dkhaley

robin huber said:

I just hope they don’t limit voice recognition to one person. My wife being able to add items to our shared shopping list is a feature for us, not a bug. 

It would be most useful if it could distinguish different authorized voices. Eventually, a command like "list to my favorite playlist" could trigger different actions depending on who spoke it.

Here are some of my additional suggestions:

1) Fix Geofencing for secure devices
I understand why HomeKit doesn't allow you to unlock a door when you come into range. But I think I should be able to have it lock my doors, turn on the alarm etc, if I leave home.

2) Better Lighting Transitions
Right now I can turn lights on or off at certain times. What I want it to be able to do is tell a light to fade in from its current setting to its new setting over 15 minutes. Similar functionality would also work with sound, such as fading in a playlist when my morning alarm sounds.

3) Use the alarm as a trigger
If I wake up at the same time, I can set a scene to start at the time. However, it would be useful to be able to program in "turn on the switch to my coffee maker 5 minutes before I wake up"

4) Make it easier to group devices
One of my light fixtures has four Hue bulbs. I was able to group these in Homekit using the iDevices app. Why can't I do this easily in the Home app?

5) Choose which devices trigger the "first person arrives", "last person leaves" automations.
I have a school-age child that doesn't take his phone to school. I want the kid to be able to control things at home. However, I find that when I leave home, the "last person leaves" automation doesn't trigger, because the child's phone is still there.

6) Randomness
I like turning on my lights at sunset or 8:00pm. However, it would be even better (when I'm way) if I could have home kit do something at 7:00 +/- 10 minutes.

The government has a legitimate interest in accessing the data

1. Foreign intelligence agencies
2. Sophisticated criminals
3. Run-of-the-mill criminals

If there was a backdoor, targets 1 and 2 would simply adopt 3rd party encryption, if they don't already.

That leaves group 3, which would need to be brought down by old-fashioned police work. That takes time, effort and the will to do so.

soundvision said:

I'm not sure I'm fully understanding the issue, but I initially don't see the problem. Is this referring to Amazon listing the MSRP of the product, then showing their price with the actual savings? If so, that's a pretty standard practice for many in person and online retailers.

It's consumer deception. A more blatant example is typical bait-and-switch advertising, which is clearly unethical.

The practice described above is more subtle than that. Assume the list price of a product is $50, the going market price is $35 and you buy it for $25. Congratulations - you just save $10. But the retailer is telling you saved $25. You and I can see through this, yet many people cannot.  MSRPs are suggestions, not market prices. It's a deceptive practice. Whether it's legal or ethical is another matter.

joogabah said:

I wouldn't care if North Korea read my messages.  They're just fighting for survival from a nuclear armed empire hell bent on seeing them destroyed, that routinely launches illegal aggressive wars against nations that pose no threat, for thinly veiled economic motives.  Has the DPRK ever invaded anyone?   Who did they bomb last?  I can't see how that would compromise me at all.  They seem to just want to be left alone.  But my own government?  What if Trump isn't even as low as it goes?   Scary!

Are you talking about the same North Korea that's well know for human rights abuses? http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/CoIDPRK/Pages/CommissionInquiryonHRinDPRK.aspx
Why would anyone want to enable them?

The same North Korea that beat a young tourist into a coma (and death) for stealing a poster?

The same North Korea that kidnaps South Korean and Japanese civilians?

I just wanted to check that we were talking about the same place.