Slashdot Mirror
Don't Want Google In Your House? Here Are a Few Home-Tech Startups To Watch
curtwoodward writes: Google bought Nest. Then Nest bought Dropcam. Then Nest opened up its platform to tech partners, including... Google. This may not creep everyone out, but for those who don't like the idea of Google's all-seeing eye owning their smart-home devices, there are some small, independent companies developing alternatives. Maybe they'll survive long enough to get acquired by a company that doesn't make 90 percent of its money from advertising — right?
... how about a company that has a more lofty goal than "getting acquired" for once?
Which has more power: the hammer, or the anvil?
Posting a summary of your own blog post? Poor form, sir.
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
So then don't buy and install these products.
Remember when people used to say that about GPS-enabled cell phones? "Well, if you don't want one, don't buy one."
Now every cell phone is GPS-enabled.
So much for that non-solution. Got any other ideas?
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
I rather make my own devices and sensors. Much more fun and they will do exactly what you want them to do.
there's another real option here. the apple framework with iOS and homekit. Yes, it will be a nanny-state sand box where you can only use hardware and software that are approved. but you won't be tracked for advertising. Apple has the best privacy policy of any big company. they legitimately don't care what you do, as long as you buy their expensive shizz.
This is /.
Cue the NSA muh freedoms! posts.
Clearly the GPS can be turned on by any TLA that wants to track you. The slider is a placebo.
GP probably knows quite well where he is. The point is it's nobody else's business where he is and just because there's a little clicky on a menu in the phone that says the GPS is disabled doesn't mean that it's the case in all circumstances. Nothing that the big telecom providers, and Google and the like have been doing recently inspires our confidence.
Soon there may be websites with information on how to disable features you don't like on your eDevices. With informative pages that feature nice illustrations showing were to drill with a #44 drill bit and how deeply, to disable the GPS and no other function on the phone.
The time is certainly right for sites like that to emerge.
But yeah, duh, we're all luddites if we don't bow and kiss the ring.
Yeah, I'm eagerly awaiting the day when attackers are able to exploit my smart fridge to remotely unlock the smart lock on my smart door. And the inevitable automatic firmware update that bricks my smart air conditioner.
Why does everything need to be a web appliance? My crockpot should convert electricity into heat and produce delicious stews and roasts. It doesn't need to use my search history to suggest new recipes, I have a PC that can do that.
On the bright side, I'm looking forward to the instructions on how to run Debian on my blender.
Now every cell phone is GPS-enabled.
No they aren't. Most cell phones do not have GPS. Even for those that do, you can turn it off.
You don't need a 'smart home', you need a 'common sense homeowner'. Besides which there are already 'smart home' systems out there that don't need to be connected to the goddamn Internet, just use those.
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
Irrational fear of technology WOULD be what would make me 'luddite' as you use the term.
Problem is, we don't fear technology. Just ways that it's applied. For instance, I have no innate fear of a gun, but if the wrong person points it at me that changes.
Do you work for one of the Big Data operators? It really seems like it bugs you when we dis Big Data in this thread.
I've got nothing but love for people who don't want a "smart home", and I respect anybody who wants the peace and quiet that comes with it. For myself though, I want a smart home that doesn't rat me out to every advertiser, as well as the cops. Google does both.
Think about this: a nest costs $200 according to the literature at my local hardware store, amazon.com shows about the same price. For that kind of scratch, I SHOULD be keeping my privacy.
Which has more power: the hammer, or the anvil?
Internet connected smart home devices solve this problem.
PtP connected devices make more sense. I don't need a middleman to turn my home's thermostat down.
Have gnu, will travel.
The Utility companies want the ability to turn down your thermostat when they feel it's necessary. Or turn up your thermostat, if it's summertime. At this point in places they offer some sort of a 'price break' if you enable this.
Let's wait awhile. Before too long, it will be 'anti-social' if you don't voluntarily let them take this control. Eventually it will become mandatory, or over-the-top expensive not to get into that pricing arrangement. You want to be a decent person, don't you, citizen?
Why do people keep saying that? Nobody cares! It makes no difference to anything at any level. "Normal company"? They're all normal companies - they exist to make money. Which company isn't normal? You probably meant "companies you spent money with"; this is clearer; additionally it highlights the emptiness of your "point". People have been "the product" for years; whenever you turn on the radio, tv, pick up a newspaper, look at an advert or a logo on a branded item.
I don't know why anyone even cares, they know where every dumb phone is too because they know which cell towers are talking to it and what the signal strength is. They don't need GPS to track you unless they want really precise details.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC