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It takes 5 cloud services to hear my doorbell

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Re: It takes 5 cloud services to hear my doorbell

#121

Post by victorbjorklund »

mathisfun123 wrote: post #19
t098i3 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to have local teenagers messing around on my property and it completely stopped after putting up some lights and cameras. It stops most casual crime.

People steal things from stores which have had cctv for decades. I have no idea why people think these goofy webcams have any effect other than invading the privacy of your neighbors.

The claim is never that it stops all crime. The claim is it stop some crime. That's like saying we don't need doctors because they can't cure everybody all the time.

Re: It takes 5 cloud services to hear my doorbell

#122

Post by ninjalanternshk »

utopiah wrote: post #104
AngryData wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People always say this, but is there any evidence it is true? Home burglars aren't exactly the cream of the criminal crop.

I recently exchanged with a police agent in Belgium who specializes in the topic. Their heuristics is opportunity of action, namely how easy it is to get in and out without being caught on the spot. They said they do not really care about being recognized, only being noticed and stopped in action. Consequently the advice is to strengthen physical security first, i.e. have a big door with proper locks and close your w…

> Their heuristics is opportunity of action

My favorite burglar fact is robberies go way down when it’s raining. Thieves just don’t want the hassle of getting wet.

Re: It takes 5 cloud services to hear my doorbell

#123

Post by whstl »

mrb wrote: post #112
lukeify wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are super-sensitive to over-engineering, so you over-engineered your requirements and ultimately your end product, just in a different methodology and framework.

The requirements are not over engineered. They are what they are. Wireless and configurable chime. They are fixed parameters. But my implementation of these requirements is absolutely not over engineered. I argue it is the simplest and most reliable it could be done.

“I was only following the requirements” at this point must be the Nurnberg defence of over engineering.

If it quacks like a duck, doesn’t matter what you call it: it was over engineering.

Re: It takes 5 cloud services to hear my doorbell

#124

Post by gspr »

mathisfun123 wrote: post #19
t098i3 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to have local teenagers messing around on my property and it completely stopped after putting up some lights and cameras. It stops most casual crime.

People steal things from stores which have had cctv for decades. I have no idea why people think these goofy webcams have any effect other than invading the privacy of your neighbors.

I, too, am very sensitive about cameras invading the privacy of neighbors. But to be fair, it is perfectly possible that the cameras in question don't view anything outside of the property in question.

Re: It takes 5 cloud services to hear my doorbell

#125

Post by AngryData »

cbg0 wrote: post #80
AngryData wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you sure the teenagers didn't just get older and moved on?

Do you think it took him a few years to install the cameras?

Do you think teenagers are going to illegally hang out on someone else's private property for years at a time? Their interests and habits are as ephemeral as the wing.

Re: It takes 5 cloud services to hear my doorbell

#126

Post by ifwinterco »

ezfe wrote: post #13
artisinal wrote: post #12

I fail to see the relation between a video doorbell and stopping a burglar. Burglars wear masks. Also, a doorbell ringing on the outside of the door is not only silly but in case of an apartment complex highly annoying for your neighbors. And make sure your neighbors like being monitored through your five services. Personally I have a button outside my front door. It is connected with a copper wire to the other side…

It's video surveillance, it makes it more likely they'll go elsewhere. That's literally the whole point of Ring.

Physical stuff (window bars and a security door) is much, much more effective for that logic.

Burglars know they’ll probably be on CCTV somewhere anyway but nobody in their right mind is trying to smash through a security door or saw through some window bars when there’s a house up the street that doesn’t have them.

Obviously there are downsides (cost, aesthetics) but those solutions actually work, I’m skeptical that a fancy subscription doorbell makes much difference

Re: It takes 5 cloud services to hear my doorbell

#127

Post by anakaine »

utopiah wrote: post #101
mrb wrote: post #49

I am super sensitive to over engineering. For my doorbell I wanted something that lets me play a custom bell sound. You would be surprised that 99% of the solutions out there are complete over engineered stacks that depend on wifi devices, Internet access, connecting to various cloud services... So I built my own: a basic wireless button sends a radio 433 MHz signal, and my receiver is plugged inside the house and tr…

ZigBee button, double sided scotch tape, Zigbee dongle, HomeAssistant on RPi with a speaker.

Two wires, a button, a bell, and a battery pack.

Re: It takes 5 cloud services to hear my doorbell

#128

Post by mrb »

whstl wrote: post #123
mrb wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The requirements are not over engineered. They are what they are. Wireless and configurable chime. They are fixed parameters. But my implementation of these requirements is absolutely not over engineered. I argue it is the simplest and most reliable it could be done.

“I was only following the requirements” at this point must be the Nurnberg defence of over engineering. If it quacks like a duck, doesn’t matter what you call it: it was over engineering.

It would be over engineered if one could design a system providing similar functionality using less hardware and less software.

I challenge you to design a wireless doorbell that has a user-configurable chime, in a way that uses less software or less hardware than mine. You couldn't.

In fact, if you did market research like me you would find that 99% of similar products have vastly more complex hardware or software or services being them. They break when there is no Internet. Some work without Internet but don't work when the local Wi-Fi is non functional. They don't immediately get back online after a power outage. They need regular software updates during which the chime can't play. These are over engineered things. Not my product, because mine has none of this complexity or faults.

Re: It takes 5 cloud services to hear my doorbell

#129

Post by bigiain »

SwtCyber wrote: post #86
sdcfgy wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a former embedded systems engineer, my door bell is two long bits of wire, a bell, a push button and two C cells. My light switches are similarly complicated.

Two wires and two C cells? Careful, someone is going to put a subscription layer in front of that

"Only works with Juicero brand C cells."

Re: It takes 5 cloud services to hear my doorbell

#130

Post by opan »

sdcfgy wrote: post #79
mrb wrote: post #49

I am super sensitive to over engineering. For my doorbell I wanted something that lets me play a custom bell sound. You would be surprised that 99% of the solutions out there are complete over engineered stacks that depend on wifi devices, Internet access, connecting to various cloud services... So I built my own: a basic wireless button sends a radio 433 MHz signal, and my receiver is plugged inside the house and tr…

As a former embedded systems engineer, my door bell is two long bits of wire, a bell, a push button and two C cells. My light switches are similarly complicated.

Is it still easy to get C cells? I probably would've used an 18650 or some AAs.
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