4 ms·

I've been hacking on computer for over thirty years, and maybe it's a testament to my age -- but I've got to say, there's not a lot that gets me less excited th

by kleiba 6y ago

I've been hacking on computer for over thirty years, and maybe it's a testament to my age -- but I've got to say, there's not a lot that gets me less excited than the "internet of things". Maybe databases.

intpx 6y ago
man, i feel completely the opposite. Once I realized there was a world outside of the IoT 'products' with proprietary ecosystems and that I could build my own, I found this whole world that took me back in time to the early days were I was working much closer to the hardware. Writing code in C, soldering i2c peripherals to microcontrolers, etc. And at the same time its given me real world use-cases to learn the new hotness tech like docker, mqtt, and some industrial stuff like node-red.
- koblas 6y ago
  I'm also in that 30 year camp. Will say that I value things that understand my time has value. I can say that I've gone from having the stereo with 7.1 channels and balancing a room to just give me a Sonos.
lostlogin 6y ago
I agreed, until my coffee machine was warm when I got out of bed. And then ventilation was sorted out and it just works. But the killer one for me was making a garden irrigation system where it waters for 10 minutes, one hour after sunset.
- H1Supreme 6y ago
  > I agreed, until my coffee machine was warm when I got out of bed. You don't need IOT for this. Even the cheapest coffee pot has a timer on it.
  - lostlogin 6y ago
    It’s an espresso machine.
    - kleiba 6y ago
      Power strip with timer?
      - lostlogin 6y ago
        It’s achievable for sure, and a timer was what I was after. They are horrible to use and quite hard to find and that’s how I ended up with a Kasa smart plug, followed by HA.
    - H1Supreme 6y ago
      Ah, that makes sense. I have to let my Gaggia Classic warm up for 10 minutes. I should take your route!
lioeters 6y ago
I felt the same way about the "Internet of Things". There's no fun in it, when the "things" are built by companies, connected to their servers, and they're just products designed and controlled by someone else. But recently, I started discovering how I can build my own "things". That completely changed my view of what's happening in this field. There's a thriving ecosystem of affordable micro-computers, controllers, sensors, a wide range of components; and people of all ages building all kinds of things with what's available in the market. As a sibling comment mentioned, the excitement is similar to the early days of the web, or what the early days of personal computers must have been like. For me the joy comes from exploring the building blocks, technological marvels that are accessible to the public now, and learning how to build what I imagine in my mind. It kind of brings me back full circle, (re)learning C and electronics, controlling hardware directly, like I was doing in my childhood/pre-teens - but with all the advancements made in the last few decades.

by kleiba 6y ago

intpx 6y ago

man, i feel completely the opposite. Once I realized there was a world outside of the IoT 'products' with proprietary ecosystems and that I could build my own, I found this whole world that took me back in time to the early days were I was working much closer to the hardware. Writing code in C, soldering i2c peripherals to microcontrolers, etc. And at the same time its given me real world use-cases to learn the new hotness tech like docker, mqtt, and some industrial stuff like node-red.

koblas 6y ago
I'm also in that 30 year camp. Will say that I value things that understand my time has value. I can say that I've gone from having the stereo with 7.1 channels and balancing a room to just give me a Sonos.

lostlogin 6y ago

I agreed, until my coffee machine was warm when I got out of bed. And then ventilation was sorted out and it just works. But the killer one for me was making a garden irrigation system where it waters for 10 minutes, one hour after sunset.

H1Supreme 6y ago
> I agreed, until my coffee machine was warm when I got out of bed. You don't need IOT for this. Even the cheapest coffee pot has a timer on it.
- lostlogin 6y ago
  It’s an espresso machine.
  - kleiba 6y ago
    Power strip with timer?
    - lostlogin 6y ago
      It’s achievable for sure, and a timer was what I was after. They are horrible to use and quite hard to find and that’s how I ended up with a Kasa smart plug, followed by HA.
  - H1Supreme 6y ago
    Ah, that makes sense. I have to let my Gaggia Classic warm up for 10 minutes. I should take your route!

lioeters 6y ago

I felt the same way about the "Internet of Things". There's no fun in it, when the "things" are built by companies, connected to their servers, and they're just products designed and controlled by someone else. But recently, I started discovering how I can build my own "things". That completely changed my view of what's happening in this field. There's a thriving ecosystem of affordable micro-computers, controllers, sensors, a wide range of components; and people of all ages building all kinds of things with what's available in the market. As a sibling comment mentioned, the excitement is similar to the early days of the web, or what the early days of personal computers must have been like. For me the joy comes from exploring the building blocks, technological marvels that are accessible to the public now, and learning how to build what I imagine in my mind. It kind of brings me back full circle, (re)learning C and electronics, controlling hardware directly, like I was doing in my childhood/pre-teens - but with all the advancements made in the last few decades.