Live data from Hacker News

Lockitron exceeds $2,000,000 in reservations

lockitron.com

101–110 of 111 posts

Re: Lockitron exceeds $2,000,000 in reservations

#101
post #80
post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have not ordered one, but here is how I see it: It is a step towards what the world will be like at some future point, when everything about your home (and life) is managed from your phone (or some kind of device). I'm not trying to sound futuristic and sci-fi, but I'm sure we will reach a point where there are no keys, just doors that unlock automatically and open for you based on proximity and identity verificati…

> I see it as an intermediary step on the path to totally rethinking doors and physical access in general. I don't believe doors and physical access in general need to be rethought, except maybe to improve the security of physical locks themselves. The 'big dumb thing between you and my stuff you'd need a sledgehammer to get past without a key' model has mostly worked for a good long while. (Or, fine, a crooked bit o…

Personally, I'm looking foward to a future where the display of my phone does not get scratched by the keys in my pocket. It will happen, and it will be a good thing. Admittedly, getting rid of my phone would solve the problem equally well.

Re: Lockitron exceeds $2,000,000 in reservations

#102

A lot of doubters when this was launched! Albeit not a jetpack, it's exciting to see the future slowly arrive!

If you see the comments here, there are still a LOT of doubters. Which surprises me a lot, this product is genius. With so much skepticism, if Lockitron was a stock, I would buy it.

Re: Lockitron exceeds $2,000,000 in reservations

#103
post #55

It really pays to check how ones company name sounds in different languages. Because in some cases connotations could be not even funny :( For example in russian, lockitron sounds very similar to 'lohotron' which translates as con game, scam etc.

I'd wager that nearly any name is going to sound bad in some language. I don't know how important it really is to pay attention to this. If the Russian market ends up being important for them somehow, they can always make a new name for the Russian market.

Indeed. For example: I'm a big fan of Yammer which is a great name in English.

Introducing it to my Dutch colleagues is hilarious, though, because the name effectively means "that sucks" in Dutch ('Jammer' is pronounced the same).

Re: Lockitron exceeds $2,000,000 in reservations

#104
post #95
post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dont think it needs to be disrupted, and even if it did, I dont think Lockitron is that product. We are moving towards a world where everything is connected, online, and accessible. Doors and keys are not in need of an overhaul, but some day, due to advances in peripheral technologies, having a door unlock automatically is going to just seem obvious. At first it will be something only the newest buildings have, and…

I suppose you're right to a degree when it comes to supermarket doors and some car locks, the idea that things should be so connected is certainly already present, and there's no reason to expect it not to saturate wherever it can. But there would remain real value to the low tech approach for a number of reasons. Physical locks are less expensive than networked locks would be. Networked locks would be subject to the…

One of the biggest dangers with software is that vulnerabilities, once discovered, can be exploited remotely or by persons without the necessary knowledge and talent to actually build the exploit themselves.

Nearly all locks can be picked. However, unless you are the target of a major criminal organization or government agency, it is reasonable to expect that your lock will not have to withstand someone who has invested thousands of hours into learning how to pick the most sophisticated locks. With a network-connected device, it only takes one clever fellow to discover the vulnerability and all of a sudden script kiddies everywhere can be deploying it against your lock.

Re: Lockitron exceeds $2,000,000 in reservations

#105
post #103
post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd wager that nearly any name is going to sound bad in some language. I don't know how important it really is to pay attention to this. If the Russian market ends up being important for them somehow, they can always make a new name for the Russian market.

Indeed. For example: I'm a big fan of Yammer which is a great name in English. Introducing it to my Dutch colleagues is hilarious, though, because the name effectively means "that sucks" in Dutch ('Jammer' is pronounced the same).

Same in German.

Re: Lockitron exceeds $2,000,000 in reservations

#106
post #62

This is bananas! Please, someone who has reserved one .. WHY do you need to open your deadbolt from anywhere other than your front door? Do you often find yourself down the street / at work / in an overseas hotel with the need to open the deadbolt? Don't you want to see who's there? Don't you have a second lock built into the knob? It's an interesting idea to control a mechanical object (lock) with an internet connec…

I have not ordered one, but here is how I see it: It is a step towards what the world will be like at some future point, when everything about your home (and life) is managed from your phone (or some kind of device). I'm not trying to sound futuristic and sci-fi, but I'm sure we will reach a point where there are no keys, just doors that unlock automatically and open for you based on proximity and identity verificati…

Ubik, pkd :

The door refused to open. It said, "Five cents, please." He searched his pockets. No more coins; nothing. "I'll pay you tomorrow," he told the door. Again it remained locked tight. "What I pay you," he informed it, "is in the nature of a gratuity; I don't have to pay you."

"I think otherwise," the door said. "Look in the purchase contract you signed when you bought this conapt."

...he found the contract. Sure enough; payment to his door for opening and shutting constituted a mandatory fee. Not a tip.

"You discover I'm right," the door said. It sounded smug.

Re: Lockitron exceeds $2,000,000 in reservations

#107
post #97
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interestingly tptacek commented on this saying - 'Matasano' ==> 'Last doctor you would go to'. And they were sad for a few minutes and then were 'very happy' with the name. The implication being that 'Matasano' is the last doc you go to who 'CURES' you I guess...

Whenever I read Matasano I think Monsanto instead. They both start with M and end with O, and the inner consonants are similar. And Monsanto does not have a great reputation...

'tptacek on Matasano the name: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4684845

Re: Lockitron exceeds $2,000,000 in reservations

#108

Playing devil's advocate here, but what is the hype surrounding this lock? I bought two 'aesthetic enough' keypad code locks from Home Depot and it' been serving me well since. It doesn't require my phone or launching an app from my phone (think bags of groceries in both hands and you forgot to preunlock), doesn't require Wi-Fi, and I can program temporary codes for Airbnb, etc. within seconds. The only draw back is…

It's great because you don't NEED a keypad. Also, for people who rent and can't replace their locks, this gets them all the functionality a keypad lock can give.

No, but you do NEED a smartphone. So I'm out.

Anyway, I have a regular dumb keypad deadbolt on my front door, and that works just fine. I don't have any needs that Lockitron would fill that the current lock doesn't.

Re: Lockitron exceeds $2,000,000 in reservations

#109

It really pays to check how ones company name sounds in different languages. Because in some cases connotations could be not even funny :( For example in russian, lockitron sounds very similar to 'lohotron' which translates as con game, scam etc.

This is a non-issue. Look at MongoDB. If you want to say "You're a retard" in German you'd say "Du bist ein Mongo". Mongo being short for mongoloid and just as `politically incorrect` as retard is in the English speaking world. If anything the name made the product more memorable for me (and I use it almost every day now)

Mongo is a horribly offensive word for the same thing in English too - at least in British English. I wonder if the developers knew that?

Re: Lockitron exceeds $2,000,000 in reservations

#110

It really pays to check how ones company name sounds in different languages. Because in some cases connotations could be not even funny :( For example in russian, lockitron sounds very similar to 'lohotron' which translates as con game, scam etc.

Reminds me of the marketing folklore around the Chevy Nova: http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp "No va" means "he didn't go" in Spanish.

just like the japanese Mitsubishi Pajero in Spain: "pajero" translates to wanker/jerk in spanish
Post reply on HN