Nest Protect: Trojan Horse For 'The Internet of Things'?

Nerval's Lobster writes "Nest (based in Palo Alto, and headed by former Apple executive Tony Fadell) is out to reinvent the ugly, blocky devices—starting with the thermostat—that we bolt to our walls and ceilings out of necessity. Its new Nest Protect, looks more like something for streaming music or movies than a smoke detector; inside its chic shell, the device packs an embedded system-on-a-chip and a handful of sensors, capable of connecting to other devices via wireless. 'Would this be a cherished product? Can it be more than a rational purchase — can it be an emotional one?' is the thought process that Fadell uses when evaluating new products for Nest-ification, according to Wired. That sounds like something Apple designer Jony Ive would say about the latest iDevice; your own mileage may vary on whether you consider that a good thing. Whether or not Nest actually succeeds, its emphasis on friendly design and function could serve as a template for helping popularize the so-called 'Internet of Things,' or the giant networks of interconnected devices that everybody seems to think is coming in a few short years: by giving stodgy hardware an iPhone-like sheen, complete with all sorts of bells and whistles, you could potentially change consumer mindsets from 'Do I really need to buy this thing?' to 'I want to buy this thing.' Some privacy advocates are already crying foul ('My dear privacy enthusiast: activity sensors?' The Kernel's Greg Stevens wrote, tongue somewhat in cheek, about Nest Protect in a recent blog posting. 'Ladies and gentlemen, how can you possibly stay silent about the possible abuses of such a device?'), but since when have concerns over privacy prevented people from buying the next 'cool' device?"

Comments

The Internet of Things?

[ColdWetDog]

Whatcouldpossiblygowrong?

After Snowden's revelations...

[dryriver]

... selling people "internet-connected smart-gadgets for the home" will be a heck of a tough sell, especially in an "educated" market like Europe. Many people are dismayed to learn that their smartphones, laptops, tablet computers and other devices can be turned into "spying tools" by TPTB pretty much on-demand, with no legal oversight. I don't think that knowing this, anyone is eager to put even more privacy-destroying electronic gadgets in their home. Even an internet connected "smart TV" that can gauge your mood through its built in front camera scanning your face will be a tough sell. It takes one news report of "Smart TVs getting remotely hacked", and people will default back to having a "dumb TV". The Internet-Of-Things will never take off with educated consumers. The "trust" that requires has been destroyed by revelations of NSA/GCHQ snooping on everybody. Its over for the Internet-Of-Things before it has really started. A few dumb consumers may still buy these "internet connected smart devices". But educated/awak/aware consumers? Not a chance in hell... My 2 Cents.

Re:After Snowden's revelations...

[chihowa]

Privacy implications not withstanding, I'd say Nest has succeeded in desiging a significantly better smoke detector.

If this is anything like their thermostat, I'd say that they haven't. This seems like just another device that needlessly offloads all of its functionality to "the cloud". There's no reason why all of the processing and reaction couldn't be handled locally, with only "extra" features requiring their servers. But without their servers, the thermostat for example doesn't even seem to have the functionality of a cheapy programmable thermostat. If your internet connection goes down, you stop paying them, they decide to obsolete your model, or they go out of business then you're left with less utility than a $20 thermostat.

Or maybe I'm missing something and this is what "The Internet of Things" really is: continuous reliance on third parties for even the most basic functional devices.

Re:Gartner at it again

[CanHasDIY]

I do love specious ambiguity, don't you?

In other news, a mad scientist could eventually put big fucking rockets on one side of the moon and launch it into the sun.

Humans could eventually evolve into beings of pure energy.

Slashdot editors could eventually get their shit together and finally understand what "to edit" actually means.

Now, where's my million dollars?

Considered it

[Spazmania]

I considered buying one of these, but the mandatory use of a third party server in "the cloud" was a real turn off.