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Why are new devices dependent on the Internet but made with little forethought?

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Re: Why are new devices dependent on the Internet but made with little forethought?

#21

Post by pas »

ohazi wrote: post #7
stickfigure wrote: post #4

I stopped reading at Try to recall a time back when the Internet didn't exist... Where things like cars and phones functioned on their own in a much more reliable manner. I grew up in the 80s and have owned several cars from that era. They were significantly less reliable than cars of today. Carburetors were still present (though being phased out) and there were always vacuum hoses that, when they leaked, caused your…

The internet didn't fix these things, fuel injection, electronic ignition, and digital signal processing / denser silicon integration did.

Most cars are still not Internet connected. And most Internet-enabled cars still run perfectly fine without access to the Internet.

Re: Why are new devices dependent on the Internet but made with little forethought?

#22

Post by denimnerd42 »

stickfigure wrote: post #9
ohazi wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The internet didn't fix these things, fuel injection, electronic ignition, and digital signal processing / denser silicon integration did.

Irrespective of why, cars and phones did not function in a more reliable manner back then. The statement is false.

While it's true that cars are way more reliable nowadays. There are still engineer tradeoffs being made against reliability. Lightweight (fuel efficient) oils are being used, gas tank emissions capture (a system of rubber hoses and solenoids which fail easily), EGR systems, etc all are a detriment to reliability even if they have other positive uses. Today's cars could be far more reliable if that was a bigger design goal.

Re: Why are new devices dependent on the Internet but made with little forethought?

#24

Post by ASalazarMX »

styfle wrote: post #8
stickfigure wrote: post #4

I stopped reading at Try to recall a time back when the Internet didn't exist... Where things like cars and phones functioned on their own in a much more reliable manner. I grew up in the 80s and have owned several cars from that era. They were significantly less reliable than cars of today. Carburetors were still present (though being phased out) and there were always vacuum hoses that, when they leaked, caused your…

Video games that didn’t need software updates :)

They actually did, but the updated versions were for new sales only.

OTOH, software update is being widely abused nowadays, there's no pressure to get it right off the bat. As long as the update framework is robust, everything else can be weak since you can send another patch whenever you want.

Re: Why are new devices dependent on the Internet but made with little forethought?

#25

Post by jellicle »

stickfigure wrote: post #4

I stopped reading at Try to recall a time back when the Internet didn't exist... Where things like cars and phones functioned on their own in a much more reliable manner. I grew up in the 80s and have owned several cars from that era. They were significantly less reliable than cars of today. Carburetors were still present (though being phased out) and there were always vacuum hoses that, when they leaked, caused your…

Vehicle engines are better made today but now we are introducing new points of failure intentionally. It is as if there is a certain quantity of failure that must be present. In fact a vehicle produced just prior to "everything connected to the internet and the manufacturer can turn it off any time if they don't like how you're using it" probably represents the peak of reliability and now we are going somewhat downhill.

The NEXT Google Outage will involve 32 million cars refusing to run because they can't log in to your Google Account.

Re: Why are new devices dependent on the Internet but made with little forethought?

#27

Post by ardy42 »

stickfigure wrote: post #9
ohazi wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The internet didn't fix these things, fuel injection, electronic ignition, and digital signal processing / denser silicon integration did.

Irrespective of why, cars and phones did not function in a more reliable manner back then. The statement is false.

> Irrespective of why, cars and phones did not function in a more reliable manner back then. The statement is false.

You're missing the point, and misinterpreting that statement to mean something far broader than it actually says. The article is about unnecessary internet dependency, not about the mechanical reliability of cars, and it's a derail to make it about that.

Also, you're interpreting "a time back when the Internet didn't exist" as the 80s. For most people, the internet didn't exist as late as 1995, and I've driven some pretty reliable cars from that era.

Re: Why are new devices dependent on the Internet but made with little forethought?

#28

Post by soared »

rossdavidh wrote: post #5

So, once upon a time, nothing emitted or depended on receiving EM waves. Then, we learned how to use electricity and started putting it into everything. Then, and only then, did we start developing government regulation to make sure that your new device for sale didn't broadcast EM waves that interfered with any other devices in the vicinity. We are getting to the point where we will need an Underwriter Labs-style in…

I completely agree, and would love to see a body to audit the "if your server goes down, what behavior does your device default to?" situation.

That would ensure my smart front door lock doesn't default to always-locked, or always-unlocked.

Re: Why are new devices dependent on the Internet but made with little forethought?

#29

Post by NikolaeVarius »

styfle wrote: post #8
stickfigure wrote: post #4

I stopped reading at Try to recall a time back when the Internet didn't exist... Where things like cars and phones functioned on their own in a much more reliable manner. I grew up in the 80s and have owned several cars from that era. They were significantly less reliable than cars of today. Carburetors were still present (though being phased out) and there were always vacuum hoses that, when they leaked, caused your…

Video games that didn’t need software updates :)

I imagine people would love a original PacMan update that solves the overflow issue

Re: Why are new devices dependent on the Internet but made with little forethought?

#30

Post by nalekberov »

gambiting wrote: post #15
styfle wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Video games that didn’t need software updates :)

Yes they absolutely did, they just couldn't get them. Games still shipped buggy, you just had to get used to it, tough. I work with people who were in the games industry in late 90s and the idea that games shipped without bugs is just funny to them.

i have bought some nintendo games a year or two ago, some of them received 0 update, still operate as a charm, without any (at least noticeable) bug.
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