Yes, folks, that's right. Sears just sent me an email titled "New garage door opener with Internet connectivity". The web site linked in the message says "UNPRECEDENTED CONTROL AND PEACE OF MIND. Finally, a garage door opener you can control from thousands of miles away."
WTF?
Looks to me like a solution in desperate search for a problem.
As there's no information provided other than you opinion on the matter it's tough to tell what the thrust of the thing is. Perhaps it's meant to lock down the garage remotely so your kid doesn't take your Ferrari out of the garage ala Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
R
If yer too stupid to secure a Ferrari, except as a too-late afterthought, you deserve whatever you get. Hackers have been compromising everything on the net, including govts and the most prestigious financial institutions. You think a garage door opener net service will be more secure? Chrystonacrutch, these cloud con criminals have you clowns right where they want you.
nb
It doesn't really cost that much to add an internet interface to just about anything. Most things built these days already have a computer in it. An example is your alarm clock, they dont use clock chips anymore they use a computer. It doesnt cost more than a few cents to add a LAN connection to it. Same is true of the microwave ,stove, TV, You name it. I always believed in the KISS principal. Using a uP to turn on a light just seemed stupid to me when you could use a transistor and a relay but this isnt true any more when the little uP cost less than the relay, can be programed to monitor a large number of inputs and output to a LAN for about a dime.
Jimmie
I'd say the main purpose would be in case you're at the airport and you don't remember if you closed the garage door. Another use would be if while traveling you find out you need to let a friend into the house for some unexpected reason, But, I wouldn't say it's high on my list of features.
Ummm...I think you need to work on taking things too literally, big guy. ;)
But with the opener thing, who knows? - just because I haven't thought of a good reason doesn't mean there aren't any. Let's do a quick search...
Okay, here's one: "I'm up for that idea. Better than giving out a password a contractor or something could use whenver. They call you , you open the door, close it when they are done, end of story."
That makes sense to me. Controlling semi-trusted people's access...I can think of a number of situations where that would come in handy.
R
I think more and more devices are being made to have the ability of being controlled by smart phones. Seems mighty useless to me, but then I'm of a different generation
You bet. Sometime back I read about some college students who hooked up the dorm's soda dispensing machine to the internet. It could tell you in a nonce whether your favorite beverage was available, thereby possibly saving you a trip down the hall.
As a practical application, such a device could save a stop for the soda-machine refilling person. Heck, I bet the concept could even be expanded to, oh, gumball machines.
I don't know much about dogs, but wouldn't a feeding hopper with a timer be more dependable? Unless, of course, the internet model had a speaker so the dog could hear his master's voice.
Thought: Does a dog who depends on an internet-connected food bowl use a litter-box? I mean if you're going to be away for such a long time that a wi-fi food filler is necessary...
More likely, the college geeks just hacked into the onboard web site it already had. Most pop/commercial vending machines the past 10 years or so have (at least as a factory option) on onboard web page, and LAN or polling dialup connection. In addition to calling home when it needs a refill, it also includes tilt switch and power-has-been-off and other alarm capabilities. That machine that sells ice cream sandwiches? Power goes off, you want the route guy out there pronto, to empty/clean it. They ain't fancy web pages- similar to the one your home router probably has.
The "first" Coke machine on the Internet was over 20 years ago and did not involve a www. website. See
Doug Miller wrote in news:j5i8c7$130$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:
Good if you suddenly remember that you forgot to close the door. Maybe it sends you a Text to let you know if it's open.
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