4 ms·

I might have misinterpreted the article, but I imagine that if the NFC tag on the brush locks out, the handset is no longer able to write new data to it (no 'br

I might have misinterpreted the article, but I imagine that if the NFC tag on the brush locks out, the handset is no longer able to write new data to it (no 'brush seconds' can be added to the counter). This suggests to me that the handset will not start blinking and reminding you that you need a new brush, but will be happy to brush to infinity. I cannot imagine that the handset will refuse to brush if it can't write to the brush...

Voklen 3y ago
I have a third party brush head for my Philips Sonicare with none of the smart features and no electronics in the head (there's an air gap where they usually are) and it still works fine. This makes me wonder all the more why they put the effort in to secure the head.
- lscdlscd 3y ago
  Perhaps some compliance to a too-broad security policy. Like, across the board, all NFC enabled electronics with read/write capabilities must have a password mechanism. They probably knew it was dumb but implementing it was easier than getting around all the organizational permissions to make an exception.
- mensetmanusman 3y ago
  There's a good conspiracy here somewhere.
  - mistermann 3y ago
    Something kinda like this: https://youtu.be/jmzJXVEnmKc https://youtu.be/jmzJXVEnmKc
- version_five 3y ago
  Engineer gonna engineer. Someone probably just had the time and misplaced passion for security, and when they explained at the weekly standup that they'd added lockout after three attempts, everybody just nodded and moved on.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - tzs 3y ago
    This has long been a temptation for engineers. 40 years ago the textbook in the digital electronics class I took at Caltech had a chapter called "The Engineer as Dope Pusher" that talked about it. It gave as an example clothes dryers. The way most home clothes dryers working back then was you put the clothes in, you turn a dial on a timer to the number of minutes you want the dryer to run, and you press start. The mechanical timers were very reliable. There hadn't been any substantial improvement in their design in decades because there really wasn't anything to improve. There had been improvement in the materials used, and in the cost, but fundamentally mechanical timers was a solved problem. If the mechanical timer ever broke the repairperson would have replacements in their van. Even if they didn't have the specific one for your dryer it didn't matter because they all worked pretty much the same. They could just put in another one. Maybe the mounting holes wouldn't be in the right place, but they could easily improvise some way to mount it in your dryer. The book went on to say that somewhere there is an engineer designing a new clothes dryer, and instead of a mechanical timer that engineer is putting in a digital timer. It has a microprocessor, 7 segment LED digit displays for the time, some buttons for interacting with it (such as setting the time and correcting mistakes), and a power supply. And let's not forget that it has software. That digital timer has no advantage to the user over a mechanical timer. But it has disadvantages. The interface will be worse. It will cost more. It won't be more reliable and possibly will be less reliable, and if it does need repair the repairperson probable won't have the parts. If they have another brand's digital timer on hand they probably won't be able to adapt it to your dryer. So why is that engineer designing the new dryer with a digital timer? Because mechanical timers are boring. Digital electronics was at the cutting edge of consumer engineering then, and so by using a digital timer the engineer got to play with exciting new technology.
    - nuancebydefault 3y ago
      What do you mean by "reliable" wrt mechanical timers? I'm pretty sure the clothing dryer is a harsh environment for such a component (moisture and heat can easily cause corrosion and mechanical stress). Also, I guess timing gets less accurate over time. If there are rubbers preventing moisture from entering and oil from leaving, those rubbers will wear out.

Voklen 3y ago

I have a third party brush head for my Philips Sonicare with none of the smart features and no electronics in the head (there's an air gap where they usually are) and it still works fine. This makes me wonder all the more why they put the effort in to secure the head.

lscdlscd 3y ago
Perhaps some compliance to a too-broad security policy. Like, across the board, all NFC enabled electronics with read/write capabilities must have a password mechanism. They probably knew it was dumb but implementing it was easier than getting around all the organizational permissions to make an exception.
mensetmanusman 3y ago
There's a good conspiracy here somewhere.
- mistermann 3y ago
  Something kinda like this: https://youtu.be/jmzJXVEnmKc https://youtu.be/jmzJXVEnmKc
version_five 3y ago
Engineer gonna engineer. Someone probably just had the time and misplaced passion for security, and when they explained at the weekly standup that they'd added lockout after three attempts, everybody just nodded and moved on.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- tzs 3y ago
  This has long been a temptation for engineers. 40 years ago the textbook in the digital electronics class I took at Caltech had a chapter called "The Engineer as Dope Pusher" that talked about it. It gave as an example clothes dryers. The way most home clothes dryers working back then was you put the clothes in, you turn a dial on a timer to the number of minutes you want the dryer to run, and you press start. The mechanical timers were very reliable. There hadn't been any substantial improvement in their design in decades because there really wasn't anything to improve. There had been improvement in the materials used, and in the cost, but fundamentally mechanical timers was a solved problem. If the mechanical timer ever broke the repairperson would have replacements in their van. Even if they didn't have the specific one for your dryer it didn't matter because they all worked pretty much the same. They could just put in another one. Maybe the mounting holes wouldn't be in the right place, but they could easily improvise some way to mount it in your dryer. The book went on to say that somewhere there is an engineer designing a new clothes dryer, and instead of a mechanical timer that engineer is putting in a digital timer. It has a microprocessor, 7 segment LED digit displays for the time, some buttons for interacting with it (such as setting the time and correcting mistakes), and a power supply. And let's not forget that it has software. That digital timer has no advantage to the user over a mechanical timer. But it has disadvantages. The interface will be worse. It will cost more. It won't be more reliable and possibly will be less reliable, and if it does need repair the repairperson probable won't have the parts. If they have another brand's digital timer on hand they probably won't be able to adapt it to your dryer. So why is that engineer designing the new dryer with a digital timer? Because mechanical timers are boring. Digital electronics was at the cutting edge of consumer engineering then, and so by using a digital timer the engineer got to play with exciting new technology.
  - nuancebydefault 3y ago
    What do you mean by "reliable" wrt mechanical timers? I'm pretty sure the clothing dryer is a harsh environment for such a component (moisture and heat can easily cause corrosion and mechanical stress). Also, I guess timing gets less accurate over time. If there are rubbers preventing moisture from entering and oil from leaving, those rubbers will wear out.