SMART tech

[LongLensPhotography]

How does everyone feel about smart tech at home and on the move? In particular I refer to things that connect to your home network or phone, and have cameras, microphones, etc... Stuff like TVs with sensors, smart thermostats, net enabled security cameras, fancy washing machines, smartwatch or even your smartphone.
Is anyone paranoid enough to use custom hardened phone software or even a lead case?! Or a fancy custom router that can stop unwanted outgoing traffic when configured accordingly?
Does it even matter as we will likely see micro drones up in the sky sooner rather than later?

Would you be comfortable having a grid connected humanoid helper robot at home (ie. I Robot - the movie)?

What about a grid connected smart self-driving car? Is it more good or bad? Or simply inevitable?

P.S. SMART = Surveillance Marketed As Revolutionary Technology in many cases at the very least... so where do you draw a line of trustworthiness, a necessary evil and an invasion of privacy? Concerning the latter, can we still take it back?

Please discuss.

 

[JonathanRyan]

It doesn't particularly bother me - any more than rain tomorrow bothers me. It's inevitable.

My main issue is that history has shown us that early versions are expensive and unreliable. So I'll be a late adopter of all this stuff. I mean, right after I've bought a Tesla that can get itself into and out of the garage.

 

[neil_g]

Is anyone paranoid enough to use custom hardened phone software or even a lead case?!

iOS is encrypted as standard (see Apple vs FBI debacle) and Android if I remember rightly is encrypted from 6.1?

Or a fancy custom router that can stop unwanted outgoing traffic when configured accordingly?

its inbound that you should be worried about and therefore restrict. unless you're worried what shopping sites your wife is going on (one of my colleagues redirected the Next website on his home router for LOLs once).

 

[nilagin]

It's bad in respect of making everyone lazy. It's unnecessary.

It doesn't particularly bother me - any more than rain tomorrow bothers me. It's inevitable.

My main issue is that history has shown us that early versions are expensive and unreliable. So I'll be a late adopter of all this stuff. I mean, right after I've bought a Tesla that can get itself into and out of the garage.

Maybe not a Tesla but there are several cars (relatively inexpensive too) on the market already that can self park as well as drive out of parking spaces. A garage will be no different.

 

[JonathanRyan]

Maybe not a Tesla but there are several cars (relatively inexpensive too) on the market already that can self park as well as drive out of parking spaces. A garage will be no different.

That's true. But AFAIK the Tesla is the only one that will self drive when nobody is sitting in it. A mate has one and the new firmware upgrade that allows him to summon it from his watch is all kinds of cool.

But there are other reasons for looking at a Tesla. They currently have the only vegan car on the market

 

[nilagin]

That's true. But AFAIK the Tesla is the only one that will self drive when nobody is sitting in it. A mate has one and the new firmware upgrade that allows him to summon it from his watch is all kinds of cool.

But there are other reasons for looking at a Tesla. They currently have the only vegan car on the market

Makes life easier for car theives too. A few months ago someone hacked into a Nissan Leaf with a laptop. I can't remember how far away from the car they were but saying they did it by remote doesn't come close. Imagine what they can do with a car that can drive itself.

 

[Russ77]

Makes life easier for car theives too. A few months ago someone hacked into a Nissan Leaf with a laptop. I can't remember how far away from the car they were but saying they did it by remote doesn't come close. Imagine what they can do with a car that can drive itself.

I saw something similar, they actually took control of the car, brought it to a stop and turned off the engine :|

 

[JonathanRyan]

Makes life easier for car theives too. A few months ago someone hacked into a Nissan Leaf with a laptop. I can't remember how far away from the car they were but saying they did it by remote doesn't come close. Imagine what they can do with a car that can drive itself.

Yeah. I'm assuming some level of security But electronics are generally easier to hack than say a decent deadlock.

 

[nilagin]

Yeah. I'm assuming some level of security But electronics are generally easier to hack than say a decent deadlock.

Nissan reckon their cars don't have a problem, yet it's possible to hack into and take control of the cars systems via the internet. They can track the vehicles use, switch the heating on and leave you with low power if you have been unable to plug the vehicle in for a recharge. So if the car can be driven by remote, I'd expect some very high insurance premiums or like certain vehicles in London, difficulty in finding insurance cover.

 

[JonathanRyan]

Nissan reckon their cars don't have a problem, yet it's possible to hack into and take control of the cars systems via the internet. They can track the vehicles use, switch the heating on and leave you with low power if you have been unable to plug the vehicle in for a recharge. So if the car can be driven by remote, I'd expect some very high insurance premiums or like certain vehicles in London, difficulty in finding insurance cover.

Some interesting points which I suspect will get shaken out when they start delivering the 350k cars they sold the other week

I'm not sure I agree that "remote driving" makes a car any more vulnerable to bad guys than keyless entry and starting does. I haven't checked but I'd imagine the range is (purposely) very low and that at least in theory it's linked to exactly one control device which may use something like thumbprint id. Now none of that is unbeatable - but I can get into most cars by chucking a brick through the window and they still insure cars with glass in them.

 

[Cobra]

They currently have the only vegan car on the market

Are you going to drive it or eat it?


As for all this modern day turn stuff on and off, summons the car from the garage ( very James Bond, it just needs an invisibility cloak )
Its not for me, far too many negative possibilities, as already said and reported on, cars can and have been hacked into, remotely.

We are turning into a lazy bunch of so and so's!

 

[viv1969]

Tesla switching to fake leather doesn't make their cars remotely vegan.

 

[JonathanRyan]

Tesla switching to fake leather doesn't make their cars remotely vegan.

No. But the fact that they specifically designed a vegan car on the advice of PETA who are major shareholders does.

 

[viv1969]

No. But the fact that they specifically designed a vegan car on the advice of PETA who are major shareholders does.

No it doesn't.
A lot of "PETA Approved" logos will be whipped away when the plastics and rubbers are also included in the "non animal derived" materials list.

 

[nilagin]

Some interesting points which I suspect will get shaken out when they start delivering the 350k cars they sold the other week

I'm not sure I agree that "remote driving" makes a car any more vulnerable to bad guys than keyless entry and starting does. I haven't checked but I'd imagine the range is (purposely) very low and that at least in theory it's linked to exactly one control device which may use something like thumbprint id. Now none of that is unbeatable - but I can get into most cars by chucking a brick through the window and they still insure cars with glass in them.

My car has keyless entry but the code is reset everytime the car is unlocked and locked. Although many manufacturers don't install that into their alarms. My car also has push button start, but I have taken 3 very inexpensive steps to secure the obd port.

I seem to remember someone in Australia hacking into a cars systems and bringing the car to a stop and preventing the driver from controlling any of the car's systems.The car was in another country and not even as close as New Zealand.

 

[JonathanRyan]

No it doesn't.
A lot of "PETA Approved" logos will be whipped away when the plastics and rubbers are also included in the "non animal derived" materials list.

Let's see I have issues with some of the things PETA do but they have good people working for them and since Mr Musk is happy to work with them he may well surprise us all. Again.

I'd imagine it will be running on Michelin tyres for a start.