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by TeMPOraL 5005 days ago
> relies on

> (...)

> their datacenter

> their website software

This is a thing I find increasingly bewildering/disturbing about new hacks like that. Why do we route signals around the whole world to communicate two devices that are few meters apart? Also, having to go through third party's computer infrastructure sounds like a huge waste of resources. Bluetooth, NFC or WLANs are the tools we should be using.
4 comments
SoftwareMaven 5005 days ago
How do I tell it to let my cousin Bob in who just texted me saying he's in town for a conference and wants to meet while I'm at work?

The device has BT4, but that doesn't mean there is no value in the wifi.

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tripzilch 5005 days ago
Personally I'd feel more in control if I could text him a special code to get in, than by remotely locking or unlocking my doors.

Remotely unlocking my doors? I feel unsafe already from the mere idea :) :) It'd be different for an office but there's an emotional thing with my home, I'd just be worried. If I lock it again, maybe the door was ajar and it couldn't lock? But I can't see because I'm not there!

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SoftwareMaven 5003 days ago
You are giving Bob the ability to unlock it himself. You temporarily add him to "the group that can enter my house" and then, without you being involved, Bob can get in or, more importantly, lock the door if he leaves when you aren't there.

My dad has a casita on his house that he frequently lets people use. Dealing with the key is always annoying, though. With this, he could say "My son will be here on the 10th-14th, my nephew will be here the 21st and 22nd, etc" and never have to worry that the key gets lost or copied.

Now they just need to tie in with alarm systems so it will deactivate the alarm at the same time it unlocks it (or at least provide a temporary code that the guest can use).

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kin 5005 days ago
The use case for WiFi would be if I were at work and wanted to let someone in.
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jlgreco 5005 days ago
(I think the traditional wording of the phrase is a tad harsh, but..) I think it is a case of "When you really love your hammer, everything looks like a nail."
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netcan 5005 days ago
I like analogies that aren't necessarily dismissive.

How about If you're a carpenter, you tend to make things out of wood."

You can make a lot of stuff out of wood, if you're good. You need relatively few general purpose tools. It's not always the best, but in many cases it's good enough. The first Apple had a wooden body. Early cars too.

Technology is giving us a lot of stuff which we call "tools" but we might also call "materials." Like physical tools and materials, they all take time to learn and much longer to understand well. Sometimes we use chisels & planks when welding pipes or casting iron would be better because we have a woodworking setup in the garage.

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jlgreco 5004 days ago
Good call. The feel of that analogy is closer to what I had in mind.
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netcan 5005 days ago
I like analogies that aren't necessarily dismissive.

How about If you're a carpenter, you tend to make things out of wood."

You can make a lot of stuff out of wood, if you're good. You need relatively few general purpose tools. It's not always the best, but in many cases it's good enough. The first Apple had a wooden body. Early cars too.

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7952 5004 days ago
Strangely routing things around the world like this often works better. You get to use an already established communication path that probably already works and is switched on. It also reduces the number of new protocols that would need to be designed and secured.
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