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Yes, I have rejected most major commercial offerings out of hand because they usually have/require some connection to an internet server. I have no desire to in

Yes, I have rejected most major commercial offerings out of hand because they usually have/require some connection to an internet server. I have no desire to include that sort of vulnerability/weak link.

gregmac 11y ago
To me, it's just as big a deal that you're now at the whim of the provider. Your equipment can suddenly stop working if: * They go out of business or decide to drop the product line * Their servers go down (do you know if they're running a HA config, or merely a single server?) * They decide to make v2 of the product and stop updating/supporting v1 On top of this, your home internet connection can and will go down. Depending on what exactly you're doing this may or may not be a big deal: for example, not being able to remotely see your garage door status probably isn't important. Not having your motion sensing lights or timed schedules work, however, would be a pain. There are many products from startups that are hurting themselves because of this. I, like many geeks, love this kind of stuff, but like you, I won't purchase or make my house rely on anything that has these risks, and I steer friends and family away from these products as well. Developers: At least make your internet connection optional and allow the gear work without it. Even better, open source your server software: we can see how secure it is, plus if you go out of business, I can at least run it myself.
- fnordfnordfnord 11y ago
  >Your equipment can suddenly stop working if... That's part of what makes it a weak link! >your home internet connection can and will go down Yup
- geographomics 11y ago
  I had exactly that problem with a digital photo frame. Company went out of business a few months after purchase, leaving no way to update the displayed photos (at least, not without hacking the device) as they were all pulled from a remote server that no longer existed.
- CaptSpify 11y ago
  This is why I've been working with rpi/arduino stuff: I can build it myself. Sure, it's more work, but the pre-built options all suck, as far as I've seen. I used to always follow the newest automation releases, but I gave up, because they were all closed-source, internet-required devices. Screw that.
TeMPOraL 11y ago
It's fine if it lets you check the state of devices and sensors over the net. It's even fine if it lets you control it on-line. What's totally, absolutely not fine is if it requires the Internet to work. It's ridiculous from engineering point of view, and only done by companies who want to monetize you through butt bullshit. If your home automation needs my butt, I ain't buying it.
- pjc50 11y ago
  Someone's going to have to write the matching butt-to-cloud extension here.
  - TeMPOraL 11y ago
    Oh well. I might or might not have forgotten about having cloud-to-butt active extension when editing my comment.

gregmac 11y ago

To me, it's just as big a deal that you're now at the whim of the provider. Your equipment can suddenly stop working if: * They go out of business or decide to drop the product line * Their servers go down (do you know if they're running a HA config, or merely a single server?) * They decide to make v2 of the product and stop updating/supporting v1 On top of this, your home internet connection can and will go down. Depending on what exactly you're doing this may or may not be a big deal: for example, not being able to remotely see your garage door status probably isn't important. Not having your motion sensing lights or timed schedules work, however, would be a pain. There are many products from startups that are hurting themselves because of this. I, like many geeks, love this kind of stuff, but like you, I won't purchase or make my house rely on anything that has these risks, and I steer friends and family away from these products as well. Developers: At least make your internet connection optional and allow the gear work without it. Even better, open source your server software: we can see how secure it is, plus if you go out of business, I can at least run it myself.

fnordfnordfnord 11y ago
>Your equipment can suddenly stop working if... That's part of what makes it a weak link! >your home internet connection can and will go down Yup
geographomics 11y ago
I had exactly that problem with a digital photo frame. Company went out of business a few months after purchase, leaving no way to update the displayed photos (at least, not without hacking the device) as they were all pulled from a remote server that no longer existed.
CaptSpify 11y ago
This is why I've been working with rpi/arduino stuff: I can build it myself. Sure, it's more work, but the pre-built options all suck, as far as I've seen. I used to always follow the newest automation releases, but I gave up, because they were all closed-source, internet-required devices. Screw that.

TeMPOraL 11y ago

It's fine if it lets you check the state of devices and sensors over the net. It's even fine if it lets you control it on-line. What's totally, absolutely not fine is if it requires the Internet to work. It's ridiculous from engineering point of view, and only done by companies who want to monetize you through butt bullshit. If your home automation needs my butt, I ain't buying it.

pjc50 11y ago
Someone's going to have to write the matching butt-to-cloud extension here.
- TeMPOraL 11y ago
  Oh well. I might or might not have forgotten about having cloud-to-butt active extension when editing my comment.