Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Report: Apple To Unveil "Smart Home" System

Posted by samzenpus on from the ask-the-house dept.

An anonymous reader writes "According to a report Apple will be unveiling a new smart home system at the upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference. The system will allow users to control security systems, appliances and lighting with their iPhones. A "select number" of device makers will be certified to offer products that work with Apple's upcoming system, according to the report, which didn't name any of the manufacturers."

6 of 174 comments (clear)

  1. Re:no thank you apple by melchoir55 · · Score: 5, Informative

    www.openremote.com

  2. Can't wait... by mars-nl · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ... to buy a light bulb, come home and read the small text on the box that says: "works with Apple devices only".

    We *must* use open standards here and not let Google, Apple or whoever infiltrate our houses any further. But looking at how easily folks sell their soul to Apple or Google (Android), I'm not holding my breath. Next time you buy a house, you'll have to decide Apple, Google or Microsoft...

  3. Re:no thank you apple by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Apple's track record? Apple is actually pretty agnostic about open standards, they don't seem to have a pathological case of NIH syndrome or anything; but with two important caveats:

    1. If the existing standard doesn't suit them for whatever reason, their implementation will be a variant of that standard and their only concern will be interoperability will first party and (to a slightly lesser extent) officially-blessed third party stuff. They won't reinvent the wheel just for kicks; but if they decide that their needs are somewhat different, their implementation will be as well, and it's just too bad if that's an issue. (It's not unlike the degree to which Microsoft 'based' Active Directory and Domains on, LDAP and Kerberos.)

    2. Crypto: Unlike the old days, when you could only be proprietary by keeping your obfuscated binary protocol or your weirdo connector one step ahead of the reverse engineers, now you can have it all in the open and still nearly useless unless it's signed and blessed. Apple's "Facetime", for instance, is based on a lovely, standards-tastic, collection of standards; but important parts of setting up a connection involve mutual certificate verification between an Apple server and an Apple device, so that's effectively irrelevant to 3rd parties.

  4. If iPods/iPhones Have Taught Me Anything... by nick_davison · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So I'll have to rewire my house every couple of years when they change from one proprietary cable standard to another?

    iPod: Firewire. Buy lots of firewire connectors.
    Newer iPod/iPhone: Dock connector. Toss all of your firewire accessories and move to dock connectors.
    Newer iPhones: Lightning connector. Toss all of your dock connector accessories, move to lightning.

    Everyone else gets to stick with USB that doesn't carry a $10 premium per cable/device because Apple just invented another proprietary standard.

    1. Re:If iPods/iPhones Have Taught Me Anything... by tlhIngan · · Score: 5, Informative

      So I'll have to rewire my house every couple of years when they change from one proprietary cable standard to another?

      iPod: Firewire. Buy lots of firewire connectors.
      Newer iPod/iPhone: Dock connector. Toss all of your firewire accessories and move to dock connectors.
      Newer iPhones: Lightning connector. Toss all of your dock connector accessories, move to lightning.

      Everyone else gets to stick with USB that doesn't carry a $10 premium per cable/device because Apple just invented another proprietary standard.

      And USB has changed standards 3 times since then as well.

      Firewire - well, we had USB 1.1 and the gigantic USB B connector. (2001)

      Dock connector - we still have gigantic USB B connector. Dock connector adds USB support as well. (2003).

      Meanwhile, USB introduces USB mini-B connector. Sees Firewire, goes beserk and introduces USB OTG and USB mini-A and mini-AB connectors.

      Somewhere along here, Apple deprecates Firewire as a data interface, but keeps it as a charging interface.

      USB sees people using mini-A and mini-AB connectors without implementing full USB OTG spec and deprecates connectors. At same time, USB introduces USB micro A, AB and B connectors.

      Apple deprecates Firewire charging now.

      Apple decides Dock connector is too full of legacy for its needs, introduces new lightning connector and adapters, 2012.

      USB sees Lightning has many advantages of Micro B, introduces USB 3.1 universal connector.

      So the dock connector had a good run - it's over 10 years old, doesn't support what people want these days (no HDMI, for example) and been stable. In the meantime, USB decides to change the cables it uses several times over.

      I still have piles of USB A-B, USB A-mini-B and am slowly building up a collection of SB A-micro-B cables. But USB 3.1 will introduce a new incompatible set of cables, requiring more adapters. Sorta like how Apple has lightning to dock adapters (which if you only need USB, are stupidly cheap at like $3-4).

      I even ignore USB 3.0's expanded and incompatible cables - you can't plug a USB 3.0 cable into anything that doesn't support USB 3.0. You can plug USB pre-3.0 cables into USB 3.0 devices though. The saving grace is that USB 3.0 cables are rarer so you're far more likely to pull a USB 2.0 cable than a USB 3.0 one.

      USB has gone through more changes in its plugs than Apple in the same period. And it's a standard.

  5. Re:no thank you apple by thechink · · Score: 5, Informative

    Remember how Apple was going to open up FaceTime? Lots of people are still waiting for that one.

    Opening FaceTime didn't happened because if a lawsuit. They were sued by VirnetX and Apple lost.

    http://www.imore.com/ask-imore-wheres-facetime-android