Apple, Google & Microsoft in talks to acquire home automation company

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  • Reply 21 of 43


    well, with the introduction and apparent(?) success of Nest, home automation is the next thing (after TVs).  The problem with home automation is a great solution is set it and forget it (the bulbs just work;-), and that is not a growth market for Apple or anyone else.  The 'money' is in the Google model, where they can start marketing high consumptive homes (or low consumptive homes) to marketeers.... the data is the product


     


    I'm using Insteon now, and Crestron wasn't in my top 2.   My problem is that consumer grade home automation is cheap, yet expensive (my power is pretty dirty and the spikes and the browns are eating up the signal processors that monitor the electrical wiring for the network controls.).


     


    I think Wireless is a good idea, but I also think that it should be on a private network (old school... HVAC controls over ethernet was a double problem for me in the 90s, first it wasn't secure, and 2nd it was layer2, often caused bridging storms (chernobyl packets), and sucked when trying to build out a Layer3 segmented network (VLANning them for security just caused the storms to take down the most overloaded router on the net, and/or spanning tree oscillation problems).

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  • Reply 22 of 43
    v5vv5v Posts: 1,357member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post


    Apple light bulbs? Awesome.



     


    Yeah, awesome. They wouldn't fit existing light sockets though, because Jony would <*ahem*> "revolutionize" the world of lighting with slimmer, lighter bulbs. You'll be able to control them via AirLight, but only the two most recent generations of hardware will support it. Anyone can get a license to produce them, but after almost two years only a small handful of suppliers will have come on board and their bulbs will cost at least half-again as much as the universal alternatives that benefit from economies of scale.


     


    But boy howdy they will be kewl.

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  • Reply 23 of 43
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    I really hope we see Apple get into more home-based electronics.
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  • Reply 24 of 43
    kdarlingkdarling Posts: 1,640member


    One cool example of home control is the CRISTAL project, where you control things in your room by manipulating the overhead images of those things, projected onto a table.


     


    Use a touch table instead of the projector, and it could be fun to play with:


     


    image

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  • Reply 25 of 43
    Everything with AirPlay! I want my toilet seat to play my favorite #2 mix!
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  • Reply 26 of 43


    I foolishly paid 400 bucks for an Indigo Pro Kit about 4 years ago. Bloody nightmare to set-up and never worked properly (old house, old circuits). Go for it Tim.

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  • Reply 27 of 43
    You'd have to be an imbecile to let MS control your home systems, and certifiably nuts to allow Google to do so.
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  • Reply 28 of 43
    I see it neat home automation of controlling anything electronic by IOS, that includes TV, fridge, air conditioners, lights, other electronics.
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  • Reply 29 of 43


    Anyone want to buy a Segway?


     


    "Home Automation" has been going on for 25 years or more, but much of it has not developed beyond "X10".   Different companies with different product lines and usually different protocols.  There has been some progress over the years on integration, but you can't go down to Best Buy or Lowe's and get home automation system that you can take home and plug in and interconnect with all your lights, environmental systems, security and home appliances.  And the systems need to be able to run standalone without being connected to a computer or "the cloud" of some vendor who gives away "home automation systems" to lock you into a long term service contracts like cable & phone companies, yet still be accessible and controllable from your phone, tablet or computer.


     


    Home automation needs a standard like Bluetooth to take off.  A common method for devices to find each other, connect and share information,  But even then, retrofitting that back into home power systems which may be decades old is problematic.  There have been attempts to define home automation standards, but it will take big players like Apple, Google, and Microsoft to make it happen.


     


    Or maybe Samsung.  Since they make appliances, TV's, and everything else in the world.   

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  • Reply 30 of 43
    carthusia wrote: »
    You'd have to be an imbecile to let MS control your home systems, and certifiably nuts to allow Google to do so.

    Bingo! Well said! I'm in the market for a new car. I won't even consider a Ford b/c of its MS association. Shame, the Focus looks on the outside! :)
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  • Reply 31 of 43
    citycity Posts: 522member


    There are many opportunities for automation systems. Residential building access systems are just now discovering color monitors. The Nest people should research security systems.

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  • Reply 32 of 43
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,954member
    About time something happened in this area for Apple. Home automation with fewer home owners, though? Maybe they should rebrand it as "living space automation".

    A home doesn't always mean a house. Focusing on add-ons that don't require rework would probably help, such as some of these systems just plugging in or threading in standard sockets.

    gazoobee wrote: »
    I'd settle for a light bulb that simply worked and didn't cost an arm and a leg.  Apparently they stopped making these in the mid-80's and there is no interest from the manufacturing companies in bringing them back.  The average light bulb lasts less than a year nowadays and they cost 10 times what they did in the 60's and 70's (over a 100 times when you adjust for inflation).

    I can't say I've had that problem. I've been marking bulbs by installation date for a few years now and they tend to easily beat the rated number of hours of operation.

    I certainly don't care about an ability to dynamically change the lighting color. I don't know about a light that uses an app to control it. That's fine for stage shows, but home lighting is considerably less demanding. I do like the idea of lights "following" the user, but I haven't seen that, so I'll sit out the electronic light market for now.
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  • Reply 33 of 43


    1

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  • Reply 34 of 43

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by allenbf View Post


    Ready for the iFlush.  I have a few old Android phones around ;-)


     


    Aside from the poor joke, I was just commenting on this yesterday.  I can see this being a market in need of "disrupting."  Microsoft would be like "Did you know your toilet will support WIndows RT, but no apps?"  and Google would be like "I noticed you just went to the restroom. Please see this ad about Charmin tissue."



    And Apple will be like we own the patent for the ass wipe action, so pay us a dollar to wipe your ass

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  • Reply 35 of 43
    rayzrayz Posts: 814member
    carthusia wrote: »
    You'd have to be an imbecile to let MS control your home systems, and certifiably nuts to allow Google to do so.

    "Two days after I installed Google@Home, my toilet habits started showing up in web searches..."
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  • Reply 36 of 43
    v5vv5v Posts: 1,357member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by JeffDM View Post



    I certainly don't care about an ability to dynamically change the lighting color


     


    You might if you use LED lighting. You may not want to change it on an ongoing basis, but you may want to shift it away from the default when you first set it up.


     


    LED lighting is much "whiter" in appearance than incandescent lighting. Many people find it not only unflattering, but uncomfortable, It's definitely an adjustment.


     


    I only know a couple early adopters who've made significant forays into LED lighting, but both have made changes to make their lighting more yellow. One of them uses traditional light bulbs with LED elements. He now uses the amber-tinted Philips bulbs. The other is a lighting designer using non-traditional light sources. He went with the adjustable controller.

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  • Reply 37 of 43
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    The sorts of things you can do in home automation are so obvious, and so done to death in fiction, there's really no point buying a company, just do it yourself.
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  • Reply 38 of 43


    Originally Posted by v5v View Post

    LED lighting is much "whiter" in appearance than incandescent lighting. Many people find it not only unflattering, but uncomfortable, It's definitely an adjustment.


     


    They can be both. There's no difference if you don't want one. Just buy the right bulbs.


     


    But you bring up a valid point: the only professional use I can see for "color-changing" bulbs is to swing between 52k and 26k. 






    Originally Posted by ascii View Post

    The sorts of things you can do in home automation are so obvious, and so done to death in fiction, there's really no point buying a company, just do it yourself.


     



    So you have no imagination, then.


     


    And why would anyone bother doing what has already been done in fiction when their patents will simply be invalidated?

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  • Reply 39 of 43

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post



    I really hope we see Apple get into more home-based electronics.


    As opposed to?

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  • Reply 40 of 43
    chadmatic wrote: »
    As opposed to?

    As opposed to what they have now.
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