swap out those mechanicals windows for mechanical linux and then we'll talk
I use Arch BTW.
Like just huge arches instead of windows or even doors, Arch is all you need.
I am more of a hydraulic Linux person myself
Homeassistant is cool though. Also most of my stuff would work without it, they just works better with it.
None of the devices I bought for it talk to the internet! Home assistant can control and even update the Shellys completely over the local network.
As it should be
Remember Home assistant =/= smart home nonsense
I dont need some AI assistant to automatically manage my thermostat, I just want to be able to control it all using my own local server.
In Spanish, we have a saying: "En casa de herrero, cuchara de palo".
A rough translation would be "in the blacksmith's house you'll find wood spoons". It's not a new thing, it's been like that since ancient times.
Is that the same thing? The impression I get is that OPs post is about the IT worker actively distrusting smart tech. While I assume your example is more that the blacksmith doesn't bother with making metal spoons for himself and using what ever he had already, which would be more comparable to a network engineer still using the ISPs shitty router.
We use it when, for any reason, a person who could easily use something related to their field, doesn't use it. What it means is that if someone who could be using something because they know how it works, isn't using it, there must be a reason.
Ahh, the impression I got is that one makes it sound like they are avoiding it because they can't be bothered to while the other actively avoids it because its bad.
"The cobbler's kids have no shoes" in English.
But this guy is saying he doesn't trust technology not to spy or be vulnerable.
"no smart home crap" Yeah... That's just a choice. I have two homegrown smarthome solutions that are amazing and complex without creating security holes.
You can tell it’s an IT guy’s home assistant if there’s no hardware that requires someone else’s cloud.
My home automation philosophy is that everything in the house should work with or without internet. It’s going well so far.
Boom. Exactly. Self hosted solutions are amazing. We have choices about this stuff.
Home Assistant and local, cloud-free protocols and devices are great
I agree when it comes to most "smart" home devices. However, I wired an ESP32 to my heat pump for remote control and automation, which has been absolutely fantastic. Also, I use a ton of ZigBee and zwave, since those are not "smart" by themselves and are local-only.
It's the cloud bullshit that always breaks and spies on users that I hate.
Yeah home built and programmed smart devices are the way to go. I'm addicted to the rush of making dumb appliances automated.
The smartphone controlled aircon for $150 extra? Slap a $4 Esp in that. $400 to get sleek control of your central heating? $4 Esp. Turn on the ice maker on the commute home? You guessed it, $4 Esp.
Having worked in IT for 17 years. I don't trust any MFer that uses their IT experience as a reason to do something.
I will trust people using their IT experience as a reason to avoid something, though
The more you understand tech, the more you trust the simplest version of it 😅
Following computer security stuff makes every smart thing suspicious
As they should be.
I just don't understand the desire to control everything in your house with an app. It's not like that app can load or unload the dishwasher or clothes dryer. That would be automation I could really get behind. And thermostats are programmable and then left to themselves. Even ice makers are automatically controlled with a microswitch.
And yes, I did try the internet enabled thermostat thing and found I never used the app. Nor is the journey to the thermostat so arduous that I can't get up and walk over to it if I should ever feel the need. Maybe I'm just too old to get it.
But if you like it and want it then have at it. I certainly won't stop you from enjoying it.
If you don't understand the desire then you don't have a use case. And that's ok. But that doesn't mean other people don't have a use case.
Properly set up home automation can reduce your energy usage. Track temperature throughout your house and open blinds, only direct heat/cooling to rooms that need it, etc. Sure a thermostat is programmable but it's limited by the ability to just turn on/off heat and a few temperature sensors. You can drastically expand what your thermostat can do (ie motorized blinds) and information it has access to (temperature outside, current weather, etc).
Or maybe someone is the type to have panic attacks about forgetting to turn the oven off. Having the ability to see oven status on the go is nice.
Or maybe someone has a larger house than you and the journey to the thermostat is more arduous than yours. Or the journey to the dishwasher or clothes dryer to see if it's done is arduous.
Or maybe someone has a disability and having quick access to various things is a huge time saver.
Maybe someone has a sensory issue and loud buzzing from a dryer finishing is problematic, so they want to disable the "finished" alert from the device and just receive a notification on their phone.
but if youre gathering that much data and making decisions with it, then from the OP "no internet connected thermostats" is a must. None of your smart home stuff should be able to phone home. Basically the openWRT argument but also for smart home. Use zigbee or zwave so devices can't just directly phone home and must simply connect through a hub (that you should control).
tl;dr - plenty of reasons to want these things, they just may not apply to you.
The fact these companies can release a $200 router or a $1000 smartphone and completely stop all security updates after only a few years is insane.
It should be regulated similar to how cars are regulated - with mandatory service and spare parts for many years.
Cars aren't exactly a good example on how to curb enshittification, as the car industry pioneered enshittification and found a way around regulations every time so far.
I used to work the IT help desk as well and I didn’t want to fix broken shit in my spare time either. Friends and family were constantly on me to fix their shit or worse, help them setup their new thing / upgrade or whatever. The thing that always irritated me about it was that no one ever considered this a favor, you know, actual labor. To them, I just knew the secrets, and should simply share those secrets with them like a good friend. Because whatever they wanted to do, in their minds, was very very bad easy, they were just missing some small secret answer that would make it all suddenly work. And of course they’d only consult me late in the game after they’d made the purchase or whatever and gotten stuck because it didn’t work. Eventually I had to formally declare that I wouldn’t be helping anyone anymore.
My trick with family is I tell them "Well, I can do it, try harder." It's my little way to show them how much I appreciate how often they told me I was mentally handicapped growing up.
As a general rule, if you buy "smart" anything where it requires an internet connection and a cloud service to function it will be bitrotten within 5 years and dead within 10. And that's assuming the company survives so long and is bothered to support it. That's from planned obsolescence and the ongoing cost of supporting the platform when they have something new to sell. And while things can benefit from an internet connection, if its white goods then run a mile.
I think forward thinking companies could actually gain a lot of free publicity and sales if they openly pledged that their software was in escrow and would automatically release after a period of time and/or as a failsafe if the company discontinued the product and/or they went bust.
Mechanical Windows
As opposed to what, wireless windows?
Microsoft Windows
Electric windows exist. I guess these days they can also be controlled wirelessly.
Home Assistant is a free and open source alternative for home automation. Don't have to completely give up the future.
This is me, nothing in my house needs automation for any reason. There is especially no need for internet connectivity. The closest to automation I have ever had is the timers that turn the lights on or off on my fishtanks.
I hacked this guy's fish tanks, I reprogrammed the lights and I'm currently training his fish through EMDR to memorize all his passwords. In about six months time I'll break into his house, interrogate his fish and clean out all his bank accounts.
i've worked with highly competent programmes and sysadmins whose houses are entirely connected. they do exist.
I work in IT, been a software developer for decades.
I have a full on smart home, all the smart tech you can imagine. All connected and running locally via home assistant.
Smart tech isn't bad, shitty tech is.
Exactly.
My first personal e-mail way back in the 90s was with my ISP. Then I changed ISPs and saw the problem with that. So I moved to Yahoo.
Some years later, in the 00s I just decided to get my own, paid for, Internet domain and have my e-mail there, even though I could've carried on using Yahoo or get Google Mail (very popular amongst techies back then) for free. The main reason was that I realized I must made sure the e-mail address was MINE, not actually owned by somebody else with me allowed to use it under their conditions.
Twenty years later and guess it was pretty wise to not have my e-mail in the claws of "Definitelly Do Evil" Google.
Experience using and living with Tech, mainly once your understanding of it reaches the level of understanding systemic elements, naturally informs ones choices in Tech, and that often means chosing something else than the mass marketed "popular" stuff that's designed to lock you in, sell you stuff or sell your attention to others and eavesdrop on you and sell your data.
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