Smart Home

Discussion in 'Whatever' started by gatchabert, Aug 18, 2017.

  1. gatchabert

    gatchabert Prototype

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    Anyone here looking to make a smart home with Google Home/Alexa? I just have a small apartment but I just set up my lights and Google Home (cause Best Buy has a special with the 2 products right now). It was a bit of a pain but Google support was great in helping out. It's nothing super fantastic but now I can turn off my lights without having to get out of bed (cause I'm too lazy to walk over to the switch). I have some other plans for the lights but for now, I'm just happy to get it connected.
     
  2. Brooklyn_Vinyl

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    I have a couple Google homes as well as 3 smart bulbs and a smart switch. The brand I went with his tp-link and everything works great. My favorite part is being able to group them into Upstairs Downstairs Etc. I also love having them connected to Chromecast audio because I can seamlessly listen to music wherever I am in the house and outside. I highly recommend this set up to anybody who's interested.
     
  3. gatchabert

    gatchabert Prototype

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    Screenbloom on you computer will sync the lights to whatever you have on it (by averaging the colors). It is kind of cool but not as cool as having the lights sync to music from your speakers.
     
  4. gatchabert

    gatchabert Prototype

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    I have successfully set up my lights to go on/off when I enter/exit a 1 block radius :D
     
  5. Waterbear

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    You guys are crazy. I already hate how much Google knows and controls my life just because of e-mails and web browsing and how everything we ever do on the internet will soon be up for grabs to the highest bidders so putting an actual robot brain in my house that can technically hear ever word I ever say sounds utterly insane. That isn't even a slippery slope. It's a fucking pit full of Rancor and Jaba's giant shits. Even if you ignore the inevitable outcomes like insurance companies keeping tabs on everything you eat and do to charge you accordingly there are already actual cases of the government going after the info on these things to use in criminal cases. Yes yes yes there are always those people who say "well I don't do anything illegal so it doesn't effect me at all" but they are all stupid. Just because things you do aren't illegal TODAY doesn't mean they won't be illegal tomorrow. Gigantic corporations know whatever they hell they want to know about everyone already. Letting them know everything I actually SAY in my own home because I don't want to get up and physically turn off a light switch is just crazy. Even if you somehow have complete faith in your government(which I can't fathom at all)these things like anything else can still be hacked. I mean seriously. How is this a good idea?
     
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  6. gatchabert

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    Chromecast audio is pretty cool if you have great speakers (like Definitive Technology, Bowers and Wilkins, or something like that). Sonos and Bose have wifi speakers. They are pretty pricey for now starting at $199 but pretty cool for that seamless streaming of music.

    @Waterbear - I hope you use tools like proxy servers and vpn when connected to the interwebz. (also, it is spelled Jabba not Jaba)
     
    Last edited: Aug 22, 2017
  7. Brooklyn_Vinyl

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    I'm betting that the nuclear holocaust comes before Google makes my insurance rates go up. In the meantime, I can have music play wherever I go!
     
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  8. Brooklyn_Vinyl

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    @Waterbear I don't think you're being paranoid by any stretch. But I also think that unless you are extremely diligent every time you go online, don't own a mobile phone in your name, never use GPS, and only pay with cash then "they" have all the info they need.
     
  9. Waterbear

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    Considering who the president is you may very well win that bet.

    I agree that tons of info on everyone is readily available for sure. Insurance companies have been buying our info from credit cards and banks to see what we eat and how often since back in 2013 but I still care about my privacy regardless of how compromised it already is. Yeah I use a VPN and I don't use most forms of social media or GPS but even that stuff doesn't really matter. It's the idea that a device in my home is listening to every word I say to my friends or family or when I'm yelling at the tv or talking to my stolen dog that bothers me. None of it is actually important or significant to anyone except me but those words and thoughts are still mine so my house will never be "smart" by choice. If someone/something wants to listen to every word I say they will need to put in more effort than offering me a device that turns off the lights or plays music or answers questions I could just type into a search engine with my actual fingers.
     
  10. toothaction

    toothaction Team Tsubu Staff Member

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    My home's been smart for decades...

    Privacy and laziness all in one go!
     
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  11. Brooklyn_Vinyl

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    I was definitely an early adopter of the clapper. I had one in the bedroom and living room. I've been this lazy for decades.
     
  12. quentor

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    I did see a special where dudes just drove around the block pretty easily hacking these things. Many houses now have smart doors so you can open your door without a key but it's all hackable. They were literally driving around with a laptop opening people's doors, hacking their accounts,turning the lights on and off, and it did not look hard. So no I don't need this. Plus I like getting up and moving. Do you want to be the people in Wall-E? Cuzzzz we are heading for it. One less reason to physically move. Great.
     
  13. eckotyper

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    i saw when you posted this elsewhere. my alarm is setup with a geofence and to my apple watch, i love the fact that it alerts me if i get out of the fence that the alarm was mistakenly not armed. technology is amazing.
     
  14. gatchabert

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  15. bunnyboy

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    Apparently, Alexa decided to start a party at 1:50am - in the homeowner's absence, causing neighbors to call the police and the police to break the door down at 3:00am. When asked about what she was going to do about the mess she caused, Alexa allegedly replied that she was unable to find an answer to that question.

    https://www.facebook.com/Amazon.de/posts/1568253323220735

    -"Dunce Home?" -"No... Smart... Smart Home."
     
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  16. bunnyboy

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    Not sure if video is broken..?? :?

    (Don't skip the comments.)
     
  17. Roger

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    I hate it when I'm stuck in the dark because my lightbulbs are rebooting.
     
  18. Mr. Humphreys

    Mr. Humphreys Mini Boss

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    Alexa = no way!
    Lights = Light switch
    *Sis-in-law being a Gen X, she'd rather stumble around in the dark than turn on the light, so my analog solution is
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XY1CMJJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
    great when getting up in the middle of the night to navigate the stairs or the hallway
    I can't bring myself to have a "smart" home, although I would really love a "smart" house sitter to take care of any potential burglars

    yes, I'd pay good money for that! ;)
    *those of you who've had your house broken into, can sympathize with that!

    p.s. I'd also love to have a 4-legged super kittee cook and bring me my breakfast in the morning (0:56 - 1:43)
     
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2019

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