Amazon Sidewalk

Post by lucioperca » Tue, May 11, 2021, 12:08 PM UTC

ulzeraj wrote: post #147

squarefoot wrote: post #50

So, if I buy a so called Smart-TV (not because I like it but because traditional ones are getting harder to find) but don't set up it on my home network so it can't phone home, it could scan around anyway and find other open devices more than willing to participate in my personal data exfiltration? If the Amazon project succeeds, I would expect in a few months most home devices manufacturers, to partner to implement…

IMO. There should be a market for: - Dumb panels (not monitors). Perhaps stripped down recycled smart tvs. - Smart tvs but with user replaceable firmware. Think OpenWRT for TVs. Maybe the same guy who does the dumb panels could sell those but with a raspberry pi in place of the logic board. Of course a monitor solves these issues but these are normally smaller and more expensive.

Post by Cosmin_C » Tue, May 11, 2021, 12:08 PM UTC

danpalmer wrote: post #162

ulzeraj wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMO. There should be a market for: - Dumb panels (not monitors). Perhaps stripped down recycled smart tvs. - Smart tvs but with user replaceable firmware. Think OpenWRT for TVs. Maybe the same guy who does the dumb panels could sell those but with a raspberry pi in place of the logic board. Of course a monitor solves these issues but these are normally smaller and more expensive.

"Dumb TVs" would cost more. It's hard to market something that costs more and has what most people would perceive to be fewer features. They would cost more because post-sale content sales and advertising generate revenue for TV manufacturers, which they use to subsidise the device sale price, because it's such a competitive, low-margin, market.

Post by endgame » Tue, May 11, 2021, 12:09 PM UTC

smackeyacky wrote: post #176

choeger wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope. Much more like this: You are legally obliged to install a smart meter, smart smoke detector and smart heating control in your home. If you rent, your landlord will install these things. If you own the authorities will inspect the presence and operation of these devices and fine you if you don't comply. All these devices will be offered by companies like amazon. Coincidentally, amazon lobbyists shape the laws th…

I don't think they have to make it mandatory, all they have to do is remove all the other choices. Simple to do if you have amazon or google amounts of money. Politicians are surprisingly cheap but they aren't as reliable as narrowing customer choice behind a mask of competition. Once the barrier to entry is lifted sufficiently high the job is done.

Post by SamuelAdams » Tue, May 11, 2021, 12:09 PM UTC

jordz wrote: post #55

"Amazon does not charge any fees to join Amazon Sidewalk" Not to the end customer anyway. To organizations and developers building on top of the APIs... Completely against this idea though its a shame its not... "Get paid for hosting a network using the devices you purchase from us"* Lastly, it is a cost albeit negligible to the end user who installs the device (power, bandwidth, etc). *I know it wouldn't amount to a…

Post by GekkePrutser » Tue, May 11, 2021, 12:10 PM UTC

rsfern wrote: post #192

bregma wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Less 1984 and more Fahrenheit 451. There is no central authority imposing this to exert control on the masses: consumers are imposing it on themselves willingly and industry is just giving them what they want. Juvenal redux.

I don’t remember much backstory in 1984 for how the surveillance state came to be, but I think it’s totally plausible that a government could co-opt this self-imposed setup and use it for 1984-style control.