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The IOT - a mixed blessing?

Howard Warren
Does anybody have anecdotes about the IOT being a mixed blessing?


I ask because my daughter recently moved into a new "smart" home - everything in the house, from the doorbell to the washing machine to the central heating, can be accessed from her mobile phone. Which is undoubtedly a blessing of the right sort, but shortly after moving in she was awakened in the very early hours of the morning by the doorbell. It wasn't ringing, but it was talking to her mobile phone to say the built-in camera had picked up an intruder. Nervously she watched the video feed, to see a heavily wrapped-up man walk boldly up to her door, momentarily disappear, then reappear, jump in a van and drive off. She woke her partner, who dutifully went to investigate, but found nothing untoward in the darkness. Next morning, after a sleepless night, she set off for work, fully intending to email the footage to the police - to find a new plant pot by the door, containing a complementary delivery and an order form from the local milkman...


Over to you...
Parents
  • 0
    Hello Malcolm!


    I'd agree that it's not a blessing, at least not in my experience - despite being a member of an institution that's dedicated to technology, I'm convinced it's the work of the devil. Within a week of taking delivery of my new phone, it knew what time I set off for work in the morning, what time I came home, where I work, the route I usually take, and what the traffic's likely to be doing. It even asked me to review a takeaway I'd  been outside for a few minutes whilst stuck in the traffic it had warned me about earlier. And as for those pop-ups... My good lady must have had an inkling what her xmas present was likely to be when an advert for a jeweller popped up on the laptop. Unfortunately the golf-ball sized diamonds in the advert were just a little out of my budget... 


    And on top of that, the sat nav built into my car knew exactly where the heavy traffic was on the motorway - and very thoughtfully diverted me into the centre of Manchester to avoid it.


    George Orwell would turn in his grave. Big brother isn't just watching us, he's hiding in our washing machines sending messages to our phones telling us the spin cycle's finished.
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  • 0
    Hello Malcolm!


    I'd agree that it's not a blessing, at least not in my experience - despite being a member of an institution that's dedicated to technology, I'm convinced it's the work of the devil. Within a week of taking delivery of my new phone, it knew what time I set off for work in the morning, what time I came home, where I work, the route I usually take, and what the traffic's likely to be doing. It even asked me to review a takeaway I'd  been outside for a few minutes whilst stuck in the traffic it had warned me about earlier. And as for those pop-ups... My good lady must have had an inkling what her xmas present was likely to be when an advert for a jeweller popped up on the laptop. Unfortunately the golf-ball sized diamonds in the advert were just a little out of my budget... 


    And on top of that, the sat nav built into my car knew exactly where the heavy traffic was on the motorway - and very thoughtfully diverted me into the centre of Manchester to avoid it.


    George Orwell would turn in his grave. Big brother isn't just watching us, he's hiding in our washing machines sending messages to our phones telling us the spin cycle's finished.
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