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There is the basic use case of getting something like weather sensors broadcasting conditions over time. That could be useful. The way I think this will be used

by rnk 4y ago

There is the basic use case of getting something like weather sensors broadcasting conditions over time. That could be useful. The way I think this will be used if it ever got market traction is to spy on you. Today if I don't put my tv or my fridge on my home wifi, they can't call home unless they had a phone modem - I hope that doesn't make financial sense (I just realized I was hoping they only spy on you with wifi). I can put my own streaming device on the tv with a defined privacy policy. I don't want my tv showing me ads, and it doesn't, and that's one reason I'm using a 3rd party streaming device. Because I'm paying them there's a much higher chance it will only do what they say. If this ever got popular, your tv would have a direct connection to broadcast outside of your control what you are watching. I don't want devices doing more corporate surveillance things not in my control.

matthewdgreen 4y ago
To be fair to these industries there can be more to it as well: construction operations may require inventory management for a fleet of power tools. Some IoT devices can potentially provide useful services via regular software upgrade, etc. But yes: it's mostly going to be spying and feature upsells. The problem now is that network access is becoming a bottleneck. Many devices have the hardware they need to connect to networks, but don't provide the UI to enable Wi-Fi or Bluetooth pairing, nor do they provide any compelling incentive for users to connect to their own devices. Networks like Amazon Sidewalk and maybe Helium are one answer to this problem. The manufacturers can make very inexpensive deals with the network operator, reflecting the fact that their devices don't actually need very much bandwidth. My personal theory is that networks like Apple's FindMy (AirTags) will also compete in this arena.

by rnk 4y ago

matthewdgreen 4y ago

To be fair to these industries there can be more to it as well: construction operations may require inventory management for a fleet of power tools. Some IoT devices can potentially provide useful services via regular software upgrade, etc. But yes: it's mostly going to be spying and feature upsells. The problem now is that network access is becoming a bottleneck. Many devices have the hardware they need to connect to networks, but don't provide the UI to enable Wi-Fi or Bluetooth pairing, nor do they provide any compelling incentive for users to connect to their own devices. Networks like Amazon Sidewalk and maybe Helium are one answer to this problem. The manufacturers can make very inexpensive deals with the network operator, reflecting the fact that their devices don't actually need very much bandwidth. My personal theory is that networks like Apple's FindMy (AirTags) will also compete in this arena.