[tw04]

When wpa2 came out, most cellphones didn't even support wifi, and smartphones were still years off. I had exactly one device at the time that needed wifi and I'm a "nerd".

In 2018, off the top of my head I can get to 30 devices connected on WiFi at my house. VERY much a different discussion than 2004.

[kiallmacinnes]

Cellphones have a typical 2-4 year life, so these will disappear pretty quickly. I expect many of those 30 items to have a relativly short lifespan - maybe 5-10 years at best.

We're adding more and more connected devices:

Phones, tablets, desktops, laptops all typically have a short life..

Smart home devices with WiFi, well, those claim an incredible life - but I really pity anyone putting today's consumer "IoT" devices in. Those things are often out of support before you even buy them. I doubt they are lasting 10 years, and even when I do, I doubt they'll still be safe to leave in place.

TVs and TV set top boxes - this one really bugs me. I want a good quality dumb panel, because the smarts are out of date well within two years, and the TV itself should be good for way longer. TV Boxes, they go out of date too - but there cheap, so get replaced way more often.

Long story short - I think the devices we're buying today are not designed to stand the test of time. They will IMO die out or be removed from your home much faster than we all hope.

Edit addition: also, forgot to mention - I had lots of stuff that was WEP only. Much of it well after WPA2 came out. There all long gone, I expect the same will happen to the vast majority of people.

[close04]

> relativly short lifespan - maybe 5-10 years at best

If you had to keep the door to your house unlocked for 5-10 years would you still consider it relatively short? How about if you couldn't patch your OS for the same length of time?

Being stuck with such vulnerabilities for years is only short if nothing that tech touches is of much value to you.

[tw04]

>forgot to mention - I had lots of stuff that was WEP only.

Such as? You had to go out of your way to find devices that both had wifi and were only WEP capable in the early 2000s.

[GTP]

Nintendo DS is the first example that cames to my mind.