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F-Troop and the 'Internet of Thingies' (Video)

Posted by Roblimo on from the using-the-internet-to-turn-a-teakettle-on-and-off dept.

F-Troop? This is an interview with IT journalist Tom Henderson, who managed to get a mention of F-Troop into a serious(ish) discussion of "Internet of Things" insecurities. And, says Tom, the more things we hook to the Internet, the more potential security problems we create. Is it time to unplug everything because of the growing amount of unvetted software we're adding to our home and business networks? Hmmm....

29 of 43 comments (clear)

  1. The Internet of Things by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 3, Funny

    Starring Ken Berry and Forest Tucker. I guess it's better than "The Internet of Things, RFD"...

    Oh, and get off my lawn.

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    #DeleteChrome
    1. Re:The Internet of Things by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 1

      I'm warning you, Dobbs...

    2. Re:The Internet of Things by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 1

      I'm warning you, Dobbs...

      Hey, Don't mess with someone who plays a bugle like that,
      He might do it again!

      --
      You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
    3. Re:The Internet of Things by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 1

      I'm warning you, Dobbs...

      Damn, now I feel old.

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    4. Re:The Internet of Things by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

      Yeah, Larry Storch was great - and in a lot of ways it was more like an ensemble cast, rather than one or two main characters driving the whole story.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
  2. F-Troop IS for serious discussions. by meglon · · Score: 3, Funny

    "Don't think of it as retreating, think of it as advancing in a different direction."

    Pups.

    --
    Fascism: An authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization. See also: NAZI's
  3. My Mother, the car by turkeydance · · Score: 1

    yep, that will be your ID-I.O.T. car.

  4. Unplug? Do you even IoT, brah? by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 1

    >> Is it time to unplug everything because of the growing amount of unvetted software we're adding to our home and business networks?

    Unplug, eh? Well I've heard about this cool new technology called "WiFi" that may someday replace all the coax and twisted pair cables that connect all our phones and computers today.

    1. Re:Unplug? Do you even IoT, brah? by roc97007 · · Score: 1

      >> Is it time to unplug everything because of the growing amount of unvetted software we're adding to our home and business networks?

      Unplug, eh? Well I've heard about this cool new technology called "WiFi" that may someday replace all the coax and twisted pair cables that connect all our phones and computers today.

      Was my thought also. Which means, it's not necessary to unplug, just don't give the thingy your wifi password.

      You *do* have a wifi password, right?

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    2. Re:Unplug? Do you even IoT, brah? by derrickn · · Score: 1

      Hey! I still "rewind" my DVR ...

  5. Is it time to unplug? by davidwr · · Score: 1

    Is it time to unplug everything

    Not necessarily. But it IS far past time to plug things in "just because we can" without thinking though the consequences.

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  6. Someone doesn't understand F Troop by OzPeter · · Score: 1

    As per all comedies of this genre (good natured, but apparent bumbling idiots), regardless of their activities they managed to have saved the day before the final credits rolled. And while they may have been stripped of their ranks at a point in the narrative, they all had them back by the same time next week.

    He could easily have mentioned Gilligan's island, Get Smart or Police Squad and still been just as wrong.

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  7. Re:What? by grimmjeeper · · Score: 2

    It's an old TV show. It was before my time and I'm reaching greybeard status. No surprise a lot of people haven't heard of it.

  8. Unplug? by grimmjeeper · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Is it time to unplug everything because of the growing amount of unvetted software we're adding to our home and business networks?

    A lot of us never understood the point of plugging all that stuff into the internet in the first place.

  9. Re:I know it's over-the-top fiction... by grimmjeeper · · Score: 1

    I remember seeing computer controlled sprinklers in the movie Hackers, thinking it was a stupid idea back then. The same argument applied there too. What was the point of computerizing the controls to be able to set off and/or disable them? I guess Hollywood really is out of ideas.

  10. Or, it's just STUPID by argStyopa · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Or, maybe the whole "internet of things" that a very small group of people seem to be talking about ALL THE FUCKING TIME is just an idiotic thing that isn't actually going to take off, because grownups understand that there are things that aren't necessarily meaningfully better (in ways that outweigh the new failure risks) connected to other things?

    --
    -Styopa
    1. Re:Or, it's just STUPID by somenickname · · Score: 1

      Not only is it not going to take off, it's been in the process of not taking off for about 20 years. People have been plugging things like coffee pots into the internet since the 90s. I remember hearing Scott McNealy give a speech about how my refrigerator would soon be running Java and doing all sorts of things on the internet. In the 90s. It's not a new technological revolution, it's old technological ideas that are resurfacing because now that most people carry very powerful networked computers in their pockets, they think it would be great if everything had a networked computer in it. It won't. It will take what previously were decades reliable appliances, that could often be fixed by someone with a high school education, and turn them into more expensive, less reliable toys that the vendor plans to obsolete in 3 years.

    2. Re:Or, it's just STUPID by argStyopa · · Score: 1

      And add to your last statement: "...meanwhile serving back to its corporate masters every detail about you, your choices, your habits, your preferences, and every other piece of trivia its sensors can gather to sell to the highest bidder, to generate ultimately more revenue over the lifespan of the article than the original purchase by you."

      What a great world.

      --
      -Styopa
  11. your IoT is holding you in a concentration camp by swschrad · · Score: 1

    just like Hogan's Heroes.

    (( who can get a Fred Kovacs reference in here? ))

    --
    if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
    1. Re:your IoT is holding you in a concentration camp by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 1

      (( who can get a Fred Kovacs reference in here? ))

      The soccer player? Or do you mean Ernie Kovacs?

  12. Watch your toaster! by mspohr · · Score: 1

    http://zapmed.com/Downloads/TO...

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    I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
  13. Yep, time to unplug by kheldan · · Score: 1

    Is it time to unplug everything because of the growing amount of unvetted software we're adding to our home and business networks?

    No; it's time to unplug everything because everything is being used more and more to spy on us and violate our privacy.

    --
    Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
  14. Re:What? by Zaiff+Urgulbunger · · Score: 1

    And who is Tom Henderson?

    He's a wanker!*

    * With sincere apologies to the actual Tom Henderson being referenced here!!

  15. Re:What? by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 1

    It's an old TV show. It was before my time and I'm reaching greybeard status.

    Greybeard here....I watched it while still a wee lad. One the stars (and one of my first sort-of crushes) Melody Patterson died recently. She played the ever bodacious "Wrangler Jane", a feisty, no-nonsense gal who spawned a million teenage boy's fantasies.

    --
    Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
  16. Re:What? by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 2

    McHale's Navy would have been a better choice.

  17. If the IOT leads to more movies like Swordfish... by rthille · · Score: 1

    Where Haley Berry takes most of her clothes off, it can't be a bad thing...

    Oh wait, even with that Swordfish was a horrible horrible thing.

    Never mind.

    --
    Awesome furniture, accessories and cabinetry in Santa Rosa, CA: http://humanity-home.com/
  18. Re:What? by arglebargle_xiv · · Score: 1

    This summary makes no sense. What is F-Troop?

    F-Troop is the former name of the Millwall Bushwackers, Milwall FC's hooligan firm.

    No-one likes us, no-one likes us, no-one likes us, we don't care...

  19. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  20. What's needed is sensible regulation. by marka63 · · Score: 1

    What's needed is sensible regulation like:
    all internet connectable devices must be able to upgrade the software components in the field.
    all internet connectable devices must be supported for reasonable periods after last customer shipment. Where reasonable periods is 10 years for TVs, routers, fridges, DVRs.

    Today it is ridiculous that buy a internet connectable TVs etc. and you get no bug fixes for from then manufacturers. We know that there will be bugs given the cost tradeoffs to be build the devices at a reasonable price and timeline but that is no excuse to not supply software fixes for the inevitable bugs that will be discovered.