5 ms·

A long, long time ago - before JohnCompanies and rsync.net and Oh By - I was a windows sysadmin. One thing I noticed was, for the most part, the intelligence o

by rsync 10y ago

A long, long time ago - before JohnCompanies and rsync.net and Oh By - I was a windows sysadmin. One thing I noticed was, for the most part, the intelligence of a user was inversely correlated to how much shit they had running in their windows system tray. The smarter you were, the fewer little blinking mini-icons you had down in the lower-right corner of the desktop. You didn't need those gimmicks and you understood the value of simplicity in a running system. I wonder how smart homes and smart people correlate ?

pjc50 10y ago
Like browser toolbars. I was going to say "at least IoT devices can't driveby install themselves", but I'm sure someone will find a way. Maybe people can have Bonzi Buddy for their thermostat.
- deegles 10y ago
  It will probably become a selling point for new construction once it gets cheap enough. So it will be more like crapware installed on a new PC, except inside your walls. :)
  - pjc50 10y ago
    Oh god, it's going to have to be on the structural reports. "House is at risk from subsidence and there's Heartbleed in the heating system"
  - tunap 10y ago
    It doesn't have to be crap if it is modular and upgradeable. Executive controller, hardware controllers, sensors and switches need to be serviceable/upgradeable. The paramount feature(or lack of) would be to keep it air gapped. As soon as you connect it to the net, all is lost & you are now a slave to fees from an SaaS that may be gone in a year, security updates and haxor shenanigans. A truly automated system doesnt require your input after roll-out & dialing. Of course, that does mean no cool app to fiddle with.
    - pavel_lishin 10y ago
      Computers are modular and upgradeable, but we still have Bonzi Buddy and the AdSearchMoneyDollars browser toolbars, and pre-installed bloatware (and backdoors!) bundled by manufacturers.
      - tunap 10y ago
        Yep, everything changes when you network w/ the outside world. My point is a home-rolled, air-gapped system has no chronic needs for updates, bloat purges & pen-testing. A static platform, set it & forget it, is the benefit I value. That and nobody indexing my activities for profit.
        pavel_lishin 10y ago
        > A static platform, set it & forget it, is the benefit I value. Wait, you just said above: > It doesn't have to be crap if it is modular and upgradeable. Executive controller, hardware controllers, sensors and switches need to be serviceable/upgradeable.
        tunap 10y ago
        Components break, sensors die, contacts get rough. 3rd party applications are unnecessary for the specifically coded purpose. Not being connected negates the need for security updates. And over time, the operator may choose to upgrade the platform at his or her sole discretion.
tunap 10y ago
Perhaps I can be one data point for you. I install & service EMS systems(automated controls) for big box retail stores. This does not necessarily make me smart, just knowledgable of what can be done w/out a new SaaS mining my life. My home automation? A programmable Tstat(with adaptive controls disabled) & a couple photovalic night lights. Anything more for <10,000 sq ft is just trivial, IMO. Perhaps that just makes me lazy. What consumer level automation offers is sub-par potential designed to foster reliance on a SaaS provider, and most often making me & my life the product for sale is their best working achievement. No thanks.
saulrh 10y ago
I always get annoyed at how many things want a system tray icon now. There's no reason for my mouse to need a piece of software that lives in the system tray. There's no reason for my IM client to live in the system tray. There's no reason for my video card driver to have an updater service that lives in the system tray. It's ridiculous. Of the 12 things in my system tray, I've only ever clicked on three of them. It's infuriating.
- tunap 10y ago
  "It's infuriating." I sure hope you don't own an HP printer... Get into Services and set unessentials to manual, bloatware to disabled(if cannot uninstall & keep functionality or driver). Some searching[0] around will show more than a few MS services can be disabled without anything of value lost. edit: blackviper's still up and running. wow. : [0] http://www.blackviper.com/sitemap/ http://www.blackviper.com/sitemap/
  - pavel_lishin 10y ago
    My favorite piece of HP software was some printer "accessory" that would hang out on the desktop, overlaying the icons there, and on occasion overlaying every other piece of software as well, taking up pretty valuable screen real estate and mindscape, too.
eveningcoffee 10y ago
I think that you get the same situation here. There are people who understand what is going on and people who do not and people who do but do not care.
bcook 10y ago
I think you meant "knowledge" rather than "intelligence". Sorry for the nitpick. There are many smart people who are not techies.
knz 10y ago
I'm always amazed at how cynical HN can be on IoT. I work at a facility with tens of thousands of sensors that are critical to safely and efficiently running the operation. IoT is spilling into the residential sector because of how successful it has been in the commercial world and because many people find it to be a useful addition to their household. Are there issues that the industry needs to resolve? Absolutely. Should the buyer made an educated purchase? Sure. But the answer to some IoT systems being insecure is not that the whole field is a gimmick only for the "smart"! I wouldn't even call residential IoT a mature technology yet - of course there are going to be issues.

by rsync 10y ago

pjc50 10y ago

Like browser toolbars. I was going to say "at least IoT devices can't driveby install themselves", but I'm sure someone will find a way. Maybe people can have Bonzi Buddy for their thermostat.

deegles 10y ago
It will probably become a selling point for new construction once it gets cheap enough. So it will be more like crapware installed on a new PC, except inside your walls. :)
- pjc50 10y ago
  Oh god, it's going to have to be on the structural reports. "House is at risk from subsidence and there's Heartbleed in the heating system"
- tunap 10y ago
  It doesn't have to be crap if it is modular and upgradeable. Executive controller, hardware controllers, sensors and switches need to be serviceable/upgradeable. The paramount feature(or lack of) would be to keep it air gapped. As soon as you connect it to the net, all is lost & you are now a slave to fees from an SaaS that may be gone in a year, security updates and haxor shenanigans. A truly automated system doesnt require your input after roll-out & dialing. Of course, that does mean no cool app to fiddle with.
  - pavel_lishin 10y ago
    Computers are modular and upgradeable, but we still have Bonzi Buddy and the AdSearchMoneyDollars browser toolbars, and pre-installed bloatware (and backdoors!) bundled by manufacturers.
    - tunap 10y ago
      Yep, everything changes when you network w/ the outside world. My point is a home-rolled, air-gapped system has no chronic needs for updates, bloat purges & pen-testing. A static platform, set it & forget it, is the benefit I value. That and nobody indexing my activities for profit.
      - pavel_lishin 10y ago
        > A static platform, set it & forget it, is the benefit I value. Wait, you just said above: > It doesn't have to be crap if it is modular and upgradeable. Executive controller, hardware controllers, sensors and switches need to be serviceable/upgradeable.
        tunap 10y ago
        Components break, sensors die, contacts get rough. 3rd party applications are unnecessary for the specifically coded purpose. Not being connected negates the need for security updates. And over time, the operator may choose to upgrade the platform at his or her sole discretion.

tunap 10y ago

Perhaps I can be one data point for you. I install & service EMS systems(automated controls) for big box retail stores. This does not necessarily make me smart, just knowledgable of what can be done w/out a new SaaS mining my life. My home automation? A programmable Tstat(with adaptive controls disabled) & a couple photovalic night lights. Anything more for <10,000 sq ft is just trivial, IMO. Perhaps that just makes me lazy. What consumer level automation offers is sub-par potential designed to foster reliance on a SaaS provider, and most often making me & my life the product for sale is their best working achievement. No thanks.

saulrh 10y ago

I always get annoyed at how many things want a system tray icon now. There's no reason for my mouse to need a piece of software that lives in the system tray. There's no reason for my IM client to live in the system tray. There's no reason for my video card driver to have an updater service that lives in the system tray. It's ridiculous. Of the 12 things in my system tray, I've only ever clicked on three of them. It's infuriating.

tunap 10y ago
"It's infuriating." I sure hope you don't own an HP printer... Get into Services and set unessentials to manual, bloatware to disabled(if cannot uninstall & keep functionality or driver). Some searching[0] around will show more than a few MS services can be disabled without anything of value lost. edit: blackviper's still up and running. wow. : [0] http://www.blackviper.com/sitemap/ http://www.blackviper.com/sitemap/
- pavel_lishin 10y ago
  My favorite piece of HP software was some printer "accessory" that would hang out on the desktop, overlaying the icons there, and on occasion overlaying every other piece of software as well, taking up pretty valuable screen real estate and mindscape, too.

eveningcoffee 10y ago

I think that you get the same situation here. There are people who understand what is going on and people who do not and people who do but do not care.

bcook 10y ago

I think you meant "knowledge" rather than "intelligence". Sorry for the nitpick. There are many smart people who are not techies.

knz 10y ago

I'm always amazed at how cynical HN can be on IoT. I work at a facility with tens of thousands of sensors that are critical to safely and efficiently running the operation. IoT is spilling into the residential sector because of how successful it has been in the commercial world and because many people find it to be a useful addition to their household. Are there issues that the industry needs to resolve? Absolutely. Should the buyer made an educated purchase? Sure. But the answer to some IoT systems being insecure is not that the whole field is a gimmick only for the "smart"! I wouldn't even call residential IoT a mature technology yet - of course there are going to be issues.