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Ugh. The example given here, the electric imp, is everything that's wrong with how people want to commoditize the Internet of Things. Had the "as a service" pro

Ugh. The example given here, the electric imp, is everything that's wrong with how people want to commoditize the Internet of Things. Had the "as a service" product been optional, I'd have already purchased a half dozen of them for various projects I'm working on. However, because it can only use the integrated wifi to connect to their servers, there's no way to build devices that will work in situations where internet access is spotty and/or latency management is crucial. Internet of Things is neat, and fascinating, but articles like this may very well smother it in its crib. Dependency on a central server is the one way to ensure that it stays just a geek toy.

mrtree 12y ago
IoT researcher here. You can buy devices with LTE or GSM connectivity, or Bluetooth LE if you prefer. Those still work well for battery devices since the new Bluetooth provides sleep cycle syncing. Also for LTE sleep patter synchronization is being added.
- Sanddancer 12y ago
  I know that part, and battery life is not the issue. My issue is more with the Electric Imp specifically having everything communicate up with the mothership. For background, the application I wanted to use it for is a costuming project with lighting and sound synchronization, where having to send my data up into the ether and then back down into the other costumes and props, in areas with potentially no GSM/LTE signal, is a no-go. There are quite a few bits of TCP/IP that would make my job easier, but dependency on an outside server isn't one of them.
  - sounds 12y ago
    I came to say the same; my application differs but the breakthrough is not SaaS, it's Moore's law even while Dennard scaling is running out. I specifically mean the density at minimum cost per transistor. ARM cores are now providing what I used to need x86 cores for. Embedded has been around longer than any other app.

mrtree 12y ago

IoT researcher here. You can buy devices with LTE or GSM connectivity, or Bluetooth LE if you prefer. Those still work well for battery devices since the new Bluetooth provides sleep cycle syncing. Also for LTE sleep patter synchronization is being added.

Sanddancer 12y ago
I know that part, and battery life is not the issue. My issue is more with the Electric Imp specifically having everything communicate up with the mothership. For background, the application I wanted to use it for is a costuming project with lighting and sound synchronization, where having to send my data up into the ether and then back down into the other costumes and props, in areas with potentially no GSM/LTE signal, is a no-go. There are quite a few bits of TCP/IP that would make my job easier, but dependency on an outside server isn't one of them.
- sounds 12y ago
  I came to say the same; my application differs but the breakthrough is not SaaS, it's Moore's law even while Dennard scaling is running out. I specifically mean the density at minimum cost per transistor. ARM cores are now providing what I used to need x86 cores for. Embedded has been around longer than any other app.