281–290 of 367 posts
From Philip K. Dick's "Ubik" (1969): 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 he tried the knob. 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 y…
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I think the sibling comment demonstrates that it is was long term benefit.
Only a long term benefit in hindsight. Could have gone any number of ways.
Isn't every long-term benefit long-term only in hindsight?
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It’s worth noting that many smart locks nowadays have flat capacitive-based keypads, which even I as an able-bodied adult have issues pressing accurately. I used to live in a place with a main door that was a smart lock and I loved it, now I have to carry keys again which is super annoying. But one time the battery died while the landlord was out of town, which meant I couldn’t get in my building for hours until his…
But one time the battery died while the landlord was out of town, which meant I couldn’t get in my building for hours until his friend was able to find and bring over the physical key backup. Why not get your phone charged somewhere? Neighbors, a shop, ... surely someone could lend you an outlet + charger for 30 mins?
The comments seem to be missing the two key aspects: accessibility and surveillance. The smart lock requires you to have a charged, working smartphone that you can use in order to get into your own apartment. One of the claimants is 93 and lacks the manual dexterity to do that. On top of that, smart locks can report when you enter and exit your home to the landlord; and, if under the landlord control, can provide oth…
>The smart lock requires you to have a charged, working smartphone that you can use in order to get into your own apartment. When you say “The smart lock,” are you referring to the one in this story? The article mentions that this smart lock, which led to a common area, had a keypad: “Lisa Gallaudet, the landlords' attorney, said the smart lock was on a single door and that tenants were able to enter a numeric code t…
You might want to account for the lifestyle impact of switching from physical keys to stuff you have to memorize.
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The smart lock could be operated without identification, using a code. It’s not clear to me that this code was unique per user. This does not look like a privacy win to me. It looks like a good precedent that will aid in a privacy court battle in the future.
> The smart lock could be operated without identification, using a code. It’s not clear to me that this code was unique per user. "It's not clear to me that this is true" is different from "this is false". (Also note that the only evidence in the article even for the existence of the code, let alone the question of whether or not it identifies the tenant, is an attorney's claim; in the article, it is not denied, but…
Note that this was just a settlement, not a 'won' case. As per me, I'll stand with the smart locks. They're better for everyone. For landlords: - change locks by adding/removing users & passcodes - tenant forgets their code in the middle of the night? Remind them of the code For tenants: - No more lost keys; just remember a simple number or use your phone Some of the anti-lock tech arguments here are just silly. Land…
Smart-locks are a non-option for observant Jews on the sabbath.
From Philip K. Dick's "Ubik" (1969): 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 he tried the knob. 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 y…
Firefox can block muted video from autoplaying: about:config media.autoplay.allow-muted false
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The average lock around here can be trivially bumped and slightly-less-trivially picked. I wouldn't say your front door lock is the first lock you should try to pick, but it's definitely the second. Large apartment buildings of the size this article is about sometimes use better locks. I had a Medeco on one apartment I rented many years ago, but that's the best I've ever seen. Right now, I have a Schlage lock that ca…
On this topic, do you have any particular recommendations for locks, or recommendations from a lock-picking society?
But even something like a dimple lock will frustrate someone expecting a regular lock.
Your deadbolt should also require multiple turns of the key to disengage completely.