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Mozilla debuts implementation of WebThings Gateway open-source router firmware

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Re: Mozilla debuts implementation of WebThings Gateway open-source router firmware

#141

Post by RandallBrown »

ololobus wrote: post #99
m12k wrote: post #16

What's HN's thoughts on IoT? To me it looks like yet another buzzword from the "wouldn't it be neat?" crowd (the same people who previously gave us a lot of hype about Semantic Web and P2P social networks) but as before none of the applications are actually worth the hassle, this prevents critical mass from ever being reached, and in reality it's mostly just a way for appliance companies who are already overcharging…

I don't think so. My guess is that the industry of consumer electronics is moving toward the right direction. I have two pieces of IoT in my household: 1) Robot vacuum cleaner, and I am absolutely felt in love with it. My floor now is always clean during weekdays, when I am busy working, no more visible dust, crumbs, etc. I just have to clean filter and container once a week, otherwise it is fully autonomous. The onl…

iRobot has made the Braava for a pretty long time to do floor mopping. Or are you talking about a robot that does both?

Re: Mozilla debuts implementation of WebThings Gateway open-source router firmware

#142

Post by r3bl »

wongarsu wrote: post #114
r3bl wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You'd think so, but NFCs are far easier to program and re-program. One of the NFC tags on my work desk triggers "focus mode". Lights change to bright white, a (non-local) radio station starts playing in the background, and the volume gets auto-adjusted to something bearable. That saves me like 20 clicks or so on two remotes. It's all about those small victories that save me a few minutes each day, all without a need…

There's nothing inherent about a button that prevents it from being programmable, and Phillips even has a battery-less remote that could as well be wall mounted.

You mean like this one? https://www2.meethue.com/en-us/support/dimmer-switch

I know about it. I have it. I've used it as a trigger before. I've replaced it with NFCs because they are less of a hassle to repurpose. The dimmer still serves its original purpose, while NFC tags are used for everything else.

Re: Mozilla debuts implementation of WebThings Gateway open-source router firmware

#144

Post by aksss »

r3bl wrote: post #106
wongarsu wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I use NFC tags as a trigger. I simply hover my phone over a tag and an action happens in the background. That reads like what you really want is a regular physical button or switch. I think a lot of devices suffer because they try to fit the IoT label instead of just being a smart device without internet or even phone connectivity.

You'd think so, but NFCs are far easier to program and re-program. One of the NFC tags on my work desk triggers "focus mode". Lights change to bright white, a (non-local) radio station starts playing in the background, and the volume gets auto-adjusted to something bearable. That saves me like 20 clicks or so on two remotes. It's all about those small victories that save me a few minutes each day, all without a need…

I mean, that's what insteon buttons with an isy994 are all about right? The button push just tells the controller "I was pushed" and whatever you tell the controller to do with that information is what gets done. The cool thing is you can have a bank of six buttons in a standard 1-gang box format. Seems easier and less complex than NFC and a phone, unless you're using the phone as a form of authentication (something possessed), whereas a physical button is like anonymous/no authentication.

Re: Mozilla debuts implementation of WebThings Gateway open-source router firmware

#145

Post by bashinator »

godelski wrote: post #120
tialaramex wrote: post #29

This the closest we have so far to an answer to the point raised in the IETF 105 Technical Plenary a few days ago. Encrypting everything means that IoT devices represent an unknown threat - your "smart" TV connects to Sourceforge and downloads... something every week. What for? Your "smart" thermostat calls the IP of the vendor, maybe to get firmware updates, but it also calls the Disney corporation - what for? You c…

I'm no security expert, and maybe one can explain this to me, but why can't we just inspect the data before it is encrypted? Like isn't it gathered in some way, encrypted, then sent? And on the receiving end it has to decrypt, so we look at that (naively what files change). Unless this is all stored as encrypted I don't see why you can't do this. I mean this should prevent mitm attacks but also let those controlling…

Sure - just get a root shell prompt on your thermostat and I'd be happy to walk you through the rest.

Re: Mozilla debuts implementation of WebThings Gateway open-source router firmware

#146

Post by westbywest »

sandGorgon wrote: post #125

Any reason Mozilla is not picking up and supporting one of the DD-WRT/OpenWRT projects ? They are hugely popular, have a huge userbase and are well supported by a lot of hardware (most TP-Link, Linksys, etc).

Probably the flexibility of that router having 3 MiniPCIe slots for the wireless card(s), from the standpoint of ease in firmware development. The cheaper routers with embedded radio chipsets range from very good to crappy support for open source firmware. But, few people are going to be interested in a 350$US product, when equivalent is available for a fraction of that.

Re: Mozilla debuts implementation of WebThings Gateway open-source router firmware

#147

Post by bashinator »

jpindar wrote: post #104
hamilyon2 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Iot is already in consumer electronics space. It is firmly in the present, and it is worth the hassle for a lot of people.

And it's been commonplace in industrial electronics for about 20 years. The reaction to it there was "It has an rs-232 over Ethernet adapter built in? That's convenient."

My take on what makes the modern IoT different from just attaching networking to devices, is the mandatory cloud backend replacing in-house IT infrastructure. That's what's letting networked devices enter the mainstream consumer market.

Re: Mozilla debuts implementation of WebThings Gateway open-source router firmware

#148

Post by mfrye0 »

godelski wrote: post #124
SamuelAdams wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a great idea, but companies are building products that no one wants. Here's a few ideas of products / services / suites of items I would actually buy for my home: - Machine to completely do my dishes. End to end. It puts them from the sink to the dishwasher. Runs the dishwasher. Takes them out of the dishwasher and puts them in the cabinet. I do not care if this takes 5 hours - it can run overnight. I just don't…

> I saw a post about some dude who used facial recognition software on his cat's door flap to see if the cat was bringing in a dead rodent: it barred the cat from entering unless he dropped the rodent. Do you happen to have a link to this? It sounds hilarious and informative. Also a great way to train cats.

I think this is it: https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=172114

I read it awhile back. Really interesting.

Re: Mozilla debuts implementation of WebThings Gateway open-source router firmware

#149

Post by godelski »

ripdog wrote: post #133
godelski wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My confusion is that I think there has to be a command that is encryptThisDataToBeSent(data). Can't you just look at data? Before it is encrypted? Or is data encrypted at all times? But if that's true, then the difference of sending encrypted data is kinda moot.

If you can root the device and replace the firmware, sure. Or do extremely difficult hardmodding to tap the data buses, perhaps. But both of those approaches are very difficult and resource-intensive. The first requires many, many hours of reverse engineering to find a security hole which allows you to write unsigned firmware to the device (or find a way to sign your own firmware and then upload it), then hack the fi…

Okay I guess that makes sense. If I'm understanding you could get that information but you don't have access to the memory addresses unless you crack the firmware? Though in the case of Mozilla, wouldn't that be open so this wouldn't be that big of an issue?

Re: Mozilla debuts implementation of WebThings Gateway open-source router firmware

#150

Post by whazor »

m12k wrote: post #16

What's HN's thoughts on IoT? To me it looks like yet another buzzword from the "wouldn't it be neat?" crowd (the same people who previously gave us a lot of hype about Semantic Web and P2P social networks) but as before none of the applications are actually worth the hassle, this prevents critical mass from ever being reached, and in reality it's mostly just a way for appliance companies who are already overcharging…

ESP8266 is essentially an Arduino with WiFi for 2 dollars on AliExpress. With Hass.io and Esphome it becomes trivial to configure these in your home with some sensor or relays. I think once the ecosystem is more ready, you will see more applications. In my view, especially the automations between sensors and actuators are currently bothersome to configure.
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