All right smart guy, explain to me how else I’d know if I’m out of ketchup if I can’t use an app to access the remote camera in my fridge? Can’t do it can ya? Yeah that’s what I thought
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Z3k3@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Remind me again why IoT is a good idea
Lightborne@lemmy.world 2 months ago
conciselyverbose@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
IoT doesn’t have to mean controlled by someone else. It’s the “cloud part” that breaks the concept, not the networking part.
Most of these products are adding features that are nice to have. (And security cameras don’t really count; being networked is their core functionality.) If you actually owned them, so you could hook them into an arbitrary hub (preferably with some sort of certificate system), those features add value.
They just don’t add enough value to let someone else use them to spy on you and be able remotely shut down your property.
jo3shmoo@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
Well said. I had hardware that was killed by “upgrades” or manufacturers discontinuing them from their cloud features. I now instal locally controllable hardware as much as possible and it has led to a much more stable and long term reliable smart home. Everything ties back into Home Assistant. The only remaining things I have with a cloud-reliant integration are the robovac our Nest Protect Smoke Alarms, and smart vents. The only reason they’re cloud controlled is there wasn’t a viable option that met feature and price point requirements. Everything else, (65+devices) is local Wi-Fi/Homekit ZigBee or Z-Wave
Z3k3@lemmy.world 2 months ago
You are of course correct. Guess my definition of iot must include going over the Internet. Comes with being an old cunt I guess. I do have a couple network devices but nothing that has packets that need to leave the house
I_Miss_Daniel@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I guess I’m the odd one out. I quite enjoy my Arlec / grid connect stuff for simple things that could be done with wires, timers and the like.
Tasks include: Controlling the aircon and a basic heater with Universal IR. Running ventilation fans to force air through the house when the missus opens a door for a smoke. Letting the goats out on schedule when they were young. Enabling different banks of batteries to run or charge for the inverter circuit by schedule or sunlight amount. Monitor power usage on the chargers and output to the inverter circuit. Charge the battery mower to 80% only, roughly. Charge my phone to 80% only, roughly. Power up the office lighting / TV / monitors / amp etc when I enter, off when I leave. Keep my dog cool at night but not too cold. (fan control)
Granted I’m not looking forward to the day that grid connect dies, but I belive I can convert to Tuya locally hosted if that happens.
None of these need a subscription.
Likewise my outdoor Reolink camera has free cloud storage but only if you renew it every month, which is a pain.
MeanEYE@lemmy.world 2 months ago
It actually is, if done right. But doing it right means you have to do things properly and care about doing them properly. In general data collection about various things can be useful, from optimizing energy consumption of your home to making your own life a tiny bit easier.
The problem is, manufacturers saw the potential and rushed in to be the first on the market and forgot that online things need maintenance and patching. Goes to show how selfless the admin job is. As long as things keep working properly no one even knows they exist.
I have wifi cameras which were never allowed online from first second they were connected to my network. But on the other hand I have few air filters that I do allow to send data so I can contribute to global statistics on air quality and similar.
Boozilla@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I remember some years ago, per-pandemic, when my coworkers and friends were getting hyped up about this stuff. I was the Luddite who they mocked for not being excited about it.
But I knew it was just more data gathering (spying) tech, and I knew the products would be made with planned obsolescence in mind, and I knew they would require subscriptions for cloud services. I doesn’t take any super power or precognition to know these things, it just requires paying a modicum of attention to trends and past performance from these corporations.
It’s discouraging how many otherwise smart people I know who are absolute suckers for tech bro marketing.
Don’t have FOMO (fear of missing out), cultivate FOBAD (fear of being a dumbass).
Z3k3@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Yeh luckily they (corporations) beat hype for new toys out of me before iot really took off. Now I just see everything that connects to the net through the lense of how are they screwing ne and how soon are they killing it
APassenger@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Home Assistant is open source, privacy oriented and working to make local non-cloud, non-Spyware) the norm.
It’s getting easier and easier to adopt and matter devices avoid cloud silliness.