand…

> Although they claim to let customers deny police requests for footage, their terms of service allow them to hand video over to police if they deem the request "reasonable". Defining what is a "reasonable government request" is a valid question, but it's really just not that high of a bar to get a records subpoena/search warrant for video like this. Courts sign off on those routinely, so I don't think you can really…

> Is there something I'm missing here? If you record video of your front yard, and the police want to see it, they have a right to, subject to the normal judicial review.

The issue is that Ring's terms specifically allow them to circumvent "normal judicial review" if the request is "reasonable". From the same WaPo article:

> Ring users consent to the company giving recorded video to “law enforcement authorities, government officials and/or third parties” if the company believes it's necessary to comply with “legal process or reasonable government request,” its terms of service state.

I'm fine with the police having access to video after obtaining a warrant or subpoena, even if it's not a particularly high bar to clear. But that should still be the bar. We shouldn't expect Ring to refuse police requests even after being served, but we should expect them to hold out until that point — and unfortunately, we can't trust them to do that.

Re: Products I Wish Existed

#185

Post by bart_spoon »

blackbrokkoli wrote: post #100

> 4. ADT 2.0: Digital neighborhood watch. That this is not only a market, but a "wish" which seems to get traction even here on HN confirms to me that the old joke "1984 is not a manual" is more relevant than ever, and scarily not only in regards to the usual suspects, corporate and nation states, but people themselves. Can anyone explain to me why anyone would advocate a profit-driven, systematic eradication of soul…

> systematic eradication of soul and character around each and every human residence? Why would you trade the vibrancy of your young urban block or the sense of trust and community in your suburb against prevention of low-impact black-swan events like serial packet thiefs?

Why would the “soul” and “vibrancy” of a neighborhood die with some kind of digital neighborhood watch? Seems like a flawed premise.

There’s also something to be said about the hypocrisy of accusing others of having abnormal levels of fear of crimes that occur every day, while assuming that your neighbors installing a security camera on their porch will inevitably lead to a surveillance state dystopia on par with 1984.

Re: Products I Wish Existed

#186

Post by oh_sigh »

blackbrokkoli wrote: post #100

> 4. ADT 2.0: Digital neighborhood watch. That this is not only a market, but a "wish" which seems to get traction even here on HN confirms to me that the old joke "1984 is not a manual" is more relevant than ever, and scarily not only in regards to the usual suspects, corporate and nation states, but people themselves. Can anyone explain to me why anyone would advocate a profit-driven, systematic eradication of soul…

How do security cameras remove the "vibrancy of your young urban block" or "the sense of trust and community in your suburb"?

Do the locks on your door accomplish the same incredible feat?

Re: Products I Wish Existed

#187

Post by JohnFen »

cjsawyer wrote: post #149
arkanciscan wrote: post #120

I fail to see how TikTok is a "good reminder for the generational turnover of social products". Has an entire generation passed since Vine or Snapchat? If anything it's proof that securing an early lead in a new form of media (short form video in the aforementioned cases) doesn't guarantee success even for a generation. My takeaway is that young people are increasingly mercurial and disloyal. Chasing their attention…

The lifecycle of a social media should be measured by some % of pairs of children and their parents both using it. It’s an instant buzzkill.

And businesses.

This rule still holds true today. When I talk to people in their 20s and younger these days about Facebook, for instance, the near universal reaction is "Facebook is for old people and companies". They're all using something else.

Re: Products I Wish Existed

#188

Post by gnopgnip »

ctdonath wrote: post #162
umvi wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1984 is only a manual if the state or federal government implements it. If an HOA implements it, I don't see how that is 1984. If I turn my house into my own surveillance state, that's not 1984 either, that's me automating tedious things like looking out the window for suspicious characters or events.

HOAs are practically incorporated hamlets - local governments. There is a government (board) which imposes taxed (dues) and imposes zoning & other laws (rules), and can impose debilitating punishments (liens) against subjects (residents). Some are little more than friendly neighbors trying to keep neighborhood home values stable, others are wannabe tyrannical dictatorships. I could certainly see an HOA installing (in…

HOAs in most states cannot issue liens for unpaid fines, only for unpaid dues or assessments.

Re: Products I Wish Existed

#189

Post by freepor »

arrosenberg wrote: post #156
munificent wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with your overall point. However: > low-impact black-swan events like serial packet thiefs? I live in Seattle. Package theft is a white swan event here. Everyone I know has had packages stolen. Most people are forced to come up with some strategy to deal with it: get things shipped to work, use Amazon lockers, get a camera on your porch and make sure to bring the package inside as soon as it shows up, etc. Yo…

> I literally have video of the dude grabbing shit off my porch, but can do nothing about it. In that case, what is the security system really doing for you?

Imagine if it uses facial recognition to tell you when the guy is next entering the neighborhood. Dystopian, but it could work.

Re: Products I Wish Existed

#190

Post by GuB-42 »

take_a_breath wrote: post #173
munificent wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with your overall point. However: > low-impact black-swan events like serial packet thiefs? I live in Seattle. Package theft is a white swan event here. Everyone I know has had packages stolen. Most people are forced to come up with some strategy to deal with it: get things shipped to work, use Amazon lockers, get a camera on your porch and make sure to bring the package inside as soon as it shows up, etc. Yo…

If package theft is the problem, maybe the real solution is something closer to "Package Theft Insurance" than "Cloud-based Neighborhood Surveillance."

Package theft is not just about the money. If I buy something, I want that something, not my money back. Not mentioning that some of the things I receive may be "priceless" (understand: much more valuable than the price tag the insurance will use as a reference).

Furthermore, insurance companies don't like to lose money, and they are likely the ones to encourage you to install a surveillance network. If anything, to make sure that you aren't stealing your own packages.

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