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by zeta0134 13 days ago
Shopping in the US, these have entirely replaced zigbee and other sensible mesh-based options at hardware stores like Home Depot and Lowes. The only exception I can find is Phillips Hue, and those seem to be slowly getting phased out with (sigh) a new "hubless" (requires wifi) series.

I run my home automation network entirely offline, so anything that needs the internet doesn't get added to my cart. I just do not trust the security of these IoT vendors at all, and refuse to have their nonsense cluttering up my limited network bandwidth and causing unknown problems.

(Edit: maybe not obvious, this is in the "smart bulbs" product category. Regular bulbs are still much more common on store shelves, because why fix what isn't broken? Most people don't need to automate their light bulbs.)

2 comments

> I run my home automation network entirely offline, so anything that needs the internet doesn't get added to my cart.

Absolutely support you in that. I don't really feel the urge to automate appliances around me in the first place, though. I feel like I'd just be locking myself into the schedule I'd automated, building my life around it. What good is free time without freedom?

> Regular bulbs are still much more common on store shelves, because why fix what isn't broken?

TV manufacturers might want to differ.

A light bulb doesn't require a processor to turn on and off when power is applied, so the only reason to add one is for extra functionality. A TV requires a (relatively) powerful processor just for decoding the signal.
If we could started teaching Morse Code in standard curriculum then in about 18 years or so we could finally subsidize smart lightbulbs with blinking ads for products and then we could stop selling pesky "dumb" bulbs.
You're underestimating the potential of subsidizing smart bulbs with data collection. Someone smart is getting paid a lot right now somewhere to figure this out.