Slashdot Mirror
AllSeen Alliance Wants To Open-Source the 'Internet of Things'
Nerval's Lobster writes "The so-called "Internet of Things" has rapidly become a buzzword du jour, with everyone from tech-giant CEOs to analysts rhapsodizing about the benefits of connecting everyday objects and appliances to the Web. Despite all the hype, some significant obstacles remain to fulfilling that vision of a massively interconnected world. For starters, all the players involved need to agree on shared frameworks for building compatible software—something that seems well on its way with the just-announced AllSeen Alliance, which includes Sharp, Cisco, LG Electronics, Qualcomm, Panasonic, D-Link, and the Linux Foundation (among many others). In theory, the AllSeen Alliance's combined software and engineering resources will result in open-source systems capable of seamless communication with one another. The Alliance will base its initial framework on AllJoyn, an open-source framework first developed by Qualcomm and subsequently elaborated upon by other firms. Applications and services that support AllJoyn can communicate "regardless of manufacturer or operating system and without the need for Internet access," according to the Alliance, whose Website offers the initial codebase. "Open source is the ideal, neutral staging area for collaboration that can provide the interoperability layer needed to make the Internet of Everything a reality," read a Dec. 10 note on the Linux Foundation's official blog. "When everyone jointly develops and uses the same freely available code, companies can develop innovative services on top of it and get them to market faster." However, not all companies interested in exploring the Internet of Things have joined the AllSeen Alliance. For example, Intel isn't a partner, despite having recently created a new division, the Internet of Things Solutions Group, to explore how to best make devices and networks more connected and aware."
Wow, what could possibly go wrong with that? Devices which will communicate whether you want them to or not, and with all of that information in the hands of greedy assholes.
This internet of things is a bloody stupid idea to me, and I see precisely zero benefit in having it. Especially if it means everything now becomes a tool for the marketing bastards.
This isn't enhancing our experience with these things, just making them tools for someone else to exploit.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
The thing is, the "Internet of Things" has been toyed around with since the dot-com days. Everyone's been talking about wiring up appliances, toasters and all that.
Heck, even the common scenario has been around for decades - you ask your computer what to make for dinner, and it talks to your fridge and other appliances to figure out what you have, then consults recipes that you can make with what you have.
Then you have the fridge that notices you're running low on some stuff and places an order with the grocer.
Then there are the "smart" fridges that embed screens that let you surf the web and all that (before it was x86 boxes, now it's android tablets) .
It's only now that it's actually possible to do it all. (One of my company's products was to make embedded devices "smart" and that included stuff like vending machines and other appliances around the house - again, the internet of things, over a decade earlier).
Not the consumer.
See, once these things have a digital component, your toaster isn't technically "yours", but is covered under a 'licensing agreement' which says the data about how you use your toaster is theirs, and removing/disabling this is illegal.
I don't see any benefit for the consumer, and I see a lot of downsides.
When the DMCA applies to your toaster and the like, you don't own anything and your information becomes the property of someone else. It's just more scope creep of corporations more or less asserting control and ownership of the things we buy for their own ends, and giving us zero in return.
And then you quickly find there are no devices which don't have this shit in it, and it's a criminal offense to remove it since that would be violating the 'rights' of the companies who sold it to you.
Behold, the dystopian future is upon us. The corporations have all the power, cut our jobs, and leave us beholden to them.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
The "internet of things" was one of the old buzzwords of Sun Microsystems (R.I.P.), along with "the network is the computer" and "write once, run everywhere".
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
One of the earliest devices connected to the internet (actually ARPANET in those days) was a coke machine in the Carnegie Mellon University Comp Sci department. It's still online today
All well and good, but not realistic.
People don't want this. No one wants their fridge to place orders just because that 20 pound turkey is almost gone.
Lets get grocery delivery working before we have fridges ordering food for us.
We would be more successful bar code scanning what cans and packages that we throw in the trash
to create a shopping list, but even the supermarkets can't get bar code scanning fool proof yet.
We need to concentrate on what is practical, not attempt to remake civilization.
Manage power consumption, turn off lights when no one is around, dim them, etc.
Start the coffee pot, but only if its prepped and ready.
The story is about standards, and first and foremost we should start with security.
Then easy of use (how to tell said toaster who owns it, who it should listen to, who it may talk to, etc).
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
It's already open source, and a draft implementation is available on github. (https://github.com/OGC-IoT/ogc-iot-api)
Arguments against the Internet of Things seem to be based on the idea that you'll lose privacy and only big money / governments will reap the rewards from your privacy loss. However, if you look at it from a different perspective, that is, not implementing the Internet of things as household items but as automated sensors for safety and analytics in the workplace, then many of the complaints no longer exist. I think the Internet of things as a buzzword has been stretched top far, but I don't outright oppose adding sensing capabilities and easier information exchange to some machines and devices.
I can't believe I'm reading stuff like this from people on Slashdot of all places.
Why can't my washing machine/dryer/microwave send my cellphone an alert when it's done and I'm in another room?
Why can't I turn on the lights at home from the grocery store so I don't have to carry my groceries in while it's dark?
Why can't I turn on the jacuzzi during a rough day at work so it's ready when I get home?
Why can't my DVD player turn off my lights and close my blinds when it's time to watch a movie and then turn the lights back on when I pause it to get a drink?
Why can't my refrigerator detect what's in it and suggest recipes and tell me what's expired?
Why can't I check to see if I forgot to turn the stove off after I left the house?
Why can't my sprinklers check the weather forcast and put off watering if it's supposed to rain?
Why can't my blinds and windows automatically open and close to regulate the temperature in the house?
There's no reason all of this couldn't be done. TFA describes something I've always thought was needed. If anyone was able to write software to communicate between the things in your house (and the price of automation went down), I think that the popularity of communications-enabled appliances would soar as developers opened up all of these possibilities and more.
The best thing about UDP jokes is I don't care if you get them or not
That's why I predict that the Open Source protocol will be a bit player in a market dominated by an inferior protocol that does require internet access (it will be called "cloud access" soon enough), is completely insecure, and the developers of which are more interested in data harvesting than making it work better.
This brings up the point I was going to cover: security. Without robust encryption, even if consumers did want this (they don't, at least today), if these devices and protocols did not have robust encryption built in, it would soon become "the internet of other peoples' things."
There is a lot of potential for societal disaster here. Let's definitely not forget that.
What I really need is a droid that understands the binary language of moisture vaporators.
Why can't my washing machine/dryer/microwave send my cellphone an alert when it's done and I'm in another room?
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.samsung.washer&hl=en
Why can't I turn on the lights at home from the grocery store so I don't have to carry my groceries in while it's dark?
http://www.smarthome.com/android_apps.html
Why can't I turn on the jacuzzi during a rough day at work so it's ready when I get home?
http://www.balboawatergroup.com/iphone-Application
Why can't my DVD player turn off my lights and close my blinds when it's time to watch a movie and then turn the lights back on when I pause it to get a drink?
DVD player? What decade are you living in?
http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_MEDIAPORTAL_1/15_Customization/Home_Automation
Why can't my refrigerator detect what's in it and suggest recipes and tell me what's expired?
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/50364798/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/
Why can't I check to see if I forgot to turn the stove off after I left the house?
http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/22/2816405/samsung-smart-oven-android-app-control
Why can't my sprinklers check the weather forcast and put off watering if it's supposed to rain?
http://gigaom.com/2013/10/10/smart-lawn-sprinklers-cut-down-on-water-waste/
Why can't my blinds and windows automatically open and close to regulate the temperature in the house?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_glass
Are there any other inventions of the past 20 years that you missed and want me to google for you? Or do you think you've got it now? Tech tip: Put the world "Smart" in front of whichever thing you're looking for in your search and generally the first link will be the one you want.
I'm perfectly aware that these things already exist. The problem is that you have to buy 20 different proprietary apps that only let you control your devices in the way they want you to. The point of the proposal in TFA is that this no longer has to be the case.
The best thing about UDP jokes is I don't care if you get them or not