I'm about ready to chuck Phillips Hue out the window. The lights constantly become unreachable/unresponsive...total piece of junk.
I haven't had this problem, and I've been using them since launch. 10 devices -- 6 strips, 4 bulbs. No problems with original bridge, but I upgraded to new one for HomeKit/siri integration.
Pretty impressive what you can do in a house with a few million at your disposal.
MOST of what Cook mentioned (lights, locks, thermometers, etc) don't require a few million, or even a few thousand.
And of course, when you have a few million, why would you need any of this? Leave the lights on, temperature set, and really...you think Tim's house needs a lock? Pretty sure he has a fairly sophisticated security system. Betcha he has a security detail and a house staff.
Installation and maintenance of this @internetofshit is not trivial. And their rate of failure is much higher. To some extent, having additional features in a newly constructed house makes sense: you gotta buy a lock to put on the door anyway, so pick one that has desirable functions. But retrofitting is expensive, and while doable by a do it yourselfer with the inclination, isn't for most people. I do see a business opportunity for installers.
My view is much less pessimistic than yours, and I'm in a house that is 170 years old. I also have a fairly sophisticated security system, with wired door and window trips, motion sensors, glass break sensors, smoke detection, and heat/fire sensors. And a lock -- which I'm sure Cook's house has as well. It wasn't very expensive to install the wired security system, was in the hundreds and is far outweighed by the monitoring service cost. Lighting system (Hue in multiple rooms, including over & under cabinets in kitchen) was self-installed. Nest thermostat system was easy to self-install. Smart deadbolts can also be self-installed tho I haven't.
So I really fail to see how it's an expensive "InternetOfShit" situation.
HomeKit reminds me of a phrase my old boss was fond of: "A solution in search of a problem"
I'm glad Apple is exploring this area -- but it just doesn't seem ready for prime time yet.
Speak for yourselves. Home automation certainly is a problem -- which is why it's historically been limited to millionaires and estates. Now it's in the hands of anyone. And HK is the secure version, so that's a solid improvement in my book. I just it daily with off-the-shelf stuff out of an Apple Store, so it's certainly prime-time ready.
Hi Guys,
What a great podcast! I always enjoy them and look forward to them each week. Keep up the good work!
Just a thought on the fireplace issue. All of the gas fireplaces I have had in the past were triggered by a thermostat. I never did it myself, but i am quite sure a smart thermostat could be used for these. Just set the temp to something very high (like 85) if you want it to come on reliably, then set it into your scene. Or, if you have the kind of fireplace that is triggered by flipping a switch, replace the switch with a smart switch of some type. Wouldn't this also work?
The coffee thing implies that TC either drinks horrible filter coffee, or his home kit device sets off an alarm to the maid who then fires up the espresso machine and has a steaming hot cup of espresso or latte ready for when Tim stumbles into the kitchen.
Smart home devices are fairly difficult to implement for families where all sorts of people come and go at all sorts of hours. I can see how it can be cool for singles or couples who lead relatively structured lives.
So many people has little clue about how real cafe should be prepared. I have number of friends that attended cafe culture seminars and the never bought cup of cafe anywhere so I have to laugh to some comments. :-)
Well that was a fun piece... although speculative in a few areas.
But seriously... the western world is already going to seed, health-wise, with the current 'ease-of-everything' at society's disposal... and now we're being offered apps to switch on our lights, make coffee, 'light' a faux fire, unlock doors, and God knows what else! Many people already hardly get off their asses... and now apps plus gadgets are being created daily to make our lives even easier by the minute!
We're doomed... unless we get out and exercise our bodies - by doing normal things - as they adapted, through evolutiuon, to be used.
One can just agree. Every time see somewhere "Steve, Apple or iPhone make our life better" I roll my eyes. No technology make our life better just easier.
Aside (in case there are any Product Managers out there): I'm also waiting for some company to create a proper occupancy sensor that uses more than simple IR motion detection to declare whether a room is/isn't occupied -- just because I'm not actively waving my arms around every 30 seconds doesn't mean I've left the room...
Well you can use rfid in the doorways but then you'd need to be tagged...like a pet...
Motion sensors can work if you have enough to cover every room and entry/exit point. But if it counts multiple people entering at once as one occupant it will miscount the number of folks left in the room when someone leaves.
At least until you wave your arms around...but you wouldn't need to wave again until someone else leaves the room.
Well that was a fun piece... although speculative in a few areas.
But seriously... the western world is already going to seed, health-wise, with the current 'ease-of-everything' at society's disposal... and now we're being offered apps to switch on our lights, make coffee, 'light' a faux fire, unlock doors, and God knows what else! Many people already hardly get off their asses... and now apps plus gadgets are being created daily to make our lives even easier by the minute!
We're doomed... unless we get out and exercise our bodies - by doing normal things - as they adapted, through evolutiuon, to be used.
One can just agree. Every time see somewhere "Steve, Apple or iPhone make our life better" I roll my eyes. No technology make our life better just easier.
Uh, NO! Years ago, designing mainframe level systems I often heard the equivalent -- that computers replace people and jobs. And, sometimes they do.
But also, computers make people's lives better: Many will not leave home without their IPhone. They simply don't feel safe without it. (and they aren't). In addition, the IPhone enables them to stay in contact with those they care about and/or who care about them. For myself, I bought my first IPhone when I started taking extended bike rides out onto trails far removed from towns and roads. I needed something that could show me where I was so I could call for help if needed. As a home health nurse, I could carry a library of medical manuals with me to people's homes. ... There innumerable instances where they make people's lives better.
wouldn't be surprised if his coffee pot was something not out yet. As for the fireplace that could be a simple on off light switch just like you're saying a simple coffee pot would be. My friend had a fireplaces that turned on by lightswitch.
Is TC trying to give us some Oprah club vibe with this kind of catalog article. I mean, as folks highlighted previously, you can easily pack your home with gadgets if you can afford them. For once, I'm looking forward to a smart solution for families with lower income that will allow them to save money on utilities and won't cost a fortune.
I just want to thank the AppleInsider audience for a great series of postings. It's refreshing to see discussion that includes pro and con without the Apple trolls and bashers dominating like at other forums (MacRumors, we're looking at you).
The Lutron in-wall switch is limited to 5A resistive loads (600W) and so could not be used with most fireplace/heater units. It's also a violation of the National Electrical Code to use a wired-in switch that's not capable of carrying full circuit load, or a wired-in dimmer to control outlets of any kind. That said, the Lutron hardware works superbly in our house.
I'd not be surprised if Tim Cook's home is filled with a mix of commercially available HomeKit gear as well as pre-production and full custom solutions. My garage doors are bridged to HomeKit via a Raspberry Pi and I'm in the process of bringing up other custom HomeKit solution that way.
I think this will be the year that HomeKit starts to shine as Apple responds to Alexa to prevent Alexa from responding to me.
I can turn on and off my heater from iPhone too. I can even flush my conventional toilet with my phone. Ever heard of MicroBot Pusher?
Pretty impressive what you can do in a house with a few million at your disposal.
Exactly. I would do the same if I had his financial flexibility.
I have most of stuffs controlled by iPhone in my house and it didn't cost an arm or leg: cameras, alarm, smart thermostat, lights, plugs and such...Ecobee3 is affordable, smart switches/plugs are too...same as Plilip Hue. If you build everything on HomeKit, yes it's a little expensive. But if you're open for Echo, your smathome implementation is very affordable since you can use IFTTT for many smart device controlls.
'A solution in search of a problem'— a phrase used by those with no imagination, limited or non-existant vision, and cannot conceive of a world filled with people who see what they can't.
Even without uttering that inanity, there are those who stupidly believe that automation is the bane of our existence and will turn people in to blobs, just because they can turn lights on or off just by entering or leaving a room, or even before doing so. They think they're somehow more healthy and somehow superior because they flip a switch on their coffee pot.
Yet they'll use automation a hundred times a day in their car or their daily lives, and whine when it doesn't work. Let's remove elevator, because stairs are always better; traffic lights because automated signals to integrate traffic and pedestrians is for sissies; timers in appliances because if you don't have time to watch your food cook, you don't deserve to eat...
The western world going to seed, health-wise, with the current 'ease-of-everything' at society's disposal... A laughable, horse's ass sentiment. Not flipping a switch or turning a knob will set evolution back? WTF? Do you understand what evolution is and how it works? And just when do you imagine this doom striking and ending mankind?
One can just agree? No technology made life better just easier? Millions of people enjoy a better life because technology saved their life, gave them back a life they would have lost. No doubt one of your distant relatives said the same while watching someone use some kind of mystery rocks to start their kindling while they struggled with two sticks.
Grog say tech bad. Yes, by all means just agree and join the idiots on parade.
The coffee thing implies that TC either drinks horrible filter coffee, or his home kit device sets off an alarm to the maid who then fires up the espresso machine and has a steaming hot cup of espresso or latte ready for when Tim stumbles into the kitchen.
My guess is he drinks from a Bonavita which has the requisite simplicity of just an on/off switch, the clean german design aesthetics, and is certified by the Specialty Coffee Association of America which is definitely not "horrible filter coffee."
About 50 years ago, my Grandmother bought me a coffee pot timer that plugged into a wall socket. My coffee was ready at the time I set it for every day. She bought with Quaker Oatmeal options that came with the cereal back in those days. Plus $1.00 in cash. Times haven't changed much, still making coffee in the morning. LOL!!!
Comments
"A solution in search of a problem"
I'm glad Apple is exploring this area -- but it just doesn't seem ready for prime time yet.
My view is much less pessimistic than yours, and I'm in a house that is 170 years old. I also have a fairly sophisticated security system, with wired door and window trips, motion sensors, glass break sensors, smoke detection, and heat/fire sensors. And a lock -- which I'm sure Cook's house has as well. It wasn't very expensive to install the wired security system, was in the hundreds and is far outweighed by the monitoring service cost. Lighting system (Hue in multiple rooms, including over & under cabinets in kitchen) was self-installed. Nest thermostat system was easy to self-install. Smart deadbolts can also be self-installed tho I haven't.
So I really fail to see how it's an expensive "InternetOfShit" situation.
Motion sensors can work if you have enough to cover every room and entry/exit point. But if it counts multiple people entering at once as one occupant it will miscount the number of folks left in the room when someone leaves.
At least until you wave your arms around...but you wouldn't need to wave again until someone else leaves the room.
Years ago, designing mainframe level systems I often heard the equivalent -- that computers replace people and jobs. And, sometimes they do.
But also, computers make people's lives better: Many will not leave home without their IPhone. They simply don't feel safe without it. (and they aren't). In addition, the IPhone enables them to stay in contact with those they care about and/or who care about them. For myself, I bought my first IPhone when I started taking extended bike rides out onto trails far removed from towns and roads. I needed something that could show me where I was so I could call for help if needed. As a home health nurse, I could carry a library of medical manuals with me to people's homes.
... There innumerable instances where they make people's lives better.
Even without uttering that inanity, there are those who stupidly believe that automation is the bane of our existence and will turn people in to blobs, just because they can turn lights on or off just by entering or leaving a room, or even before doing so. They think they're somehow more healthy and somehow superior because they flip a switch on their coffee pot.
Yet they'll use automation a hundred times a day in their car or their daily lives, and whine when it doesn't work. Let's remove elevator, because stairs are always better; traffic lights because automated signals to integrate traffic and pedestrians is for sissies; timers in appliances because if you don't have time to watch your food cook, you don't deserve to eat...
The western world going to seed, health-wise, with the current 'ease-of-everything' at society's disposal... A laughable, horse's ass sentiment. Not flipping a switch or turning a knob will set evolution back? WTF? Do you understand what evolution is and how it works? And just when do you imagine this doom striking and ending mankind?
One can just agree? No technology made life better just easier? Millions of people enjoy a better life because technology saved their life, gave them back a life they would have lost. No doubt one of your distant relatives said the same while watching someone use some kind of mystery rocks to start their kindling while they struggled with two sticks.
Grog say tech bad. Yes, by all means just agree and join the idiots on parade.