Do not trust the cloud.
Do not trust the cloud.
Do not trust the cloud.
If you didn't build it and you don't know where it is, it could go away at any time for any reason and you will have zero recourse.
DO NOT. TRUST. THE CLOUD.
Google's Nest is disabling some of its customers' old smart-home devices
101–110 of 325 posts
Re: Google's Nest is disabling some of its customers' old smart-home devices
#102Earlier quoted context omitted.
You don't have to imagine, cars are already being remotely disabled on purpose due to late loan repayment[0]. [0] http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/09/24/miss-a-payment-good-l...
Only for borrowers with poor credit who explicitly agree to such a thing as a condition of getting a car loan, though.
Until things like these become "standard clauses", with a side of "data shared with select partners"
Re: Google's Nest is disabling some of its customers' old smart-home devices
#103>1 points by tomc1985 10 days ago | parent | on: OneDrive reduces free tier from 15GB to 5GB >Never trust the cloud, it will always stab you in the back... eventually Posted this before, got downvoted... ...posting this again, and will probably get downvoted again... Seriously people, suck it up and run your own shit if it matters at all
You can do that if you have unlimited time. Eventually there's just too much "own shit" to take care of, if you keep adding all kinds of services. This is quite familiar to me, having run a bunch of email/web/container/database/file servers for personal use. After a while, it's pretty tempting to just trade money or privacy for time and convenience.
Re: Google's Nest is disabling some of its customers' old smart-home devices
#104Very cutesy title, but a very poor title. This is why I refuse to buy any 3rd party internet connected (I mean connects to a 3rd party, not just TCP/IP) appliance unless I can install anything I want on it. It doesn't matter if internet connectivity is required or optional - if I'm not in charge of the software on it, and it connects to a 3rd party I refuse to buy it. I have a feeling more and more people will refuse…
I think your refusal is fine (in practice), but if everyone thought this way, Nest wouldn't exist.
And?
A thermostat should not need to connect to the internet. Everything it does should be able to be done onboard.
I refuse to buy a Nest.
And problems do happen: http://techcrunch.com/2016/01/09/nests-smart-home-apps-are-b...
Re: Google's Nest is disabling some of its customers' old smart-home devices
#105Wow, this is certainly something to think about in the age of the IoT's. I guess the question should be asked as to where the line is between when a user should and shouldn't expect a device to work. Especially in the coming age of drivers less cars. I can easily see a case where each driver-less car will need to talk to a mother-ship if for no other reason than syncing with other cars around it, getting new GPS maps…
Not just disappointed. A car being in this same situation could be extremely dangerous to people riding in it, or just in the nearby area. Imagine if your autonomous car just stops midway along a motorway at 70mph, or in rush hour traffic, or in just about any other important situation. That's a situation that'd be pretty hard to avoid for a manufacturer, given all the timezones and places around the world that such a vehicle could be used.
At least this device merely controls some devices inside a house, where it switching off is a simple inconvenience rather than a danger to life and limb.
The solution to these problems is fairly simple, at least in theory. The 'smart' device simply loses any functionality dependent on the maker's network when services are shut down. Fewer people complain about a lot of Nintendo's games losing online functionality because there's a single player and various options that doesn't dependent on it. So if Mario Kart 8 or Luigi's Mansion 2 has its servers go offline, you've got a perfectly decent game which simply loses online multiplayer.
In these cases, if the services goes away, it should simply become a normal device that the user configures themself independently of the company's network.
Re: Google's Nest is disabling some of its customers' old smart-home devices
#106This has been up for an hour and made the front page and we still don't have a Google Reader mention? Who are you and what have you done with Hacker News?
they did a lot better with closing Google reader than this. at least then, they gave you what you needed to get the same service through a different provider, whereas here, theres nothing
Re: Google's Nest is disabling some of its customers' old smart-home devices
#107It's interesting how so many people think this is a new problem because of IoT. This problem has existed for years with games. If you had a game that had to be online to play, and the company decided to stop running the servers, you were screwed. Sure, sometimes people reversed engineered it, and while the company usually didn't care, it was technically illegal. We need some laws to protect consumers, that either say…
I think the transition to a physical item makes a huge difference, mentally, to the customer: see also John Deere tractors [1] (and almost certainly automobiles in the coming years).
You feel like you OWN physical products, even when they are tied to a service like this.
Re: Google's Nest is disabling some of its customers' old smart-home devices
#108Earlier quoted context omitted.
Only for borrowers with poor credit who explicitly agree to such a thing as a condition of getting a car loan, though.
For now. But if most lenders require this you couldn't have much of an option to say no. They always test things like this with the market most easily exploited. Reminds me of prepaid gas and water meters in the UK. They started out only doing them for those who missed payments or had poor credit, but now they're everywhere. Most new homes get a prepay meter which they can wirelessly disconnect.
Sorry but none of this sounds insidious to me - if you don't pay for something, you don't get to use it.
Re: Google's Nest is disabling some of its customers' old smart-home devices
#109>1 points by tomc1985 10 days ago | parent | on: OneDrive reduces free tier from 15GB to 5GB >Never trust the cloud, it will always stab you in the back... eventually Posted this before, got downvoted... ...posting this again, and will probably get downvoted again... Seriously people, suck it up and run your own shit if it matters at all
You can do that if you have unlimited time. Eventually there's just too much "own shit" to take care of, if you keep adding all kinds of services. This is quite familiar to me, having run a bunch of email/web/container/database/file servers for personal use. After a while, it's pretty tempting to just trade money or privacy for time and convenience.
Also if you know how to do it in the first place, have the resources to afford learning-related mistakes, etc.
Re: Google's Nest is disabling some of its customers' old smart-home devices
#110As a longtime Dropcam owner, I find this very unsettling. Truth be told, Dropcam service has steadily decreased in quality ever since the Nest acquisition. Not a month passes without an unexplained multi-hour outage; our mobile apps are randomly logged out every few days, requiring us to enter lengthy passwords while nervously wondering what that motion alert might be about. One day the whole Nest rigmarole will beco…
How long, as a practical manner, is google required to run these servers? Until all the devices die? 3 years? 5 years? Don't get me wrong, I'm with you. I think 4 years from sale is reasonable though. Whatever the commitment is, it should be on the packaging, and it would be nice if the various state and federal consumer protection laws were applied here.
There should be something on the box or in the associated paperwork. Think "frustration-free service terms", similar to Amazon's frustration-free packaging. I shouldn't have to dive face-first into reams of legalese just in order to figure the half-life of my newly purchased gadget.
"Forever" is definitely not the answer I'm looking for here, but there should be a date, and preferably a DIY way forward for those of us who're technically inclined and have stocked up on sufficient amounts of elbow grease. This could be accomplished similarly to the Parse sunset: the service won't run anymore, but here's all the stuff you need to get it going, good luck! I'll take that over the seemingly imminent paperweightization of my camera.