3 ms·

There are certainly areas where remote connectivity is useful. Cameras is one case (although I would be skeptical of the security of most of them). HVAC is cer

There are certainly areas where remote connectivity is useful. Cameras is one case (although I would be skeptical of the security of most of them). HVAC is certainly enhanced by the ability to control it remotely, first, because of the potential effort savings in being able to control it from anywhere in your house without having to seek out your control thing or remote, and second, because you can adjust the temperature remotely, which is good for those of use who don't want the house at 18 C all day long when we're not home, you can set the temperature to your desired temperature when you head home from work, which may not be a set time. IOT toasters though? That's just taking the piss.

doctorshady 10y ago
I see your point, but haven't we already had timed thermostats for decades? That would arguably accomplish the same thing with a lower part count and less security or manufacturer support issues.
- toomanybeersies 10y ago
  Timed thermostats have the issue that you have to know what time you're going to be there. Some days I'm home at 1800, other days I won't get home until 2200, and I often won't know until sometime during the day. Now, I don't use heating, so it's not an issue for me, but I could foresee it being an issue. The ability to use your phone as a universal remote is alluring as well. Being able to control the lights, TV, and heating all with one device is pretty cool.
x0x0 10y ago
Temote control hvac for vacation homes is a killer feature. Just being able to check the temp in your ski house to do things like see if the furnace is out, lower it if you forgot before leaving, bump it if the weather is particularly cold to protect your pipes, etc are definitely worth money. Otherwise, you're asking a friend to drive there or paying your handyman to go look.
zyxley 10y ago
I could see cases where connected toasters could be useful. It'd be a marginal amount of added value, but it would be there. The problem is that in the current context, almost any IOT device has an additional negative value attached to whatever positive value its features give, because basically every company doing it makes overcomplicated crap. In a perfect world, you might be able to plug in an IOT toaster and have it automatically connect to your Amazon/Google/Apple/whatever hub (with a simple "I found <yourname>'s hub, is this correct?" interface). At that point the hub would track the toaster status and the household context, and then do stuff like say, via your phone or a set of discreet speakers throughout the house, "The toast was burning, so I stopped the heat" or "You left your toaster on when nobody was home, so I turned it off". None of this would be impossible to implement today, but it would require thinking about long-term holistic benefits instead of being able to slap "IoT device" on something to try and sell more to nerds.
- toomanybeersies 10y ago
  But how do you leave a toaster on when nobody's home? You put bread in, push the lever, and it pops up 3 minutes later. And it's possible for a toaster to detect burning without requiring an internet connection.
  - zyxley 10y ago
    > But how do you leave a toaster on when nobody's home? Start toast, go and grab the mail, get distracted by a neighbor, forget about the toast, go over to look at their new riding lawnmower. > And it's possible for a toaster to detect burning without requiring an internet connection. Nothing about the scenarios I described would require an internet connection for anything but communicating outside the house (e.g. phone notifications).
    - leoedin 10y ago
      I think the point of the comment you replied to was that almost every toaster automatically shuts off after an adjustable time. Unless you have drastically misadjusted your toaster settings the worst case for a toaster is burnt toast (or perhaps some smoke if you really didn't get it right).

doctorshady 10y ago

I see your point, but haven't we already had timed thermostats for decades? That would arguably accomplish the same thing with a lower part count and less security or manufacturer support issues.

toomanybeersies 10y ago
Timed thermostats have the issue that you have to know what time you're going to be there. Some days I'm home at 1800, other days I won't get home until 2200, and I often won't know until sometime during the day. Now, I don't use heating, so it's not an issue for me, but I could foresee it being an issue. The ability to use your phone as a universal remote is alluring as well. Being able to control the lights, TV, and heating all with one device is pretty cool.

x0x0 10y ago

Temote control hvac for vacation homes is a killer feature. Just being able to check the temp in your ski house to do things like see if the furnace is out, lower it if you forgot before leaving, bump it if the weather is particularly cold to protect your pipes, etc are definitely worth money. Otherwise, you're asking a friend to drive there or paying your handyman to go look.

zyxley 10y ago

I could see cases where connected toasters could be useful. It'd be a marginal amount of added value, but it would be there. The problem is that in the current context, almost any IOT device has an additional negative value attached to whatever positive value its features give, because basically every company doing it makes overcomplicated crap. In a perfect world, you might be able to plug in an IOT toaster and have it automatically connect to your Amazon/Google/Apple/whatever hub (with a simple "I found <yourname>'s hub, is this correct?" interface). At that point the hub would track the toaster status and the household context, and then do stuff like say, via your phone or a set of discreet speakers throughout the house, "The toast was burning, so I stopped the heat" or "You left your toaster on when nobody was home, so I turned it off". None of this would be impossible to implement today, but it would require thinking about long-term holistic benefits instead of being able to slap "IoT device" on something to try and sell more to nerds.

toomanybeersies 10y ago
But how do you leave a toaster on when nobody's home? You put bread in, push the lever, and it pops up 3 minutes later. And it's possible for a toaster to detect burning without requiring an internet connection.
- zyxley 10y ago
  > But how do you leave a toaster on when nobody's home? Start toast, go and grab the mail, get distracted by a neighbor, forget about the toast, go over to look at their new riding lawnmower. > And it's possible for a toaster to detect burning without requiring an internet connection. Nothing about the scenarios I described would require an internet connection for anything but communicating outside the house (e.g. phone notifications).
  - leoedin 10y ago
    I think the point of the comment you replied to was that almost every toaster automatically shuts off after an adjustable time. Unless you have drastically misadjusted your toaster settings the worst case for a toaster is burnt toast (or perhaps some smoke if you really didn't get it right).