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The hacker news crowd was never going to like this product, but I think it’s genius. I’m pretty sure I’d never buy one myself, but this is a grade A gift for so

The hacker news crowd was never going to like this product, but I think it’s genius. I’m pretty sure I’d never buy one myself, but this is a grade A gift for somebody who: 1. Never wants anything, so you never know what to get them. 2. Vaguely worries about security. Which describes my parents and the parents of a lot other people I know. It’s perfect because it scratches their itch for security, while also being futuristic and cool, unlike a regular camera system. Many consumers have already invited big tech companies into their homes with Echo et al, and it’s clear that privacy is not a primary concern for many people.

SamBam 6y ago
> It’s perfect because it scratches their itch for security My gut instinct is that these kinds of products create an itch for security. When we had our first baby, we considered a video monitor, but my wife is quite anxious -- and also very self-aware -- and knew that if she got one she'd be starting at the screen constantly making sure she could detect a moving chest. Then people started getting the wearable baby monitors that automatical check breathing. You can imagine how much anxiety soared. "Is it reading correctly? What if the monitors have just stopped working? And why has it been 20 seconds since the last update?" We got an audio monitor that only responded to loud noises. Our parents generation, of course, didn't even have that, and were even less anxious than us. I think the more you get into these kinds of products, the more you starting thinking about it, and the more you start thinking about what you're not monitoring, and what you are missing in your system, and how you didn't check the feed yet today while on holiday...
orev 6y ago
If you’d never buy one yourself (you don’t say why, so I’ll assume basic privacy reasons) why would you possibly buy one for other people? Presumably as part of the HN crowd you have some skills to be able to protect yourself, so why would you give one to people who have no such skills?
gherkinnn 6y ago
> Never want anything and you never know what to get them? Just don’t get them anything. Maybe just some fancy wind sausage. It’s not that hard. The compulsion to fill people’s lives with junk they neither need, nor in your case want, is beyond me. Different point entirely, I know.

SamBam 6y ago

> It’s perfect because it scratches their itch for security My gut instinct is that these kinds of products create an itch for security. When we had our first baby, we considered a video monitor, but my wife is quite anxious -- and also very self-aware -- and knew that if she got one she'd be starting at the screen constantly making sure she could detect a moving chest. Then people started getting the wearable baby monitors that automatical check breathing. You can imagine how much anxiety soared. "Is it reading correctly? What if the monitors have just stopped working? And why has it been 20 seconds since the last update?" We got an audio monitor that only responded to loud noises. Our parents generation, of course, didn't even have that, and were even less anxious than us. I think the more you get into these kinds of products, the more you starting thinking about it, and the more you start thinking about what you're not monitoring, and what you are missing in your system, and how you didn't check the feed yet today while on holiday...

orev 6y ago

If you’d never buy one yourself (you don’t say why, so I’ll assume basic privacy reasons) why would you possibly buy one for other people? Presumably as part of the HN crowd you have some skills to be able to protect yourself, so why would you give one to people who have no such skills?

gherkinnn 6y ago

> Never want anything and you never know what to get them? Just don’t get them anything. Maybe just some fancy wind sausage. It’s not that hard. The compulsion to fill people’s lives with junk they neither need, nor in your case want, is beyond me. Different point entirely, I know.