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Hardware is dead

venturebeat.com

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Re: Hardware is dead

#31

Post by davidcuddeback »

yardie wrote: post #13
noonespecial wrote: post #8

I've already started sticking them to the walls of my house to control lights, the thermostat, the garage door etc. This didn't make sense at $400/device but as soon as they hit $100 or so the game was afoot. Now they're so cheap, its literally cheaper to grab one from "the pile" and whip up a nice html5 interface for the task than to buy a dedicated Insteon controller or Nest thermostat. Hell, it was cheaper to auto…

What hardware are you using? I've wanted to try home automation for a while but all I can find is either the lowend stuff (X10) or the really highend stuff that requires a dealer to install it for you.

He mentioned Insteon, so I'm assuming http://www.insteon.net/.

I've been wanting to get into home automation too. My biggest fear is vendor lock-in. I'd like to hear more about how he gave his garage door a REST API, because that's something I could build my own interface for.

Re: Hardware is dead

#33

Post by buss »

The generic cheapness that may portend the death of hardware is the same force that is causing a renaissance of hardware hacking.

Most major cities have hackerspaces or techshops (http://www.techshop.ws/) where you can 3D print and use CNC mills. It's not uncommon to take apart cheap hardware and hack something into it (failure is much easier to stomach on a sub-$100 device).

Arduino has been the main driver in this area for years, but mark my words: Go on Raspberry Pi is the hardware platform of the future. Go is close to the metal and has great concurrency, which make it ideal for interfacing with sensors. No more dealing with Arduino's lack of real threads and the weird sketch format.

My Pis arrive tomorrow; long live hardware!

Re: Hardware is dead

#34

Post by azundo »

What is really exciting about this is the impact on emerging markets. I live in Ghana and tablets and phones are how people access the internet, and will for the foreseeable future. If tools get good enough there might never be PCs as a tablet seems to be a much more accessible interface to get started with.

It is an interesting market to think about trying to monetize but the potential is huge as tablets drop to a price point where average urban dwellers (who are currently barely computer literate) can afford them. I already see iPads in the hands of the richer crowd and expect to see cheaper Androids flooding the market very soon. The need for custom software to make it easy for a population that can only hunt-and-peck is going to be huge.

Re: Hardware is dead

#35

Post by [deleted] »

noonespecial wrote: post #8

I've already started sticking them to the walls of my house to control lights, the thermostat, the garage door etc. This didn't make sense at $400/device but as soon as they hit $100 or so the game was afoot. Now they're so cheap, its literally cheaper to grab one from "the pile" and whip up a nice html5 interface for the task than to buy a dedicated Insteon controller or Nest thermostat. Hell, it was cheaper to auto…

[deleted]

Re: Hardware is dead

#36

Post by MatthewPhillips »

patdennis wrote: post #23

Here's a link for anyone who feels like exploring the wonderful world of cheap generic Chinese tablets: http://www.dealextreme.com/c/tablets-1409 Or cheap generic Chinese anything, for that matter.

Heh, I see a LOT of Android 2.2/2.1 and even a few 1.6 devices on that page. Most of the ones claiming 4.0, if you look closely at the pictures, it's not the 4.0 interface (some of them have the old search bar from the 1.6 days). I don't know if the pictures are just wrong, but I certainly wouldn't trust them with my money.

The few that did claim 4.0 and did have accurate pictures, the specs were pretty poor and the price wasn't that low.

Re: Hardware is dead

#37

Post by meritt »

patdennis wrote: post #23

Here's a link for anyone who feels like exploring the wonderful world of cheap generic Chinese tablets: http://www.dealextreme.com/c/tablets-1409 Or cheap generic Chinese anything, for that matter.

Your implied negative standpoint, with the products are "cheap" and "generic" and "Chinese", is rather naive and amusing. The entire point of this article is the fact that these products are indistinguishable from the same ones with a HTC, Samsung, HP or Apple logo emblazoned on the device.

Hardware will truly be dead when people realize just how much they're paying for the brand name and nothing more.

Re: Hardware is dead

#38

Post by jiggy2011 »

I guess the key will become content. Tablet makers will want to be "the only tablet that can do X" where X won't necessarily be a technical hardware feature but rather a deal made with a content producer to be the only platform for their content to be distributed on.

That way you can sell devices at a huge markup despite the hardware being identical to lower end models.

Re: Hardware is dead

#39

Post by elchief »

thaumaturgy wrote: post #7

Hardware is dead; long live hardware. The free-fall in PC prices in the 90s "killed" the PC, except that every major PC manufacturer still sells high-end models, and retailers still make money on them. The free-fall in automotive prices in the 20s "killed" the automobile, except that people kept buying faster, sleeker, newer models anyway. Like so many other electronics and everyday devices, the commoditization of ta…

You mean, companies should differentiate their product and not compete on price? You crazy man.

Re: Hardware is dead

#40

Post by rimantas »

meritt wrote: post #37
patdennis wrote: post #23

Here's a link for anyone who feels like exploring the wonderful world of cheap generic Chinese tablets: http://www.dealextreme.com/c/tablets-1409 Or cheap generic Chinese anything, for that matter.

Your implied negative standpoint, with the products are "cheap" and "generic" and "Chinese", is rather naive and amusing. The entire point of this article is the fact that these products are indistinguishable from the same ones with a HTC, Samsung, HP or Apple logo emblazoned on the device. Hardware will truly be dead when people realize just how much they're paying for the brand name and nothing more.

  > is the fact that these products are indistinguishable
  > from the same ones with a HTC, Samsung, HP or Apple
Thats very very very far from "fact". In fact, reality is just the opposite.
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